Texas Specials vs. Van Zandt vs. Lollar...

[The Rocket]

Has anyone compared the Texas Specials to the Van Zandt pickups?
Which one is the most "natural" sounding?

Right now my assembled strat has a set of Texas Specials. I think the guitar is very good, very resonant and I'm wondering if I can have even better results with a different set of single coils...

I'm looking for a good all around vintage strat tone. My web search has led me to Van Zandts as a good choice...that's why I would love to hear your comments if you had experience with both the Texas Specials and the Van Zandts...

any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[The Rocket]

anyone?

[Wesman61]

I really like VZ's. I once replaced a set of Texas Specials with VZ's. The TS's weren't too inspiring. There were huge differences in string to string volume. The VZ's were very clear and balanced.

[The Rocket]

Originally Posted by guittguy1

I really like VZ's. I once replaced a set of Texas Specials with VZ's. The TS's weren't too inspiring. There were huge differences in string to string volume. The VZ's were very clear and balanced.

Thank you very much Guittguy!
Do you remember which model of VZ's you tried?

[bramhall774]

Had the texas specials in an SRV strat, neck pickup was ok but the bridge was too bright. Got a wired kit from acmeguitarworks with 2 van zandt blues in the neck and middle and a van zandt rock in the bridge. Changed the tone dramatically (for the better). I still use the same ones in another strat. Tried fralin vintage hots but they were a bit too thin for me. Lollars are meant to be nice though if you want to spend the extra. I think the blondes are the all-rounder set from memory. The equivalent in the van zandt range would be vintage plus in the neck and middle with a blues in the bridge. In my experience, the van zandts are better than texas specials. Hope that helps.

[Wesman61]

Originally Posted by The Rocket

Thank you very much Guittguy!
Do you remember which model of VZ's you tried?

I used a Vintage Plus in the neck and Blues in the middle and bridge. The blues was a little too fat for the neck IMO. If I were to go back to them I'd go Vintage Plus in the neck and middle and a Blues in the bridge.