Surfers vs Texax Hots

[Shibby]

Hi everyone,
i'm gonna get my new set of pickups for my MIM strat with maple fretboard and alder body (rather bright sounding) ,i want real "ultimate" strat tone but without ice pick in my ears,
i was thinking of sets:
- surfers all
- texas hots all
- surfers (neck and middle) + texas hot custom bridge
i'm afraid that surfers could sound too bright and icepicky in my strat ,and i'm afraid that texas hots won't give me some classy and glassy hendrix tone especially in the neck position. i want bell tone and quack all the way.
please help me to choose

[davedvdy]

Go with the Surfers for glass, bell, and quack

[Shibby]

Thanks,
I only hope it won't be too bright for that guitar.

[davedvdy]

Thanks,
I only hope it won't be too bright for that guitar.

Well, I don't believe that would be the case. It is quite normal for a 60's era pickup to be combined with a maple fretboard and Alder body.

[Shibby]

Thanks again
i'll be going tomorrow to my local Duncan dealer to get those sweet babies

[davedvdy]

Good luck - most likely you will be quite impressed with those

[Guitar Toad]

I have a Texas Hot neck and middle with the TH Custom bridge. I get some really nice quack with these pickups. I was worried that they wouldn't be bright enough for me especially for the bridge. But they do have a nice bright chime to them when I remember to turn the presence up on the amp. The Texas Hot set gives a great strat sound without sounding too thin and enough meat from the Custom Bridge for a fuller tone. I've heard many guys say they don't like the bridge pickup in strats. I love mine. I think I play from the bridge more than the neck.

I would love to play some Surfers to be able to compare. I think it's a win-win decision, TH or Surfers you'll end up with a great set for a strat.

[sufferinrewind]

I think it's a win-win decision, TH or Surfers you'll end up with a great set for a strat.

+1 here. Those two sets are probably the absolute best you can get for vintage Strat tone.

[Gearjoneser]

My favorite strat has the Surfer Custom bridge and 2 Surfers. The Surfer Custom bridge is pretty hot and sounds great.....I keep the tone backed down to 8 on the bridge normally. I always keep the tone on 10 for the neck/middle.

You'll notice that the vast majority of vintage spec strat pickups are A5, so the Surfers are as good as it gets for a traditional strat.

[davedvdy]

+1 here. Those two sets are probably the absolute best you can get for vintage Strat tone.

While both sets are great in their own right, I keep hearing that the Texas Hots, do not sound glassy at all, which is what the original poster is after. In fact, every user that has reviewed them or explains them, seems to mention that.

[ParaGuitarMedic]

I've been through this before and here is what I've learned:

If you get a Surfer set you will immediately go buy another strat for the Texas Hots and visa versa!

So +1 on the Win-Win!

Though I don't think that the Texas Hots are near as dark as people make them out to be.

[Lewguitar]

I like them both alot. The Surfers sound like great '62 style Strat pickups: bright and deep and super lively.

The Texas Hots have more mids, the bass is a little spongier and the treble is a little softer...not so hard and glassy.

But the Texas Hots have plenty of treble...just not as much as the Surfers.

I like to mix them and use the Surfers for the neck and middle and Texas Hot Custom for the bridge.

You cannot go wrong with either set. If you know that you've found most Strat pickups to be to bright and glassy for your tastes go for the Texas Hots...if you love that classic bright and glassy sound go for the Surfers.

Lew

[davedvdy]

Lew, do you think that Surfers go well with a Maple fretboard and Alder body Strat or too bright?

[Shibby]

thanks for your support everyone.
I'm gonna be proud user of Duncan Antiquity Surfers set in about 15hrs
Cheers

[Folo]

Lew, why does the middle make a better neck pickup and the neck make a better middle pickup? Thanks!

[Gunny47]

I never tried either set, but according to my research, think of the Texas Hots like Fender Texas Specials in a SRV strat or similar. The THs are meant to be a more hot-rodded tone while retaining an Alnico 2 magnet warmth and vintage-style tone by aging the pickup. The Hots are meant for 50s strats (maple boards) due to their warmth, but are not historically accurate 50s strat pickup clones.

On the other hand, the surfers are clones of pickups from a '64 strat and will give you all the glass and quack associated with the strat sound. Because the '60s strat pickups were pretty similar to 50's pickups, if you are looking to nail a '50s sound, you should go with the surfers. The 60s strat pickups pretty much just had higher output than the 50s strat pickups and that was it. And becasue you have the custom bridge pickup with even more output, you got yourself "better than vintage tone." Good luck with your choice and due to the rave reviews of the surfers and considering what you want (glass etc), go for the surfers.

[Lewguitar]

I never tried either set, but according to my research, think of the Texas Hots like Fender Texas Specials in a SRV strat or similar. The THs are meant to be a more hot-rodded tone while retaining an Alnico 2 magnet warmth and vintage-style tone by aging the pickup. The Hots are meant for 50s strats (maple boards) due to their warmth, but are not historically accurate 50s strat pickup clones.

On the other hand, the surfers are clones of pickups from a '64 strat and will give you all the glass and quack associated with the strat sound. Because the '60s strat pickups were pretty similar to 50's pickups, if you are looking to nail a '50s sound, you should go with the surfers. The 60s strat pickups pretty much just had higher output than the 50s strat pickups and that was it. And becasue you have the custom bridge pickup with even more output, you got yourself "better than vintage tone." Good luck with your choice and due to the rave reviews of the surfers and considering what you want (glass etc), go for the surfers.

Actually, the Texas Hots are alnico 2 pickups and more similar to Duncan APS-1's....but better. They don't sound much like the Fender Texas Specials, IMO.

And Fender Strat pickups from the 50's tend to be weaker and have a lower DC Resistance than pickups from around '62 or so.

The alnico 5 Surfers are patterned after the stronger '62 Fender Strat pickup...not the weaker 50's versions.

As far as I know, Fendr never made alnico 2 Strat pickups in the 50's or 60's...so the Texas Hots have thier own thing going. Although the idea might be that since alnico 2 has a weaker magnetic field, maybe they're inspired by alnico 5 50's pickups that have lost a little magnetic strength and sound alittle like alnico 2. Maybe...

Lew

[MartinSixStringCustoms]

I've tried all those pickups and combinations and the one I settled on for my JV Strat was 3 Surfers. My least favorite was the Custom Bridge (both Surf & Texas Hot).

[Shibby]

I got a hohner with rosewood fretboard , alder/ash body and a pair of ssl-1 and a JB, if surfers are better and more complex sounding i think i'll be happy with my purchase even if the fretboard make the sound a bit brightier
thanks again for your help guys,
i'll be glad if i hear more from you

[davedvdy]

On the other hand, the surfers are clones of pickups from a '64 strat. if you are looking to nail a '50s sound, you should go with the surfers.

I'm sorry but this statement seems conflicting. If the Surfers are a '64 Strat sound wouldn't it be a 60's strat emulation as opposed to a 50's?