If you’ve found yourself in the market for a set of replacement pickups for your Stratocaster––or heck, maybe you’re just in the early research phase of doing some hack & slash guitar mods––you really need to check out the Strat Pickup Sound Clips page over at Acme Guitar Works.
These guys are in the business of selling pickups and other guitar parts, but be that as it may, they’ve done a stellar job of taking the pain out of comparing after-market Strat pickups… via mp3 files.
The concept is actually pretty simple: to level the playing field, and make comparisons as true-to-life as possible, the folks at Acme recorded a number of popular singlecoil pickup sets (Fralins, Fenders, Lollar, and Lace) all using the exact same set-up––same guitar, same amp, same settings, and even the same guitar player.
The result is an excellent page of mp3 samples boasting side-by-side comparisons of:
- Lindy Fralin – Vintage Hot, and Blues Specials
- Fender – CS Fat ’50s, CS ‘54, CS ‘69, and CS Texas Specials
- Jason Lollar – Tweed, Blonde, Blackface, and Special
- Lace – Holy Grail
This page is a true godsend for anyone finding it difficult to get hands-on access to all of these great pickup sets (let alone in a setting where they can be compared side-by-side,) and according to Acme they’ve got more pickup mp3 samples in the works… I’ll keep you updated.
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March 7th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
Awesome find, Cary!
I’m always looking to get more “spank” out of my Fenders. My latest Telecaster Nashville Power has the Texas Specials in it, and I love the way it twangs….perhaps more so than may Fender American Deluxe with the Vintage Noiseless Pickups. I recently put light top/heavy bottom strings on it, and it sustains well now too….. I still wish it felt more vintage.
March 7th, 2007 at 2:53 pm
Hey, as soon as I listened to the samples I knew I’d need to pass it on… glad it will come in handy.
Of the pickups listed I really like the Custom Shop ’69s… they’ve got a true Hendrix vibe goin’ on. I’m pretty sure these guys will get my business if I ever need to purchase new pickups––I owe it to them for the great resource!