Joe Barden Strat Pups and the Rebirth of the Nafta-caster

[Troubleman]

In honor of Cinco de Mayo I decided to goof around with my MIM Fender Vintage Player Strat. Out of the box it was a really cool Strat (shoreline gold, resonant body, chunky neck with rosewood board, medium jumbo frets, steel inertia-block America Vintage trem), then I put Fralins in it, which made it a very cool Strat. The Fralins had a lower output and different character than the stock Texas Specials. Anyway, on the shelf in my basement I had a set of Joe Barden Strat pups that I'd purchased awhile back but never got around to installing. I saw them sitting in their boxes and thought - Why not? I whipped up a batch of frozen margaritas, grabbed my soldering iron, screwdriver, solder, a pack of strings, etc - and had at it. After getting everything installed.... WHOA!!! First Barden-equipped Strat I'd played since what - 1999? I'd sorta forgotten how much I actually like Joe Bardens pups. I didn't set them as close to the strings as they could/should go according to the Barden propaganda sheet. In fact I screwed with pickup height for about an hour until I was happy with the balance. What a great-sounding guitar! I like the Bardens in it better than the original Texas Specials OR the Fralins. I did a volume-pot mod so that the pickups get more of a glassy sound when the volume is rolled back, then wired the bridge and middle pup to the 2nd tone control - better still. With the volume knob at around 4, the Bardens impart a glassy/stringly tone like vintage-style pups, but with more power. Crank the volume knob and they REALLY put a mean grind on the front end of my amps. My Marshall Studio 15 seems to have additional gain and bark, and my Budda Super Drive 45 absolutely snarls - all of which has kinda served to make ye old Super Chili Picoso seem a bit superfluous. The Barden pups did make some of my OD pedals sound a bit fizzy/buzzy, but simply rolling back the volume fixed that. I had put a real vintage 1962 snot-guard (warped and cracked) and aluminum shield on that guitar awhile ago (i probably should eBay it; I got it in a trade deal over a dozen years ago - what's it worth now?). Even though it isn't "vintage correct" in appearance, the Bardens look really cool in that pickguard.

Holy Cow Batman! No hum whatsoever, and absolutely clarity as well. Joe Barden pups WILL expose your playing - everything is heard. But they are really powerful, articulate, and quiet. Plenty of extra punch and grind is on tap at the twist of a volume knob. My next gig ain't until next weekend. I can't wait to gig this guitar! It's like getting a new axe at no additional cost. How cool is that?:AOK

Peace,

jb

[bluesjuke]

Good deal!

I put a set of Bardens in a Custom Shop Strat a couple of years ago.
Too bad the guitar sucked.
They would have been much better off in a lower in the line guitar.
The pickups themselves were great especially considering they made a big improvement in a guitar that didn't cut it.

Wish I had pulled them out to keep.
It's amazing how so small an adjustment in their height makes a big difference.

[Troubleman]

what is the distance between string and pickup after your experimenting? I have mine set very low, but I get a sound very close to single coils (save for the whay you can compress alnico when you hit the string hard)

I'll have to measure it. I've set mine fairly low as well. Off the top of my head, I think the Barden propaganda sheet recommends 2-3/32's of an inch clearance on the treble side and 4-5/32's of an inch clearance on the bass side - both measured with the strings depressed in the upper register. I like medium/high to fairly high string height on my Strats, and the Barden pickups' height relative to the top of the pickguard is fairly low, so I'm guessing I probably have somewhere between 5-7/32's of an inch (more?) clearance. Again - the height was set more by ear with trial & error than by sight or using a ruler. If I roll the volume back to about 4, I get very much a single coil sound, what I'd call fat vintage tone - chimey and full, but somehow simultaneously more "present" and articulate than typical vintage Strat single coils. The in-between settings deliver great quack and cluck, and the neck pickup is really juicy and corpulent. As the setting on the volume knob is increased, both volume and saturation increase. You're absolutely right about the touch sensitivity. Set at about 4-5 they whisper if the strings are softly played, but really produce a lot of punch and drive if the strings are smacked hard. If I set my amp on the edge of break up I can control whether I get an SRV "Lenny" tone or stinging/singing tone by how hard I hit the strings. They are more responsive and sensitive to touch than any pickup I can think of, and produce a very 3D sound that sorta defies words.

I'm really digging this guitar now.

Peace,

jb

[clothwiring]

I have a set in my Gigliotti, the best pickups I found for that guitar. Good story, glad to hear you're enjoying it.

[clothwiring]

I'd love to see a picture if possible. Here's mine...

http://www.apollo19.com/goldtele/gigliotti_bardens.jpg

http://www.apollo19.com/goldtele/gigliotti_matchless_nye.jpg

[Troubleman]

If ever you decide you can't stand that thing, I'm sure the Troubleman Benevolence Society can find a home for it...:rotflmao
Schweet. Especially since I've been jonsin' another Thinline Tele (horror story as to what happened to the 1968 Thinline I used to own) for awhile now. Beautiful instrument with just the right pickups

jb

I'd love to see a picture if possible. Here's mine...

http://www.apollo19.com/goldtele/gigliotti_bardens.jpg

http://www.apollo19.com/goldtele/gigliotti_matchless_nye.jpg

[mainsale]

Another barden fan here. I stuck a set into my American Thinline along with 4-way switching, Hoveland Tonecap and PigTail vintage bridge and it just came alive! It is clear, articulate, full-spectrum Tele all the way now. I think it looks pretty good, too!

:BluesBros

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b61/Mainsale/Guitars169.jpg

[clothwiring]

If ever you decide you can't stand that thing, I'm sure the Troubleman Benevolence Society can find a home for it...:rotflmao
Schweet. Especially since I've been jonsin' another Thinline Tele (horror story as to what happened to the 1968 Thinline I used to own) for awhile now. Beautiful instrument with just the right pickups

jb

I don't have any plans on selling that guitar. It's great. It's the mix between a Tele and LP. All mahogany in a Tele style. :) The Barden's balance the darkness of the guitar and the Gigliotti balances the highs that the Barden's have. Great combo.

[Jon C]

likewise here, too, I put a set of Bardens in my wonderful G&L S-500 and it is even more of a killer than it was, can sound country twangy, big & airy, and rockin' nasty. Don't have any pix w/ the Bardens, though, I 'll try to get some today.

cheers,
jc

[jzgtrguy]

what is the distance between string and pickup after your experimenting? I have mine set very low, but I get a sound very close to single coils (save for the whay you can compress alnico when you hit the string hard)

Would anyone know if the Barden's are AlNiCo V or something else.

[beNsteR]

i'm using the neck pickup of my Joe Barden Strat set on the track 'Love - Everything Will Be Alright', 4th song in the music player here:

http://www.myspace.com/enx (http://www.myspace.com/enx)

love it!

[jzgtrguy]

I am really temped to put a set of Barden S Deluxe in one of my guitars. I like the way AlNiCo compresses. It softens the attack and warms things up. What to do what to do? The other options I am considering are Dimarzio Area/virtual vintage or either Suhr or Raw Vintage Pickups with a back plate system.

After reading this page

http://www.rawvintage.com/eng/item_pickups.php

They make the case for that the magnets are a big deal even whether they are north pole or south pole or whether you reverse wind the middle pick up. Is this just a bunch of hype or do you guys/gals think this guy knows what he is talking about?

[jzgtrguy]

Thanks Joe F! PM'd

[jzgtrguy]

Thanks Joe, I got the email. I'll digest the clips later. Thanks for taking the time.