Your Favorite Strat Pickups?

[Clump]

Originally Posted by jonesy

[B][COLOR="DeepSkyBlue"]Thanks Gustav. You know Bill L. is on my facebook friends list and I thought about contacting him about pickups. What does a set of those Keystones run?

Here's a link - Wilde Bill's Keystones

$84 a set.

[ErictheRed]

For the neck and middle positions I love the pickups in my 2004 Limited Edition 50th Anniversary Strat, which are supposed to be "specially would" Custom Shop '54s. I think they're probably just Custom Shop '54s.

For the bridge, I installed a Seymour Duncal SSL-5 because I'm a Gilmour fan and the bridge pickup that the guitar came with just wasn't cutting it for me. It's a great pickup but I can imagine it being better...I don't know, not quite "vintagey" enough or something; maybe a little too high output for me? But I'll probably keep it for a while.

I had a partscaster with Fat 50s for a while that I really loved. Hmmm...maybe I should put a Fat 50 in my bridge...

[MrRhoads]

Originally Posted by jonesy

Thanks Gustav. You know Bill L. is on my facebook friends list and I thought about contacting him about pickups. What does a set of those Keystones run?

I heard she is retiring or has retired and now the new CS 69' pickups are no longer wound buy her. Thought about getting an older set that she actually wound but they are going up in price like $160-$199 for a set with her AY initials on them. New CS 69' sets wound by whoever are around $129-$149

84 US Dollars + shipping which is less than 10 US Dollars inside the US.
Wilde Bill's Keystones

You´re welcome
Well i´m not surprised if Abigail retires, she´s been her whole life at Fender more or less.
I did see a NAMM 2012 video from Seymour Duncan i think it was were Abigail were visiting so i get the feeling she´s still winding but maybe she´s retiring a little at a time.
Have to tell my dad about her retirement because he´s really keen on getting a set wound by her.
Gonna contact Fender again and aks about Abigail.

[bryvincent]

Originally Posted by ErictheRed

For the neck and middle positions I love the pickups in my 2004 Limited Edition 50th Anniversary Strat, which are supposed to be "specially would" Custom Shop '54s. I think they're probably just Custom Shop '54s.

For the bridge, I installed a Seymour Duncal SSL-5 because I'm a Gilmour fan and the bridge pickup that the guitar came with just wasn't cutting it for me. It's a great pickup but I can imagine it being better...I don't know, not quite "vintagey" enough or something; maybe a little too high output for me? But I'll probably keep it for a while.

I had a partscaster with Fat 50s for a while that I really loved. Hmmm...maybe I should put a Fat 50 in my bridge...

maybe get the tapped version of the SSL-5?

[colchar]

Originally Posted by jonesy

BTW thanks for all the responses I appreciate the input.

I'd like to second this and say thanks as well. I pulled the trigger on a Mexican Standard Strat this afternoon and, although I won't be swapping the pickups for a few weeks, the answers provided here will be a great resource for when I do make the change.

[joff]

My Custom Shop NOS 62 Strat has Masterbuilder John Cruz handwound single coil pus...superb...but you can't order them on their own.

[bill m]

The cs69's were always and still are machine wound. Maybe Abby hit the start button. I had one of the first sets that were signed Abby, and not her initials and they were machine wound also as they should be. Strat pickups in 1969 were machine wound.

[jonesy]

I found a set of the Fender CS 69' pickups on ebay for $119.00 shipped and am going to give those a try. They are not signed by AY, but don't think that is really an issue for me.

[colchar]

Originally Posted by jonesy

I found a set of the Fender CS 69' pickups on ebay for $119.00 shipped and am going to give those a try. They are not signed by AY, but don't think that is really an issue for me.

Please be sure to post your impressions of them. At the moment I am leaning towards either those or the CS '54s.

[jonesy]

Originally Posted by colchar

Please be sure to post your impressions of them. At the moment I am leaning towards either those or the CS '54s.

Yeah for sure. They will probably get here later next week so maybe by next weekend I will have them installed and be able to get some play time in on them and make a video demo.

[snaredrum]

my favourite strat sounds are from my Gilmour - fat 50s neck, CS '69 middle, SD SSL-5 bridge. stunning!

[snaredrum]

i had a MIM 60s strat with Ybarra CS '69s in as well, which sounded killer

[colchar]

I just discovered now that the Knopfler signature Strat has Texas Special pickups in it so those might be something to consider. The exact same pickups are found in the SRV signature Strat and slightly hotter versions of those are in the Jimmie Vaughan Tex Mex Strat. Based on the tones you said you were looking for in the opening post of this thread Texas Specials might be worth a look. Now that I know they are in both the Knopfler Strat and the SRV Strat I am going to have to check them out.

[Cpt_Gonzo]

Although they are essentially mini-hums, I love DiMarzios Choppers. They are designed to have humbucker punch with single coil clarity and dynamics and I have to say they do deliver.

[thinkgreen]

custom 69 pickups i have in my mim cp60 are sound fantastic. and from what i have read they are made to the same spec as the cs69 set but made in Mexico. i think they will sound great, signed AY or not

[jonesy]

Originally Posted by colchar

I just discovered now that the Knopfler signature Strat has Texas Special pickups in it so those might be something to consider. The exact same pickups are found in the SRV signature Strat and slightly hotter versions of those are in the Jimmie Vaughan Tex Mex Strat. Based on the tones you said you were looking for in the opening post of this thread Texas Specials might be worth a look. Now that I know they are in both the Knopfler Strat and the SRV Strat I am going to have to check them out.

I've tried the Texas Specials before and wouldn't say they are a bad pickup but I found them a little harsh on the top end and not as "chimey" for the clean tones as I would like. The Fender 57'/62' set is OEM on American Vintage Stratocasters.

[colchar]

Originally Posted by jonesy

I've tried the Texas Specials before and wouldn't say they are a bad pickup but I found them a little harsh on the top end and not as "chimey" for the clean tones as I would like. The Fender 57'/62' set is OEM on American Vintage Stratocasters.

Hmm, good to know. Thanks.

I think I definitely want something chimey.

[HWJ]

Great time to be a guitarist aint it ? Choices galore and access to most all of them on the net.

After checking out all the demos I could find over a few months, I went with the Klein S6 set. If you value clarity, you'll dig 'em.
Demo and the rest...
http://www.kleinpickups.com/sounds/Strat_Custom_1.wav
Klein Pickups S-6 Low Output Stratocaster Pickup Set

[dazzypig]

I really like the 57/62 p'ups in my 62avri but I'll be getting something else for my partsocaster...

[JonMan94]

My pick is the Dimarzio Paul Gilbert Injector Set. It's noiseless, uses A2 magnets with alot less string pull and they sound amazing:

Paul Gilbert Demos His New DiMarzio® Injector

Paul Gilbert Demos His New DiMarzio® Injector

[deepblue]

It was rumoured that Ms.Ybarra signed a whole slew of grey pickup bases and the
regular joes at Fender wind them.

This came from a guy who allegedly works for Fender.

[cooljuk]

Cool thread. Some good suggestions here.

I've been flip-flopping on pulling the trigger on some Fralin underwound Vintage Hots or BKP Apaches for my Strat for far too long.

[H.E.L.Shane]

the best strat pickups i've ever heard were a paid of fender custom shopswound by Abigail Ybarra...

I can ask my budy what the series was.. but dammit.. they blew me away.

[coldengray]

Klein's are great Strat pickups....I have the S-7 set, which are his take on the Eric Johnson Strat pups.

[jonesy]

Originally Posted by deepblue

It was rumoured that Ms.Ybarra signed a whole slew of grey pickup bases and the
regular joes at Fender wind them.

This came from a guy who allegedly works for Fender.

You know when I was looking for the Abby pickups on ebay I saw a set of the Fender CS 69' with the AY initials from 2004 and the top of the "A" was very rounded. On the other sets I saw from 2009-2010 the A had a very sharp point at the top. Seemed a little odd and made me wonder who was writing the AY and dates on the back of those gray bobbins?

[jonesy]

Originally Posted by dazzypig

I really like the 57/62 p'ups in my 62avri but I'll be getting something else for my partsocaster...

Besides the Fender CS 69's I have a set of the 57'/62' pickups on the way as well. I like the idea of the Formvar wire and slightly different wind supposedly wind patterned after the pickups in a 63' Strat.

[Dirtyclinic]

My buddy has an SRV strat. It has Texas Specials and it sounds great.

[colchar]

Originally Posted by jonesy

Besides the Fender CS 69's I have a set of the 57'/62' pickups on the way as well. I like the idea of the Formvar wire and slightly different wind supposedly wind patterned after the pickups in a 63' Strat.

Those 57/62s are on my list of possibilities as well.

[dazzypig]

Originally Posted by jonesy

Besides the Fender CS 69's I have a set of the 57'/62' pickups on the way as well. I like the idea of the Formvar wire and slightly different wind supposedly wind patterned after the pickups in a 63' Strat.

Originally Posted by colchar

Those 57/62s are on my list of possibilities as well.

They are very good pickups, they can be very clear and all of the positions work very well. But despite being very good, they're very inoffensive, if you can sort of catch my drift?

You can't possibly say that you don't like them, because they do pretty much everything you want them too but you can't really love them because they don't really have a stand-out feature, haha.

...Having said that though, if you like positions 2 and 4 though you will love them as they do those in-between 'Hendrixy' tones amazingly well.

[snaredrum]

by the way, i sold my road worn strat last week (daddy needs a new pedalthingy) but that had the Fatboy 62 pickups in, and they were rather spectacular - the most vintage sounding strat pups i've ever played through. if my band played anything other than high gain rock i'd have kept it