mkdaws32
Friend of Leo's
Just spent a couple of hours A/B'ing my four Strat and two Teles (with real amp and cabinet - which, I think, is significant).
Here's my assessment of the Strat pickups (Tele assessment to come later, as this post is getting a bit long
)
These are all true single coils in every position.
Neck and Middle
I like the Bootstrap A2s better than the Seymour Duncans. They both have that airy, bouncing vintage type tone, but the Bootstraps are a bit fatter and stand out better with less volume - they are also a bit softer in the highs, which I like. Good SRV and Hendrix tones on tap.
The Tex Mex and Bootstrap neck and middle pickups (both A5) are surprisingly similar, although the Bootstraps are wound quite hot. They both "feel" medium hot and they are both darker in comparison the the Strats with the A2 pickups in this position. They are modern sounding, but full and toneful. Gilmour neck tones to be had here in spades.
Bridge
All of these Strats have particularly hot bridge pickups, because I like a a bridge pickup that is not harsh in the highs and that can drive the front end of an amp well - even more than the neck and middle positions in the same guitar. The clear winner is the Oatmeal Stout bridge pickup. It is so fat and full, but has a clear top end and a full bottom without sacrificing mids. It can produce nice warm cleans, but still cop some tight classic metal tones and chug without breaking a sweat - Almost like a P90 that is less mid-heavy (than the P90s I've tried, anyway). The Tex Mex bridge pickup holds it own, as the least hot pickup. It is smoother with drive, whereas the Oatmeal Stout is a bit grainier - neither is a bad thing to me. The Golden Ale bridge pickup is smooth, like the Tex Mex, but a little more mid-forward than the other two - it's certainly fine and won't be getting replaced, but I prefer the other two a bit, personally. The Vineham is a super hot beast, and drives well, but it's just too mid-heavy for my taste. Again, it's not bad for some stuff, but it will probably get pulled at some point.
If I were to be putting new pickups in a Strat, it would be either a standard Oatmeal Stout set (likely) or an Oatmeal Stout bridge pickup with the custom overwound Golden Ale neck and middle pickups, if I wanted more vintage vibe in those positions. (Note, I mean more vintage character than the Oatmeal Stouts - they are still not really vintage voiced pickups - that's not my thing).
If I got a Strat with Tex Mex pickups already installed, I'd leave 'em.
Here's my assessment of the Strat pickups (Tele assessment to come later, as this post is getting a bit long
)These are all true single coils in every position.
- Strat 1 - Seymour Duncan Alnico II pro in neck and middle, custom Vineham TBanger in the bridge wound to 10.5K
- Strat 2 - Overwound Bootstrap Golden Ale set (A2 at 6.1K in the neck and middle, A5 wound to 10K in the bridge)
- Strat 3 - Standard Tex Mex pickups (not the custom shop ones)
- Strat 4 - Standard Bootstrap Oatmeal Stout set.
Neck and Middle
I like the Bootstrap A2s better than the Seymour Duncans. They both have that airy, bouncing vintage type tone, but the Bootstraps are a bit fatter and stand out better with less volume - they are also a bit softer in the highs, which I like. Good SRV and Hendrix tones on tap.
The Tex Mex and Bootstrap neck and middle pickups (both A5) are surprisingly similar, although the Bootstraps are wound quite hot. They both "feel" medium hot and they are both darker in comparison the the Strats with the A2 pickups in this position. They are modern sounding, but full and toneful. Gilmour neck tones to be had here in spades.
Bridge
All of these Strats have particularly hot bridge pickups, because I like a a bridge pickup that is not harsh in the highs and that can drive the front end of an amp well - even more than the neck and middle positions in the same guitar. The clear winner is the Oatmeal Stout bridge pickup. It is so fat and full, but has a clear top end and a full bottom without sacrificing mids. It can produce nice warm cleans, but still cop some tight classic metal tones and chug without breaking a sweat - Almost like a P90 that is less mid-heavy (than the P90s I've tried, anyway). The Tex Mex bridge pickup holds it own, as the least hot pickup. It is smoother with drive, whereas the Oatmeal Stout is a bit grainier - neither is a bad thing to me. The Golden Ale bridge pickup is smooth, like the Tex Mex, but a little more mid-forward than the other two - it's certainly fine and won't be getting replaced, but I prefer the other two a bit, personally. The Vineham is a super hot beast, and drives well, but it's just too mid-heavy for my taste. Again, it's not bad for some stuff, but it will probably get pulled at some point.
If I were to be putting new pickups in a Strat, it would be either a standard Oatmeal Stout set (likely) or an Oatmeal Stout bridge pickup with the custom overwound Golden Ale neck and middle pickups, if I wanted more vintage vibe in those positions. (Note, I mean more vintage character than the Oatmeal Stouts - they are still not really vintage voiced pickups - that's not my thing).
If I got a Strat with Tex Mex pickups already installed, I'd leave 'em.
