EJ pickup set experiences

[Ash-Man]

Hi guys, after quite some time of having the stock strat pickups in my AM with a fs-1 at the bridge I'm considering a change, I'm looking for something that handles gain very well but also has the bell like chime clean, I heard these in an EJ strat and man they caught my attention, I play bluesy rock mainly with this strat through a single channel tube amp with a dirt box and delay, my rig by modern standards is simple so these really need to shine if they're going on my strat anyway go ahead give me the good bad and ugly

 

[Stratoskater]

I love them. I have owned several EJ Strats in large part to the pickups. My rig is simple as well, 5e3, fuzz, boost, Delay

 

[Bodean]

Just wanted to say hey to the @Ash-Man. Hadn't seen you in a minute.

 

[Ash-Man]

Just wanted to say hey to the @Ash-Man. Hadn't seen you in a minute.

Howdy Bo! been working way too much these last couple years. I'm in a better situation now as far as a job so I got much more time for my family AND music now thankfully! I feel like a new man!

 

[Bodean]

Howdy Bo! been working way too much these last couple years. I'm in a better situation now as far as a job so I got much more time for my family AND music now thankfully! I feel like a new man!

Cool brother. Glad things are looking better for you and your family. Hope to see you more.

 

[Ash-Man]

I appreciate the input I keep saying I'm gonna put a chorus or vibe between the dirt and delay but i can't find the right one, anything weird you've discovered over time with the pickups? I know one time I bought some really nice boutique pickups and eventually discovered they recorded weird

I love them. I have owned several EJ Strats in large part to the pickups. My rig is simple as well, 5e3, fuzz, boost, Delay

 

[Stratoskater]

I appreciate the input I keep saying I'm gonna put a chorus or vibe between the dirt and delay but i can't find the right one, anything weird you've discovered over time with the pickups? I know one time I bought some really nice boutique pickups and eventually discovered they recorded weird

I haven’t found anything odd with them. The middle pickup is designed to be a bit louder so you can keep it lower. EJ apparently asked for this because he picks right over the middle one and tended to hit it so this allows it to be lower but still as loud as the neck and bridge. They sound great clean and handle dirt exceptionally well too.

 

[David Garner]

I’m not a fan. I have an EJ Strat and the pickups stay in a drawer. I tried a bunch of others and settled on Bare Knuckle Apaches.

The EJs sound good individually, but the set feels like it’s cobbled together out of spare parts. The neck, middle and bridge are all different winds. Worse, the middle is a 60s wind with A3 magnets, which is an oddball combination. The neck is lovely. The bridge is good, just a hotter A5 wind. The three together are just weird to me. Switching pickups, there isn’t a lot of continuity of tone. The Apaches sound like someone expected the player to want to switch pickups during songs. They just seamlessly blend from one to the other. Other sets I’ve tried do as well — Fralin Vintage Hots and Fender Texas Specials specifically.

 

[Ash-Man]

See this is the kind of stuff I'm interested in hearing I'm the kinda guy who might adjust volume and tone and switch pickups 5 or 6 times in a 5 minute song so the entire set has to play nice together and "flow" so to speak, basically I want something with a hot bridge, throaty neck and awesome neck/middle combo that is good clean but really good at taking different drive pedals, the texas specials are not out of the realm of possibility for me, whole reason I am looking to change is I currently have the same issue with the FS-1 and american standard stock middle and neck, all are awesome on their own but they for sure seem a bit cobbled and don't have the characteristics of a good set pickup to pickup, thanks for the input I for sure will be checking out more demos

I’m not a fan. I have an EJ Strat and the pickups stay in a drawer. I tried a bunch of others and settled on Bare Knuckle Apaches.

The EJs sound good individually, but the set feels like it’s cobbled together out of spare parts. The neck, middle and bridge are all different winds. Worse, the middle is a 60s wind with A3 magnets, which is an oddball combination. The neck is lovely. The bridge is good, just a hotter A5 wind. The three together are just weird to me. Switching pickups, there isn’t a lot of continuity of tone. The Apaches sound like someone expected the player to want to switch pickups during songs. They just seamlessly blend from one to the other. Other sets I’ve tried do as well — Fralin Vintage Hots and Fender Texas Specials specifically.

 

[Nasser]

You might also want to check out the D. Allen Dovers which do the EJ thing very well (both high gain and chime). I've got a set of his Echoes PUPs and they are absolutely fantastic.