All I can say is thank you and it's nice to be appreciated.

_________________
You dig?

Any chance you can elaborate on this a little bit? My '78 came with the pickguard assembly from a 70's Tokai Springy Sound and has the DiMarzio VS-1 pickups. I've been looking for info on them and all I could find was that they're based on vintage pickups... they do sound good.

_________________
Tune Low, Play Hard & Floor it!

"VS-1" Stands (obviously) for, "Vintage Strat, Model 1". It was in the high 5K DC resistance range with Alnico 5 magnets. I forgot what the gauge and exact type of coil wire was. I'm pretty sure it was the same as what Fender used in 1955.

Over the years, the name changed from VS-1 to Class of '55. The VS-1 had the vintage stagger polepieces. The Class of 55 could be ordered in vintage stagger, new stagger (meaning, low G string polepiece), even polepiece and left handed variables as well.

In a nutshell, what Fender proclaims about their CS 54 set is similar to what DiMarzio proclaimed about this model under either name. DiMarzio discontinued this model a few years ago around the time they came out with their Velvet series.

My take: This was a very glassy and sweet sounding pickup with excellent sustain. I really loved it in the neck position of my Strat and as a blending pickup. It was one of the best single coils I ever heard.

_________________
You dig?

Thanks for the info Martian. I've been thinking about changing them out for a set of CS 69's but they sound so good it's hard to justify it.

_________________
Tune Low, Play Hard & Floor it!

You're quite welcome.

To my ear, the biggest difference between the VS-1s and the 69s is that the DiMarzios have a PERFECT bodied midrange and the 69s have next to no midrange at all. I do find that the highs and lows on both sets are pretty much the same. No, I wouldn't change your pickups out for the 69s, no way!

_________________
You dig?

Great read Martian,
I think you have nearly completely written a book on strats within your posts here. If you published a book, I would read it. Until then, we have the search function.

Honestly, you may have just pushed me towards the 69's. My '78 is a very heavy guitar, the body alone without hardware & pickguard assembly is 8.75 lbs . With the VS-1's it has a nice warm sound to them, not to far off the Texas Specials in my SRV, just cleaner. With the '78 I'm trying to get a nice Hendrix tone and personally I don't think his tone has any midrange at all. I only have two guitars (another shocker I know) and I'd like to vary the tones as much as possible.

_________________
Tune Low, Play Hard & Floor it!

I agree with your observations. Further, if you're looking for a Hendrix tone, the 69s are THE way to go.

_________________
You dig?

I thank you!

There's a plethora of books written on Strats, right down to their most miniscule minutiae. I honestly don't think my adding to them in that vein would be of any monumental contribution. Rather, and although I'm pretty much up on the majority of that stuff, I have always focused on the dynamics and capabilities of the Strat more so than such things like when they switched over from bakelite to plastic, etc, etc. as such trivia doesn't make them play any better or make them more versatile.

Maybe some day I'll write a book from my slant!

_________________
You dig?

Thanks again Martian.

_________________
Tune Low, Play Hard & Floor it!

How are they "adjustable"? Do I just push/pull on the magnets?

_________________
-Kirk

GUITARS
'12 Sonoran Acoustic - black (dated 10/31/12)
'13 Standard Strat
AMP
Vox ac4c1-bl
PEDALS
Compressor
Big Muff
Vox Stomplab 1G
Carbon Copy Delay

Use the force kirk! Sorry, i just had to!

_________________
I believe in Christianity as i believe that the sun has risen. not only because i see it, but because by it, i see everything else. C.S. Lewis

Yes.

As the pickups and the polepieces are wax saturated, some like to warm the pickup up a little with a hair dryer to soften up the wax before they manipulate the polepieces. The now moist wax acts as a lubricant and helps the polepieces move easier. Once they get all the polepieces to exactly where they want them, they once again warm the pickup a bit, softening the wax again so that when the wax fully cools down afterwards, the polepieces are resealed in their new positions by the wax. One has to be careful with this method as too much heat will warp the bobbin and consequently deform the coil within.

I don't use the hair dryer method myself. Rather, the vast majority of the time, this manipulation can be done with the pickup cold. If I encounter unusual resistance when trying to move a given polepiece, I'll heat the individual polepiece for a second or two with a soldering iron. While still warm, the polepiece will then move easily. After manipulating whatever ones to their new places, I then heat each of those moved with the soldering iron for a second two regardless of whether I had to heat them in the first place. This exercise also effectively reseals the adjusted polepieces in their new positions. In this case as with the hair dryer method, excessive heat will warp the bobbin and with this method, the polepiece's slot along with it.

The biggest thing to keep in mind with either method is to avoid any excessive and/or prolonged heat. Also, if you choose to leave the pickup covers on and the pickups still mounted to the pickguard, ensure that whatever method of heat chosen is aimed and isolated to the bottom of the particular pickup as pickguards and pickup covers warp quite easily with heat.

_________________
You dig?

Oh I see. I don't like the idea of messing with the wax that way. Not at this point anyhow.

I used to make bass pickups for Ernie Ball, so I know how hard those magnets were pressed into the bobbin. When I wound one that didn't pass QC I'd have to break apart the pickup sometimes including the magnets. Some were pretty stubborn. Interesting to know the Strat's magnets can be altered without too much fuss. The EB's were wound right around the magnets, so damage would probably occur to the winding in that case.

_________________
-Kirk

GUITARS
'12 Sonoran Acoustic - black (dated 10/31/12)
'13 Standard Strat
AMP
Vox ac4c1-bl
PEDALS
Compressor
Big Muff
Vox Stomplab 1G
Carbon Copy Delay