New Strat pickups

Hey guys,

It looks like I'll finally be able to replace my MIM Strat pickups. My original plan was to simply switch to the pickups used in the American made Strats (Custom Shop Fat 50's). But I noticed there are a tone of options for Strats, even Dimarzios.

So my question is: how much better are the Custom Shop Fat 50's compared to the Standard Single Coil in the MIM? And does anyone have any other suggestions?

~Rusty

Originally Posted by: bbzswa777Hey guys,

It looks like I'll finally be able to replace my MIM Strat pickups. My original plan was to simply switch to the pickups used in the American made Strats (Custom Shop Fat 50's). But I noticed there are a tone of options for Strats, even Dimarzios.

So my question is: how much better are the Custom Shop Fat 50's compared to the Standard Single Coil in the MIM? And does anyone have any other suggestions?

~Rusty

Depends on how hot/bluesy you want to get. I like Fender Texas Specials.

Yeah I saw those too. Haven't had a chance to try them out. Are they brighter? Or muddier?

Okay, so here's my final plan as to which pickups I'm getting for my MIM Strat:

Neck: Dimarzio HS-3

Middle: Dimarzio Area '67

Bridge: Dimarzio Crunch Lab

And it looks like 500k pots sound best for all of these.

Does anyone have any other suggestions? Or do you have any of these pickups? If so, how do you like them?

i use these pickups in all my guitars, could be worth you having a look

http://oilcitypickups.co.uk/index.html

I'm using these on my Strat. They sound great and they're dead-silent with no hum at all.

http://kinman.com/guitar-pickups/stratocaster/#WoodstockSet

I wouldn't use the word "better" as any degree to describe pickups. Mostly becuase they will all sound a bit differently because they're suppose to.

The standard pickups in your MIM strat are probably just regular old AlNiCo magnet mid to high output strat pickups. The CS Fat 50's are going to be lower output with a bit of a wider/warmer edge than traditional pickups. If you're not into vintage tone and are wanting hotter sound... probably not "better".

There are a lot of options for single coil setups so i would watch some videos to get an idea of the tone profile of each pickup before you buy. Or play a strat with those pickups in the store prior to buying.

have you had a listen to lindy fralin pickups, very nice....
fender custom shop 69s, these pickups give you the 60s tone, which made the strat what it is today have a listen if its not to late....

emg s set
van Zandt vintage plus
lindy fralin blues specials
fender custom shop texas specials...
Seymour Duncan 50s ss-1
fender custom shop 54s...

here are just a few to put your ear on...good luck...I use fender custom fat 50s and love them..i use them for all recordings....or I can sell you one of mine mia strats...lol

I already had my new pickups put in a few weeks ago. I got:

Neck: Dimarzio HS-3
Middle: Dimarzio Area '67
Bridge: Dimarzio Crunchlab

They sound awesome! I can really get that Yngwie tone with the HS-3.

Nice, seems I'm a little late lol..
Been gone for awhile. But I'm somewhat back now...well congrats on your new pickups..I'm happy you got the tone you were looking for...it's nice when things work out for the good....happy playing...

Hey I was meaning to ask you , were do you get your books with the tab and backing track...I would like to check some of them out...thanks bb...

Most of mine are the Hal Leonard brand. Say you want an Avenged Sevenfold book, just type in Google "Hal Leonard Avenged." I think Avenged has multiple Hal Leonard books.

All the Hal Leonard books come with a CD with the backing tracks and performances.