Fender CS 54's and 57/62's

[tony parnham]

Not wanting to cover old ground too much on this but I wanted to target the guy's who have a guitar fitted with CS 54's and another with 57/62's.
Is there anyone who could make that subtle comparison of the difference between one and the other and which one is preferred and why.
Thank you tony

[roger bayliss]

I have them both and I prefer the sound of my 57 Vintage Strat fitted with 57/62's personally as they have more mids and bottom end and the top end is fuller whereas I find the 54's have a very nice vintage tone all of their own but find them a bit to bright on the top end and many people have reported the top end notes thin out too much.. after owning both types I personally would say 57/62's are closest but that just my opinion...

[dave robinson]

57/62s every time! Had the 54's and got rid because I found what Roger said to be true.

[rogera]

I'm not in a position to give my opinion on the difference between these two types of Fender pickup but my Strat came fitted with 57/62 pickups as standard and I am very satisfied with them.

[ecca]

54s were far too bright for me.
Flogged em.

[tony parnham]

Thank you very much to Dave, the two Rogers and Ecca, with recomendations like that I have my answer.
Many regards Tony

[fenderplucker]

Hi,

some interesting comments on the pickups. Strangely, we found exactly the opposite when we were trying out various pickups with Hank prior to the tour. In his #1 guitar the 57/62's sounded somewhat thin and brittle while the CS54's had a nicer top end and more chime in the middle. The CS54's sound great in my guitar as well (as used on most of the tracks on the TVS jukebox). Possibly variations from batch to batch or an interaction with the guitar itself?

Paul.

[David Martin]

Hi,

some interesting comments on the pickups. Strangely, we found exactly the opposite when we were trying out various pickups with Hank prior to the tour. In his #1 guitar the 57/62's sounded somewhat thin and brittle while the CS54's had a nicer top end and more chime in the middle. The CS54's sound great in my guitar as well (as used on most of the tracks on the TVS jukebox). Possibly variations from batch to batch or an interaction with the guitar itself?

Paul.

Hmm... From my recent experience, I'm with Paul...

How very odd!

[Stranded Albatross]

My experience too. The 57/62s are far too bright and hi-fi for me and don't appear to have any drive, even with eq changes. I'll be going back to my David White's which have a warmer and more ballsy sound. The difference can be heard quite clearly on recordings.

[alanbakewell]

After all said and done this issue has been discussed on various threads for years. At the end of the day the pickups are only one part of a huge jigsaw.
We have, ( in no particular order ), Amplifier, ( settings too numerous to mention ). Lead, ( Cheap? solid gold / copper / oxygenated / Curly / straight / dipped in the blood
of a Wombat ). And the length, let's not even mention the length.

Effects unit. At the last count there were less stars in the Orion Galaxy than available effects units.

E.Q. boxes / Volume pedals / A/B switching pedals / Ad Infinitum.

Further leads to the guitar. ( Not to mention several wireless systems ).

The guitar. Even if we concentrate only on the Fender Stratocaster. Some person wiser than I will tell us how many woods are available.
If we choose to believe, each wood will react differently. Indeed are we not told that identical models may sound different to one another?

Strings. Good Lord above, how many debates have there been on strings? 8's? 9's? 10's? 11's? 12's? 13's? Something off the front of a Land Rover?

Plectrums. Large? small? thick? thin? What colour? What material? Some say this too will affect your sound.

And finally, ( unless you know different ), Fingers. Didn't somebody once play one of Hank's Strats and it sounded different to when Hank played it?

Anyway I'm off for my Saxophone lesson. ( Now then, which reed did he say I should be using? )