It is currently Mon Mar 16, 2020 11:15 am

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 18 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next
Go to page 1, 2  Next
Author Message
Post subject: Regarding Texas Specials on American Special Strats
Posted: Fri Sep 04, 2015 10:23 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Tue Nov 27, 2007 8:56 am
Posts: 1277
Ok, need to clarify this question thats been bugging me. Are the Texas Special Pickups factory installed in American Special Strats/Teles the same Custom Shop versions?

I've measured the DC resistance on my 2011 American Special Strat and this is what I got, neck 6.19, middle 6.36, and bridge 6.73. They have staggered poles.

_________________
Image

http://www.youtube.com/user/gmlasam


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject: Re: Regarding Texas Specials on American Special Strats
Posted: Sat Sep 05, 2015 1:09 am
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Fri Feb 05, 2010 4:31 am
Posts: 14047
Location: Province de Québec, Canada
If you read resistance in circuit ( without disconnecting pickups wire ) your reading are false because volume pots in parallel with pickups.
Real pickups resistance is little higher


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Regarding Texas Specials on American Special Strats
Posted: Sat Sep 05, 2015 6:36 am
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Tue Nov 27, 2007 8:56 am
Posts: 1277
The specs for the Texas Special are Neck Pickup: 6.2K. Middle: 6.5K. Bridge: 6.5-7.1K, which isn't very far off from what I measured on mine. So are the pickups on my American Special Strat are actual Custom Shop Texas Special Pickups?

_________________
Image

http://www.youtube.com/user/gmlasam


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Regarding Texas Specials on American Special Strats
Posted: Sat Sep 05, 2015 6:05 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician

Joined: Wed Dec 14, 2011 10:18 am
Posts: 1530
Location: The Frozen Tundra of MN
The custom shop pickups are hand wound and have cloth covered wire, the ones in the American special are machine wound and have plastic covered wire.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Regarding Texas Specials on American Special Strats
Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2015 4:58 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist
User avatar

Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2014 2:28 pm
Posts: 82
Minnesotastrats wrote:
The custom shop pickups are hand wound and have cloth covered wire, the ones in the American special are machine wound and have plastic covered wire.


+1
But I bet that the CS Texas Special would not sound noticeably different than the non-CS version....
So a swap is not worth in my opinion


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Regarding Texas Specials on American Special Strats
Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2015 5:41 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2011 3:10 pm
Posts: 5646
Location: Gateway to the West
Do you like the sound and tone of them? If so what does it truly matter?

Fender specs say they are TS.

T2

_________________
-----------------------------------------------------------
What time is it? It's Fender Time.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Regarding Texas Specials on American Special Strats
Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2015 9:25 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Tue Nov 27, 2007 8:56 am
Posts: 1277
T2Stratman wrote:
Do you like the sound and tone of them? If so what does it truly matter?

Fender specs say they are TS.

T2


I love the tone of the factory installed Texas Specials, no issues with them. I've just heard talks of the installed TS as not being actual Texas Specials.

_________________
Image

http://www.youtube.com/user/gmlasam


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Regarding Texas Specials on American Special Strats
Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2015 12:41 am
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star

Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2007 1:53 am
Posts: 4240
Hmpf...
Fender doesn't advertize the Strat set of Texas Specials as "Custom Shop" at the moment, regardless of the cloth wire: TS™ set
(Although funny enough, the Tele TS set does have the CS status...)
On that "hand wound" I'm very doubtful, there certainly is a machine turning those overwound rounds...

But the key question is, does your guitar sound worse now that you got these answers? Or would it have sounded better with CS labeled pups? :wink:


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Regarding Texas Specials on American Special Strats
Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2015 4:50 am
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Tue Apr 07, 2009 7:27 pm
Posts: 3448
Location: Connecticut
No pick up is truly hand wound. The difference being totally automated or hand controlled. Which is really not the same as hand winding which I cannot imagine would be feasible cost or time wise.

_________________
"C'est parti mon Kiki "


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Regarding Texas Specials on American Special Strats
Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2015 5:44 pm
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Wed Mar 31, 2010 12:48 am
Posts: 26416
Location: Tombstone Territory
53magnatone wrote:
No pick up is truly hand wound. The difference being totally automated or hand controlled. Which is really not the same as hand winding which I cannot imagine would be feasible cost or time wise.


+1

The bobbin loom is always powered by an electric motor.

Arjay

_________________
"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Regarding Texas Specials on American Special Strats
Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2015 12:54 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jan 28, 2013 7:36 pm
Posts: 638
When I purchased my Am. Spl. Strat, they were advertised as having Fender Custom Shop Texas Specials and I was told by Fender they are the same as installed on a Stevie Ray Vaughan signature Strat.

I had a lot of communication with Fender because I had originally bought their new-at-the-time Am. Spl. in hand-stained Honeyburst Guitar Center FSR edition. The pups did not sound like TS even though advertised as TS. Turns out, Guitar Center had been mis-advertising the guitar as having TS when it actually had the previous year's American Standard plastic bobbin pups (which had been replaced on the American Standards by the CS Fat 50's pups.) They were obviously using up old supply with the FSR - they have since changed the name of that guitar to the Fender Nitro-Satin Finish Strat.

_________________
Tiger J

my gear:

Jackson USA Phil Collen PC-1
Warmoth Custom-Build Stratocaster (The Andersong)
Fender American Special Stratocaster
Squier J. Mascis Jazzmaster
Fender Mustang GT40
Eleven HeadRush w/ two Alto TS212 FRFRs


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Regarding Texas Specials on American Special Strats
Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2015 6:58 pm
Offline
Amateur
Amateur

Joined: Sun Jul 25, 2010 8:13 am
Posts: 147
Location: Charm City
Tiger J wrote:
When I purchased my Am. Spl. Strat, they were advertised as having Fender Custom Shop Texas Specials and I was told by Fender they are the same as installed on a Stevie Ray Vaughan signature Strat.

I had a lot of communication with Fender because I had originally bought their new-at-the-time Am. Spl. in hand-stained Honeyburst Guitar Center FSR edition. The pups did not sound like TS even though advertised as TS. Turns out, Guitar Center had been mis-advertising the guitar as having TS when it actually had the previous year's American Standard plastic bobbin pups (which had been replaced on the American Standards by the CS Fat 50's pups.) They were obviously using up old supply with the FSR - they have since changed the name of that guitar to the Fender Nitro-Satin Finish Strat.


Did you play this instrument before you bought it? Or was it purchased on-line, sight unseen, and unplayed? If you never held the guitar in your own hands, and heard what it sounded like through your favorite amp, and bought it anyway, then it is hard for me to have much sympathy for you.

If on the other hand, you bought the guitar, and liked it, and only later discovered that it didn't have CS Texas Special Pickups, then it is equally hard for me to to understand why you are so disappointed now.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Regarding Texas Specials on American Special Strats
Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2015 2:45 am
Offline
Roadie
Roadie

Joined: Sat Oct 05, 2013 4:26 am
Posts: 249
If you look up the Fender service diagrams for the SRV and American Special the same parts codes are listed for the pickups which are Texas Specials.
The retail packaged Texas Specials still, afaik, have the silver Custom Shop sticker underneath.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Regarding Texas Specials on American Special Strats
Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2015 3:35 am
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star

Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2007 1:53 am
Posts: 4240
This topic should fade away as soon as possible, or we'll only be getting alder bodies.
I mean, they gotta be laughing their ash off at FMIC. :wink:


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Regarding Texas Specials on American Special Strats
Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2019 4:55 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist
User avatar

Joined: Sat Dec 29, 2018 9:50 am
Posts: 6
Location: Pisa, Italy
Hello!
I have American Special Startocaster 2017 model. Sonic Blue, texas special pickup , cloth cable and not plastic cable, what do you think about it?
Real Texas Special Custom Shop?


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 18 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next
Go to page 1, 2  Next

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: John Sims and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: