Bristol_Jonesey
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Which pickups......
Hi there.
I'm contemplating buying a new guitar, and I think I've narrowed my choices down to a strat.
But of all the strats I've looked at, there is a choice to be made regarding pickups.
Which ones would anyone on here recommend between:
Samarium Cobalt Noiseless Strat pickups
Or Alnico V pickups
I think I read somebody on here advocating the Alnicos, yet Fender seem to be marketing the Smamriums quite heavily.
Spending upwards of a grand (GBP) means I don't want to make an expensive mistake.
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mgh
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Re:Which pickups......
September 03, 09 7:08 AM
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Guitarhacker
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Re:Which pickups......
September 03, 09 7:59 AM
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Something about a strat..... I've played a few but prefer Gibson....
However, if you're buying from a store..... well...even if you're not.... Go to a store and find 2 strats that are the same....except for the pickups. Plug into a good amp and play it to see the difference.
Let your ears make the final decision.
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Bristol_Jonesey
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Re:Which pickups......
September 03, 09 8:21 AM
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Mark - good spot on the GAK website mate, pity that's not available in a L/H Herb - that's probably the way to go - our local Reverb store is offering a few deals at the moment. A Gibson would be nice, but the only model in my price range would be the LP Studio - the Standard & Custom are just too expensive for me, at least at current UK prices.
post edited by Bristol_Jonesey - September 03, 09 8:24 AM
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Jim Roseberry
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Re:Which pickups......
September 03, 09 9:07 AM
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Samarium Cobalt Noiseless Strat pickups Or Alnico V pickups I don't care for SCN pickups... so I'd go Alnico That said, play both a let your ears decide.
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Bristol_Jonesey
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Re:Which pickups......
September 03, 09 9:15 AM
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Thanks Jim.
Thinking about it, I believe it was your good self who commented favourably on the Alnico's in another thread.
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DigiBiu
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Re:Which pickups......
September 03, 09 9:29 AM
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Get some Van Zandt Vintage Plus pickups, around $200, but you get a "true" vintage strat tone!!
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Re:Which pickups......
September 03, 09 10:24 AM
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There's a reason big companies push alternative magnet materials.
Alnico is an expensive material.
You have to bribe a third world war lord to get the cobalt.
best regards,
mike
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spacey
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Re:Which pickups......
September 03, 09 10:24 AM
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If you're planning on switching out the pups check out Fralin's.
If not- I say the Alnico's.
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Bristol_Jonesey
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Re:Which pickups......
September 03, 09 12:33 AM
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Thanks all - should be an interesting shopping trip 
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Re:Which pickups......
September 03, 09 1:13 PM
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I'm also a Lindy Fralin fan.... I like and own some of his single coils.
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foxwolfen
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Re:Which pickups......
September 03, 09 2:51 PM
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Bristol_Jonesey
Mark - good spot on the GAK website mate, pity that's not available in a L/H
Herb - that's probably the way to go - our local Reverb store is offering a few deals at the moment.
A Gibson would be nice, but the only model in my price range would be the LP Studio - the Standard & Custom are just too expensive for me, at least at current UK prices.
I have a strat, but cannot tell you which of the pickups would be better. Ultimately, I will probably have one dual coil and two single. That being said, I was at the store the other day (looking at pianos actually). They are a Gibson retailer too. One thing I noticed is that The Epiphone (Gibsons 'value' brand) had great tones. I am not sure I could really claim to be able to tell the difference between the 2000 dollar Gibson and the 900 dollar epiphone. And the build quality on the epiphone was impressive (Though I will admit I fell in love with a tiny little red gibson with a body I had never seen before that had two humbucking and one single coil and was only about 1400 bucks).
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spacey
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Re:Which pickups......
September 03, 09 4:06 PM
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mike_mccue
I'm also a Lindy Fralin fan.... I like and own some of his single coils.
The Fender '69's wound and signed by Abigail Ybarra that are very good. There are differenct sets offered wound by her. The Fralin's are that Callaham will put on his guitars. And for those wanting to tweek for their favorite axe, Fralin will custom wind for ya. Now how do ya beat that? Shad most of the pickups in the same price range are relatively the same quality...the trick is getting the right ones for your guitar that sound like you want. It pays to keep track of the pickup specs. (resistance and henries - as if I do!) I buy 'em try 'em and move on...been lucky in my builds. Of course when you have many guitars you have many different sounds. I like the Lace Sensor's too. I guess there's a truck load of pups that have their place.
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Bristol_Jonesey
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Re:Which pickups......
September 03, 09 4:27 PM
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foxwolfen
Bristol_Jonesey
Mark - good spot on the GAK website mate, pity that's not available in a L/H
Herb - that's probably the way to go - our local Reverb store is offering a few deals at the moment.
A Gibson would be nice, but the only model in my price range would be the LP Studio - the Standard & Custom are just too expensive for me, at least at current UK prices.
I have a strat, but cannot tell you which of the pickups would be better.
Ultimately, I will probably have one dual coil and two single. That being said, I was at the store the other day (looking at pianos actually). They are a Gibson retailer too. One thing I noticed is that The Epiphone (Gibsons 'value' brand) had great tones. I am not sure I could really claim to be able to tell the difference between the 2000 dollar Gibson and the 900 dollar epiphone. And the build quality on the epiphone was impressive (Though I will admit I fell in love with a tiny little red gibson with a body I had never seen before that had two humbucking and one single coil and was only about 1400 bucks).
That's interesting Shad - I don't think I've ever seen a Gibson with 3 pickups, not that I'm any sort of expert on Gibsons. The major limitation for me, apart from price, is I'm Left Handed.
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spacey
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Re:Which pickups......
September 03, 09 4:51 PM
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Bristol_Jonesey
foxwolfen
Bristol_Jonesey
Mark - good spot on the GAK website mate, pity that's not available in a L/H
Herb - that's probably the way to go - our local Reverb store is offering a few deals at the moment.
A Gibson would be nice, but the only model in my price range would be the LP Studio - the Standard & Custom are just too expensive for me, at least at current UK prices.
I have a strat, but cannot tell you which of the pickups would be better.
Ultimately, I will probably have one dual coil and two single. That being said, I was at the store the other day (looking at pianos actually). They are a Gibson retailer too. One thing I noticed is that The Epiphone (Gibsons 'value' brand) had great tones. I am not sure I could really claim to be able to tell the difference between the 2000 dollar Gibson and the 900 dollar epiphone. And the build quality on the epiphone was impressive (Though I will admit I fell in love with a tiny little red gibson with a body I had never seen before that had two humbucking and one single coil and was only about 1400 bucks).
That's interesting Shad - I don't think I've ever seen a Gibson with 3 pickups, not that I'm any sort of expert on Gibsons.
The major limitation for me, apart from price, is I'm Left Handed.
How about the "Black Beauty". What a Les Paul. LP
post edited by spacey - September 03, 09 4:53 PM
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edentowers
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Re:Which pickups......
September 03, 09 5:13 PM
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Colin, Ive got an Aged Cherryburst Deluxe Ash with Rosewood fingerboard. It sounds really good with the S-1 switching allowing for a very good range of tones. Still prefer my 335 though.  Piccie available here Phil
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mgh
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Re:Which pickups......
September 03, 09 5:35 PM
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bennym
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Re:Which pickups......
September 03, 09 10:48 PM
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i have 2 american strats. replaced the factory pickups in both of them with lace sensors. they have different varieties for different tones. i have two types-higher gain,hotter pick up in the bridge and some with really nice bluesy, glassy tones near the neck. i also put a seymour duncan hot rails in the bridge of one of the strats as well. they are great for high gain, hard rockin humbucker sound in a single coil footprint, if you need a rockin pickup that one is a screamer. the sensors are great for cleaner styles of music. i like the combo for lots of different tones. good luck!
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droddey
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Re:Which pickups......
September 03, 09 10:50 PM
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I'm using Fralins also, the Vintage Hots, in my Strat. I've not tried lots of pickup types, so I'm not comparative expert. But they are very nice pickups. With them down nice and low in my Strat, the tone is really nice. But he has other styles as well.
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craigfowler
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Re:Which pickups......
September 04, 09 3:18 AM
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Bristol_Jonesey
Spending upwards of a grand (GBP) means I don't want to make an expensive mistake.
Sorry if I screw the quote function up here - not familiar with this type of board (bit fancy for the likes of me).
Have you considered going the partscaster route? I have a buddy in Oxford who built a killer guitar from Warmoth parts, and with the semi-decent exchange rate you'll probably get a much better end product at a far lower price - even with premium pickups and hardware I would imagine you could assemble a fantastic strat for well under 700GPB. . I'm a tinkerer and enjoy the finishing/wiring (complex enough for me to think I've done some DIY, simple enough not to confuse me), so the idea of paying a grand for a strat (that may have a 7-piece body if a few friends' experiences is representative) is crazy - especially when that's a grand in Sterling!
Hope this isn't out of line or too off-topic.
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Bristol_Jonesey
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Re:Which pickups......
September 04, 09 4:56 AM
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Wow - there's some great info on this thread - I've put the credit card away in order to do some more research.
Spacey, that Black Beauty is just that!
Phillip - really nice looking guitar you've got there mate.
Mark, I'll check that link out when I get home, can't access it from work.
Craig, I hadn't even considered going down that route. Definitely NOT off-topic!
Thanks one and all for your input.
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mcourter
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Re:Which pickups......
September 04, 09 2:24 PM
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JMO: don't get a Fender. There are LOTS of good three single coil guitars out there. Just like with Gibson, you pay for the name more than for the quality. Do a little research and get TWO guitars for a grand. I'll never get a Fender OR a Gibby again Better yet, as Craig suggested, build your own. Check out the Carvin site and take a look at their kits. My favorite guitar in my collection is the Bolt I built from their kit, under $500. WAY better than a comparably priced Strat
post edited by mcourter - September 04, 09 2:27 PM
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foxwolfen
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Re:Which pickups......
September 04, 09 2:43 PM
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spacey
Bristol_Jonesey
foxwolfen
Bristol_Jonesey
Mark - good spot on the GAK website mate, pity that's not available in a L/H
Herb - that's probably the way to go - our local Reverb store is offering a few deals at the moment.
A Gibson would be nice, but the only model in my price range would be the LP Studio - the Standard & Custom are just too expensive for me, at least at current UK prices.
I have a strat, but cannot tell you which of the pickups would be better.
Ultimately, I will probably have one dual coil and two single. That being said, I was at the store the other day (looking at pianos actually). They are a Gibson retailer too. One thing I noticed is that The Epiphone (Gibsons 'value' brand) had great tones. I am not sure I could really claim to be able to tell the difference between the 2000 dollar Gibson and the 900 dollar epiphone. And the build quality on the epiphone was impressive (Though I will admit I fell in love with a tiny little red gibson with a body I had never seen before that had two humbucking and one single coil and was only about 1400 bucks).
That's interesting Shad - I don't think I've ever seen a Gibson with 3 pickups, not that I'm any sort of expert on Gibsons.
The major limitation for me, apart from price, is I'm Left Handed.
How about the "Black Beauty". What a Les Paul. LP
Wow! Stunning guitar. Colin, sorry, I mixed topics within the same para - I was talking about three pickups in the strat, not the Gibson/Epiphone. My bad.
A scientist knows more & more about less & less till he knows everything about nothing, while a philosopher knows less & less about more & more till he knows nothing about everything. Composers Forum
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Bristol_Jonesey
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Re:Which pickups......
September 04, 09 3:10 PM
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No worries Shad.
I sometimes end up arguing with myself - that's when you know you've got problems!!!!
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Bristol_Jonesey
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Re:Which pickups......
September 05, 09 3:29 AM
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Mark, I e-mailed Carvin last night, and luckily for me, they supply all of their kits in a left handed configuration at no extra cost!
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drewfx1
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Re:Which pickups......
September 05, 09 11:31 AM
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Yeah, building your own is a good route if you're reasonably handy with a drill, screwdriver and soldering iron.
Along with Warmoth/Carvin, you can also check ebay for bodies/parts on the cheap.
If you go the Warmoth route, you can get pretty much exactly what you want: body style, wood, finish, pickup & trem routing, pickguard, etc. Make sure you don't forget to order anything though (like neck plate & screws, pickguard screws, etc.), or you'll be bumming waiting extra time for the parts you forgot to order.
Regarding pickups, there are hundreds of options with wildly conflicting opinions to go with them. Try to decide if you prioritize "vintage" (whatever that means) strat sound vs. output/versatility/noise cancelling/etc. before you make a decision.
drewfx
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mgh
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Re:Which pickups......
September 05, 09 1:17 PM
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droddey
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Re:Which pickups......
September 05, 09 4:09 PM
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mcourter
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Re:Which pickups......
September 08, 09 12:25 AM
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mgh
well don't bother building it yourself - just buy it ready assembled!
http://www.carvinguitars.com/guitars-in-stock/single.php?Serial=88201
Eh, what fun is that? Why deprive yourself of the pleasure of playing a quality instrument you built yourself? The advantage in buying a kit over getting separate parts is: with the kit you know you've got everything you need, and it all fits together. Having said that: I've built three kits (2 guitars, 1 bass). Next time I'll go with parts off ebay. Just for the fun of it.
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Jessie Sammler
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Re:Which pickups......
September 08, 09 9:54 PM
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