By Ed Malaker
Posted 03/30/2018
Perhaps your guitar tone is getting stale, or perhaps it never sounded that good to begin with. Well, before you buy a new one, review this post and put some thought into upgrading your pickups instead. If you play Rock or Metal through a Stratocaster then this information should be especially useful to you. In making our selections for best Rock Stratocaster pickups, we looked at a number of things. For example, since Rock guitar players are probably going to use a lot of overdrive and distortion, they’ll need a high-output pickup capable of delivering a lot of voltage to the amplifier, to push the preamp harder for a better-sounding overdrive. But, lots of overdrive and distortion can also be very noisy, especially in a Strat, with its stock single coil pickups.
You might also like this HumbuckerSoup article: What are the Best Blues Stratocaster Pickups?
So, because noise is a serious issue, it’s probably best to use a humbucking pickup. For those who don’t know, a humbucking pickup is two coils working together to cancel out noise and just leave the pure guitar signal, in much the same way a balanced XLR mic cable does. Because a humbucker is two coils, we need those that can fit into a single coil space. Of course, all of the other things that you might look for in a pickup — such as even, clear tone across all strings — are still important. So, all that said, here are what we consider to be some strong candidates for the best Rock pickups for the Stratocaster.
Seymour Duncan JB Jr Pickup
The Seymour Duncan JB Jr has the tone of a humbucker in a single coil-sized pickup. It features a twin coil design, making it an actual humbucker and not just a humbucker emulator. The JB Jr features a ceramic magnet for increased output and bright tone, and it has adjustable poles to help fine-tune the way the pickup reacts to your strings to get that tone you seek. more…
DiMarzio DP218 Super Distortion S
The DiMarzio DP218 Super Distortion S is based on the famous Super Distortion humbucker pickup, but in a single coil size. It has been a favorite of Strat players since 2005. This is meant to be a bridge position pickup and, as such, it has been designed to take into account the classic slanted bridge pickup style. more…
You might also like this HumbuckerSoup article: Rock Telecaster Bridge Pickups- Which Ones are Best?
Seymour Duncan SHR-1
The SHR-1 is called the Hot Rails Strat and is another great humbucker made by Seymour Duncan. The Hot Rails Strat is one of the highest output pickups that they make, and it is also one of their most popular. It contains a strong ceramic magnet for its high gain and bright highs, and the powerfully wound coils give this pickup its massive output and sensitivity. more…
DiMarzio DP187 Cruiser
The DiMarzio DP187 Cruiser is a mini-humbucker designed to fit into the space of a single coil pickup with no modifications to the guitar. This is a particularly unique creation, featuring a side-by-side coil design, but instead of the traditional two identical coils, it utilizes two different coils.
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Lace Sensor Red
The Lace Sensor Red is the only single coil pickup on this list, but it still has plenty of surprises. It’s the hottest output electric guitar pickup available in the Sensor Pickups line, offering your amp plenty of juice to turn into overdrive. more…
