Username: Password:

Author Topic: Help me choose the right Strat pickups for my style  (Read 15461 times)

AndyR

  • Welterweight
  • ****
  • Posts: 4715
  • Where's all the top end gone?
    • My Offerings
Help me choose the right Strat pickups for my style
« Reply #30 on: July 04, 2008, 01:38:14 PM »
Quote from: Twinfan
Quote from: Elliot
Jimi also used a 64 transition logo Strat (which he later set fire to)


That very same guitar is also in Guitar and Bass magazine this month....


Is that the Monterry one? (have I spelt that right?) Or did he do it more than once?

What state is it in now, and do they have the empty tin of lighter fluid as well? :lol:

I spose I could get the magazine to find out...  :roll:
Play or Download AndyR Music at http://www.alonetone.com/andyr

elavd

  • Flyweight
  • *
  • Posts: 70
    • Elias Avdikos @ Myspace
Help me choose the right Strat pickups for my style
« Reply #31 on: July 04, 2008, 04:00:31 PM »
Do you think that the MM's are the closest sounding set to this clip?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zzb-Pbtr1U4
> How many guitars are enough?
> One MORE!!!

horsehead

  • Welterweight
  • ****
  • Posts: 1633
  • because the horsehead says so...
    • http://www.myspace.com/horseheadgary
Help me choose the right Strat pickups for my style
« Reply #32 on: July 04, 2008, 04:37:22 PM »
yes, I love that clip & john mayer has a cracking tone on there. I have a set of MM with the bridge & middle with a baseplate & they absolutely kick ass! You can elicit any tone you want from them quite easily & they gave a beautiful woody punch to the sound.


I think I maybe rambling on again...bottom line, the MM are perfect for what you want!

----------------
Now playing: Rod Stewart and the Faces - Miss Judy's Farm (The Faces)
via FoxyTunes
"Praising Phil X for his enthusiasm seems a bit like praising Hitler for his ambition"

AndyR

  • Welterweight
  • ****
  • Posts: 4715
  • Where's all the top end gone?
    • My Offerings
Help me choose the right Strat pickups for my style
« Reply #33 on: July 04, 2008, 05:01:17 PM »
Can't help you on that one elavd - no personal experience of MMs (and I can't watch the clip at the mo anyway - at work  :roll: )

However, I've just reread the entire thread - and my gut feeling is that MM is what you need. And I'm also begining to think it's what I will need if I put them in my alder strat (but Apaches if I put them in my basswood strat - that has more mid "honk" to it accoustically). I'm bassing this on me looking for the "quack" rather than the "spank" as described earlier. And from your original post I think you are too...

You'll get there, don't worry - and I think you'll actually be happy whichever way you choose, they are more versatile than this nerve-wracking (but enjoyable) selection process makes us think.

I can tell you from my experience with the Irish Tours, that the BKP singles are stunning. I've been mainly a strat player for nearly 30 years, and the ITs are just gorgeous. They almost cover all bases for me, but my main thing is slightly hotter strat-player type blues, so the ITs were the obvious starting point for me. What they have done is open up my finger vibrato and other techniques - what you put in actually makes a difference with BKPs - and have reduced the amount of gain I find myself using to get the same feel as before. Hence me getting more interested in styles where perhaps more "vintage" might be handy.

If I didn't have another strat (which I wasn't planning on upgrading) which might take the ITs, then I wouldn't even be considering swapping the ITs out of my favourite. They almost do what you're asking, and for me, they do it close enough if they were my only option.

(EDIT: While writing this, Horsehead answered - I beat you for rambling  :roll:   - and I nearly said "there's a guy on here with MMs in a 62 re-issue, I reckon he'd know..."  :D  Looks like I need to watch the clip when I get home)

(EDIT 2: Or is an actual 62 Horsehead???! I never considered that...)
Play or Download AndyR Music at http://www.alonetone.com/andyr

PhilKing

  • Welterweight
  • ****
  • Posts: 3655
Help me choose the right Strat pickups for my style
« Reply #34 on: July 04, 2008, 06:48:39 PM »
I have a HSS set in a 64 Bravewood strat that uses a Rebel Yell and 2 mothers milks.  The Bravewood has an alder body and 'curved' rosewood fretboard (like the originals).  The MM's sound great in it, you can get the Knopfler tone and the old Hank Marvin tone too.  My Apaches are in a 57 strat with a maple neck and alder body, they also sound great but are a little warmer sounding than the MM's.   I also have a set of Apaches with baseplates in a Swamp Ash body with Afromosa neck.  They are the Dave Gilmour sound, very nice rounded tones with more bottom end push in them than the regular Apaches.  My Irish Tours are in a hollow strat with a quilt maple cap and a maple tele neck.  They are quite bright, but do work well in this guitar.  Overall though I would lean towards the MM's for what you are looking for.
So many pickups, so little time

horsehead

  • Welterweight
  • ****
  • Posts: 1633
  • because the horsehead says so...
    • http://www.myspace.com/horseheadgary
Help me choose the right Strat pickups for my style
« Reply #35 on: July 04, 2008, 06:49:19 PM »
I wish Andy! :lol: No it's one of the Jap reissues a beaut in itself

----------------
Now playing: John Mayer - Your Body Is a Wonderland
via FoxyTunes
"Praising Phil X for his enthusiasm seems a bit like praising Hitler for his ambition"

AndyR

  • Welterweight
  • ****
  • Posts: 4715
  • Where's all the top end gone?
    • My Offerings
Help me choose the right Strat pickups for my style
« Reply #36 on: July 05, 2008, 11:30:28 AM »
I know what you mean Horsehead! Mine's a Jap re-issue as well, and I'd just assumed yours was a re-issue of some sort, but then I suddenly wondered...

Anyway, elavd - I've had a chance to watch that clip (and others, not come across John Mayer before - very tasty).

Not wanting to confuse you  :lol: - that's pretty much the tone I'm getting from ITs in my alder 62 re-issue when I go for a clean sound! Like PhilKing says for ITs, I'm getting just a little more top end than I can hear on those clips, but I prefer it that way anyway (I've always set the amp for "bright" and then use the guitar's vol/tone a lot to control the amount of bite I actually deliver).

So: for me - I'm reaching the conclusion that I have what I want already! (that opinion will change I'm sure...  :roll: )

For you: it does sound like the MMs are where you want to start.
Play or Download AndyR Music at http://www.alonetone.com/andyr

elavd

  • Flyweight
  • *
  • Posts: 70
    • Elias Avdikos @ Myspace
Help me choose the right Strat pickups for my style
« Reply #37 on: July 05, 2008, 01:28:41 PM »
Just because I mentioned John Mayer's tone, I would like to share with you this question that I've got in mind for a long time:

Fender mentions on Mayer's signature strat:
# "Big Dipper" single-coil Stratocaster® pickups with special
# "scooped" mid range voicing to meet John Mayer's specifications.

Doesn't "Scooped mid range voicing" mean less mids?
If so, why do I hear a plenty of midrange frequencies on Mayers tone?

What's going "wrong" here?
> How many guitars are enough?
> One MORE!!!

viking

  • Lightweight
  • ***
  • Posts: 509
Help me choose the right Strat pickups for my style
« Reply #38 on: July 06, 2008, 12:06:38 AM »
J.Mayer has a beautiful sound.I have the Crossroad DVD and there is a fantastic live version of "Gravity"..(About his tone,he does use a lot of TubeScreamer for soloing=more mids)

PhilKing

  • Welterweight
  • ****
  • Posts: 3655
Re: Help me choose the right Strat pickups for my style
« Reply #39 on: July 06, 2008, 08:35:58 PM »
Well I just had a revelation.  I fitted the Sultan HSS set to my strat clone and the tone is great.  If you like the sound of 'Down to the Waterline' or 'Lady Writer', then they have it in spades.  The Stormy Monday bridge works really nicely too.
So many pickups, so little time

AndyR

  • Welterweight
  • ****
  • Posts: 4715
  • Where's all the top end gone?
    • My Offerings
Re: Help me choose the right Strat pickups for my style
« Reply #40 on: July 07, 2008, 09:00:46 AM »
Well I just had a revelation.  I fitted the Sultan HSS set to my strat clone and the tone is great.  If you like the sound of 'Down to the Waterline' or 'Lady Writer', then they have it in spades.  The Stormy Monday bridge works really nicely too.

AGH! I knew this would happen when you put them in...
And, after I thought I was satisified with what I've got...
Don't tempt me!!! :wink:

As you've picked those songs as reference, I'm guessing that they'd work quite well in basswood then? Less likely to suffer the MM "darkness"?
Play or Download AndyR Music at http://www.alonetone.com/andyr

PhilKing

  • Welterweight
  • ****
  • Posts: 3655
Re: Help me choose the right Strat pickups for my style
« Reply #41 on: July 07, 2008, 12:47:11 PM »
The strat clone they are in has a basswood body with a maple neck with ebony fingerboard.  I was playing the guitar again yesterday and setting up the pickup heights and have to say that I am very taken with the sound. I have a couple of other setup things to do to my 57 strat (with apaches), since I had the neck off it to take to Bravewood for John to make a clone for me, but once I have that together I will pull out the set and make some comparisons.   Listening to them against Apaches with bassplates, they have a more scooped sound but not thin.  I guess it is the AII tone coming in again.  I am really tempted to get a full set of them though, so I can hear what the bridge pickup sounds like.
So many pickups, so little time

AndyR

  • Welterweight
  • ****
  • Posts: 4715
  • Where's all the top end gone?
    • My Offerings
Re: Help me choose the right Strat pickups for my style
« Reply #42 on: July 07, 2008, 01:37:37 PM »
Sigh...
GAS
(and no money to relieve it this time...)
Play or Download AndyR Music at http://www.alonetone.com/andyr

elavd

  • Flyweight
  • *
  • Posts: 70
    • Elias Avdikos @ Myspace
Re: Help me choose the right Strat pickups for my style
« Reply #43 on: August 10, 2008, 08:51:44 PM »
Quote from: Tomcaster
Maybe you could discuss Alnico 5 Apaches with Tim.

I've sent him an email, but he seems to be away of work till 10 of July...

Hello again ;)

Tim finally answered my email on July 11th, but I was out of town (and without a PC) 8)

So he recommended me the Apache set!

I was ready to order the Mother's Milk set, but his suggestion put me again in a dilemma... :?
> How many guitars are enough?
> One MORE!!!

elavd

  • Flyweight
  • *
  • Posts: 70
    • Elias Avdikos @ Myspace
Re: Help me choose the right Strat pickups for my style
« Reply #44 on: October 03, 2008, 06:38:56 PM »
After a successful change of pickups on my ES335 guitar, I return to this thread again...

As you can understand I plan to replace the pickups on my strat too with a BK set :)

But as you may remember, most of you suggested me Mother's Milk set for a 60's strat sound (I have an alder body+rosewood strat replica), but Tim suggested me the Apache set.

I would like to remind you that I am looking for a low output set with great quack in 2 & 4 possitions that would sound something like these:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P9-XAnI59U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFw0WG1yFlY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4tXn21RoMQ

So, what do you suggest me?
« Last Edit: October 03, 2008, 06:40:44 PM by elavd »
> How many guitars are enough?
> One MORE!!!