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Author Topic: Mongrel Strat, "free swim" edition
bear

Posts: 153
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Post Mongrel Strat, "free swim" edition
on: August 7, 2012, 18:53
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Time to break in the pickups sub forum. In the spirit of Joe's Mongrel Strat projects, I'll pose my blank slate for suggestions.

I've got a Fernandes LE something or other Strat clone, not a desirable Japanese model but still pretty nice sounding. Stock is cheap ceramic mag pickups and ultra thin wires, kinda okay but not great. So replacement is in order. The body has a swimming pool route. Mostly -- the factory has a tiny lip around a humbucker sized neck pickup route, and a full pool for bridge and middle.

So, if you had all this space and weren't limited to Strat-sized pickups, what would you throw in for your ultimate mongrel and what do you have in mind to get out of that combo? (Assume pickguard cuts will accommodate anything that fits the route.)

I kind of like the idea of something big, deep, and clean in the neck like a Charlie Christian or one of those Seth Lover "staple" pickups like in early LP customs, a Filtertron in the middle for shades of detail and ke-rang, and something like a moderately cooking but old-school Tele bridge pickup for everything those can do when you ride the volume and tone knobs.

But it's a free swim in the pool, so dive in with your own ideas.
Thecoslar

Posts: 45
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Post Re: Mongrel Strat, "free swim" edition
on: August 7, 2012, 19:09
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I love the idea of an alnico 3 humbucker in the bridge, a 60's jazzmaster style pickup in the middle, and an underwound P-90 in the neck. Really clear, dark, understated, and different than anything else out there. It would, however, be ugly as hell.
joe
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Post Re: Mongrel Strat, "free swim" edition
on: August 8, 2012, 12:42
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Underwound pickups in neck position rock!
Oinkus

Posts: 236
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Post Re: Mongrel Strat, "free swim" edition
on: August 9, 2012, 05:53
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Would probably just put 3 Fralin humbuckers (9k,8.5k, 8k)in there but maybe get different magnets in them like a alnico 5 , 3 and 2. Wire it series/split/parallel and put a blend knob in it.
scott

Posts: 5
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Post Re: Mongrel Strat, "free swim" edition
on: August 10, 2012, 21:31
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Ever try mini humbuckers!?
Oinkus

Posts: 236
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Post Re: Mongrel Strat, "free swim" edition
on: August 11, 2012, 06:36
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3 P-90s would be fun too !
bear

Posts: 153
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Post Re: Mongrel Strat, "free swim" edition
on: August 11, 2012, 09:57
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Quote from scott on August 10, 2012, 21:31
Ever try mini humbuckers!?

Can't even remember a run at a mini-hum axe in a store. I haven't gotten a sense that the replacement options are particularly strong, as most don't seem to distinguish Firebird from Mini Hum and a lot try to make them sound just like PAF's in a smaller case. I'm all ears to know where there are strong options here, though.

Quote from Oinkus on August 11, 2012, 06:36
3 P-90s would be fun too !

I'm not really interested in three positions of the same pickup type. I want to mix things up and have different textures available.
Caevan-
OShite

Posts: 10
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Post Re: Mongrel Strat, "free swim" edition
on: August 14, 2012, 16:46
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Besides liking your idea, "something big, deep, and clean in the neck like a Charlie Christian or one of those Seth Lover "staple" pickups like in early LP customs, a Filtertron in the middle for shades of detail and ke-rang, and something like a moderately cooking but old-school Tele bridge pickup for everything those can do when you ride the volume and tone knobs"...

I (much like Oinkus) might consider a trio of soap-bars, perhaps with a three-switch/14 parellel, series, and series-parallel combinations, or at least one means or another to engage all three together simultaneously in aparallel.

Or, I might consider an H-S-S array consisting of a Filter'Tron and two Dearmond/Dynasonic types, perhaps TV Jones models.

Quote from bear on August 11, 2012, 09:57

Quote from scott on August 10, 2012, 21:31
Ever try mini humbuckers!?

Can't even remember a run at a mini-hum axe in a store. I haven't gotten a sense that the replacement options are particularly strong, as most don't seem to distinguish Firebird from Mini Hum and a lot try to make them sound just like PAF's in a smaller case. I'm all ears to know where there are strong options here, though.

MUCH agreed.

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~
_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _
joe
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Posts: 224
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Post Re: Mongrel Strat, "free swim" edition
on: August 19, 2012, 11:51
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Quote from scott on August 10, 2012, 21:31
Ever try mini humbuckers!?

Only on other people's guitars, like Polly Harvey's stupidly expensive Firebird!

I really want to get into them, because they SOUND like the sort of thing I'd love. But I've never acquired a suitable guitar. Might be a good premise for the next FrankenWarmoth! 🙂
Jeff_H

Posts: 47
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Post Re: Mongrel Strat, "free swim" edition
on: August 20, 2012, 06:38
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Joe - Guitar Fetish has some pretty cool adapter rings that allow you to mount their mini-humbuckers in place of a P90. Also available in black.

They also have some minis that mount directly in a P90 location that they call the Soapbar 180.
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