help! 'slowhand' or 'irishtour'

[sharp11]

which set should i get for my 2007 highway one strat? My current pickups are to quiet and have no 'life' I wanted something hotter with a bit of 'body' so which do you think i should go for? irish tour or slowhand? also does anyone have any advice regarding rw middle pickup and getting a baseplate for the bridge pu?

Thanks!!

[Telerocker]

Welcome here!
RW: no hum in two positions. A baseplate fattens up the bridge-pu, so a good idea. Choiche depends on what tone you're after/music you play. I have the IT's in an HSS swampashstrat and they're quite full for a singlecoil, yet gritty and with bite. Turn the vol.knob a bit down and you're in Frusciante-terrority. The Slowhands have more mids and less sparkle, at least to my ears. If you're guitar is quite bright, maybe you want Slowhands. For modern rocktones you might consider Trilogies.

[sharp11]

cheers! Its for jazzy/blues plus the odd bit of rock and function stuff. Im thinking the slowhands but i am a bit worried they might sound a bit lifeless due to the lack of top end?

[richard]

Are you familiar with the Irish Tour album ? I've got the bridge IT in a JV Strat and I've never heard a pickup get so close to the sound it's named after. Plenty of bite and cleans up really well. If you like Rory's sound you won't be disappointed.

[Telerocker]

cheers! Its for jazzy/blues plus the odd bit of rock and function stuff. Im thinking the slowhands but i am a bit worried they might sound a bit lifeless due to the lack of top end?

Slowhands don't sound lifeless but have another voicing, which could be great if you want to push the amp a bit more and if your guitar has a bright sound by itself.

[gwEm]

i think slowhands too - with baseplate and rwrp middle indeed.

they have sufficient top end - don't worry about that :) they do sound full and do good rock and good jazz too!

[Telerocker]

i think slowhands too - with baseplate and rwrp middle indeed.

they have sufficient top end - don't worry about that :) they do sound full and do good rock and good jazz too!

If I remember well, you have Slowhands in your strat? Or not? Just a little question: is there a big difference with the IT's or are we talking just some extra mids.

[gwEm]

i think slowhands too - with baseplate and rwrp middle indeed.

they have sufficient top end - don't worry about that :) they do sound full and do good rock and good jazz too!

If I remember well, you have Slowhands in your strat? Or not? Just a little question: is there a big difference with the IT's or are we talking just some extra mids.

i have tried irish tours, but only briefly so wouldn't like to go into details about the differences - i remember very clearly that they had quite a strong treble response. i would hesitate to fit them in a maple board strat.

i do have slowhands in one of my own strats as you say (ash/maple) where they have plenty of poke in the mids and sound lively. i play rock mostly, but like a bit of jazz on the side. the baseplate doesn't change the character of the pickup, but it does give a dollop of extra body for riffage. the guitar itself is likely to be relatively bright, so i imagine the slightly darker pickups are balancing everything out. nevertheless - it is a strat with lower output pickups - and the treble response is sure alot more than a humbucker.

[gordiji]

i have IT's in a maple/alder and they give some of the most beatiful strat tones i've heard.rw polarity in mine for position 2+4. no baseplate. they do everything from jazz to hard rock very well. i play(kind of) most styles clean or
cranked and can recommend them.
i don't have experience of slowhands but i'm sure they're great too. i'd bet a pound to a penny you can't go wrong with either and they'll both be much better than the stock fenders. 

[shobet]

Ditto the Irish tours in a maple necked strat working well! I've a set in mine and it makes a lovely sound.

[Telerocker]

i think slowhands too - with baseplate and rwrp middle indeed.

they have sufficient top end - don't worry about that :) they do sound full and do good rock and good jazz too!

If I remember well, you have Slowhands in your strat? Or not? Just a little question: is there a big difference with the IT's or are we talking just some extra mids.

Cheers! I have IT's and MM's in my HSS-strats. Maybe in the near future a 3sc-strat will come in, so I'm already thinking about Apaches or Slowhands. Two different pu's, but tempting though.

i have tried irish tours, but only briefly so wouldn't like to go into details about the differences - i remember very clearly that they had quite a strong treble response. i would hesitate to fit them in a maple board strat.

i do have slowhands in one of my own strats as you say (ash/maple) where they have plenty of poke in the mids and sound lively. i play rock mostly, but like a bit of jazz on the side. the baseplate doesn't change the character of the pickup, but it does give a dollop of extra body for riffage. the guitar itself is likely to be relatively bright, so i imagine the slightly darker pickups are balancing everything out. nevertheless - it is a strat with lower output pickups - and the treble response is sure alot more than a humbucker.

[sharp11]

loadsa great advice, thanks everyone! I think ill go for the slowhands, rw baseplate on the bridge....

[Telerocker]

Congrats! I think you'll like them.