'81 Silver Star SS?

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Diodibuh,
Are the pickups on your sunburst staggered pole? From the photo they look like they could have flat poles--you'll be able to tell better than I can. This would match with not having the brass ground-plate, and would suggest the whole pickup assembly might have come from an SS-38 or 40. My SS-50 also has the ground plate, but an SS-40 I once had didn't, and had flat-pole pickups.

I find it curious that a 60-level guitar from Tokai would have a 3 piece body as well...possibly a body swap? The saddles are correct for an SS-60 (and same for SS-80). The tuners are the same as found on SS-50 and up.

SS80 has two piece body
At least one of mine, a sunburst, has a one piece body--the other one is painted so can't say for certain with that one.
________
SAUBER
 
i checked again, they're almost flat, some of them are just a little bit staggered. I'll put apart my SS36 and make some photos and compare to this one. but form the top they look a little bit different as ss36 pickups.
neck is definitelly from SS60 because of the tuners.
now i'm really curious what do I have here ;)
 
Diodibuh said:
Volker - I hope you're not mad on me, I'll borrow your subject ;)

No problem,you're welcome. :p
Ok,mine have a two piece body and the paint sunk in the wood,but its poly.
Dont like the pups realy much,i will replace them.What i realy like on that one is the neck,very confortable for my small hands and its nicely aged.
A big surprise is the weight of that guitar,its only 3,2kg.
With a bit work for the sound it can be a good player.

Volker
 
I think I would try also to change pickups. What do you recommend for this guitar? Because I allready have one one SS which sounds better for my taste, maybe I'll try to install some stuff which will be more like '50 or '60 strat - more like springy. guitar is in very good condition, neck feels great, tuners and bridge are excellent - I think about changing the whole scratchplate so this will remain untuched. if anyone has an opinion, please share it with me - also, if anyone has something for sale, let me know.
 
Diodibuh said:
I think I would try also to change pickups. What do you recommend for this guitar? Because I allready have one one SS which sounds better for my taste, maybe I'll try to install some stuff which will be more like '50 or '60 strat - more like springy.

So you want pickups that are more "authentic 50s/60s" vintage sounding? Well you could try Us or Es, if you like them. Probably the easiest to get hold of are the Seymour Duncan SSL-1s - Vintage Staggered Strat. And these are often available second-hand on eBay, so they are relatively cheap to get. The APS-1 Alnico II type are slightly softer sounding, so better for a bright sounding guitar.

But nothing is quite as subjective as pickups, so you'll get loads of different suggestions.
 
Never tried Bareknuckle single coils, though the pair of Peter Greens in "my" ES100 (till Tuesday!) sound good. They're expensive though, & you rarely see them second-hand. Depends how much you're prepared to spend, I guess.

I also reckon that the sound of pickups depends a lot on the guitar, so it's a question of getting the right match. Pickups that sound great in one Strat may sound rubbish in a different Strat. That was certainly the case with my Texas Special set - crap in my 88US Strat (dull & lifeless), but great in my ST80.
 
I think,i will go for a set off Leosounds Red House or '62 overwound.
Here is the link,he also have some soundsamples.
What do you think about?
http://www.leosounds.de/index_en.html

Volker
 
I saw that page some time ago and ask about them on slovenian forum pages but nobody ever tried. They're quite cheap, clean samples sounds ok but really like gain samples. my personal taste ;)
which bare knuckle set would you recommend? pound is quite weak so they're more affordable now.
 
what about this set?
http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=260328545968
 
I haven't tried the CS 54s, but the pickups in the CS 1960 Strats are excellent. The 54s are probably great too.

Another option is the ones Bacchus use. There was a thread ages ago about this, & some debate about whether the ones I have in my Bacchus are Yutas or the older SPs. Whatever they are, they're easily the best Japanese pickups I've ever heard - fat and warm sounding, but still "vintage". In fact, the nearest equivalent are the CS 1960s pickups.
 
I changed strings on SS60, adjust action, neck. Guitar plays now much better, also sounds better. Those strings were quite old and I think 9-42. I put my regular choice 10-46 which I have on all guitars.

but

What kind of pickups and electronics are installed on new Fender USA American standard strats? I have an option to get a complete pickguard from a brand new fender for fair amount. What do you think, will work good on SS60?
 
Finally i finished the upgrade of the SS60 with a Leosounds Red House Set,
new pickguard,cts pots,crl switch and a russian pio .022.It plays and sound
really good now and i'm very satisfied with the result. :p
HPIM0639.jpg


Volker
 
Aha, so you're another fan of a .022 cap in a Strat? Me too, much better choice than .047, or (worst of all) the awful .1 caps that some "vintage" US Fenders have.
 

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