Fender Custom Shop '69

Passive single coil PUPs hand wound by Abigail Ybarra for over 50 years.

Put them in all 3 positions of a 2008 MIM Strat, replacing stock ceramic PUPs

Fairly low output PUPs that I use with a Hot Rod Deluxe amp, and an MXR Classic Distortion & Metal Muff rig. Balanced tone with great highs and thumping lows. the term "string articulation" jumps out at you while playing. I play hard-edged blues rock and a bit of metal. Perfect tone for what I wanted.

I've been playing for a couple of years (12 total, but only 2 years seriously). I also own a Highway One Strat HSS, American Strat HSS, Gibson LP, and a Highway One Tele. I have owned other Strats & Teles.
Compared to my other Strats I would say:
1. The H1 HSS Sounds Very Good, Hot & Crunchy
2. The Am Std Strat HSS sounds Very Good for a variety of tones
3. The MIM Strat with these PUPs is Outrageously Good (sacriligious!)
The only thing that might bug some folks is that the middle PUP is not RW/RP so they are a bit noisy, but it's a classic Strat sound!

If you bought these pickups so you can sound like hendrix you might as well give up cause you aint gonna sound like hendrix cause no one sounds like hendrix... thats why he is hendrix. if you want to have the classic rock strat tone that makes ears feel a pleasure they have never felt, and stonners think the walls are melting... you went to the right place

installed them in my 84 mij strat. i replaced some old dizmarios that i wanted for my les paul but thats another story. i play alot of classic rock and blues and these pickups make me a happy hippy.

i use a jcm 800 a metal zone a crybaby and a spring king reverb. its heaven... ps the feedback is amazimg when playing live i can control it to do some cool poop

have you ever tried to distroy a strat i have surfed on the damn thing. and these pickups seem to have the same i want to get the crap kicked out of me attitude

Set of 3 bridge, neck, mid. None reverse polarity so no noise cancelling in any position

2003 MIA standard strat(ash body/maple neck). Was using them to replace hot gold Lace sensors which replaced the stock pups. I wasn't happy with the Sensors. they are quiet by kind of dull.

I was mixed at first. They have two characteristics. Low volume they tend to be a bit bright. But the louder you play them the better the get. Great lows, highs and mids. Very well balanced. They also sound great with distortion or overdrive. More so than the stock pups and the vintage fender pups for that matter. They are very versatile pickups. They do hum and I'll probably swap them for noisless but it will be tough as I know I'll be sacrificing some sweet single coil sound.

Texas Specails are great but IMHO they are tonally limited - these can do it all pretty well. Heads and tails above the stock MIA pups.

If I can't find decent noisless pups (Kinman/Dimarzio) I might go back to these and try for some sort of noise cancelling system like the Shure backplate. But a strat is a strat and these are true to that classic tone. Some pups try TOO much to be strat pups. these don't. They give you a great strat sound that does well clean or with some dirt added and plenty of quack to boot.

I have MIM Strat (a good one!). I only replaced the middle and neck pu with the 69's because on bridge position I had put a Seymour Duncan Screaming Demon (great pu btw).

I'm using a Peavey Classic 30 amp and various pedals and multifx (Boss GT-6, Xotic AC Preamp, Fulltone OCD).

The sound is as described by some reviewers below: "glassy" and bell-like with a lot of attack. Yes, it's Hendrix tone!

I mostly play alternative rock (Radiohead, Placebo, Madrugada, Archive). They are good for this style, but not great!

The thing I didn't like about them, was the sound in neck position. I would like something warmer. Fortunately, they have a very good respone at the Tone knobs of my guitar

I play guitar for 10 years, mostly alternative rock but also some classic rock and blues.
With these pu's, I love their attack and bell-like tone. What I hate is the "thin" sound on neck position.

Am I satisfied? well... yes, but only after some tweaking on my amp and pedal knobs.

Rather than give a review in each category I'm just going to give the big picture on these. There seems to be a lot of differing opinions on the pickups but I'll try to give you all you need to go on here.
These are good pickups and do re-create a Hendrix sound, but not on their own. Firstly you have to be able to play. secondly you have to have a good amp, Thirdly you have to have the right pedals, fourthly you have to have decent electronics in your guitar, fifthly you need to have your guitar set-up right.
1)If you've ever heard Hendrix play an acoustic guitar he still sounds like Hendrix. The talk you've heard about tone being in your fingers is pretty true. Go on youtube and listen to hendrix playing 'Hear my train a comin'
2)Hendrix used many amps and still had 'his' sound. I don't necessarily think you need a Marshall - unless you want to mimic his live sound. His recording used a number of guitars, amp and effect combos to get a certain sound - good luck trying to replicate all of them exactly with a strat, marshall and fuzz pedal.
3)A good fuzz pedal is the main ingredient here. Hendrix also used a univibe and octavia but a fuzz is the main part of his sound. Most of the mass produced recreations are okay but not going nail it completely. MJM's London Fuzz is the closest I've come across.
4)Put cr@p pots and capacitors in and you'll most definitely negatively impact on your sound. A .047 capacitor (with 250k pots) is what you'll need with these pickups. Hovland musicaps are the best you will find.I also recommend using a treble bleed kit on the volume pot. If you turn down the volume control you'll lose a lot of the 'cluck' and bell tones Hendrix had without one. The best I've found for these pickups is a .0012 capacitor and 180k resistor.
5)Setting up your guitar correctly will have a huge impact on your sound and playability. Pickup height will most noticeably change your sound. Adjusting the pickups to get them right will take a while and will need to be done by a good ear. Plan on spending some time sitting down and making adjustments up and down til they are right and balanced from position to position.
You will notice even 1/4 turn can change the tonality of the pickup greatly. I aim for a balance between keeping them sounding as full as possible but keeping enough attack. Start by having the neck pickup lower on the bass side and quite close on the treble side. the middle should be a little more level. The bridge should be higher on the bass side. Use this as a starting point only. Adjust the bass side until the top 3 strings sound about right, then do the other side, then check overall. This will take a while until you are happy.
THE PICKUPS THEMSELVES:
Listening to Hendrix recordings you can hear songs played in different pickup positions. ie. 'Hey Joe' and 'Manic depression' you will most closely replicate in the neck position, middle position for 'Are you experienced'. For 'Purple Haze' and 'Voodoo Child' use the bridge with fuzz. I think a lot of people think Hendrix used mainly the neck but watch him live and he is nearly always on the bridge. You will also find that with a fuzz pedal in the positions other than the bridge will probably over distort and start f@rting. I think this is one of the reasons that the bridge pickup seems quite thin, it helps when you're fully cranked on the fuzz. However, I've put a bassplate on the bridge pickup and it's 10 times the pickup and far more useable for general use with this on.
Not sure what else to say. If you do all I've said you should get pretty close. I can pretty much replicate most Hendrix songs fairly closely with these pickups. I've not had any of the problems that some people have indicated on here. I'm not sure how they have set-up their guitars or what other equipment they use. But once these are set-up correctly they should get you as close to hendrix as any other pickup. I give these a 9, mainly because the bridge pickup needs a bassplate.

pickups demonstrated a fat bottom, edgy bright top end, strong fundamental tone. Unfortunately these pickups caused loss of : overtones, neck tone, 'singing' quality, vowel like sounds. I swapped the original ceramic stock MIM strat pickups back in. Besides a harsher, edgier tone, the '69 pickups caused some intontation problems with the magnets interfering with the waveforms of the pure tones of the guitar. These pickups came highly recommended. Whether the '69 pickups are a bad fit with the mexican strat, or generally damp overtones, and neck tone, is a matter of conjecture. To me the '69 pickups are a writeoff, a learning experience.

I had bought a mexican strat, had bought the '69 pickups a few months earlier on the advice of a friend who was using them in 2 different MIA strats. He raved about them. I thought I would see how they sounded in my MIM strat, the thinking being that the "cheapo" mexican strat would be improved by these pickups. I couldn't have been more wrong! I would never buy these pickups for ANY guitar, I strongly dislike the way the pickups destroyed body,neck tones and diminished overtones and overall warmth. These pickups are anything but vintage sounding, at least as far as my interpretation of what 'vintage' is supposed to mean.

output average level, unsuitable for anything requiring neck or body tone, lousy match for blues. Tone is definitely edgy, too bright, bordering on harsh, top end sound more offensive than bottom which is definitely fatter sounding than the stock MIM ceramic pickups, but at the cost of loss of warmth.

would never buy these again.

N/A

Fender USA Voodoo Stratocaster. I have different setups but for this guitar its Teese RMC3 with true bypass turned off, Fulltone Octavia, 69, 70 and original 60's Univibe (occasionally a single stage of gain in my Bad Cat 2-Tone) and then into the "clean" channel of a 100 Watt Marshall Vintage Modern amp.

Haha. I have to laugh at the review below. I have a bigger problem because my stagger is the opposite way round.

I basically echo what has been said below. The magnets have huge pull. If you can live with the wolves then the output is great.

My guess is that if you don't venture too close to the 12th fret you wont have any problems. I do and to compound matters I have a 9.5 inch radius so yes the G string is a little out of control if the pickup is at a normal height.

They do have a zing that other Strat pickups don't have and they work very well when controlling all of those effects from the guitar volume control so I do get a very convincing Hendrix sound. I just wish I could get rid of the wolves!

If I had to replace them I would sacrifice authenticity and go for a high output pickup with less of a stagger and a more uniform one.

Personally I think staggers are a huge pain in the bum and if it were up to me all Strat pickups would have adjustable magnets!

MIM Std Strat, late 90's, maple neck, alder body, wilkinson bridge/trem block added (recommended).

I tried really hard to like these pickups. I had these in my Strat for over a year and tried endlessly to find a setup that really worked. Mine were made in 2005.

They do yield a bit of the Hendrix strat vibe, especially in the neck position.

However, the pole piece stagger causes significant string balance problems and the extremely strong magnets caused no end of "strat-itis" above 12th fret (G string at 10th fret!)unless I lowered the pickups almost to the pick guard... at which point the output was very low, the tone rather thin and the signal to noise very poor... and the &#^%ing G string was still unplayable at 15th fret!! The high G string pole piece is completely at odds with modern unwound G's. Impossible to get decent tone on the one hand and freedom from wolf tones on the other. B and high e string were always weak (I play 11's).

This is just silly.

There are plenty of "69" pickups out there that get this sound without the problems. A cheap, reliable option which happens to be noise canceling would be the billlawrence.com L-280. Purists insisting on true single coils might try Fralin, which sound even better imo.

Given weaker magnets I think I would like the Fender CS 69s. As is, I found them unsatisfactory. These simply cannot have been an authentic re-issue.

Gets a "3" only beacause the pickups did sound nice for open chords and did have the 69 Strat tone. Unsuitable for lead playing.

Single Coil

Fender USA Standard Strat

Really glassy clean sound. I replaced the original standard pick ups as they sounded a bit 'muddy' especially the bridge pup.

These sound great but having said that new strings after installment helped. Good upgrade and just the sound I wanted. Not high output but just a classic strat sound

If destroyed? I'd buy some more!Check out ebay

Single coils, I won't bother typing out the rest, if you are looking at this thread you'll know about this product.

Innitialled by Abigail Ybarra for a touch of MOJO.

I give them a 10 in this category. All the features you expect.

My set is in a custom built strat, Alder Body and one piece Birdseye Maple neck.

These are a little less powerful than standard pups, but don't let that fool you. They have bags of tone and then some.

I love the sound of these pups, vintage and pure Fender, they are a little noisy but that is how real single coils are. Noiseless pups lose some of the chharacteristics associated with Fender tone.

Clean amp - they are nicely balanced and ring like a bell.

Overdriven amp - This is where these pups impress the most. Think Hendrix.

I have a 62 reissue usa strat with the 62/57 pups which I like a great deal too. But if I were to build another custom strat a set of these would be my first choice.

Tone is a very personal thing, what suits one player will not suit another.

If you want Fender vintage sound with a bit of bite these are the solution.

I am experiencing sounds similar to those from players like Hendrix, David Gilmour and George Harrison. The are 69's after all.

Passive Singlecoil Pickup's with Moderat Output.
High Treble, Low Bass and Moderat Mid's.

Originally from a Fender Classic Player 60's Strat, then installed in a G&L Tribute S-500(japan)with Alder body, and Maple fingerboard & neck. Replacing G&L MFD(magnetic field design) Pickup's.

Moderat Output pickup's with a classic HENDRIX tone, very good for all distortion sounds(high, moderat & low). Normally affiliated with a ROSEWOOD neck, but in this case, it sound's fantastic in a guitar with MAPLE neck.

Not the type of pickup's for eksessiv Tremolo use, but very good for Blues, rock & Hard rock(best for solo's).

I play a lot of Gospel music, but this guitar I mainly use for Blues.

These pickup's are not the best one's to use for soft music but they are fantastic for Old Rock & Blues sound's like Eric Clapton, Jimmy Hendrix & Rory Gallagher.

if they were stolen, then the guitar would be stolen as well, so I would
have to get a new Maple neck Strat, and i think i'd get these pickup's again, the Blues sound is Sooooo.... sweet.

Single coil

This is a classic pick up..height staggered Alnico 5's and a special grey bobbin.The pickups are dated, and initialed by Abigail Ybarra.It is quite likely that Abigail sits at a table and signs these things as they come off the line...but she's been doing it for a long time and the quality of the pickups with her initials is well known.This is not your average stock pickup. Pure 100% Fender.

What model guitar or bass did you install this in?

I bought a used, but very beautiful 1993 blue burst Strat Plus last year. It was 100% stock,with rosewood neck and with silver, red, blue lace sensors. I loved certain things about the lace sensors, but after gigging with the guitar..decided they just didn't sound enough like a classic strat for my style.(although I put the very same strat plus set bought on ebay in an 89 MIJ strat and it sounds great!)

So I chose to make a change. I ordered a loaded pickguard with the custom 69's bought from Metal Shop Music in Florida. I'd hoped to buy a loaded used pickguard with Fralin blue's from Chris' Guitars in New York but I can't get that place to answer emails. So after shopping around I went with the 69s..knowing that they were going to be alot noisier than I'm used to...but that they would be far more traditional.

Reason for changing the pickup?

The Lace senors are a good pickup...I especially like the silver..and the quiet of them...but they just don't growl enough for my tastes.It's hard to put my finger on why...but heard it playing live when I switched guitars. Just not hearing THAT sound.

What's the output level like?

It's medium low..in the 5.7 range. Certainly less than the lace sensors. But really, that's what you want if you want a classic strat vibe.

What amps and effects are you using it with?

I have two amps..a 1972 fender Princeton that I really love.It's a great amp for small rooms.Although beat up and abused by a former owner,it's a tone machine. It has been upgraded with a green 12 inch Celestion. So sweet.

My other amp is a 1983 Rivera era Fender Concert.100% stock except for new tubes.My main gigging amp for many years, with the great brown sound and power for larger rooms.

As for effects,I use a Digi Tech Bad Monkey,Boss DS-1,Leila boutique Soft Delay,Dunlop Cry Baby Wha,Boss CS-2,BBE Boost Grande. And some other random pedals... but I also just plug straight in as well.


Tone - Bassy, middy, muddy, trebly, balanced?

The custom 69s sound beautiful.It's a cliche on Harmony Central, but as soon as I plugged in the guitar with the 69s in it I could hear a huge difference.The guitar did, indeed, come alive. The sound was sparkly and full.Throaty and quacky.Ballsy.Yes, that annoying 60 cycle hum was there (despite shielding etc.) but move away from the computer screen and it's quite fine. As a comparison,I actually plugged in my old main axe, a 1983 Strat,and it was no more or less noisy than the strat with the 69s. Just classic single coil sounds.

I guess using lace sensors, including a franken/strat plus with Lace Holy Grails has spoiled me.But there is no doubt there is something magical about the traditional sound of a single coil.

I've done several rehearsals and one gig with the new pickups,and I'm quite pleased. I could see hum problems in a bar full of TV's and lights however.

What style of music do you play? Is this a good match?

Classic rock, blues, R and B, alt. country. Stones, Dylan,White Stripes,Clapton,Fleetwood Mac etc. You know the drill. I've never owned a humbucker!A perfect fit for the 69s I think.

I should mention that the loaded pickguard assembly includes a pull pot that adds various mixed pickup sounds.I prefer the traditional sounds, but if you pull the pot and play the bridge pick up position, the sound is very good..not as shrill as it is normally.It adds some fatness.

My favourite position with the custom 69s is neck or neck /middle, but it quacks like a duck between the bridge and middle.Very Claptonesue circa Just One Night.But I use the neck position the most for that fat classic strat sound.It's there in spades.

If it was destroyed or stolen, would you buy it again or get something else?

I'd probably buy them again.

How long have you been playing? What other gear do you own?

I've been playing for 30+ years...and have started gigging again after a nearly 20 year lay off (raising kids etc.).

I own a bunch of Fender guitars including a 1968 Telecaster.That is one sweet sounding axe.

What do you love about it?

The sound.The 69s have the sound.

What do you hate?

I don't hate the noise, but I may try star grounding to see if the hum can be reduced. The cost of doing business.

Did you compare it to other products? Which ones? Why did you choose this one?

I did a lot of listening to sound files.I was torn between the Fralin Woodstocks, the Fralin blues and the Custom 69s. I was very close to buying the Fralins. Cost was a factor. Perhaps down the line.I have a few project guitars lying around. The loaded pickguard was about $220..which is not bad considering the quality.

Are you satisfied with this pickup or still searching for <b>that</b> sound?

The sound of the Strat Plus with these new pickups is amazing. From a good guitar to a great one. These pickups really bark when put through effects. Much better than the lace sensors did.Very sensitive to dynamics and great for harmonics of all type.They rock.

Anything else you'd like to share?

I wonder how many pickups Abigail has signed in the past 50 years?

Fender Custom Shop '69 set, like all the others here..
Initialled by the lovely Abigail Ybarra on 12-3-07.

I had these installed in an E series MIJ 60's reissue Stratocaster. The stock pickups just weren't happening. I don't get why the Japanese couldn't make a better pickup, but maybe they just wanted to give us something to do (that was nice of them)

These pickups are not as hot as all the "specials," which is what I wanted. They are also not RWRP, (almost the only ones anymore) which is also what I wanted.
What they are is exactly what I DID want, vintage sounding, quacking strat pickups.
Some of these reviews get to sounding like wine tastings. Quite possibly, Fralins or Lollars or whatever have more "harmonic complexity," sound more "woody" blah blah whatever whatever. They also cost a lot more dollars. I do have a set of Fralin Blues Specials in my Tele, and I like them a lot. But these are really good Stratocaster pickups.

I would buy these again in a heartbeat. I really wanted something that was NOT RWRP. And at $50 bucks a pop ($150 for the set) they're very reasonably priced.
I now have an Ibanez Roadstar that I payed $175 for that sounds as good as this. But Japanese Strat+ Custom Shop '69s= good strat sound. And they're initialled by Abigail (is this love, that I'm feeling...)
Also, I am a left handed player, so they went in upside down. "And the wind cries... bad guitar player."
They're the best deal around period.

Custom '69 Strat pickups. whole set--neck, middle, bridge. Yes, there's a little noise. It's a Strat. Get over it.

Fender American-made alder Strat body with USA Custom Guitars custom-made select maple neck with pau ferro fretboard and Jumbo (Dunlop) 6150 frets. (They make BEAUTIFUL necks--at least as good as the ones you get from the Fender Custom Shop.) I also put in FerraGlide String Saver bridge saddles. If you haven't tried these yet, you owe it to yourself to do so. They're miles better than the standard Fender saddles, and you virtually never break a string.

Wanted that vintage sound, and got it!

I have an identical Strat with Texas Specials, and they're fine, too. The output level on the '69's is a bit lower, but lends itself to more textures and subtlety--especially since I had my luthier hook up the second tone control to both the middle and bridge pickups. Now that tinny, shrill bridge pickup sound (that I never used) is a goner, replaced by all sorts of sweet tonal variations in all 5 positions. Hendrix, Gilmour round tones at lower volume, but lots of great overdriven tones in every position. I play a small Peavey amp, with just a TS-9 pedal and a Crybaby Wah live. I also use an original Pod (Line 6) to record with, which gives all kinds of amp and cabinet simulations. I play all sorts of stuff, from Clapton, Hendrix, and Beck licks to subtler John Mayer and Mark Knopfler type stuff, and these pickups are creamy and "round" in tone, but also fat and full with plenty of subtle bite when played at "blast" levels.

I'd definitely buy these again if this guitar was lost or stolen. I've been playing over 40 years, and have owned dozens of guitars, from Strats to Les Pauls, Gibson 335, PRS McCarty, Gibson SG. Each has its merits, but when it all comes down to it, I'm a Strat man.

There's nothing I don't like about these pickups. Definitely recommend you do the tone control wiring, so the bridge pickup gets more sounds. Fender should do this at the factory, really, but it's an inexpensive upgrade. I like the Texas Specials, and had a set of 54's, but like the 69's better than those. Between these two Strats, I get every sound I've ever liked. You can have the SCN Noiseless pickups. They're missing something.

Fender single coils. these pickups are wound to 1969 specifications. Output seems to be fairly standard for Fender single coils. I measured the impedance when I installed them in my guitar but I forgot what they are! Mid 7's I think. Getting old sucks. I was rocking back and forth between the custom shop 69's and the custom shop 54's but decided on the 69's because of some of the good reviews on this site. It was a good decision although I'm sure the 54's are just great too. I figured that even with all the boutique custom pickups out there, they are all trying to mimic the original Fender pickups so why not try some Fender pickups? they are a hell of a lot cheaper to!

I put these pickups in my 1975 Stratocaster. it's a solid ash body with about 200 coats of polyurethane on it!! The pickups that were in there were just not gettin' it. I put the custom shop pickups in all three positions. They are not WAX potted or reverse wound so I made sure I shielded the guitar before installing the pickups. They seem to be fairly quiet compared to my P90 pickups I have been other guitars. The original level pole piece pickups in this guitar were replaced with stagerred pole piece pups back in '76 but back then I didn't know what I was doing so I don't know where they came from! The old music shop in Cleveland had them laying around the repair shop. I did not like them anymore than the ones I replaced. I don't know, it just never had that sound I was looking for. It's way better now.

the output level is great. It is low enough to where I can crank my amplifier to get a real nice distortion sound but high enough I can drive the front end. I play through a Dr.Z Maz JR, a '75 Super Reverb, a'76 Princeton Reverb, a'78 Marshall 50W Combo and a Metro Marshall 100W. I use a TS 808 and/or an Fulldrive OCD pedal. Depends on the room and my mood! Most of the time just straight thru the amp.
these pickups sound really good in my guitar. Before I put these pickups in, I would pick up the guitar and play it for a while and then put it back down and pick up my other strat. Now, I pick it up just keep playing! I guess that's a good indication that I liked these pickups. I play all kinds of music from blues classic rock to country and a strat, of course, can handle it all. the pickups have that clear powerful Fender sound and surprisingly smooth top end. I can actually use the bridge pickup where as before I couldn't. The in between sounds are real good too. I am a big fan of position number two.

if they were lost or stolen I would probably get another set. As a matter of fact, I am getting ready to order another set for one of my other Stratocaster's. I have a set of Dimarzio area 61 and 58 in a Carvin Strat I made and refinished and they sound pretty good to but they don't have quite the openness and earthy sound that the Fenders have. I actually had a set of Stewart McDonald pickups in my relic strat and they sound pretty darn good believe it or not! I will put the custom shop 69 in that guitar just for comparison purposes because that's what I like to do HAHA. If they sound better than the McDonald's I will put a set in. Bottom line -- these pickups are very affordable and very acceptable. If you have a very good tube amplifier and want to get the most out of it, these pickups are just great. They allow you to crank your amp, and use your hands and fingers to get an awful lot of sound of your guitar... just like in the old days.

Passive single coil pickups, vintage output.

I put these in a Strat Deluxe with a 50's maple neck. The other pups were SCN's, which were ok, but kind of processed sounding. Also, the SCN's were VERY high output, too loud really.

I think its low to med output, my only effects are high quality boost units and a couple of Teese wahs. The tone is just like others describe, true strat really. Glassy highs, boomy bass, nice mids, the way a strat should be. I think they are a great pup for almost all styles except that crappy death metal junk that won't seem to go away. If you want that cool Trower, Hendrix, Gilmour etc tone, look no further. In fact, forget those 50's units. These are pure ear candy. Of course, the hum is the only issue, but some shielding and the usual moving around will minimize it. There's a product from Suhr that will practically eliminate the hum, its called a BPSCC? I think. Never tried it, but apparently it works wonders.

I'd buy them again if I had to, the only thing is the lady who winds them won't be around forever and she seems to be key in making these sound so good, so get em while u can.

Bought em used, and if you can get them for a lower price do it, because they are $$$$$$$$$$$$ The original price was $270!!! I got em used for $180.00. When I say used, I mean someone installed them, didn't like em, then brought em back.

passive singlecoils
medium output

Its the end of a long search...
I have put them in my 1999 Fender Standart Us Stratocaster with maple neck. I have buy the complet set for all positions.
I had many different pickguards changed on the Strat.:
A Jeff Beck jr. at the bridge, Dimarzio cruiser at the neck, two Seymore duncans Sh11 custom custom at the bridge and neck, two sh59 at bridge and neck...the best was one Sh11 at the bridge and the standart singlecoils at middle and neck...but I was not realy blown away from this, so I want come back to the real deal of a Strat.

The output is a little bit higher than the Standart ones had.
I use the guitar with a Maxon delay, Classic Wahwah and Korg tuner,
in a Engl screamer combo with a Marshall 2x12 - Heritage Speakers.
Or in a old LondonCity Top and a Parker 4x12 Stack ( sometimes with a Fulltone 69` and a Jekyll and Hyde II ). And Klotz Tm Stevens Cables in any connection.

I have only a volumen (250) control on my Strat to have the "puretone" of the guitar. Its a hot vintage sound, crispy and chunky, not overpowerd like the texas specials but also not that belly like as a 54 set. The bridge is clear and chunky the neck is more bassy and fatdark funky ;-)the middle is very strong for that position.
I love modern Roots Rock sounds like Black crowes, The Answer, Black Stone Cherry, Richie Kotzen, Joe Bonamassa...
for this reason its a perfect match for my guitar and my style of playing, its the end of a long search. ( Ok, it hums under some conditions, but thats only when you stop playing, so keep on rockin.)

Yes, thats my best singlecoil "wish to had sound", so i would buy it again...maybe with another Stratocaster from 1966, mh.
I play since the early 90`, I play studios, gigs, session etc, but Im not famous or earn much money with that. So Im down to earth.
I have also a Gibson Les Paul studio and a Esp Horizon Fr 2, stupid
Yamaha Rgx something, a old Kaman heavy axe and a crafter acustic with steel strings and a old Spanish acustic.
I love the direct conection to the tone and hate nothing.
I want a pure singlecol sound in my Strat and this is it !!
9 Points, because one for the unknown future of Pickup manufactures.

Single coil, no hum canceling in 2/4 position, but I don't like the "in between" tones anyway. Low output.

I installed these in a Japanese Olympic white lefty '68 model to get the Jimi vibe on a budget. I have a Hendrix tribute strat, so I thought I'd try these pickups to see if they sound like the Hendrix strat.

These are amazing. This nails the Hendrix/Gilmour tones that most of us dig. I favor low output pickups in a strat so you can crank your amp to get the grit. There are a lot of nice lows and highs. I have the stock neck/middle pickups in the Hendrix strat with a Fralin Woodstock in the bridge. I prefer the '69s over the Hendrix model pickups. These kick so much ass, but sound very responsive and gentle, when needed. Probably my favorite set of Fender pickups. I can't stand Texas Specials and Fralins are just too much money.

I will probably buy another set for my next strat project. These are great for the money. I have some friends, who never gig, and they insist on having Fralins or Lollars. I'd love to have those pickups, but the pickups cost half of what I'm willing to pay for a guitar. Buy a cheap guitar and put some Fender custom shop pickups in it. You don't have to spend a lot of good money to get good tone. Buy a nice amp--that's where your money should be spent first.

My opinion is that if you're a real gigging musician, you never know what kind of room you're going to be playing in or what kind of conditions you'll meet (beer flying around or dudes trying to steal your shit), so I don't see the need for Fralins. If you're a session guy, you've probably got companies giving you guitars or you can afford the expensive stuff.

Buy what you can afford, shut up, and play. I'm a tone dork, but I'm realizing that I need to spend more time playing than reading HC. I hope my review helps someone make a decision on these pickups. I've played them through Fender bassmans, Marshall 50 watt plexis, and nice pedals, such as Fulltone, Keeley, and Zvex. These sounded great! Don't pay more than $150 for a set.

Single Coil....Slightly( no more than expected!!) buzzy and noisy but you pray in the right position....WATCH OUT> Serious tone and bite.

Installed into Warmoth (Great) Strat body, Olympic White, Lefty body and All Parts Neck ( 70's Style) . Calaham bridge and Jimi is really laughing because this IS the tone I wanted. I do not think you can put good pickups in a sub par guitar and expect great tone. ALL the elements are needed to produce this. I have experimented and have finally found a GREAT combination. See...it only took 20 years!!!!

The sound is for real Strat. Really clear and focused. Not into heavy metal moore like Walter Becker and Mark Knophlr ( sp ). This has a solid tone and will ring your bell!!!

Abagail Yabarra is a real treasure in this industry and should be recognized as such. There is a great amount of care taken to make these and they really sound special. You will love them!!

Single coil, passive, vintage style low output level
for specifications see Fender site

Fender American Stratocaster 1980
I use them in all possitions
I changed the originals with Texas Specials and than with '69 in order to improve the tone in direction vintage Strat

Output level lower than Texas Specials and similar to originals.
I play them directly into the Marshall DSL 401 with 2 output tubes removed in order to reduce power from 40W to 20W and boutique made Deluxe Reverb.
These pickups have balanced, classic Strat sound.
I play blues and classic rock, pickups suite my style.

If they were stolen, I'd buy them again.
I've been playing for 25 years. I also own Telecaster Custom '74.
I love these pickups for their tone, which has it's price. Pickups produce hum whenewer you come close to electrical devices, and don't have hum cancellation property in positions 2 and 4 as Texas Specials. On the other side, they have realy beautifull and warm tone, rich frequency response and are very dynamic and touch sensitive - joy for vintage sound lovers like myself. However, for working musician who has to set up in different venues with a lot of hum sources, some noiseless pickups are much easier to handle.

Passive Single Coil

My favorite guitar was stolen on a gig a few years ago. I picked up a Texas Special for half price (this is when they were being discontinued and fender was unloading them on every distributor) just so I could have a strat to play. Texas Special Pups are okay... to me they had too much .... artificial presence... and were just too hot for my liking. I replaced all three pups with the 69's and this temp guitar has become my #1.

I have to give credit to the guy who installed them, I'm sure he had a little to do with why I'm so pleased. The output is a little less than the TS's. I'm finding though that the less the output, the more potential for personality and dynamic..... so this is a plus. Very balanced response all the way around. I can really dig into thoses lower notes on the sixth string without it getting muddy, even with higher gain. I play a number of boutique pedals into a BadCat Black Cat. Once I got into the BadCat, I really started to hear what all my gear really sounded like. These pups were a great decision. Only hangups is that they're noisy. As all SC's rightfully are, but these seem to be a little noisier than most. AND, you don't get hum cancelling in 2'nd and 4'th positions. Great Tone!,,, but no hum cancel.

I wanted to get a set of these before Abigail whats-her-name retired. I've already had to replace my favorite guitar once, I hope I don't have to do it again... although I would promptly make sure I had another set of these on the way if I did. In fact, I'm considering ordering another set just to have around.... just in case. I've playing for 15 years, and been playing strats for 10 of those. Aside from this guitar, I've been considering getting an Eric Johnson. I've only played one once but remember being very impressed with it. Between the two, I imagine all my Strat dreams can come true.

Passive Single Coil

My favorite guitar was stolen on a gig a few years ago. I picked up a Texas Special for half price (this is when they were being discontinued and fender was unloading them on every distributor) just so I could have a strat to play. Texas Special Pups are okay... to me they had too much .... artificial presence... and were just too hot for my liking. I replaced all three pups with the 69's and this temp guitar has become my #1.

I have to give credit to the guy who installed them, I'm sure he had a little to do with why I'm so pleased. The output is a little less than the TS's. I'm finding though that the less the output, the more potential for personality and dynamic..... so this is a plus. Very balanced response all the way around. I can really dig into thoses lower notes on the sixth string without it getting muddy, even with higher gain. I play a number of boutique pedals into a BadCat Black Cat. Once I got into the BadCat, I really started to hear what all my gear really sounded like. These pups were a great decision. Only hangups is that they're noisy. As all SC's rightfully are, but these seem to be a little noisier than most. AND, you don't get hum cancelling in 2'nd and 4'th positions. Great Tone!,,, but no hum cancel.

I wanted to get a set of these before Abigail whats-her-name retired. I've already had to replace my favorite guitar once, I hope I don't have to do it again... although I would promptly make sure I had another set of these on the way if I did. In fact, I'm considering ordering another set just to have around.... just in case. I've playing for 15 years, and been playing strats for 10 of those. Aside from this guitar, I've been considering getting an Eric Johnson. I've only played one once but remember being very impressed with it. Between the two, I imagine all my Strat dreams can come true.

Pickup features: Single Coil Passive
Impedence or other specs: 5.5K

Model of guitar or bass: USACG Stratocaster
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: New Construction
Other pickups on guitar: None
Artists using this pickup: None that I know of
You musical style(s): All
Reason for pickup change: New guitar build.

Perceived output level: Percieved output is slightly higher than the stock pups in my US reissue.
Tone: Very balanced with a nice woody tone. Sounds great clean AND distorted.
Sonic evaluation: I've played them through non-mastervolume Marshalls, Tweed Deluxe, Deluxe Reverb, etc.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Rock, blues.

Comments: These pickups are a great value for Strat pickups. They actually SOUND like Strat pickups from the 60's. Think Hendrix, Trower, Gilmour, etc.

Pickup features: Passive single coil.
Impedence or other specs: ????????????

Model of guitar or bass: Home made Strats.
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Just put them in home made Strats.
Other pickups on guitar: Just my 69's!
Artists using this pickup: ????????????
You musical style(s): Neo-Classical/Metal,Metal,Hard Rock,Blues,Classic Rock,Fusion.
Reason for pickup change: I wanted an exact Jimi Hendrix/Robin Trower tone that had great highs and booming bass/nice mids.

Perceived output level: Great sounding Strat replacement pick ups. Has more punch than the Texas Specials with more bass boom.
Tone: Clear,powerful,boomy and bright.
Sonic evaluation: Strat to S.D.Pickup Booster,VHT Valvulator,Digitech RP-12,Hush pedal,Digitech RP-1,DBX 563X,VHT Valvulator,J.Dunlop Vol-Booster,to rack(1)ETA Power Conditioner,BBE 462,Hush 2CX,2 DOD 31 band EQ's ,Behringer Feedback Destroyer Pro 1124,Hush 2CX,BBE 462 to rack (2)Monster Cable power conditioner,Hush/Rocktron Super C,BBE 362 and split the signal to the front and effects loop of my Carvin X-100 B.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Great in clean and has more punch in distortion mode than the Texas Specials.

Comments: I've been playing 26 years.I love these pickups. My bridge pick up was defective but I replaced with a dimarzio FS-1....boohoohoo

Pickup features: Passive Single Coil
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Mexican Strat
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Original PIckups
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Hard Rock, Blues, Funk
Reason for pickup change: Old Pickups were to "poppy", no sustain, just not that great. Wanted a real strat tone.

Perceived output level: Hotter output than stock pickups. Not as much as my P-90 retrofits in my SG.
Tone: Real nice bass, tons of highs.
Sonic evaluation: Playing it through a Sound City 50 Plus with a 6x10 cabinet. Ibanez Ts9 tube screamer. I mean I put them in, and now this guitar sounds like a real stratocaster. The guitar came alive. Its now a different machine. I have never heard any of the other custom shop pickups, but these suit my tastes. Lots of low end, middle a plenty, and treble to kill. With my Epiphone sg that I put kent armstrong retrofit p-90's (see other review), I had bass on 5, middle full and treble full. I had to bring the treble down a little for the strat and put the bass up a little. I love this guitar sounds now. I reccomend them. Each selection has a very different and useful tone.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play hard rock, blues style music, these babies are a perfect match.

Comments: If they were stolen, I would probably try the custom shop 54's. Just because it would be an excuse to try them, not because I dont like these. I still want to get a higher level strat, but for a 75$ guitar,(bought off of friend) it will do for a while.

Pickup features:
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass:
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s):
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level:
Tone:
Sonic evaluation:
For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable:

Comments: This is an update to my Custom Shop '69 review submitted below at: 20:37, 11/5/2004
These pickups have sweetened with use. I added a kinman style tone bleed circuit and a Fralin style bassplate under the bridge pup.
I run my amps at full volume with the strat's volume knob at 5 to 7.5. The tone bleed circuit reduces any tone loss caused by the volume pot's positioning (lower volume used to mean a loss of tone - not any more).
The bassplate made a subtle improvement to the bridge pup's bottom end. I would say it's bassier, but perhaps it is more accurate to say that the bassplate took some of the edge off of the bridge pickup. It's smoother sounding now. If you try this mod, set the 5-way to bridge position and pick the strings right over the bridge pickup. Then lay down the meanest lick you know.
I've tried all sorts of strings. For these pups, I think I've settled on fender's 150's nickel wound 10's. Short break in period, and sound so warm when they peak. Big change from my Boomers 12's.
One other suggestion would be to take a good look at your cables before you install these pickups. Try out a set of George L's for your guitar (.225) and pedals (.155). Very low cap value on these cables. So much so, that I stopped using a tubescreamer once I installed the George L's. I've also tried these pups with a Planet Waves cable. Very nice. I may settle on the Planet Waves cable on the guitar and run George L's everywhere else ---> very transparent sound!
I've raised my rating of these pickups from 8 to 9. They seem to be getting better sounding with use, and of course a little tweaking. Richer, sweeter tones. I am very satisfied with these pickups. The best vintage sound of any and all 'new' fender pickups.
Someone was kind enough to post some samples of these pups: (if you plan to playback repeatedly, please download soudclips to your computer to save on bandwidth):
69Neck: http://www.acmeguitarworks.com/mp3/cs54/cs54_wing_5.mp3
69Neck/Mid: http://www.acmeguitarworks.com/mp3/cs69/cs69_wing_4.mp3
69Mid/Bridg: http://www.acmeguitarworks.com/mp3/cs69/cs69_wing_2.mp3
Compare to '54's:
54Neck: http://www.acmeguitarworks.com/mp3/cs54/cs54_wing_5.mp3
54Neck/Mid: http://www.acmeguitarworks.com/mp3/cs54/cs54_wing_4.mp3
54Mid/Bridg: http://www.acmeguitarworks.com/mp3/cs54/cs54_wing_2.mp3
Great pick-ups. I am _very_ close to what I feel is a perfect sounding strat. These pups are at the heart of the sound.

Pickup features: 3 passive single coils
Impedence or other specs: don't know

Model of guitar or bass: Hendrix Tribute lefty body/ reissue '69 lefty neck
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: I had the CS'54's in this guitar
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: ?
You musical style(s): blues/ country/rock
Reason for pickup change: I wanted to complete the '69 vibe! The CS'54s are in another guitar with '54 neck and body and sound great too!

Perceived output level: seem to have more output than the CS'54, not as much as Texas Specials, but that's fine.
Tone: I was pleasantly surprised. The CS'54s are really good, and i liked them, so i hoped i was not degrading the sound of this guitar. I certainly was not. The sound is crisp, clean, articulate and lively. I find nothing negative about these pups. I changed the .1mF that i had with the CS'54 for a .022mF, which some reviewer suggested, and i find that sound brightened up nicely, it was a bit dark. It has a really glassy sound now, which is what i was shooting for. I also always modify the tone control to operate the bridge, which i find to be a must. In this case, with the caps installed, the tone control is really responsive and has greater range.
Sonic evaluation: I use it with a Deluxe Reverb or a Blues Junior. I prefer the Deluxe, but the Junior is fun too! The Deluxe and the '69s make for a great combo! I also plug into a PODxt, and i have been very satisfied with the recorded sound i get!

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: This pick up is suitable for all positions. I like them all! There seems to be a greater distinction in sound between the different positions compared to other pups.

Comments: If lost (how the heck would you do that, without losing the whole guitar?) i would find them again. i really enjoy their vibe and sound. Initialled by Abigail herself too! what a treat! I have gone through alot of pick ups in my time, probably more than most people, and i find the Custom Shop '69 to be of superior quality and tone. I am closer to THAT sound now than ever before! The CS'54s are no slouch though! I love their sound too, in the '54 reissue, but i think i would give the nod to the '69 overall.

Pickup features: Passive single coil
Impedence or other specs: range between 5.65 to 5.75, 2 Ohenries

Model of guitar or bass: '54 Reissue
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: stock
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): blues and blues based rock
Reason for pickup change: The never ending tone quest. What other reason is there?

Perceived output level: Not as much output as I expected, but about equal with the custom '54's, but could be slightly less.
Tone: Very different from the custom '54's. More bass in the neck and neck/mid positions. Bridge pickup is more useful now that I have added tone control to it (an ultra simple mod). The 5 positions now offer very different sounds. Lots of variety.
Sonic evaluation: Fender Strat '54 Reissue (GHS Boomers, 12's)--->MXR Dynacomp (script logo), Maxon OD808 (reissue), Ibanez TS808, MXR Distortion Plus (script logo), Maxon AD80 delay, MXR 6 band EQ, MXR Noise Gate (script logo)---> 1959 and 1960 Tweed Fender Princetons (one wet).
Like I mentioned above, all 5 positions now sound very distinctive and offer a WIDE variety of tones. With my pedal / amps, I find endless combinations that sound pleasing. I can really hear what's going on with my hands. It may sound far out, but by really hearing what's going on with my left hand, I somehow feel more fluid, more relaxed and it comes through in the sound, which of course makes me feel even more relaxed, and so on. The day I had these pickups installed, I stayed up the whole night playing. Very inspiring.
There is no RWRP on the middle pickup, which means there is no hum cancelling in positions 2 and 4. The good news is that this also means you get the genuine strat "quack" which you cannot get with hum cancelling RWRP pups. Sheild your guitar and any noise will be tolerable. Check guitarnuts.com for instructions, but you don't have to go as crazy as that site suggests. Just sheild the cavities and the pickguard and make sure they connect. The difference will be very noticeable and worth the effort/expense. Call a local guitar shop to do it for you if you really want to make it easy.
I used a .022uf tone cap, which is a much lower value than would have been used in 1969, but I find the higher value caps (.047uf to .1uf) to be too dark sounding with these pickups. I really like to use the tone knobs and the .022uf gives me lots of range. As noted above, I modded my 5 way to allow tone control on the bridge pickup. My god why doesn't fender do this to all strats? Bell tones from heaven.
Abigail's initials and date on the grey bottoms gives these pickups a real vintage vibe. I am searching for a late 60's reissue to move these pickups into. I will restore my '54 to stock once I do find a donor. I just loaded a new pickguard with the '69s and swapped it in for the original, which had the solder broken at the input jack before I purchased it, so don't think I'm some kind of butcher, I just couldn't wait to try these pups.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I like Hendrix type tones, Mike Mcready (of Pearl Jam) and just about any blues based rock. This set of pups can cover that ground nicely.

Comments: I'm still exploring the tonal possibilities of these pickups. So far, I like them. Whether you like these pickups will depend largely on what you're looking for. If you like overdriven tubes (which smell so good when they're hot) then you may want to try these out. They offer a wide variety of tones and are touch sensitive. You hear (and feel) each note. Tube rattling lows, clear mid tone and crisp highs. They can cut their way through on solos or blend smoothly on rythm. They also work well with a variety of pedals. I own 8 guitars at the moment and these pickups offer more variety than any I've ever used. Buy them, try them.

Pickup features: Passive Single Coil
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: 65 Reissue Stratocaster Hardtail
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Standard Fnder Single Coils
Other pickups on guitar: None
Artists using this pickup: Jimi Hendriks
You musical style(s): Blues, Rock
Reason for pickup change: Improve tonal response of the guitar

Perceived output level: Medium output
Tone: Glassy, very clear highs and lows
Sonic evaluation: I use these pickups with a 65 Twin Reverb and a 135 Watt Showman Head and matching Fender cabinet and the sound is just awesome. Makes my guitar really sound like a Fender even at high levels unlike the current crop of standard fender pickups which are not quite like the vintage ones.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Excellent match for delta and chicago blues playing.

Comments: If I lost these pickups, I'd buy another set in an instant. These are the ultimate vintage Fender sound quite unlike the Fat 50's, 57/62's or the Custom 54's. This make a Fender sound like a Fender. Fitting them onto copy cats or others may not give you the same level of satisfaction.

Pickup features: S/C's
Impedence or other specs: 5.5k

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Jimi Hendrix Woodstock Strat
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Fender Special Reverse staggered American Vintage Reissue pups
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Blues, Rock, Sessions
Reason for pickup change: Got these real cheap.

Perceived output level: Medium/low output
Tone: More middle and slightly more poke than vintage strat pickups, but less clangy and dominating than Texas Specials
Sonic evaluation: Using Vintage Marshall 1/2 stack, and blackface bassman with 4x10. All I could want in a strat pickup. Sounds like a strat should, only more..........clearer, more shimmering, but still more poise and balance. All positions sound great. Abigail Ybarra did an awesome job! My strat sounded great before (it's a nice one) - it ALWAYS recieved complements about it's tone, but now it sounds so much better

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: All styles of music. When heights are set right (nice and low) very even transition from position to position.

Comments: I had a great guitar with a great sound before, but now.......this is the sound of a strat that I always dreamed of - and they were so cheap I couldn't beleie it. They hadn't even been used.
I've never played any old strats, as I'm not too old and can't afford one, but do I play for a living and have a good ear.
If you can find a set.... buy them.

Pickup features: Single coil
Impedence or other specs: DC resistance 5.8k inductance 2.2 henries

Model of guitar or bass: Japanese 57 vintage Stratocaster RI
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Stock Japanese ceramic bar pickups
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s):
Reason for pickup change: Stock pickups were not at all focused and they didn't get the right sound but look like they are supposed to.

Perceived output level: Medium output
Tone: Very balanced with uniform output from pickup to pickup
Sonic evaluation: Stratocaster with vintage Fender blackface amps and Dr. Z.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Rock and blues style is what I play. These pickups are a very good match as they are clean but have more than enough output for most styles. Pickups sound fine in all positions.

Comments: I would buy these pickups again. I have been playing guitar for over thirty years. I like the Custom 69's better than the 57/62 reissues, the Texas Specials and the Custom 54's.
The reason being that the other Fender pickups vary in output level from pickup to pickup and they do not have the clarity that these AY signed pickups have.
The pickups work well with fuzz, distortion and booster boxes and they can take the heat and provide clarity that is essential for the sound to cut through without being muddy.
Highly recommended for Stratocaster players who are looking for a balanced and clean sound without being thin harmonically.

Pickup features: Single Coil
Impedence or other specs: 5.8k

Model of guitar or bass: 1999 American Standard with Maple Neck
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: CS '54
Other pickups on guitar: Fender CS 54's
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Wide range - blues, rock, jazz
Reason for pickup change: Wanted less mid's and more dynamics on the neck pup

Perceived output level: Vintage strat output (5.8k) slightly less than the '54 (5.9k)
Tone: Clear and dynamic (more presence than the '54)
Sonic evaluation:
For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Great for everything but metal

Comments: It was just what I needed for the neck position. I still love my CS 54's in the bridge and middle. The 54 in the neck was a little too smooth (mids), but that could be my guitar. The '69 has great lows and clean highs...very woody sounding...and cuts through better now.

Pickup features: single coil passive
Impedence or other specs: ?

Model of guitar or bass: custom 54 strat copy
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: all
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: ??
You musical style(s): blues rock
Reason for pickup change: only had some crappy jap pickups before

Perceived output level: relatively quiet
Tone: balanced
Sonic evaluation: strat through Trace Elliot Trident (100w valve combo)

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Eric Johnson, SRV stuff, not enough power in any position

Comments: I do actually like the sound of these pickups, BUT i then compared them to my Dads Seymour Duncan alnico 2 pros, and i thought H'MM. There was more edge which i prefer in the SD's. Anyway, im trading them in for some fat 50's, ill give them a chance otherwise i think ill be having some seymours. However for a nice glassy clean tone they are a good pickup.

Pickup features: Single Coil, passive
Impedence or other specs: 6.0K?

Model of guitar or bass: MIM 60's Classic Stratocaster
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Stock MIM pickups
Other pickups on guitar: N/A
Artists using this pickup: Hendrix (the originals of course)
You musical style(s): Blues, Classic Rock, Top 40 type alternative
Reason for pickup change: Stock ones too bland. Only good for squeaky clean tone. Abigail Ybarra winds the 69's in Fender's Custom Shop (with Fender since '58).

Perceived output level: A little less than most Custom shop pickups out there
Tone: Very clean vintage Strat tone that can still cut it when overdriven. Plenty of thumpin' lows, clear highs (more like presence instead of trebly.
Sonic evaluation: I'm running this through a 94 Blues Deluxe and/or '66 Fender Princeton Reverb. Better used with a Tube Screamer pedal instead of your usual Distortion pedal. I think the tone is better when also used with any Fender Blackface amp like the Princeton, Twin, Deluxe, you know.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Good match for old Hendrix, Cream, anything from the 60's. Get Delta Tone pickups if your looking for a more modern sound.

Comments: Very good pickups. I nice in between sound, not quite Fender 70's, not all 60's. I'd use this for all Classic Rock stuff. Even Country or Surf. Forget Metal. Remember, 1969 had never heard of Metallica or Rob Zombie and Fender was not making pickups for high output shread. It's like having a stock pickup but just a little better made that doesn't crap out on you when using overdrive. Threshold of overdrive would be to the level of lets say Richie Blackmore. It's nice to think that the same person who made pickups back then is the same person making these pickups now. Seems more authenic to me. Gives me an idea of what was coming out of Fullerton back in the late 60's.