Pickup choice for Mahogany Strat

[pilot2222]

This is my first time on the forum, so excuse me if I flub.  

I have ordered a warmoth strat that I would like to outfit with humbuckers.  I currently have a flying v with burstbuckers (1 and 2) in it and I think that they sound awesome.  However, I would like this new guitar to be my #1 so I can play it in any playing situation.  I love the sound of Billy Gibbons, Warren Haynes, BB King, Jimmy Page, and Eddie Van Halen.  In other words, I love the vintage sounds of the past but I don't want it to be too dirty or too weak sounding.  I have many pickups including a 59, JB, Dimebucker, Burstbucker Pro, etc.  I think the JB is the most endorsed pickup in the world but I fear that it may not sound good in this body.  My choices are narrowed down by the fact that I need a trembucker or an F-space bridge pickup.

Here are the specs on the strat:

Mahogany neck with indian rosewood fingerboard  1 & 11/16'' nut width
Mahogany body with flame maple top (chambered)
fixed bridge - Gotoh traditional fender style
two volumes/two tones - two 500k CTS concentric pots
3-way switch

Any thoughts?

 

[m4rk0]

sounds like you need to look into the Rio Grande BBQ/TX set.
I have them in Korina and Alder and they sound great!

Luke has a TX in a mahogany tele in the neck position and it sounds fantastic.

 

[pilot2222]

I just listened to an audio sample of the BBQ/Texas picksups on Rio Grande's website and they sound very nice.  Due to looks I am looking for an f-spaced chrome pickup in the bridge and a chrome pickup in the neck.  The Texas might work because it is available in chrome but the BBQ only comes in zebra for the f-spaced version. :sad1:

 

[NonsenseTele]

Bare Knuckle Pickups offer pickups in 53mm space ( Floyd ) covered... They're hand wound in England and therefore are a little more expensivier than Rio Grande...

From Bare Knuckle would be PG Blues or The Mules for ZZ Top, Gov't Mule and blues tones... For Led Zeppelin the Black Dogs and for the EVH the VHII... As you want all them together I would say The Crawlers, which is the signature series of Geoff Whitehorn. They go from Blues to Metal, depending on the amp and pedals, but they're more to the blues side... if you want other who go from blues to metal, but with the foot more on the metal side would be the alnico Nailbomb

 

[pilot2222]

I like the Bare Knuckles pickups but they are a bit expensive.  $300 + for a set!    :icon_scratch:  I would prefer to spend less than $200 for both pickups.  That being said, the Geoff Whitehorn pickups sound great.  Do you have those pickups in your guitar?

On a side note, Bare Knuckles offers an f-space option for their neck pickup and I think that might be a necessity here, are there any other pickup manufacturers that offer f-spaced neck pickups?

 

[dmraco]

I would have loved to get the bare knuckles too...but $150 a pop is TOOOOOOOOOO  much.

Have you looked atthe DiMarzios?  I have used them with great success.

 

[NonsenseTele]

I like the Bare Knuckles pickups but they are a bit expensive.  $300 + for a set!    :icon_scratch:  I would prefer to spend less than $200 for both pickups.  That being said, the Geoff Whitehorn pickups sound great.  Do you have those pickups in your guitar?

I've a Crawler bridge waiting to I finish a guitar to a friend... I'm on BKP forum too and that's what it was described by some serious player there...
On my Tele I've Piledrivers and on my future L5S I'll have Alnico IV The Mules... But I'm trully intrigued on the Crawles

 

[pilot2222]

I would have loved to get the bare knuckles too...but $150 a pop is TOOOOOOOOOO  much.

Have you looked atthe DiMarzios?  I have used them with great success.

Which DiMarzios?  I have been considering the 36th Anniversary PAFs. 

 

[pilot2222]

Here is the Flame Maple top.  (I hope this posts correctly)

 

[pilot2222]

Here is the back

 

[pilot2222]

Here is the neck

 

[NonsenseTele]

Looks good! Will you get a conversion neck? Most players you've pointed used 24.75" scale, I think you should go on this way :icon_thumright:
Also would be cool a matching flamed maple veneer on the headstock...

But I guess it would have to be custom order...

 

[NonsenseTele]

This would be awesome too:
http://www.warmoth.com/Showcase/ShowcaseNeck.aspx?i=SN7074&Body=1&Path=Neck

I'm a serious fan of raw neck and a all rosewood neck has a tone very alike the Mahogany/Rosewood neck... I remember only 1 or 2 guys saying that they didn't care much for raw necks, beside it everyone who tryied never looked back!

 

[Mor Paul]

I would have loved to get the bare knuckles too...but $150 a pop is TOOOOOOOOOO  much.

Have you looked atthe DiMarzios?  I have used them with great success.

Which DiMarzios?  I have been considering the 36th Anniversary PAFs. 

I've got one in a swamp ash tele. In the best hight I've found so far, it's quite loud compared to the bridge tele pup, but I still like the sound a lot.

 

[pilot2222]

Looks good! Will you get a conversion neck? Most players you've pointed used 24.75" scale, I think you should go on this way :icon_thumright:
Also would be cool a matching flamed maple veneer on the headstock...

But I guess it would have to be custom order...

I ordered this guitar on Saturday!  :icon_smile:  The neck is a conversion neck with 6130 frets and a Graph Tech TUSQ nut.  I did not get the matching maple on the headstock. 

 

[NonsenseTele]

that's good too!

 

[tfarny]

I'm really happy with my pearly gates bridge pup with an alinico 4 magnet swapped in there. Sounds just awesome. Don't be afraid to experiment to get the sounds you want, swapping magnets is easy and fun.

 

[pilot2222]

My experience has been that you have to destroy a guitar before you learn how to fix it or modify it correctly.  Well, unless you read the instructions on how to do it, but who has time for that?

 

[pilot2222]

To recap, my options are Bare Knuckle "Mule" pickups (expensive), Bare Knuckle Geoff Whitehorn pickups (expensive), Dimarzio PAF (dp103 & dp 223), and Seymour Duncan JB bridge - 59 neck.  Any other suggestions from either personal experience in building or otherwise?

 

[Rick]

From personal experience, I'd go with pearly gates or duncan distortions in the bridge position, and a Bill Lawrence Wilde or JB in the neck.