Product: Atrec Vintage Strat
Price Paid: GBP 15
Submitted
06/10/2004
at
01:02pm
by
barney_mcgrew
Features
:
Pickup features: Flat pole pieces, closed covers
Impedence or other specs: approx 6
Instrument
:
Model of guitar or bass: EKS StarFire guitar (str*t copy)
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: crappy stock pickups
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): blues/rock
Reason for pickup change: The stock pickups on this guitar were awful - really feeble and cheap sounding.
Sound
:
No Opinion
Perceived output level: Not much different to the stock pickups in terms of output level.
Tone: A vast improvement on the pickups they replaced. A very respectable range of 'strat' sounds across the positions.
Sonic evaluation: I've tried this guitar with its new pickups into my amp (a Carlton Combo) on clean and distorted settings, and also through my Zoom 505ii.
I have tried the clean tones across the positions, overdriven bluesy tones up to all-out high gain settings. The pickups do well in all these combinations.
For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play rocky blues styles - from Clapton to Gilmore via Cray and BB King etc.. The strat sounds coming from this guitar now are very well suited to these styles.
Overall Rating
:
9
Comments: From a beefy, punchy sound in the neck, to a strong, clear and sharp tone in the bridge, these pickups are a fantastic upgrade for this guitar. They have transformed it from a mediocre-sounding cheapie into a very respectable strat-copy, with a brilliant range of very usable tones.
I really like the way the closed covers look too. Very EC's Lace Sensors!
I've been playing for about 15 years, and have a MIJ '63 reissue strat. I would now use this guitar as a back-up to my strat, as I think these pickups have improved its tone no end.
I would highly recommend these pickups as an affordable upgrade for cheaps guitars that come with crappy stock pickups. The price I paid for these is silly, frankly - they'd be worth paying a lot more.