1st Build- Need some recommendations on Single-Coils

[Stratosphere]

Hey-lo everyone

So after much lurking and saving, I've decided to make my own custom stratocaster. I've already purchased a nice "Brown to Clear Burst"  Swamp-Ash body with a Flame Maple top, and Am now in the process of getting either a Flame Maple neck with a Pau Ferro fretboard.


Anyway I was hoping to have a S-S-S configuration that is rather flexible for almost any genre, but I'm rather indecisive when it comes to which brand would be best for me.  Can anyone give me some good recommendations?

 

[Cagey]

It depends on what kind of music you play, how much noise you're willing to tolerate, what you expect to hear tonally, how much you're willing to spend, the guitar's construction, your playing style, etc. Then, even knowing all that, who's to say what's good or bad? What I consider good or even great will quite likely differ dramatically from what someone else would put in that category.

Pickups are almost always a crap shoot because there are so many variables that reality never matches up with expectations. But, truth is, it's getting tough to get a pickup that sounds bad these days. Almost anything you choose is going to be good for something, if not a lot of things.

If I were in your spot, I'd be anxious. Hell, I'm anxious every time I pick a set, too, and I've been doing this for a long time. But, for single coils now, I'm quite impressed with GFS' "True-Coil" pickups. They sound like very good single coils, but aren't nearly as noisy. Not silent, like you'd get from a DiMarzio or Seymour Duncan, or even GFS' "Neovins", but more true to the breed. Plus, they're not expensive. Still very high quality, though, and if it turns out you don't like them, you haven't broken the bank.

What do they sound like? I don't know. Talking about sound is like dancing about architecture. What does green taste like? What does punctuation smell like? What does methane feel like? Make something up. It'll probably be accurate for somebody <grin>

 

[Strat Avenger]

Dimarzio "Injector" at the bridge, and Dimarzio "Area 67" at the middle and neck.

 

[mystique1]

I like DiMarzios too, but the Virtual Solo bridge, and 2 Area 58s would be my choice. I had them on an Am Std and loved 'em, and they're going into my Warmoth Strat build when it arrives.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

I think the most versatile and overall nicest sounding SSS combo is Fender CS69s in the neck and middle, and a Duncan SSL-5 in the bridge. But there's a noise thing there, so in my "standard" Strat I actually have two Duncan STK-S4 pickups in the neck and bridge, and the STK-S6 in the bridge. It's 99% of the way there, and when it's in the mix with other instruments, it's impossible to tell the difference. And it really is a gorgeous sound. Sparkly, present, stratty. And then you switch to the bridge and the Strat character is there, with a bit of grunt to actually make that last position on the selector worth having. Just incredible lead tone.

So if I only had one Strat, one SSS guitar, that's what I'd have. It's awesome.

 

[jackthehack]

If you want a classic/vintage sound, Fender Custom Shop Fat '50s set.

If you want something with more "bite", Rio Grande Dual Calibrated set.

 

[Strat Avenger]

The Dimarzios give you all the tone and none of the hum.

 

[Patrick from Davis]

If you are unsure of what style of strat pickup you want, or what kind you want for any of the positions, I would go with Cagey's suggestion.  The GFS pickups are simply much more economical, and allow you to pull them in and out like legos.  Once you make up your mind about what you want and where, then you can start to sniff the corks of the higher priced offerings.  But, the GFS pickups are a dirt cheap way of figuring out what direction you wish to go.  I personally am partial to Ken's Roadhouse Pickups.  However, I know what sound I am after so it is easy for me to give him terrible directions for building me the perfect pickups.
Patrick

 

[Corey P.]

Gorgeous body!  I personally went with the EMG SA set, and it worked out great for me because I'm a Gilmour wannabe, soldering frightens me intensely, and I liked the flexibility of being able to swap things around (I recently swapped out the bridge pickup for an EMG 81), but I agree with the the GFS or Roadhouse suggestions for reasons already explained better than I can.  :icon_smile:

 

[Jumble Jumble]

I have an EMG SA set too. If I had two SSS guitars, that would be the other one.

That was my #1 go-to guitar for years and years until I finally found a passive SSS setup I liked. Those pickups sound just gorgeous. Neck pickup, on its own, EXG and SPC controls turned off, into a nice tube amp running pretty clean - beautiful. Everyone should have a set. Except people who don't like them of course; they should have something else like SD Quarter Pounders or something...