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Hi John!
Well, I did it (finally) and i could'nt be happier! Thank you so very much!
Upon recommendation from Danielle at SDI, I used the TB-59 which in my
opinion was pretty close to perfect as far as the desired tone output match.
There are however some notes I feel I should pass along;
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1. If you purchase the no kiddin' Fender Lone Star pickguard, you will have
to do the following mods.
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a. Route approximate 1/8" to !/4" of the bridge and middle pickup cavities
towards the neck. The Lone Star's are routed differently than a
standard Strat, I assume provide a more balanced or even pickup spacing. The
bridge and middle pickups have been moved towards the neck. The neck pickup
remains in the normal position. (An unexpected surprise!) If one wants to
avoid this operation, they should purchase a non-Lone Star pickguard. If you
have a stock Strat pickguard laying around, take it to a dealer with the Lone
Star and compare, you will be surprised! I do have to admit that the Lone
Star spacing is more visually appealing the normal Strat hum-sing-sing
configuration. I went ahead and did the routing thing.
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b. Another surprise! The SD Trembuckers are a little bit wider than
standard HB's and the pickguards bridge pickup hole will have to be widened
to accomodate the TB. I didn't measure the difference, but i'm guessing
about 1/8" on each side (from mounting screw to mounting screw). I'm sure
this mod would apply to any pickguard cut for a standard humbucker.
[ed. note -- The Seymour Duncan Trembuckers have wider pole spacing to line the poles up with the strings on a vintage Strat tremelo. If you have a late-model AmStd they say you should use the non-Trembucker version of the pickups. Best bet -- measure the "E" to "E" spacing on your bridge and call Seymour Duncan to find out which is best for your spacing -- John]
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2. Now to the fun part!
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a. My guitar (Mexi Standard) had exceptionally hot stock pickups (probably
on par with Texas Specials) and was a perfect match in regards to output with
the TB-59. If one wants to retain a close to stock Strat sound in positions
1 through 4, I strongly recommend staying with the relatively low powered
TB-59. The bridge(split)/middle position is absolutely beautiful (very
Clapton-esque)!
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b. I also tried a pair of DiMarzio (DM) HS-2 stacked hum cancelling single
coil(?) pickups with the TB-59. I was very surprised at how beautiful the
HS-2s were tonally. Shimmering, brilliant, quiet. They sounded like my old
'64 L Series Strat! But, they also had the very low output of a pre CBS
pickup, and pwer wise could not stand up to the TB-59 without me practically
lowering the TB-59 level with the pickguard. I guess my point is, stock USA
and Japanese pickups are not a good match for the TB-59. A higher powered HB
would be ridiculous (in my opinion) with stock single coils, with the
exception of stock Mexi Standard pickups. Back to the DM HS-2s, John, for a
person who desires vintage Strat tone, appearance and absolute quietness,
they cannot be beat! I could not believe how sweet they were!! I highly
recommend them (except for the HB-Sing-Sing setup)!
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c. My goal in this whole endeavor was to have a HB that would pretty even in
output to the (hotter) singles. I just wanted more "ass" out the bridge
position. I didn't want a setup that ROARED when I switched to the bridge
postion. The TB-59 matched with Texas Specials, or the Mexi Standard Strat
pickups is close to perfect!
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d. For those who insist on a completely quiet Strat (stacked single coils)
that still sound like a stock Strat, I would highly recommend the DiMarzio
Fast Track 1's. Yeah, I know, they have twin blades instead of the cool
looking pole pieces, but the output, tone and silence more than make up for
the non-traditional appearance. They are also a perfect match for the TB-59.
That is my current setup and I LOVE IT!
Just for the record, I am a complete Strat tone freak! I hate a Strat with
super high powered pickups that lose all the brilliance, shimmer and high end
punch (Les-Caster). The setup described in para "d", is truly the best of
both worlds. The Fast Track 1's are a tiny bit warmer, with a tad more mids
than a stock Strat pickup, but not noticably. The neck position provides an
extremely satisfying SRV tone without having to resort to cable car gauge
strings.
Anyway, enough rambling! I apologize for sounding like a DiMarzio sales rep,
but when I run across something that really excites me tone-wise, i just have
to pass it along! Please let me know if you receive this diatribe. I would
love to hear your opinions or answer any questions.
Yours in Stratisfaction
Kai in Colorado
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