O Eternal Verities!

[PhilKing]

Having a few strats I can say that the veneer boards do have a bit more presence than the slab boards (however the slab boards have a great tone).  My 57 sounds brighter than either but not as fat as the 61 and the 63 sounds somewhere in between (which might be what you would expect).  The 57 also has Apache's which do imrove it's sound over the DiMarzio's that someone had put on it before I got it.  The 63 has original pickups and the 61 has one original, one original with a BK rewind and one BK AV Apache. 

The difference between the Mother's Milks and Sultans is AV magnets vs AII magnets really, I like the Sultans in the middle and neck slightly more than the Mothers, however I only have both sets in HSS strats, so I can't tell you how they are in the bridge.  The Sultans sound a little more smooth than the MM's with a little less push to the sound.

[Philly Q]

The difference between the Mother's Milks and Sultans is AV magnets vs AII magnets really, I like the Sultans in the middle and neck slightly more than the Mothers, however I only have both sets in HSS strats, so I can't tell you how they are in the bridge.  The Sultans sound a little more smooth than the MM's with a little less push to the sound.

Sorry for the brief thread hijack, but that's the first time it's dawned on me that the Sultans are AII.  I like the tone of Duncan Alnico IIs, but I'm sure a BKP version would be nicer... hmmm.... that's got me thinking.

[Prawnik]

Having a few strats I can say that the veneer boards do have a bit more presence than the slab boards (however the slab boards have a great tone).  My 57 sounds brighter than either but not as fat as the 61 and the 63 sounds somewhere in between (which might be what you would expect).  The 57 also has Apache's which do imrove it's sound over the DiMarzio's that someone had put on it before I got it.  The 63 has original pickups and the 61 has one original, one original with a BK rewind and one BK AV Apache. 

The difference between the Mother's Milks and Sultans is AV magnets vs AII magnets really, I like the Sultans in the middle and neck slightly more than the Mothers, however I only have both sets in HSS strats, so I can't tell you how they are in the bridge.  The Sultans sound a little more smooth than the MM's with a little less push to the sound.

Well, looking at the issue bass-ackwards, would a stock 1963 Strat have AII or AV magnets? What about a 1969 Strat?

[PhilKing]

The main difference between the 63 and 69 pickups would have been the number of turns in the wire and the base being grey not black.  There seems to be nothing that lists what the magnets were each year (though they usually say that the magnets varied due to the cobalt percentage being different).  However the real man to speak to on this would be Tim. 

[Prawnik]

The main difference between the 63 and 69 pickups would have been the number of turns in the wire and the base being grey not black.  There seems to be nothing that lists what the magnets were each year (though they usually say that the magnets varied due to the cobalt percentage being different).  However the real man to speak to on this would be Tim. 

Somewhat OT, but it is my theory that the number of turns in Fender pickups really varied more from individual pickup to individual pickup rather than from year to year.

Maybe there were broader trends in manufacture, but from what I can tell about how Fender operated it wasn't like they decided "OK, for the 1963 model year we will produce Telecaster bridge pickups with 7735 turns of wire to get a more Bakersfield sound. Esquires will get 7300 turns to save on valuable wire."

Sometimes you see citations to Seymour Duncan's website where average numbers of winds for Strat pickups for a given year are listed, but those figures are just that, averages.

Correct me if I am wrong, this is just my theory.

[Prawnik]

For those of you who care, after weeks of meditation, prayer and fasting, I pulled the trigger on a set of Mother's Milks. Gray forbon, vintage stagger, no RW/RP.

Photos will be posted on completion.

Breastesses not included.