advise for pickups!

[wakeguitar]

Hey guys...

I'm close to picking up a my first quality guitar, I'm quite sure I'm gonna get the EJ Fender Strat. I like it mostly because of look, feel, and from what I can tell sounds great!

My only concern is with the bridge pickup. I know I haven't really thoroughly tested it but ya... I guess untill I can play it for longer I won't get to know it well....

Anyways I thought that the bridge pickup might be a tad 'twangy' for my tastes. I love the vintage fender vibe in general but I'm thinking a different pickup might be better.

So I'm just throwing this out there, maybe someone will have a great suggestion for me.

Passive not Active, although I play a lot of metal my passion is blues/jazz tones. I also don't want something super loud because I don't like it when my preamps distort when I don't want them to.

So what is a GREAT pickup for fender EJ?

Hopefully some of your past experience will help me because my experience with guitars is limited.

/mucho gracias!

 

[GtrGeorge!]

Im a pickup nut..and I can tell you..try whatever you think suits your needs. Specs really dont tell all. And a pickups acts differently in every guitar.
but fwiw..try a medium gain pickup and strat from there.
whose tone do you like?
GtrGeorge

 

[Mister Joshua]

Well EJ used to use Dimarzio HS-2 pickups wired for single coil mode. While i haven't played the EJ strat i can say that the HS-2 is not terribly "twangy" but retains a lot of vintage flavor, having used them in the past. On the Duncan side you might think of an antiquity surfer. The surfer is reported to have a cool vibe and vintage tone with a surf guitar "twang" rather than a bluesy country style twang. I'd also say to let it rest a bit more. Pickups mellow out with time so if you bought it brand new you may find it settles in after a short bit. There are also wiring tricks involving capacitors or diodes or resistors to help bleed off certain frequencies. You may look into that since it might be cheaper and not overly affect the tone or the resale value.

Peace, Joshua

 

[johnodge]

Try a hand made set of Bill and Becky pickups. (the 'real' Bill Lawrence')

I had a set in my Highway 1 strat, and LOVED them!!!

http://wildepickups.com/

 

[Daryl]

I like Lace Alumitones. They are a relatively new technology. They have a really great sound and have plenty of output. Don't let the name fool you. They are not metallic sounding or tinny in any way. They produce a wider frequency range than regular pickups and are not affected by interference like normal pickups. I love them. They are very sensitive to pick attack and you can even plug your electric into an acoustic amp or PA and get a pretty convincing "acoustic tone". If you are going to buy a Strat, they make a direct drop in replacement pickguard already loaded: http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/Lace-Alumitone-PreLoaded-Pickguard-SSS?sku=360665
Here's a decent demo. The sound is better than the other demos on Youtube, but the guys playing probably should get his chops up. :lol:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5y6ogdeBn28&feature=related

 

[kc2eeb]

You may like Lindy Fralin pickups.
The MTS series has PLENTY of gain so you don't need a lot of
output from the pickups to overdrive the module. The set I have in my Strat are a medium output set with a reverse wound/reverse polarity
middle pickup.
You can get a steel base plate for the bridge pickup which will
add bass and mids to it's output.

 

[Mattfig]

Got to check out Jason Lollar's work as well....His pickups are amazing! And +1 on Fralin...

www.lollarguitars.com

 

[MadHatter_Lurch]

I have become addicted to Bare Knuckle Pickups. I have been REALLY wanting to try some strat pups of theirs. I need to get/make a strat to put a set of Sultans or Slow-hands in there. These pickups are very expensive, but they breathed life into both guitars I have had them in before. definitely worth the high price tag

Peace!
~Bake Knuckle Hat

 

[Julia]

You just may want to drop a PAF humbucker of some sort in the bridge and leave the others alone. This will involve changing pickguards, but it should work. Just keep the other single. I don't think it lowers resale value because let's face it, if you buy a new guitar you're going to take a beating on resale anyway.

I'd look at the used market and see if you can find an EJ there. Grab that and mod it. It's already taken the price hit.

 

[speedemon]

Ahh,

I would get Johnodge's stock pickups from the Highway 1, they are my favorite! lol

You can get a pickup wound to your preferences from Fralin, Lollar, Skatterbrane, and numerous others. They should all sound great. I usually just use the bridge/middle position for rock-ish sounds with my strat, works pretty good and kills the hum, if your mid pkup is reverse coiled.

Good luck!

 

[wakeguitar]

thanks for all the replies! I will continue to investigate...

8) 8) 8)