Help me pick a replacment strat pup

[wyldefan]

Help me pick a replacment strat pup
Can anyone suggest a good one that acts like a humbucker but in the size of a single coil. I play mostly rock and blues. My favorite humbucker is the Duncan Custom just to give you an idea of the tone I like. Has anyone heard or have an opinion on the JB jr?

It is too bad they don't make a Custom jr. or lil' Custom.

[Drsracing]

Re: Help me pick a replacment strat pup

I haven't got mine in yet but so far a bunch of people have said the Duckbuckers are sweet, I'm lazy so I won't have mine in for a few days but I'll give a reveiw when I do

[Spaceace]

Re: Help me pick a replacment strat pup

I had a G&L with SD lil 59s they sounded great, they might be worth checking into.

[iron_monkey]

Re: Help me pick a replacment strat pup

When you say "acts like a humbucker" do you mean sounds kinda like one, or has two coils to cancel hum? I've been wanting a new strat pickup too, and have been wondering about mini-humbuckers. I know they aren't the same size as a standard single coil, but I've heard them described as a bigger sounding strat pickup without the hum, which sounds perfect to me.

[hippietim]

Re: Help me pick a replacment strat pup

I've had JB Jr's in several guitars. Very nice pickup. Doesn't have as much output as a regular JB but it has similar tone characteristics with a bit more focus or clarity. With the JB Jr they make a seperate neck and bridge version so pay attention to that if you order one.

Another one I like a lot is the Little '59. It's a bit "creamier" (damn I hate describing pickups). Again, it's not as hot as it's big brother but shares the tone characteristics.

If you want more traditional single coil tones in a hum cancelling pickup, check out the Dimarzio HS-2, HS-3, and YJM (this just differs in the pole piece height). I had a YJM Strat with these and they rule. The JEM's come with a variant of the HS pickups that is balanced level-wise depending on the other pickups in that model (PAF, Evolution, Breed, etc).

If noise cancelling isn't your main concern and you want a single coil with some hair, the Duncan Quarter Pound pickups kick ass. Same basic single coil clarity but has more punch - similar to a P-90. Lindy Fralin Blues Specials are brilliant pickups - my Grosh has them and plugged into a pushed tube amp that thing just freakin' smokes. Lindy will also stick a plate on your bridge pickup to give you more bass.

[shreddermon]

Re: Help me pick a replacment strat pup

If you want something "hot" for a single coil sized route in the bridge position, I'd highly recommend the Dimarzio Fast Track 2. It puts many full-sized 'buckers to shame.

[Grandturk]

Re: Help me pick a replacment strat pup

I just dropped Duncan Cool Rails into the neck and bridge position of my Fusion. Pretty nice sounding pickups. They have a springy single coil sound to them, but they're still pretty fat. I would say they sound more like a single coil than a full size bucker, but I like them so far.

I had a Lil' Screamin' Demon and a Hot rail in the neck and bridge of my 1A for a month or so. The Hot Rail rips like a Distortion, but the Lil' SD didn't quite do it for me. It was a little mushy in the neck position.

[jwoods986]

Re: Help me pick a replacment strat pup

I had a YJM Strat and never got used to the scallops but loved the pickups. They are low output, so you'll need to crank up your amp but they sound sweet. It had a HS-3 in the neck & middle, and YJM in the bridge.