Lindy Fralin pickups

[Illini1330]

I deciding on new piclups. I like the ants, but was wondering about Fralin pickups. Hows the vintage hot, blues special , or anyother kinds. How does adding the bass plate help, should I add the blender pot, and should I get the bridge or neck pups reverse wound too? What will these mods do to the sound?

Thanks

[Illini1330]

http://www.fralinpickups.com/stratstyle.htm

Heres the link. I have a MIM strat with a rw fretboard.

[Lewguitar]

I have Strats with Fralin Vintage Hots and Strats with Duncan Antiquitys and I love them both!

I have to say that at the moment, the Duncan Antiquity II Surfers are among my favorite Strat pickups I have ever owned...but that the Fralin Vintage Hots actually sound more like the 40 year old pickups in my '63 Strat.

All three pickups in my '63 Strat are wound to about 6K...great for the neck and middle but the bridge pickup sounds thin and a little weak sometimes...a probem with all vintage Strats, IMO, and the reason most new Strats have a hotter than vintage bridge pickup.

The Fralin Vintage Hot neck and middle pickups are wound to about 6K: vintage specs. The bridge pickup in that set is wound to just under 7K: hotter than vintage but it sounds "right".

The Duncan Antiquitys are wound hotter than vintage. 6.5K for the neck and middle and almost 10K for the Custom bridge pickup.

The Duncan Antiquity II's use alnico 5 polepieces and have a brighter, slightly stronger tone than the Antiquity I Texas Hots that use alnico 2 polepieces. I love them both but the Antiquity II Surfers are my favorites.

I've had a couple of differant sets of Fralin Blues Specials in my Strats too. To my ears, they have a smoother, thicker, less glassy tone than vintage Strat pickups and sounded better, to me, with 500K pots, which seemed to retain more highs and help them sound more like vintage 6K Strat pickups.

I love the Blues Specials as a Tele pickup but prefer the Duncan Antiquity II or Fralin Vintage Hot when it comes to Strat pickups.

Personally, I think the Duncan Antiquity II and Fralin Vintage Hots are among the finest Strat pickups ever made, and are superior to the original pickups in my '63 Strat.

At the moment, my Strat with Antiquity II's is my favorite Strat I own...it just sounds incredable. Everything I've always wanted from a Strat and the best #2 and #4 tones I've ever had!

Lew