Fender ULTRA HSS - with Fat 50s in middle and CS 69 in the neck -- thoughts?????

[Elian96]

Hello, first post - i apologize if i make mistakes or if this question is obnoxious, but i'd really like the opinion of someone who has tried this first hand.

Im a music producer spending most of my time in the studio recording parts for clients, mixing, etcetera
Im looking for a versatile workhorse type deal, definitely not much texas twang, much more modern chime and bell like tone from my strat. Im a big fan of Rabea Massad's strat tones, for example.

Happening upon the CS 69's my eyes widened and i couldn't believe what i was hearing. Everyone has that strat tone in their head and hearing these, across what seemed to be 100 different videos --- these were it. Hendrix-y, chimey, tight as HELL no more flabby tone in the low mids and bass. Ridiculous how these pups were what i have been looking for for 10 or so years. Thats what i get for not researching pickups properly before i guess

HOWEVER .... i also decided to check out the other custom shop offerings. The fat 60's and 50's also caught my ear quite a lot. Did not like any other pickup.

The fat 50's seems to be ... the more balanced? It has mids, the right amount. Its still scooped, thats for sure, so it has that strat clean thing i love, but its also not crater level scooped like the CS 69 seems to be.

Im also worried the CS69s will hurt my hears if i pick too hard on a clean channel. They have quite a lot of treble to them. The fat 50's again seem to be the perfect middle ground, if not a bit muddy on the neck.


So, i want to make this franken caster situation with fat 50's in the bridge and neck, and 69's in the neck --- OR get an HSS ultra strat, have the humbucker be the bridge, fat 50's in middle, CS 69 in the neck

I've actually seen others say their strats are set up like this and its their dream guitar. I also heard gilmour had a similar thing going on in his strat? Unsure.


Anyways, this is my first ever post so be gentle, and looking forward to your thoughts. And yes it has to be the ultra stratocaster the neck is to die for, in my humble opinion.

 

[StratsoundFan]

I have CS fat 50s in my Am standard. Love the neck and middle pickups. The neck pickup is my favourite of all the single coils I've tried so far. It's a perfect strat pickup for my needs. There is nothing even remotely muddy with that pickup. These pickups sound best clean and overdriven. Extreme high gain, not so much. But that's just my opinion.

 

[Elian96]

I have CS fat 50s in my Am standard. Love the neck and middle pickups. The neck pickup is my favourite of all the single coils I've tried so far. It's a perfect strat pickup for my needs. There is nothing even remotely muddy with that pickup. These pickups sound best clean and overdriven. Extreme high gain, not so much. But that's just my opinion.

Yeah?! Thats comforting. So it doesnt err on dull or too fat, but more balanced and chimey? Because the youtube videos go both ways.

Im only planning to use this strat as a clean chord / lead playing machine, or at most crunch it up tastefully. So never driving it into chug chug high gain territory.

Thanks for weighing in man. I'd like to hear more, if you have more to say. Perhaps comparing the stock to how the fat 50s sounded, your impressions, etc

 

[StratsoundFan]

I'm not sure what do you mean by "comparing the stock to the fat 50s"!? They are stock pickups.

 

[92 Fiesta Red 62]

“Fat 50’s In The Middle” sounds like my sister-in-law’s waist measurement.

 

[StratsoundFan]

This is a nice demo of how the pickups sound. Clean-ish only.

 

[jvin248]

.

You have options.

Lowering pickups gives better tone, turn up the amp for more volume.
Pickups can be tipped for more or less bass or treble.
You can swap pots and caps to also push tone.

Does that H split? Can you get the famous #2 Quack?

You can always build up and swap loaded pickguard later.

Most versatile Strat for me is classic SSS, but wired with the Armstrong Blender mod. Second tone knob blends between SSS and series HSH. Hot super Strat and LP PAF in there.

.

 

[Elian96]

This is a nice demo of how the pickups sound. Clean-ish only.

Oh wow. Fat 50s right? Freaking incredible

Dear lord, the way the note soars out of the attack is beautiful. The 69's dont have that, the note seemingly dies so quickly.

Ok. ill pull the trigger on the 50's -- if i find trouble ill buy the 69's just for the neck

Thanks!

 

[Elian96]

.

You have options.

Lowering pickups gives better tone, turn up the amp for more volume.
Pickups can be tipped for more or less bass or treble.
You can swap pots and caps to also push tone.

Does that H split? Can you get the famous #2 Quack?

You can always build up and swap loaded pickguard later.

Most versatile Strat for me is classic SSS, but wired with the Armstrong Blender mod. Second tone knob blends between SSS and series HSH. Hot super Strat and LP PAF in there.

.

Yes, i was thinking of building two different pickguards with different configurations.

This is getting pricey though.

 

[Dick Blackmore]

Don’t be afraid to mix and match. I have a guitar with Texas Special in the bridge, PV 65 middle, CS 54 neck, just like Robin Trower…sounds amazeballs. I love the PV 65.

 

[Odell]

When mixing different pickups, I'd pay particular attention to switch positions 2 and 4. Typically, the neck position and 2 and 4 get a lot of play. No tone control on the middle pickup can help a bit with the combinations.

Just a thought... If this guitar is to be used only in the studio, why not go with noiseless pickups? DiMarzio makes some great ones. Might save you some grief down the line.

 

[Elian96]

When mixing different pickups, I'd pay particular attention to switch positions 2 and 4. Typically, the neck position and 2 and 4 get a lot of play. No tone control on the middle pickup can help a bit with the combinations.

Just a thought... If this guitar is to be used only in the studio, why not go with noiseless pickups? DiMarzio makes some great ones. Might save you some grief down the line.

Although my battle with single coil noise has been the single biggest issue when it comes to recording literally anything, across my 15 years of work, i still LOVE the fat 50's sound and the Cs 69 sound. They really are unbeatable.

The single coils that are noiseless tend to have this thick, no chime sound that while still good and usable, just isn't that fender-y sparkly thing that im after. However, my ultra strat will arrive with noiseless single coils in them -- so if i just so happen to absolutely love them, i'll keep them in there. I doubt it from the online examples, though.

 

[abown]

Although my battle with single coil noise has been the single biggest issue when it comes to recording literally anything, across my 15 years of work, i still LOVE the fat 50's sound and the Cs 69 sound. They really are unbeatable.

The single coils that are noiseless tend to have this thick, no chime sound that while still good and usable, just isn't that fender-y sparkly thing that im after. However, my ultra strat will arrive with noiseless single coils in them -- so if i just so happen to absolutely love them, i'll keep them in there. I doubt it from the online examples, though.

Yeah, see how you go when you get the Ultra. You might be surprised by the Ultra Noiseless pickups. Mine sound way better than I would expect if I were relying on YouTube but tastes vary and it depends what you’re looking for.

 

[Elian96]

Yeah, see how you go when you get the Ultra. You might be surprised by the Ultra Noiseless pickups. Mine sound way better than I would expect if I were relying on YouTube but tastes vary and it depends what you’re looking for.

Hey to be clear, we're talking the SSS ultra strat yeah? So the Ultra Vintage Noiseless pickups, not the Ultra HOT noiseless pickups

i definitely seem to be enjoying the sound of the ultra VINTAGE noiseless (SSS utlra strat stock) more than the Hot set.

 

[abown]

Yeah, the SSS Ultra has the Ultra Vintage Noiseless, which are the ones I was referring to. Mine set came in my Ultra Luxe. I have a set of the Hots too and also really like them, but it sounds to me like the Vintage are more your cup of tea.

 

[Elian96]

Yeah, the SSS Ultra has the Ultra Vintage Noiseless. I have both sets and really like them both but it sounds to like the Vintage are more cup of tea.

Sick, thanks for weighing in.

I'll get the strat in a week in Texas tea (what finish do you have?) and if theyre to my liking, ill forget about the custom shops for now

 

[abown]

Sick, thanks for weighing in.

I'll get the strat in a week in Texas tea (what finish do you have?) and if theyre to my liking, ill forget about the custom shops for now

I have the Two-tone Sunburst Ultra Luxe. The Texas Tea looks great! Congrats!

 

[deemic]

Hello, first post - i apologize if i make mistakes or if this question is obnoxious, but i'd really like the opinion of someone who has tried this first hand.

Im a music producer spending most of my time in the studio recording parts for clients, mixing, etcetera
Im looking for a versatile workhorse type deal, definitely not much texas twang, much more modern chime and bell like tone from my strat. Im a big fan of Rabea Massad's strat tones, for example.

Happening upon the CS 69's my eyes widened and i couldn't believe what i was hearing. Everyone has that strat tone in their head and hearing these, across what seemed to be 100 different videos --- these were it. Hendrix-y, chimey, tight as HELL no more flabby tone in the low mids and bass. Ridiculous how these pups were what i have been looking for for 10 or so years. Thats what i get for not researching pickups properly before i guess

HOWEVER .... i also decided to check out the other custom shop offerings. The fat 60's and 50's also caught my ear quite a lot. Did not like any other pickup.

The fat 50's seems to be ... the more balanced? It has mids, the right amount. Its still scooped, thats for sure, so it has that strat clean thing i love, but its also not crater level scooped like the CS 69 seems to be.

Im also worried the CS69s will hurt my hears if i pick too hard on a clean channel. They have quite a lot of treble to them. The fat 50's again seem to be the perfect middle ground, if not a bit muddy on the neck.


So, i want to make this franken caster situation with fat 50's in the bridge and neck, and 69's in the neck --- OR get an HSS ultra strat, have the humbucker be the bridge, fat 50's in middle, CS 69 in the neck

I've actually seen others say their strats are set up like this and its their dream guitar. I also heard gilmour had a similar thing going on in his strat? Unsure.


Anyways, this is my first ever post so be gentle, and looking forward to your thoughts. And yes it has to be the ultra stratocaster the neck is to die for, in my humble opinion.

I have the 2021 HSS Professional Strat right now. Meh. The pickups are underwhelming.
When I did my first Strat modding several years back, an SSS, I went for the Gilmour loaded pickguard and they the vintage configuration instead of just the SSL's at that time, or the EMG's.
It sounded great during practice where the volume wasn't super high. So recording was fantastic. But once you applied massive volume, there was quite a bit of feedback to deal with. My pedalboard included an ISP Decimator G String, so I was able to keep things under control for the most part. But I realized the limitations of that pickup configuration rather quickly. Strats are noisy by nature, but these CS69's were difficult to tame. I ended up selling the guitar and bought an Elite with the Gen. 4 Noiseless. Never had an issue since. I'm amazed that there are complaints about the Gen. 4's considering they pretty much blew away the rest of the Fender Noiseless line up to that point. I'm still sitting on a set of Vintage and Hot Noiseless and a full set of SSL's 5 and,1's that I can't use until my next Strat project whenever that may be.
Anyway..... with the Gen. 4. I've really had no tone loss. I have great buffer in my chain, so I don't lose anything.
Keeping it glassy being the key to my issues to that point. It does stay nice and glassy and "stratty" if maybe slightly lacking some character if you don't put a little extra into your playing. But once it hits the pedal on my board, it hardly matters anyway. The pedals introduce their own character. And I find that my Super-Sonic 22 adds it's own character as well. Especially pushed by Unit67 for some compression and treble boost, the KOT because it's the freaking KOT, the new J. Rockett Archer that is just amazing, and the Analogman Sunface that may or may not stay around if depending on whether or not I can find a great sounding multi-fuzz, and other well known pedals that are designed with "character" in mind.
And adding any modulation or ambient effects results in none of the original signal mattering all that much anymore.
That said, if you're going straight into the amp, andplaying in your room or home studio. The CS69, Fat50's, SSL5 config with the Switchcraft mod, orange drop cap, vintage wiring, etc... really hit the spot the first time I played it. I mean, it was truly a revelation. I'd never been able to so closely hit the Gilmour vibe up to that point. But playing the Comfortably Numb solo was just an awesome experience. I wish I hadn't sold that guitar now that I'm thinking about it. And it didn't stop there. It was just a foundation for great tones on whatever you wanted to play. Harmonics and sustain were exemplorary. I might have just talked myself into the next project. I have a black HSS strat and SSS pickguard just waiting for some mods. LOL.

 

[BuddyHollywood]

I would put a humbucker in the bridge, the CS 69 in the middle and the Fat 50s in the neck.