anyone got a pickup reccomendation?

[bakerlite]

Hey folks
My every day axe is a tele fitted with strat single coils - it has  nice coil on the bridge which is useful for some stuff but i am not quite getting the output tone i like from the middle or neck pickup -  (its definately down to the guitar not amp)
I like to play mostly surf music so i'm not looking for hot and crunchy, more like clean/bell like/ chimey sort of sound if that makes sense to anyone ? !
Anyway if ya have heard of anything that may suit let me know and i'll look it up as my google searching to date hasn't thrown up anything yet.
Thanks

[G._Hoffman]

The first question is, what do you have in there NOW.  It's pretty hard to make a recommendation on what you might like if I don't know what you DON'T like.

That being said, I'm a BIG fan of Seymour Duncan's Classic Stack Plus pickups.  They sound like single coils, but are quiet (if you use the right switch, you can set it up so that in the "in-between" positions, they really ARE single coils, and it will still be hum canceling!)  They are my favorite Strat pickups at the moment.

That being said, you might also try backing your pickups off a bit.  Getting them further from the strings will help you get that "bell chime" tone.


Gabriel

[Platefire]

I don't try a whole lot of pickups so I haven't got a lot of referenes to draw from but on one of my teles I aquired lately the neck pickup was weak and I installed a 7K Ohm Golden Age from Stu Mac. I'm really happy with it because I play on the neck pu a lot. A good budget pickup. Platefire.  

[bakerlite]

Sorry I should have said the tele was modded to accept the standard strat S-S-S config with standard 5 way switch.

They are standard mex strat pups.

My favourite position at present is in between neck aand middle - i get the feeling if i had better pickups i may prefer just the neck if it didn't overload my input on my amp a bit or maybe  just the middle if it had a tad more to it!

I have been reading about the 6.8k lace sensor gold - not sure

[G._Hoffman]

Sorry I should have said the tele was modded to accept the standard strat S-S-S config with standard 5 way switch.

They are standard mex strat pups.

My favourite position at present is in between neck aand middle - i get the feeling if i had better pickups i may prefer just the neck if it didn't overload my input on my amp a bit or maybe  just the middle if it had a tad more to it!

I have been reading about the 6.8k lace sensor gold - not sure

I very much doubt you would like the Lace Sensors.  Not at all "surf."  

In general terms, you are going to want to stay away from pickups with hotter outputs, as well as pickups in the more "modern" vein.  No actives, or anything like that.  (This is based on the music you are playing, and your interest in a "bell like chime.")

Before you change pickups, though, really do try lowering them a bit.  For most people, we tend to set them up so the neck pickup is about 1/8" away from a string fretted at the last fret (21 or 22, depending on your guitar, or even 24 if you are of that bent), but on my main strat (which I wanted very chimey), I have it a good 1/4" away.  I've even talked to guys who set them all the way down to the pickguard.  After that, you adjust the other pickups to match output levels (though it is normal to set the bridge pickup a bit hotter than the rest).  Do it by ear, don't measure.  Measuring will almost always get it wrong.  You want them to sound musical, and only your ear can tell you that! 

OH!  And look into Lindy Fralin's pickups.  Call him up and tell him what you want, and he'll never steer you the wrong way.  I've not used a lot of his single coils personally, but it is what he is most famous for, and he makes GREAT pickups.


Gabriel

[bakerlite]

Thanks Gabriel
Can't beleive I forgot to research some fralins - Thats what i use in my P bass and they suit me fine.
I will experiment with string distance first though like you suggested.

[telentubes]

Fralins are great. I've also had good luck with Harmonic Design, which are currently on both of my teles (although with tele pickups, not strat). I'm a clean player as well. Experimenting with pick-up height (by ear), and lower than normally recommended, is good advise.

[Ed_Chambley]

+1 Fralins.  I have used and have quite a selection of pups.  In the fender line, the broadcaster will do what you are looking for.  Output low, Alnico 3's.  Bill Lawrence Pups will fit well too.  You can call Lindy and talk to him.  He loves to talk about pups.  Tell him what you are wanting to do and he will make a couple of suggestions.  I have a dealer of Fralins near me.  Atlanta Discount Music.  You can order them from them and it is cheaper to get them from one of his dealers than direct.  He is protecting his dealers.  The reason I mentioned Atlanta Discount Music is they like to haggle.  If you find what you want and got a price, give them a call and make an offer of about 10% less than the best price you have found and they will do it.  No sales tax if you do not live in Georgia.

[jojokeo]

This is probably too late for bakerlite but for others...??? I can't say enough good things about Kinman pickups. To know is only to play them, feel them, and hear them in person. They are all what Lindy or Seymour or DiMarzio's best single coils can sound like but they are noiseless too. Actually there's not one manufacturer that sounds even as good and they truely the best of all worlds. I have them in 3 strats and a tele and they have the magic in them. I won't go into installation & set-up detail...that's a personal choice but you don't necessarily need to use 500k or 1meg pots to get the clarity or top end chiminess like you do with other pickups. They are not cheap for sure but they are the "engine of your axe" and this is something that cannot be over-emphasized.

[G._Hoffman]

This is probably too late for bakerlite but for others...??? I can't say enough good things about Kinman pickups. To know is only to play them, feel them, and hear them in person. They are all what Lindy or Seymour or DiMarzio's best single coils can sound like but they are noiseless too. Actually there's not one manufacturer that sounds even as good and they truely the best of all worlds. I have them in 3 strats and a tele and they have the magic in them. I won't go into installation & set-up detail...that's a personal choice but you don't necessarily need to use 500k or 1meg pots to get the clarity or top end chiminess like you do with other pickups. They are not cheap for sure but they are the "engine of your axe" and this is something that cannot be over-emphasized.

Kinmans are great, and we've put them in a lot of guitars for customers, but I prefer Seymour Duncan's Classic Stack Plus.  Same idea, but I think the execution is better.  Our shop manager disagrees, and prefers the Kinmans.    Different strokes for different folks.


Gabriel

[jojokeo]

but I prefer Seymour Duncan's Classic Stack Plus.  Same idea, but I think the execution is better. Different strokes for different folks.

I removed those Duncans from one of my Strats. They didn't come close to typical Fender single coil tones and quackiness even when switching to regular single coil mode. I even made no-load tone pots and increased the vol pot value to aid in brightening these up but to no avail. This made them much better but still not good enough. I shielded the entire cavity area under the pickguard and the pickups were actually quieter in single coil mode than in the "noiseless" stacked mode. Their magnetic pull on the strings was also way too much causing the dreaded "Strat-itis" overtone funky horrible twin tone warbling type of sounds. It made intonating impossible unless the pu's were lowered way down...then you lost the output and the tone suffered even more. Seymour needs more research and a new approach or better idea as these strike out and miss the mark for me. The original Lace Sensor Golds were even much better actually but yeah, different strokes I guess...

[Fresh_Start]

Any of the pickups mentioned will sound better than the stock Mexican Strat pups. Any pickup with alnico magnets should be an improvement. Even Stewart McDonald GoldenAge pups would be better (did that with Squire).

Regular Seymour Duncan single coils might do fine for you. SSL-1 (alnico 5) or APS-1 (alnico 2) might be good choices. I've got a kind of bright Mexican Strat with SSL-1 at neck and APS-1 in middle. Alnico 2 a little bit warmer and not quite as bell- like.

Lindy Fralin is local and has a great reputation though.

Hope that helps,
Chip

[G._Hoffman]

but I prefer Seymour Duncan's Classic Stack Plus.  Same idea, but I think the execution is better. Different strokes for different folks.

I removed those Duncans from one of my Strats. They didn't come close to typical Fender single coil tones and quackiness even when switching to regular single coil mode.

I couldn't disagree more, but then I prefer the sound of Strats with the pickups back a long way from the strings. 


Gabriel

[jojokeo]

Any of the pickups mentioned will sound better than the stock Mexican Strat pups.

Lindy Fralin is local and has a great reputation though.

I don't own anything Mexi... but I do have a Blues set of Split Blades. They are nice in their own way compared to Kinmans but still Kinmans rule in many ways IMHO.

[RicharD]

Has anybody tried Lollar pickups?  I'm interested in replacing the pickups in my Mexican Telecaster Custom Deluxe (not the real one) but 2 bills for a pickup....... better be better than good.  The accompanying bridge pickup would add another $130.00, that's almost what I paid for that guitar.

[Willabe]

I've never tried them but Tone Quest Report mag. loves them.     


                  Brad       

[G._Hoffman]

He makes great pickups, but I'm not sure that I could justify it for that guitar.  Get some Seymour Duncan's, and be done with it.  You'll be plenty happy with them.


Gabriel

[firemedic]

Hey bakerlite,
I don't have a pickup suggestion for you (though I like my Original Vintage '62s a lot) but I have a 3-pup tele like you. If you like chime, the best tone, hands down, will be gotten from the bridge and neck pickup together. You'll have to get a pull-switch pot & use it for the tone or volume, since a standard 5-position selector switch won't allow that combination PLUS what you have already.

[RicharD]

>justify it for that guitar.

I know what you are saying but, believe it or not, the 90's something telemex plays better than the real McCoy 1975 Custom Deluxe.  My only problem is that neck pickup is dark and lifeless, meanwhile the 75's neck pickup is beautiful.  It talks with my amp like no other.  The 75 simply doesn't stay in tune.

[jojokeo]

  The 75 simply doesn't stay in tune.

It's all in the set-up Richard

[G._Hoffman]

>justify it for that guitar.

I know what you are saying but, believe it or not, the 90's something telemex plays better than the real McCoy 1975 Custom Deluxe.  My only problem is that neck pickup is dark and lifeless, meanwhile the 75's neck pickup is beautiful.  It talks with my amp like no other.  The 75 simply doesn't stay in tune.

What do you expect, if you buy a Fender from the `70's?  Crap guitars came out of the factory, back then.  Lots and lots of crap guitars.  It is always astonishing to everyone who spends a lot of time dealing with older guitars that `70's Fenders are actually considered "Vintage" these days, and are commanding fairly high prices.  By the `90's, the import stuff was being done on CNC machines that, at the very least, ensured they would be playable guitars, and they didn't have a finish thickness that could be measured with a yard stick.  BIG help, over a `70's Fender!


Gabriel

[jojokeo]

My two '78's here would have to respectfully disagree with those statements. The action on both are incredibly low, no buzzing, stay & play in tune superbly throughout, and sound unbelieveable both being fitted with Kinmans' pu's. They can bend at will and whammy all night with no tuning or playing issues. There's GraphTech saddles in the tele and a GraphTech nut w/ no string trees and locking height graduated tuners in the strat to account for some of this but like I said earlier, when set-up properly this is what you get. There's a couple special things I do to get everything balanced and working together but it doesn't get any better for each model no matter which decade you'd want to compare them with. Generalizing negative statements shouldn't be made as it can be discrediting to the originator.

[G._Hoffman]

My two '78's here would have to respectfully disagree with those statements. The action on both are incredibly low, no buzzing, stay & play in tune superbly throughout, and sound unbelieveable both being fitted with Kinmans' pu's. They can bend at will and whammy all night with no tuning or playing issues. There's GraphTech saddles in the tele and a GraphTech nut w/ no string trees and locking height graduated tuners in the strat to account for some of this but like I said earlier, when set-up properly this is what you get. There's a couple special things I do to get everything balanced and working together but it doesn't get any better for each model no matter which decade you'd want to compare them with. Generalizing negative statements shouldn't be made as it can be discrediting to the originator.

How many qualifying statements does it take to make a `70's Fender good?  Or modifications, at any rate.  The finish work sucked on all of them.  The three bolt neck was designed by an idiot.  The workmanship was very inconsistent.  ANY guitar can be set up to play well, and they will all need some work at some point, but the `70's were a very real low point in Fender's work.  Play a well set up mid `60's, or late `80's, or any American (and most import) Fender more recent, and the difference is immediately obvious. 


Gabriel

[mresistor]

Granted Kinmans, Lollars, Rio Grandes, Fralins, etc, etc... are very good pickups made by expert pickup winders. However, I bought a set of handwound alnico 5 Strat pups from this guy on ebay and they are probably every bit as good as the others mentioned. They nail the early 60's strat sound. I had him wind them up for me like a set of '62s. He is very reasonable, and the prices are half to a third of the other guys.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Strat-replacement-pickups-HANDWOUND-Alnico2-your-specs-WOUND-4-SOUND-/290726321977?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item43b0a39f39
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Strat-replacement-pickups-HANDWOUND-Alnico5-your-specs-right-or-lefty-/290730993005?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item43b0eae56d

I also like Brian Gunsher pups. Especially his Pure 90's. Evidently Alex Lifeson also likes his pups.  
http://www.bg-pups.com/sc.html

You might also look at some Bill Lawrence Keystones, they are really nice pickups for a strat for very little change.
http://wildepickups.com/

[fdesalvo]

Emphatic +1!  I've got the AVN-69/Woodstock Strat pickup in the neck of a custom Tele.  Which are you running?

On a side note - one of THE most underrated singlecoils in the industry is the DiMarzio Blue Velvet - had them in a EBMM Silhouette Special and they did the SRV/Bell tone thing to the T!  I generally dislike DiMarzio gear, as well.  On a whim I replaced them with Fralins (lowest "output" model) and even Rio Grande Tallboys looking to upgrade and lost the sparkle and throaty overdriven tones and much of the bell like thump when clean.  I'm sure if I went with Lindy's Blues Specials or Rio's Muy Grande's or whathaveyou I'd have better results, but I tried to fix what certainly wasn't broken in that guitar and lost out.  

Also be open to doing a little experimenting - what sounds good in one man's guitar may not sound good in yours.  Some people like to dismiss the impact of the guitar's body/neck woods on the amplified tone of the instrument, but it's something to consider.  In my SG, the Rio BBQ (OUTSTANDING bucker) was perfection.  Over in my Mahogany body/Zebrawood strat with TOM bridge, it was dull and lifeless despite EQ'ing.  Just keep an open mind.

This is probably too late for bakerlite but for others...??? I can't say enough good things about Kinman pickups. To know is only to play them, feel them, and hear them in person. They are all what Lindy or Seymour or DiMarzio's best single coils can sound like but they are noiseless too. Actually there's not one manufacturer that sounds even as good and they truely the best of all worlds. I have them in 3 strats and a tele and they have the magic in them. I won't go into installation & set-up detail...that's a personal choice but you don't necessarily need to use 500k or 1meg pots to get the clarity or top end chiminess like you do with other pickups. They are not cheap for sure but they are the "engine of your axe" and this is something that cannot be over-emphasized.

[jojokeo]

How many qualifying statements does it take to make a `70's Fender good?  Or modifications, at any rate.  The finish work sucked on all of them.  The three bolt neck was designed by an idiot.  The workmanship was very inconsistent.  ANY guitar can be set up to play well, and they will all need some work at some point, but the `70's were a very real low point in Fender's work.  Play a well set up mid `60's, or late `80's, or any American (and most import) Fender more recent, and the difference is immediately obvious. 

Gabriel, you seem very upset and also can't take it when someone has an opposing opinion other than yours? Please don't take things so personal. I would also say that both my '78s above have the 4 screw bolt on necks not 3 as you're referring to, so you're describing something with harsh criticisms that doesn't even apply - you're generalizing here. As you can see in my picture, I have other Strats (and Tele's) too, not just the '78s so I don't really need you to tell me anything about your opinion on various years' of Fender products. In the end it just makes you seem like a jealous girlfriend lashing out at others' because your stuff must be so superior. Maybe, maybe not? But definitely take a chill pill, afterall this thread isn't about guitar quality and making and superiority - it's about pickups and tone remember?

Emphatic +1!  I've got the AVN-69/Woodstock Strat pickup in the neck of a custom Tele.  Which are you running?

I've got AVn56 in a couple and AVn62 blues in another in three Strats. For one of the Teles I've got a Broadcaster set in there. I've also got a Frailin blues set in another Strat that's nice but different and that's good because they are all set up for having differences for a reason.

I'd like to say this regarding tone control in almost all of my guitars - I've found the use of .1, .047, and even .022s, LARGE value capacitors like these that most guitars come standard with do a disservice to tone, IMHO. By lowering this value (by a lot, like say start with a .002) you can get much more useable tone all through the control even when the control is all of the way "off" or on "1". This is great for when using heavy overdrive for solos rather than adjusting pedals or amps - especially while on stage and there's no time for fussing with those things. I am also a big fan of the no-load tone pot. If you "need" a little more warmth at the cost of signal loss then simply turn it to 8 or 9 on the dial and you're back to stock sound and performance (but with the slight loss of signal that goes along with it). It's kind of like the difference between a Tweed or 18 Watt amp vs the Blackface with tone stack or other Marshall amps with a tone stack. I like diversity and options so why not have the ability to have more and get both options in the same guitar?

[Davidg]

plus 10 on the bill lawrence-Wylde pickups.I have never heard a bad Bill Lawrence and they are all handmade just like the Fralins and Lollars except they are done by Bill ir Becky themselves and not one of the 20 guys in the shop winding pickups and hoping to get the formula right-plus u can get acomplete set for less than 100 bucks(thats 3/4 of a Fralin and 1/2 a Lollar),I dont know if our tastes are similar but I have never played a Seymour Duncan PU that I liked and have tried several.Bills site is Wylde pickups he no longer has anything to do with Bill Lawrence USA that is just his ex partner using his name to make money.