Best specs for 3d, glassy, quacky Strat pickup 4th position

[13stitches]

As the title says, i would like to know what are the best specifications for pre-CBS-type strat pickups that have a very pronounced stratty, quacky, glassy 3d-sounding tone in the 4th position (neck/middle). I want them also to retain warmth and be relatively balanced and not mid-scooped.

The Fender 57/62 seem to be the closest to this - so my guess is that the DC at around 5.6 is ideal for this - glassy in 4, but still quite balanced and warm. So is the 5.6K spec the ideal for this?

Thanks in advance!

Best regards,

13stitches

[Billy Penn]

I'm not 100% sure on the DC resistance because the same set of pickups will sound different in each guitar. I think you would like the Lollar Blackface or Blonde sets imo. There are a ton of pickups to choose from but I like these.

[13stitches]

Yes, the Blonde and Tweed pickups are in the ballpark for what i'm looking for.

What i'm wondering about is, if the neck and mid pickups should be exactly the same output or the output should differ for the most glassiness, quack and strattiness in the 4th position. I've read both advices on forums. Somebody was referring to a chat with Fralin, where he had told that for the strattiest tones in 4 you should go with pickups of different output.

But then again, others have stated otherwise - that the outputs should be as close as possible for the glass-sphere-gnome to come out.

Btw. the guitar is a 62 hot rod, which has more mids compared to most current production strats - it's already fuller. So maybe a bit of a scoop is good for the strattiness to come out?

[lakehaus]

My very similar search ended with a set of Fralin Real 54s (mid 5's impedence), and sound most excellent into my BFDR & 68 Bassman.

My #1 Strat position is #4... I've been thru just about every type of pickups including Lollars BF; many, many Fender - CS, EJ, EC, 57/62, 69s, and otherwise; Fralin Vintage Hots, SRVs, Blues; and more.

The Real 54s are currently loaded in a Braz board, alder bodied Warmoth tribute but are being moved to my 57 AVRI. The Warmoth will get warmer, 60's flavored pups.

[LReese]

I guess it depends on your Strat's woods, but I like the Suhr V54. That particular Strat is an Ash/Maple combo.

For a 60's style Strat, I'd go for a a 60's style pickup, something in Alnico V 6K, maybe a little less. I'd ping one of the pickup winders on the board and have them wind you a set.

[13stitches]

I would say that my 62 hot rod is quite balanced - good lows, not scooped mids at all, good treble - a nice guitar - so maybe a pickup with slightly scoopped mids and therefore a bit more highs - a 5% underwound - at 5.6-5.7 approx. would give me what i'm looking for - i mean - the 57/62 were almost there, but i hate the rwrp mid...

[buddastrat]

Man I love that hollow, quack tone. From my experience RWRP middle changes the tone a little. It makes those positions more mid scooped and thinner. I haven't tried every brand but most of the Fenders and even the good stuff like Fralins and Duncans didn't impress me with the inbetween sounds, when they had RWRP setup. But the Fender 69's which don't have a RWRP have lots of hollow magic. But those are mid scooped in the 1,3,5 positions.

Also really like the Fender 60's which are thicker and still have some nice inbetween tones.

But man, my '66 has so much of that and the pickups all read in the low 5K ohm. While the pickups are very weak (that's the key!), the guitar has quite a powerful sound from the wood. That to me is the magic combination and makes a good strat a great one.

[GuitarsFromMars]

WCR SR's...

[Trebor Renkluaf]

Lollar Tweeds or Blondes have loads of classic strat quack. Also the DeTempe Sweet Spots.

[marscottm]

For maximum quack i've heard pickups that are the same impedance work best. +1 on NON rwrp middle.

[johnh]

Out of all the pickups and strats I've owned, the 57/62's are the closest to the sound you describe. I found the bridge pickup a little underpowered, but the neck and middle have that quack like no other pickup I've heard.

[duckbunny]

Forgive my ignorance, but wouldn't the resonance peak of each pickup (or the mean reasonance peak of the bridge and middle together) have more to do with "quack" than DC resistance?

FWIW, the Fender CS '54s have terrific quack in my maple neck, ash-bodied strat.

-db

[13stitches]

Thanks for your replies people! Duckbunny, could you fill me in - what should i look for in the resonance peak of the pickups to et best quack, glassiness, etc. in the neck/mid position?

Johnh, yes, i actually think that they sound very good - but, as i said - my guitar came with the rwrp mid :/ They were quite quacky and glassy already - i think i'll try to put in the 57/62 neck into the neck position, and the 57/62 bridge into the middle position (if they'll read the same DC and then look what happens to the 4th position sound - should be even quackier and glassier - so maybe i don't have to spend another 200usd for new pickups, which might, or might also not give me what i'm looking for. But i'm definetely keeping the VP56 bridge - huge improvement.