ToneSpec Vintage Clone Series – Alan Hamel ’54 Strat Pickup Set

Alan Hamel Strat pickups sell for $2000 to $3000 if you can find them. Here is your chance to get that tone for a fraction and the ToneSpec best in class lifetime waranty.

Alan Hamel might not be a household name, but among tone insiders, he’s something of a ghost legend, a master pickup winder who quietly shaped the sound of the Custom Shop’s most magical builds. Known for his meticulous hand-winding and deep knowledge of early Fender designs, Hamel was one of the few modern builders who truly understood 1950s tone.

One of his most prized creations? His take on the 1954 Strat set, a wind that honored the original blueprint while elevating the dynamics and harmonic response to new heights.

We reverse-engineered one of those elusive Hamel sets. What we found was breathtaking.

Our Vintage Clone Alan Hamel ’54 Strat Set captures the soul of both eras: the sparkle and purity of Leo Fender’s original design, and the clarity, balance, and musical bloom that made Hamel’s winds revered by the few who ever got to hear them.

Wound with Heavy Formvar wire, mid-50s Alnico magnets, and scatterwound using vintage-correct techniques, this set stays true to the 1954 voice, but brings a touch more focus, dynamic range, and upper harmonic complexity, just like Hamel’s own upgrades did.

What does it sound like? Bell-like neck tone. Woody, snappy bridge. Airy, expressive positions 2 and 4. This set has the kind of articulation and musicality that rewards touch players, and never needs a boost to feel alive

If you're chasing vintage tone with a little extra edge, the kind you’d only find on a one-off Custom Shop build wound by a master, this is it.

We’ve already cloned legends like Tim White, Virgil Arlo, Tom Holmes, and Abigail Ybarra. Our pickups sit in guitars used by Grammy winners, top session players, and boutique collectors worldwide.

The original Hamel sets are impossible to find, and rarely come up for sale. But with this? We’ve got you covered.

ToneSpec Process

Serious Guitarists rely on ToneSpec Pickups in all of their guitars because they deliver a serious advantage over guitars with cheap, stock or vintage pickups. Our proprietary techniques make all other pickups obsolete.

Professional Testimonials

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“These pickups respond just like vintage pickups. What makes them better than vintage pickups is that each set is consistent. You don’t don’t get that with vintage pickups…some are great & some are duds.  The Tone Specific’s always sound amazing. There's nothing else like these on the market.”

-Dan Courtenay, Vintage Guitar Expert

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"These are the best pickups I've ever used. I'm so happy to have these in my guitars. They are better than vintage pickups. I was shocked to discover they are even better than the Virgil Arlo Pickups. They just feel & sound amazing. Man you are a Genius. "

- Will Crosby, Legendary Guitarist (BB King, Aretha Franklin, Mavis Stables)

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“It sounds like the have Tubes in them...almost three dimensional. They just sound really sweet. I don’t how they do it but they even feel sweet. Just like vintage pickups but with more sustain and less noise. They are just amazing”

-Mike Gallaher, Legendary Guitarist - Joe Cocker, Leon Russell

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"Just like vintage pickups only better. They have this dynamic thing going on kind of like a great tube amp. I imagine this is what new vintage pickups sounded like back in the 50's & 60's"

-Dani Robinson, Blues Guitarist (Performs Jimi parts w/Billy Cox Experience)

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"They sound better than all of the other pickups I've used. I think they even send better than the Virgil Arlo pickups. I'll be using them in my future builds."

-Ken McKay, Luthier

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