Strat pickups to fit

[CrackedPepper]

Hi guys - I am trying to put together a new Strat without a pickguard. My goal is to put together an HSS style on a rear route body but I am trying to find a particular type of pickup.  If you look at the flat work on most Strat pick ups it has a protrusion on the bottom where the two brass eyelets are as you can see in this picture:

I don't care for the routes that are needed to accept that kind of flat work.

What I am looking for are pickups that would fit the way the two Strat pickups do in this picture:

I am trying to avoid Strat style pickup rings and really like how clean the Strat pickup install is the picture above.

Any ideas on some pickups that would fit like that?

 

[bagman67]

There's two ways of achieving what you're after:


1.  Get pickups without the extended baseplate protrusion.  There are lots of these.  First that spring to mind are EMG's, but there are other non-active pups out there that take the cleaner form factor.  A lot of Duncan stacked and side-by-side humbuckers also fit the bill, as do the Quarter Pound line for Stratocasters.  I learned about the Duncans in the last three minutes pursuant to a quick tour of their site, so you can likely get the same education yourself doing the same cursory look at Dimarzio, GFS, and other manufacturers' websites.


2.  Alternatively, if you feel up to a little Dremel-age, you can order a body with the EMG-style pup routs, and then cut away some material under the edge of the rout so a traditional-shaped Strat-style pup will fit.

 

[line6man]

I had my pickups made by Reed James Eng.

EMG and Lace also make them.

 

[spauldingrules]

My Duncan ssl-5 doesn't have that (but ssl-1 does!?!).

 

[stratamania]

I know also that Kinman, offer it as a parallel baseplate option for EMG type routs which of course EMG fit also. It goes without saying to order a body with an EMG rout. I agree for rear rout it looks a lot neater.

 

[CrackedPepper]

I had my pickups made by Reed James Eng.

Is that what you used in the "S" position of your HSH black walnut/buying a topped custom body submitted in the Nov '14 GOTM contest?  Would you mind PMing with me with details?

EMG and Lace also make them.

I want to avoid active pickups and find that I don't care for Lace.  I am looking for more of a traditional Strat sound.

 

[CrackedPepper]

I learned about the Duncans in the last three minutes pursuant to a quick tour of their site, so you can likely get the same education yourself doing the same cursory look at Dimarzio, GFS, and other manufacturers' websites.

Thanks Bagman - I've actually perused a bunch of sites and although I wasn't clear, I am really looking for advice from folks that have done this.  I poked through the flickr pool that Chris Of  Arabia set up and noticed that some folks had the pickup routes I desire so I thought I would post here.

 

[CrackedPepper]

I know also that Kinman, offer it as a parallel baseplate option for EMG type routs which of course EMG fit also. It goes without saying to order a body with an EMG rout. I agree for rear rout it looks a lot neater.

Have you used Kinmans?  I've heard good things but don't personally know anyone who has used them...  They're kind of pricey.

 

[line6man]

I had my pickups made by Reed James Eng.

Is that what you used in the "S" position of your HSH black walnut/buying a topped custom body submitted in the Nov '14 GOTM contest?  Would you mind PMing with me with details?

Yep. I'll send you a PM sometime tomorrow.

 

[stratamania]

I know also that Kinman, offer it as a parallel baseplate option for EMG type routs which of course EMG fit also. It goes without saying to order a body with an EMG rout. I agree for rear rout it looks a lot neater.

Have you used Kinmans?  I've heard good things but don't personally know anyone who has used them...  They're kind of pricey.

Indeed I have. In this build.


http://unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=22445.msg333829#msg333829

I really like the Kinmans, noise free and with character. I have a Nashville Tele I am doing from odds and ends of Fender parts, and will be using Kinmans in that too when I get round to it. I've never heard Kinman Tele pickups in real life but from the experiences with the Strat pickups I am confident they will be a classy pickup.

 

[Ace Flibble]

Most of EMG's passive single coils also use the same, smaller base. Though frankly, their active SAV pickups are probably the best single coil pickups ever made and there's not much reason to use anything else; they produce a signal virtually identical to SD SSL-1s, just with no hum and 5-7% more output, depending on pickup position; still less output than something like a Fender Texas Special or Vintage Hot. Unless you're such a hardcore technophobe as to not understand batteries, there's really no better option for standard Strat tone with the slick base.

You can cut off or reshape the baseplate, but many brands do use that part of the base for wiring; certainly stay away from typical Fender single coils if you choose to do this.

Kinman pickups I typically advise against simply because of all the boutique pickup makers in the UK, Kinman and Bare Knuckle are by far the two most expensive and yet neither makes anything that other people don't. Also, in this case, every Kinman single coil pickup I've seen has always had the wires run through the base in a way which would make shaving the base down impossible without rewiring the pickup. Kind of defeats the point of buying premium boutique pickups if you have to rewire them yourself.

You could try rear-mounting the pickups, as Prince has done in some of his guitars and Parker do with some of theirs. THat way everything is hidden and you could use any pickup you like.

 

[stratamania]

Kinman are Australian, it would be cheaper for me if he was in the UK. I think in the US the Kinmans may work out better than when imported into the UK.

if the Kinmans can be ordered with a parallel baseplate there is no need to reshape.

 

[Cagey]

They cost a mint here, too.

 

[stratamania]

They cost a mint here, too.

I suppose regardless of importation a lot of his pickups are on the pricey side, wherever you are. He does a range called Warrior I think which are less costly but I've never tired or heard one.

 

[CrackedPepper]

Thanks guys

 

[Hendrix]

I have use Lace Pickup , they are EMG shape ;

I also order strat  Pickup from http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/main/pickups.php?cat=strats

and ask them to made it in  EMG shape, they can made it with out ext cost.