Rocketfire Total 60's Strat Set - I'm done

[fdesalvo]

I've been up and down the Strat pickup gambit looking to match that imprinted sound in my mind - the sound all others are weighed and found wanting against.  I mean every flavor du'jour and new released, robot or hand wound, magic dust sprinkled, and ethereal wax potted type you can imagine. 

Being a 5 year old that first started noticing music in 1980, the sounds that formed my opinion of good tone were found in the likes of The Police, U2, 80s Pop & Rock, etc.  That probably means that the dudes behind the tape were wielding 60s Strats.  There's this meaty, chewy depth, hollow cluckiness, and sparkling shimmer that has eluded me for eons and I've finally landed on a combo of gear that gives me the goods en masse! I've gotten close so many times, but there was always something missing.  Either it was my rig or the manufacturer's tonal imprint on the classic recipe left me feeling the dish was over seasoned.  Afterall, you can't be a Vaughnabee without thunderous mids and output!

The pickups that I'm speaking about are made by a little boutique dude, going by the name Rocketfire.  Like all things boteek, they presented a huge radar signature on the forums initially, but unlike many there's still a trace of chatter.  I took a gamble on what I saw as another flavor of the day and I'm so happy I did. 

What did I buy?  Nothing but the classic late 60's Fender recipe, genuinely executed and without interference from the chef.  Classic wire, magnets, fiberwork, construction, DC resistance, etc. - oh, AND the old, "inferior" magnet stagger.  I just installed them on the Sci-Fi Strat without measuring height; I just leveled them all just above the pickguard, slightly angled up towards the treble side and strung her up.  I flipped the amp off standby and everything sounded perfect.  I was so reluctant to adjust things from there, worried that I'd lose the tone.

The really sad part is I have no time in sight to record samples of these.  I'm able to get all the classic 80's pop tones as well as all the Jimi and SRV a guy could want.  Country? No problem!  Funk??  Yep!  There's not much out there covering these pickups, but i hope to make some quality recordings soon, so people can have a listen.  There's something so incredibly satisfying about plugging this directly into my 64 Vibrolux clone.  It's like every piece of gear in the chain has become a transparent connection between my fingers and the speakers.

 

[rgand]

Thanks for the report on these. I look forward to hearing samples when you have a chance.

 

[Verne Bunsen]

I look forward to hearing some audio!

 

[fdesalvo]

Thanks for the report on these. I look forward to hearing samples when you have a chance.

I can’t emphasize how satisfying these are.

A credit to DiMarzio, the Areas are in the ballpark for what they are. They just don’t have the dynamics of a true SC. For a noiselsss stack, they’re the best and aren’t coming out of my other Super Strat.

 

[cdub]

So why are the Rocketfire p-ups so good? Just accurate recreations of period pickups?

It’s been almost 20 years since I’ve owned an actual single-coil pickup. I’ve never played any strat pickups older then 80’s vintage, and probably sitting directly in front of Eric Johnson’s Marshall stack at The Tralfmadore Cafe in Buffalo NY circa early 2000’s is the closest I’ve ever been to presumably actual vintage Fenders, but maybe he wasn’t using them then. I do enjoy playing other people’s Strats and I’m always pleased with the good tones I get right away. Somehow all my guitars end up with some version of a humbucker, stacked, split, straight, whatever. Maybe it’s time to experiment.

 

[fdesalvo]

So why are the Rocketfire p-ups so good? Just accurate recreations of period pickups?

I think you nailed it there. It’s just an accurate recreation of what was around during that time.  I’m sure there were variances in what rolled off the assembly line back then - some wound slightly hotter or cooler/some windings more or less scattered. I’ve no clue because I’m just getting up to speed on the construction and physics around magnetic pickups.

These just sound and feel right for the tones I love. That could mean that another guy would prefer another kind of single coil.

I probably wouldn’t be enjoying these so much if I didn’t have that noise canceling back plate installed. I’ve been spoiled by the DiMarzio Areas on my other guitars in that regard. While they sound like real single coils, they lack the feel and responsiveness of real ones. They’re also missing that special something else that I can’t identify; there’s detail in the high end and elsewhere that’s missing. I think they’ll be able to nail the tone and feel soothing the next decade. What a time to be alive.

 

[rgand]

I probably wouldn’t be enjoying these so much if I didn’t have that noise canceling back plate installed. I’ve been spoiled by the DiMarzio Areas on my other guitars in that regard. While they sound like real single coils, they lack the feel and responsiveness of real ones. They’re also missing that special something else that I can’t identify; there’s detail in the high end and elsewhere that’s missing. I think they’ll be able to nail the tone and feel soothing the next decade. What a time to be alive.

Could you record samples back to back, the way Aaron does? That might help you identify the particular quality you like in the Rocketfires.

 

[cdub]

Ahhhh, the humcancelling backplate. I see what you did there.

Yeah, the Dimarzios are pretty good, my favorites were a toss up between the 58 and 67, kind of depends on the guitar. Basically maple or ebony neck, 58s, pau ferro, kingwood, rosewood, anything that adds ‘mwah’ to the snap, 67s. I use them at 500k vol pot values, however you get there.

The demos of the set you bought on the Rocketfire site are pretty damn much the holy grail Strat sound.

A Duncan Vintage rails in the neck (parallel) with any Area/VV in the middle is my go-to, wih a 1 meg vol pot and a resistor on the Dimarzio so it sees a 500k pot. Very much the idealized Strat I hear in my head, plus you get a big fat series neck tone too, somewhere between a Fast Track 1 and a Chopper with better top end.

Care to share your electronics values, pots caps bleeds, that stuff?

 

[Cagey]

What a time to be alive.

It's true. I don't think there's such a thing as a "bad" sounding pickup anymore. Time was, you could get some real dogs. Now, it's all a matter of "Do I like it? Or not?" They're all varying degrees of good based on personal preference. Between that and the 8 million varieties of electronic wizardry that's available, if someone isn't happy it's just because there's no makin' 'em happy.

 

[fdesalvo]

I’ll try to set aside some time to record, but I don’t have the free time I used to, so not sure how I’m going to do this in a reasonable amount of time.

I still love those Areas a ton and I’d recommend the 54 Pro in the neck or bridge position.  It’s smoky and chewy. Such a good sound.  The biggest difference is in terms of compression. Picking dynamics aren’t so good on the Areas; I have to either plug into the low gain input and load the signal down with a 1 meg resistor or turn the volume pot down a bit to give my pick attack space to make a difference.

The guitar with the Rocketfires has standard pot and cap values @250k/.022. It’s also wired to a standard 5way switch, except the wiring is different. It places the hum canceling backplate in series with the pickups, where selected.  Doesn’t impact tone whatsoever.

Bear in mind I’m no longer playing an everything on 10 rock/metal setup. In that context the Areas were king when I needed to clean the place up a bit.

Now I’m playing through a 64 Vibrolux circuit with lower efficiency drivers.  This amp picks up every nuance of your attack and whatever your guitar adds to the mix. I think the traditional single coils just sound better through this rig. Well matched. Maybe a diff story when I need to switch back to the high rain rig, where the DiMarzio’s will likely reign.

@cagey:  yessir

 

[rgand]

I’ll try to set aside some time to record, but I don’t have the free time I used to, so not sure how I’m going to do this in a reasonable amount of time.

No rush here. I was just thinking it might help you know what you get when you're playing.

 

[fdesalvo]

I’ll try to set aside some time to record, but I don’t have the free time I used to, so not sure how I’m going to do this in a reasonable amount of time.

No rush here. I was just thinking it might help you know what you get when you're playing.

No that’s perfectly sensical and efficient, which is why I haven’t yet done it.

 

[spe111]

I also think 60's pickups are what strats should sound like in my head.

 

[Archie Macfarlane]

I tend to find that the bm sound often is too thin and the mid neck is too scooped, gotta have dem balls ass mids mayne (in a club playing rap/r'n'b atm soz)

 

[fdesalvo]

I tend to find that the bm sound often is too thin and the mid neck is too scooped, gotta have dem balls ass mids mayne (in a club playing rap/r'n'b atm soz)

No thinness in the BM here for sure. Bridge alone is bright, but that’s typical for a 60’s Strat sound. None of the artificial eq found in models like the Texas Specials or Big Dipper styles pickups. If I go clubbin with this guitar and need the bridge for anything other than funk, I’ll have the tube screamer or klon clone set up for a touch of low mids for that spot. If I need to lay down something heavier in a pinch, I’ve got a crunch box ready to roll. Anything outside of blues/rock levels of gain is going to send me grabbing my wig and one of my super strats.

May the ballz be with you always.