negninegaw wrote:Thanks Ken and Dave,
Dave, are they the best sounding pickups that you have?
I'm also considering Fender CS54' s, although I think Marvins sound with them is a fraction too round or warm.
Anyone have the experience of putting Shadows'-like pickups in a (early) Strat Plus?
I am under the the impression that the sound of e.g. the low E could be somewhat more direct/open (or even aggressive if you want).
I won't change pickups if the difference is minimal to the lace sensors of the Strat plus.
In my experience the best aftermarket pickups I have are Sliders Vintage but at £200 per set they should be, however the Seymour Duncan Alnico Pro II, ToneRider Vintage and Ironstone Vintage are all in the ballpark too and give all the desired tones and attitude, dependant on how well the guitar is set up. Custom Shop 54s are too ‘spiky’ for me, every set I have tried has been OTT on the treble. Fender 57/62, Custom Shop 69 all good, but the best for me are the pickups on my AVRI USA ‘62 Strat - and this is my second one. It’s the guitar used by Colin Pryce Jones of The Rapiers and I just can’t fault them. I don’t know what they are but they deliver the exact tone that is required for early Shadows lead guitar sounds.
It turns out that my new ‘Warmoth’ Strat had CS54 pickups and I didn’t like some of what I heard and switched them for CS69s. It now sounds great.
If your Strat Plus has gold Lace Sensors, I’d leave them alone as they are the best. I had one f those and regret selling it.