What pickups should I try in my Silver Star

[mrsuspend]

I'm thinking about trying some other pups in my Silver Star - I do like the originals but they sound almost broken when you add some distortion and play hard. I'm not after the sweet Gilmore/Clapton tone, I'd like something rockier but edgy rather than heavy. Pick attack is very important!
Cheap is good but I'm willing to pay if it's worth it.

The ones I'm considering righ now:
Fender Custom 69's
Tonerider Vintage (or other models?)
GFS Greybottom 70's (cheap but add tax+postage=more than toneriders)

From what I gathered in other posts Texas Special type pickups would not be bright enough for me in an alder bodied strat.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!
/Magnus

 

[luis]

Magnus,
I tried some Fralin blues special with bridge baselate in my maple neck SS-36and the guitar sounded better than stock.I felt i them more suited for soloing than rythm work.More volume percieved over stock ones(which are OK to me).

 

[benzem]

I have a dimarzio HS-3 ina strat type guitar and love it. It's quiet, and it handles dist very well

 

[Goestoeleven]

A relative of mine has the Toneriders and loves them for Rock.

Pickups are really hard to recommend. They all sound different in each type of guitar. I've got a set of 1986 Seymour Duncan Alnico Pro II's and they were originally in a '57 Reissue Strat. They're now in my '62 and they sound completely different. :-?

I've tried loads, and I've settled on Lace Sensors. Not everyone's cup of tea, but they can make every Strat sound that I've ever loved.

Good enough for me, and I can't be bothered to spend more years and more money trying alternatives! :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

From what I gathered in other posts Texas Special type pickups would not be bright enough for me in an alder bodied strat.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!
/Magnus

They might be fine. As you can get them reasonably cheap on eBay, it might be worth trying one. They might well fit your requirements.

Mike

 

[Goestoeleven]

Go into a shop and try a Mark Knopfler artist series. They have Texas Specials and I believe an alder body?

 

[mrsuspend]

Thanks for all your suggestions guys
I don't think a Mark Knopfler type sound is what I'm after though :-?
The search continues! Has anyone tried these very cheap Irongear pickups? http://www.irongear.co.uk/
/Magnus

 

[Nate]

Hey what about a Jeff Beck junior,if you don't already know its a humbucker in the size of a single coil.Its pretty rock in the treble position but other than that i dont know.

 

[mrsuspend]

I just bought a set of Voltage "Vicious" pickups since they were very cheap (?44 incl. postage) and supposedly hand wound.
Will post a review when I've tried them out!

/Magnus

 

[JohnA]

I just bought a set ov Voltage "Vicious" pickups since they were very cheap (?44 incl. postage) and supposedly hand wound.
Will post a review when I've tried them out!

/Magnus

I've seen those on ebay, I would be interested to hear what they sound like once you get them fitted.

 

[mrsuspend]

Well, the pickups (Voltage "Vicious") have arrived (a two week wait) and are installed. Soundwise I'm very pleased, they are quite a bit fatter but still retain high end chime. They were a bit hotter that stated though, neck is 6.1, middle 6.23, bridge is 6.53.
The extra shielding on these pickups is a slight problem since it makes them too bulky to comfortably fit in the pickup covers. You have to force them on and still the pole pieces remain slightly recessed.
Also mr Sheppard uses humbucker mounting screws which means your standard mounting set won't fit. Normally he supplies the correct ones but as this was an ebay auction they weren't included. I ended up drilling slightly wider holes which worked out fine.
In conclusion I'm very happy with them at the price but I'd like to see some improvement in the workmanship before I'd shell out for a full price set.
Link: http://www.voltageguitarpickups.com/sc05.html

/Magnus

 

[JohnA]

Hi Magnus

I actually picked up a set myself from ebay last week, I think they are great sounding pickups, and for the ebay price (<?30 a set delivered) are a fantastic buy!

I had no issues with the mounting screws, mine fit fine without drilling, but agree about the covers being a tight fit so the pole-pieces don't look quite right, not a huge issue.

I actually bought them to put in a guitar I was selling, so won't have a chance to give them a long-term test, but if I can pick some more up for ?30 I'll definetely try another set.

 

[mrsuspend]

Oh, cool!
Were you able to use standard Strat mounting screws (metric or imperial) or did you use the ones Ben supplied?
I agree at that price they're pretty unbeatable.

 

[JohnA]

Oh, cool!
Were you able to use standard Strat mounting screws (metric or imperial) or did you use the ones Ben supplied?
I agree at that price they're pretty unbeatable.

The guitar was an Old Fernandes, so I asume the screws were metric, they fit just fine. I didn't get any screws with mine either.