Tone Specific is known by Pro's around the world for making the Best Strat Pickups. If you are looking for a Strat Pickups Guide or Pickups Comparisons for Fender Strat, you've come to the right place.

5 Best Strat Pickups

1954 Twangy Strat Pickups
1959 Blues Strat Pickups
1965 Gray Bottom Blues Strat Pickups
1969 Jazzy Strat Pickups
1970 Punchy Strat Pickups

Best Strat Replacement Pickups

Everyone wants to know about the Best Vintage Style Strat Pickups. The first step in finding the Best Strat Replacement Pickups is to identify the exact type of tone that want your guitar to make. If you are mainly a Blues player or want a "bluesy" type of tone then you will want the Best Pickups for Strat Blues. If Jazzy, Twangy or Punchy tone is what you are looking for then you might try one of those sets.

1954 Twangy Set - Best Strat Pickups For Country

1959 Blues Set - Best Strat Pickups for Texas Blues

1965 Gray Bottom Blues - Best Strat Pickups for Blues & Classic Rock

1969 Jazzy Set - Best Strat Pickups for Jazz

1970 Punchy Set - Best Strat Pickups for Rock

Strat Pickups Guide

Everyone knows about the Best Blues Humbucker Pickups. You may want the Best Strat for Blues. or the Best Strat Pickups for Jazzy Tone. Considering the price of vintage pickups, many people say Tone Specific has the Best Affordable Strat Pickups.

Best Strat Pickups for Blues Tone

1959 Blues Strat Pickups - Best Strat Pickups for Texas Blues.
1965 Blues Strat Pickups - Best Strat Pickups for Blues and Classic Rock.

Best Strat Pickups for Rock

1970 Punchy Strat Pickups
1965 Gray Bottom Blues Strat Pickups

Best Strat Pickups for Jazz

1969 Jazzy Strat Pickups
1965 Gray Bottom Blues Strat Pickups

Best Strat Pickups for Country & Rockabilly

1954 Twangy Strat Pickups
1959 Blues Strat Pickups

Best Strat Pickups for Funk

1970 Punchy Strat Pickups
1959 Blues Strat Pickups

Best Strat Pickups for Clean Tone

1969 Jazz Strat Pickups
1954 Twang Strat Pickups

Strat Pickup Guide Video

Best Vintage Sounding Strat Pickups

Tone Specific is known for making the Best Vintage Sounding Strat Pickups. All of the Tone Specific Sets sound equally vintage. We used some of the best vintage pickups from vintage Fender Strats as a starting point for our designs. Check out the comparison below.

Fender Strat Pickups Comparison

1954 Strat Pickups

These early Strats used Alnico 3 magnets and not wound too hot. The result is a nice Twangy tone. These old Strat pickups are complex in that the are very warm & twangy sounding without a hint of shrillness.

This is the set that we've based the 1954 Twang Strat Pickups on. These are considered the Best Strat Pickups for Country due great vintage tone and a few modern improvements including:

RWRP Middle or Noise Cancelling Operation.
Fatter Sounding Bridge.
Pickups are Calibrated for each position.
Pickups are designed to work great with Pedals/Modelers as well as Tue & SS gear.

Click here to learn about the 1954 Twangy Strat Set.

1959 Strat Pickups

The Alnico 3 magnets in the early Strat were short-lived and Fender moved on to using Alnico 5 magnets. The result was a tone that most would say is more bold. In addition you get more dynamics and a bigger bottom. This description starts to make sense if you believe the Stevie Ray Vaughan used 1959 pickups in his 1963 #1 Strat.

This is the set that we've based the 1959 Blues Strat Pickups on. These are considered the Best Strat Pickups for Blues due to great vintage tone and a few modern improvements including:

RWRP Middle or Noise Cancelling Operation.
Fatter Sounding Bridge.
Pickups are Calibrated for each position.
Pickups are designed to work great with Pedals/Modelers as well as Tue & SS gear.

Click here to learn about the 1959 Blues Strat Set.

1965 Strat Pickups

By 1965, the conversion to the CBS era at Fender was in full effect. This brought a few more changes to the Strat pickups. By this time all of the Strat pickups had Gray Bottom Bobbins and the magnet wire changed from Heavy Formvar to Plain Enamel. The tone of these pickups was pretty complex, in that the were a little darker or rounder sounding while also having a little more clarity than the earlier designs. These mid 60's pickup were the wounded hotter on average than any other Strat pickups we've encountered. These pickups are great for nailing that Hendrix type of tone.

This is the set that we've based the 1965 Gray Bottom Blues Strat Pickups on. These are considered the Best Strat Pickups for 60's Blues tone due to great vintage tone and a few modern improvements including:

RWRP Middle or Noise Cancelling Operation.
Fatter Sounding Bridge.
Pickups are Calibrated for each position.
Pickups are designed to work great with Pedals/Modelers as well as Tue & SS gear.

Click here to learn about the 1965 Gray Bottom Blues Strat Set.

1969 Strat Pickups

By the late 60's, Fender had started to use less wire on their Strat pickups which yielded a little less output and added a little in the treble compared to the mid 60's pickups but retained a very similar tonal base. Some people might say these are slightly "scooped" when compared to the mid 60's pickups. These pickups really worked well with the volume and tone pots. They could cover just about any type of music.

Due to the great interaction with the tone pots and the warm and clear tone, these made the perfect set in which to base out Jazzy Strat Set. Many people say these are the Best Strat Pickups for Jazz due to great vintage tone and a few modern improvements including:

RWRP Middle or Noise Cancelling Operation.
Fatter Sounding Bridge.
Pickups are Calibrated for each position.
Pickups are designed to work great with Pedals/Modelers as well as Tue & SS gear.

Click here to learn about the 1969 Jazzy Strat Set.

1970's Strat Pickups

We are not a big fan of the Strat's in the 70's. They tinkered with the design and most people agree the result were not great. Considering how well Fender did on their guitars, amps and pickups in the vintage era, they've definitely earned a pass on this.

Hindsight is a valuable tool and we've used it to create the 1970 Punchy Strat Pickup Set. It's not based on anything from the 70's, rather it's our attempt at a "do-over". Many people consider these to be the best Strat Pickups for Rock or he best Strat Pickup for Classic Rock. They also sound great for funk. They have more output than our other offerings but retain that vintage sweetness that you have come to expect from Tone Specific Pickups. Here are a few other features of the pickups:

RWRP Middle or Noise Cancelling Operation.
Fatter Sounding Bridge.
Pickups are Calibrated for each position.
Pickups are designed to work great with Pedals/Modelers as well as Tue & SS gear.