Fender '57-'62 pickups muddy?

[quinto]

I picked up a Hot Rod '62 Strat a while back and am having a bit of trouble. The pickups sound pretty good clean, but when over driven seem muddy and dark. Anybody else feel this way, or is it just me?

[JohnK24]

Perhaps lowering the pups a tad or changing out the stock .1 capacitor to a .047 would give it a brighter tone.

[shane88]

prob a set up issue > ie pu height

[MRW55]

Quinto - I had the same issue you have. I spent a long time trying to dial in those HR 62 pups and while I eventually got them sounding okay, I still wasn't totally happy with them. They were dark and undefined, especially in positions 4 & 5, and this bothered me since I otherwise loved the guitar. I wound up getting a used set of handwound Chubtones and now I couldn't be happier. They made a huge difference for the better and I'm thrilled with this guitar now.

[Mike9]

Try a .047uF cap - either Orange Drop, or PIO and see if that helps. I put a set in a Strat I built and they sounded fine with the .047uF cap. That being said - Chubtone pickups rock!!!

[Curly]

I found the stock pickups uninspiring.
I replaced them with a set of '62 Chubtones I had that were calibrated 6.1/ 6.2/ 6.8K. I have to say this is my favorite strat now, and I've owned several, going back to an early 60s I had in the 70s.
I still have the glassy cleans, but also a little bit of growl when I crank things.

FWIW, I measured the stock pickups at about 5.85K, which is a little underwound from the vintage output table (http://www.provide.net/~cfh/pickups.html) I've seen.

Chubtone pickups rock!!!
yes, but unfortunately he quit winding :(
I emailed him after I put in his '62 set, and he said he was just not enjoying making pickups, so he quit, although he may start winding again next Spring.

[supergenius365]

Lower the pickups.
Get a Callaham base plate for the bridge pickup - though I don't know what pickup is in the '62 Hot Rod bridge.
Have a treble bleed mod done on the volume. It will keep things brighter when you turn down the volume.

I have done these on my '57 AVRI and I love the tone.

[MRW55]

supergenius365 - I'm happy doing those things worked out for you. It's important to note that the 57/62's in the HR62 are a little different, if for no other reason that the mid pup is RWRP. I did the treble bleed mod on mine. I messed with the pup height forever and settled on them on the low side. I put a .047 Orange drop cap in; it sounded okay. Then I took a chance on a set of well made handwound pups and it was game over; they just made a massive difference for the better, so much so that I don't think I'll unbutton this guitar again unless something goes wrong.

[winkofaneye]

Had a similar problem,so swapped them for Fralins.Now,its a GREAT guitar.

[quinto]

Well, I have fixed the issue. A buddy of mine sold me an extra set of Lollar Blackface PU's. Game over. Once I found the height I liked, it was like magic. I have had Fralin Blues Specials also that I liked. I have wanted to try these for a while. The cool thing is after I sold the stock PU's today, I was only out $25.00. Thanks for all the input, guys.