By Ed Malaker
Posted 07/13/2012
It’s hard to believe that Fender Texas Specials recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. They made their debut in January 1992 as the stock pickups in the Stevie Ray Vaughan Stratocaster. Not too long after, Fender Texas Special Stratocasters became available as standalone products. Since then, they have become quite popular.
Keep in mind: these are Stratocaster pickups; they are dripping in Strat-ness, so obviously, not meant for situations in which you need a humbucker. But if you are a Strat player, and the vintage realm is where you tend to spend your time, the Fender Texas Special Stratocasters have a lot to offer.
What always impresses me so much about these pickups is their versatility. They do super-clean extremely well, but they also sound incredible with moderate amounts of gain. Granted, the Fender Texas Special Stratocasters are not meant for crazy amounts of distortion, so if you’re a Metal player I don’t think these are the right pickups for you. But, if you play Blues, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Rock and Roll, Funk, etc., you’ll find that Fender Texas Special Stratocasters are quite versatile.
The clean sounds are second to none — plenty of snap, twang, and bell-like chime. When you start to apply drive, all kinds of wonderful squeaks and squawks start to pop out of your amplifier. While the Fender Texas Special Stratocasters are vintage pickups (i.e. non hum-canceling), they are surprisingly quiet. If you’re considering upgrading your Fender Stratocaster pickups, and do not want hum-canceling, Texas Specials are seriously worth considering. Take a listen to the videos below for a pretty good sampling of how they sound.
Fender Texas Specials Product Page
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