fender CS 54 pick ups against CS vintage noiseless pick ups

[Deleted]

fender CS 54 pick ups against vintage noiseless pick ups , well i've just change my pick ups in one of my strats from the custom shop vintage noisless to the custom shop CS 54 .and the difference is amazing ,the CS54 are much brighter with more definition, better bass ,slightly lower mids and knock out treble , it actuality sounds like a vintage stratocaster now , rock on Tommy, just have to learn how to play the thing now LOL:) 

[keithmantle]

According to Hanks interview in this months Guitarist he's gone back to standard vintage 57/62's

[Deleted]

you can't beat the old sound , everything else is just trying emulate that sound , and never succeeding .i've just put a set of ironstone gold on my other strat will try them tomorrow, also ordered a nice valve amp, and i'm going to recreates that early shadows sound if it kills me doing  It ,,LOL,,,,,

[fenderplucker]

As far as I know (and I fitted the first set of CS54's to one of Hank's guitars just before the Reunited tour) he is still using them. We also tried the 57/62's but he preferred the CS54's. Maybe a case of mistaken identity in the interview?

Paul.

[Deleted]

well tried the ironstone gold and was very disappointed with them compared to my CS54 and vintage noiseless. so they have been removed. may have been down to the amps i'm using ,but they just didn't come up to the mark compared to the fender pick ups ,

[twang46]

Apr 6, 2014 10:13:40 GMT @davedroug said:

well tried the ironstone gold and was very disappointed with them compared to my CS54 and vintage noiseless. so they have been removed. may have been down to the amps i'm using ,but they just didn't come up to the mark compared to the fender pick ups ,

Interesting Dave, the Ironstones have getting rave reviews on the other "Shads" forums.
There is a huge difference in price as well so maybe it's one of those things that sounds good when compared to other pups in it's price range but is out-performed comfortably by the "Fender" pups ?

The last "budget" strat set I bought were the "Tonerider" City Limits set & I replaced a set of Fender 57/62's with them & was very pleased with the result

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tonerider-City-Limits-Pickups-Set-for-Stratocaster-/121194546304?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item1c37c20480

The price has gone up quite a lot in the last couple of years, so perhaps not the bargain they were when I bought them (late 2011)

So...............have you decided what you are doing with the Ironstones yet ?

Cheers

Dick.

[Deleted]

Apr 6, 2014 12:59:15 GMT twang46 said:

Apr 6, 2014 10:13:40 GMT @davedroug said:

well tried the ironstone gold and was very disappointed with them compared to my CS54 and vintage noiseless. so they have been removed. may have been down to the amps i'm using ,but they just didn't come up to the mark compared to the fender pick ups ,

Interesting Dave, the Ironstones have getting rave reviews on the other "Shads" forums.
There is a huge difference in price as well so maybe it's one of those things that sounds good when compared to other pups in it's price range but is out-performed comfortably by the "Fender" pups ?

The last "budget" strat set I bought were the "Tonerider" City Limits set & I replaced a set of Fender 57/62's with them & was very pleased with the result

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tonerider-City-Limits-Pickups-Set-for-Stratocaster-/121194546304?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item1c37c20480

The price has gone up quite a lot in the last couple of years, so perhaps not the bargain they were when I bought them (late 2011)

So...............have you decided what you are doing with the Ironstones yet ?

Cheers

Dick.

pups are going back Dick ive been refunded . got to say though their customer service at ironstone is first class but the picks up where not for me. your probley right about comparing them to fender CS pups, i suppose most people would just upgrade from squire ETC .in which case would find an improvement ,but against the fender pups they just ani't in the same league,not in my opinion anyway .

regards

Dave

[twang46]

Funny old things pups....some people swear by one brand while others find them boring & lifeless. Best thing is to find a set that suits (if you can) then stick with them.....until something better comes along

Cheers

Dick.

[Rockin' Teddy]

Apr 6, 2014 18:32:36 GMT twang46 said:

Funny old things pups....some people swear by one brand while others find them boring & lifeless. Best thing is to find a set that suits (if you can) then stick with them.....until something better comes along

Cheers

Dick.

Hi Dick

I tend to agree, I have tried some of the cheaper pups including the Ironstones, for the money some have been quite decent, but they do seem to be lacking when compared to higher end or custom pickups. Interestingly I also have a set of Custom Shop 54's, I've tried them in 2 guitars, one ash body, the other alder, to be honest I'm not all that impressed with those either. I guess we all hear things differently

[Deleted]

hi teddy was it SWAMP ash body and how heavy was it ,it seems that the lighter one piece swamp ash body's that come from the base of the tree sound better with the CS 54 ,

[Rockin' Teddy]

Hi Dave

I have several Swamp Ash bodied strats, this one is the lightest of the lot, in fact very light when compared to the others. It is a premium Japanese non-export model made for the home market described as having a lightweight swamp ash body, a very nice guitar indeed. I have since fitted a set of custom built 54 pickups which sound superb in it. The CS 54's although having a vintage sound just didn't have that sparkle to them, they seemed a little lifeless to me.

[Deleted]

that's the problem with pick ups they are not consistent, in the sound they produce ,one set will sound great while another set of the same brand will sound crap,jsut got to keep trying until you find a set that suits ,