New Pickup Help

I have a couple of Abigail Ybarra's 69's in my little daughter's Strat. We get no issues, it is dead quiet without hum, and has had more opportunities to hum than most, with a Fat-O-Caster switch doing 11-or-so tones. That includes different parallels and out-of-phase, with series of course. Series adds up or doubles the resistance or output to a total sum, and are humbucker-like, but not reverse wound or side-to-side for traditional humbucker hum canceling, since we have our 69's as same-wound bookends, with a DiMarzio Virtual Vintage stack in the center, on tap, which makes for more tonal possibilities, could be 16 useable.

So, the 69's have performed well, are lower power and very 60's-like, and had to be enhanced with the Deaf-Eddie mod, IMO. Except they are sweet and chimey, and who wouldn't like that, for much of the time. They only lack DRIVE and meanness. :shock: You can use effects for all that anyway. I'm just referring to the pure pickups themselves, they are a little anemic, but okay. It's still not a problem. We don't go past 2 on the amp. Try volume at 4 and they're through the roof or the floor, or both.

I have tried Fender's Noiseless, and Bill & Becky Lawrence's Fender Samarium Cobalts which just don't have the sound of a Strat IMO. I haven't bothered therefore, to get a hold of Hot Noiseless, which again IMO, would magnify the problem or shortcomings. Jeff Beck won't use them either I have read. He just endorses the so-equipped Strat.

For that entire category of pickup, I have stuck faithfully with DiMarzio for years, from Blue and Red Velvets, through HS-1's, 2's and 3's. I would say that the HS-3's which are in Yngwie's Strat, are pretty darned 'hot noiseless' and superior.

The Custom Shop 69's and the hot Noiseless are two completely different types of pickup at opposite ends of the spectrum. I didn't ever think I would discuss the 2 together, it's like night and day.

I think that Texas Special would be somewhere inbetween, but if you don't have shielding coming out your ears and all over the guitar, there's going to be some inevitable 60 cycle hum.

Here are 2 Texas Specials, showing only a very slightly different stagger than original vintage pole stagger of the 57-62's and '69's. They are overwound, mid-rangey and need a slightly higher E pole to pickup the treble. Also,they are balanced-out by a smooth and creamy SD Pearly Gates HB at the bridge end, to replicate Billy Gibbon's '59 LP of the same name. Another Deaf-Eddie, Fat-O for Fatties splits that and gives 11 versatile tones. When this thing goes into series, it can go ballistic, and cranks out more decibels than 3 stock sounds on a Les Paul.

So, I like DiMarzio HS-1 and 2 as a factory pickup above all, not counting the Texas Specials, Duncan's SSL's and Rio Grande Tallboys (need shielding again) to accomplish what I think you're after.

http://www.dimarzio.com/site/#/pickups/

Beck doesn't use the Hot Noiseless because they're single-coils - the JB sig Strat has stacked 'buckers on it that are custom wound at the fender factory and which he definitely does use and has been for around ten years now at least. That's a key reason why his playing doesn't sound very strat-like. Also, his circuit is wired with cap that excessively bleed off the treble on the bridge and middle pup, further reducing the strat-like tonal possibilities. But he does use the guitar stock from the factory, and only changes string gauge on it. I just wish I could buy those stacked 'buckers.

Thanks everyone! I'm not sure which one I'm getting yet, but I'm looking in like June to get them, after I get back from my Vacation.

Joe, just a suggestion ........ The SX is a nice guitar, I love mine .. but ....... Do you really want to spend more on the pickups than you spent on the guitar? For my SX I shopped at Guitar Fetish and bought some GFS pickups. Just a thought. Their "Noise Free" pickups are $84.95 a set.

Thanks TR, I just want a set of good pickups for this, to kind of increase the value, and give me a good sound.

The guitar itself goes for $200, while I did only pay $120 for it though.

I'll look into those pickups you mentioned. That site seems to be pretty cool!

As far as a guitar parts store would go, this place is on a par with Rondo. VALUE!

I put a railed pickup in my SX that is a clone of a Seymour Duncan Hot Rail. I have a Hot Rail in my Fender Strat. I can tell you there isn't much difference in the sound. The GFS pickup is pretty good. It was $25 and the Duncan was $90. I totally upgraded my SX Strat. They have electronics kits with the pots, caps, a switch and a jack and they are like $15. It is a big upgrade over the stock stuff in the SX. I also chose to replace my trem block, not cause I use the trem but to get the better sustain from the heavier solid steel block and to have the higher quality saddles that came on it. That part cost $35 but I am verry happy with it. It makes adjusting the action and intonation a lot easier.

Joe, I normally avoid discussions of pickups or tubes like the plague, because I have rather out-of-the mainstream views. But I'll say that I almost never change pickups. When I do, it's because I've identified something specific I'd like to be different about the signal. More or less output, more or less treble, a "peakier" or broader frequency response, or a peak at a different point in the frequency spectrum. Really, those are pretty much all the variables there are between pickups. They are very, very simple devices, and there's no secret mystical "mojo" that a pickup maker can impart. The stock pickups on even the cheapest of guitars can put out very nice sounds. I always play with pickup height adjustments and consider changing the values of the tone capacitor and potentiometer before considering a pickup change. (And don't forget that the tone and volume controls on your guitar are there to be used, not just left cranked all the way up all the time.) Adding an expensive aftermarket pickup to a cheap guitar will add NO resale value to it in most cases, though it might help convince someone to buy it. I have bought pickups from GFS as TR suggests, and have been well pleased with what I got. I agree with him on being highly reluctant to spend a lot upgrading something I didn't pay much for in the first place.

I always play with pickup height adjustments and consider changing the values of the tone capacitor and potentiometer before considering a pickup change.

Another inexpensive option is magnet replacement. I haven't done this myself (yet) but I've read about it over on the Seymour Duncan discussion board - http://www.seymourduncan.com/forum/index.php A lot of serious tweakers there. If you search on that board you'll find discussion on how to change the magnets. One source mentioned on that site for pickup magnets is Wymore Guitars. Mostly about $5 / magnet and a lot cheaper than replacing the pickups.

Adding an expensive aftermarket pickup to a cheap guitar will add NO resale value to it in most cases, though it might help convince someone to buy it. I have bought pickups from GFS as TR suggests, and have been well pleased with what I got. I agree with him on being highly reluctant to spend a lot upgrading something I didn't pay much for in the first place.

In general, doing any modifications will not return to you anywhere near the value you put into it. You have to do it because you want the change yourself. This rule applies to pretty much everything (cars, houses, etc) and not just guitars. If you do make the change to more expensive pickups then keep the originals and be prepared to swap them back in when you sell if you want the most back from the money you put in.

In fact, the cheapest way to get some modified guitar is to keep your eyes open for somebody selling one similar to what you want that's already modified - you'll get it for less than doing it yourself. The only difficulty with this is that you may have to wait a long time if you are looking for some unusual mod or be a bit flexible in what mods you'll look for. Again this applies not just to guitars. For example, f you're buying an older (semi-)classic car it's always cheaper in the long run to get one that is already fixed up than to buy one that needs work.