Old Timer 'Formvar 50s' Stratocaster single coils

Old Timer 'Formvar 50s' Stratocaster single coils

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The Formvar 50s pickups are, as the name suggests, a set of pickups designed to imitate the pickups found in the 50s, upon the creation of the Stratocaster. These pickups were wound with a special wire which had a thicker than normal insulation wire (with the 'heavy' in the wire name, heavy formvar, referring to a heavy insulation build). This increased thickness of insulation (and therefore space between the parallel winds of the coil) results in a more bright and cutting tone.

 

These pickups use the very expensive heavy formvar wire that makes the Strat pickups of the 50s sound so different from modern budget pickups that almost exclusively use a thinner build of poly wire. These winds are wound directly around a set of alnico 5 rod pole pieces. We've deviated from vintage accuracy to make them sound more vintage accurate. Back in the 50s, it was common for players to use wound G strings, nowadays it's almost unheard of. The wound G is a lot quieter than the plain G, therefore the stagger was originally made with the G pole being close to the string to increase the volume. We've dropped it slightly to compensate, to make it sound the same as if it were played with the strings that would have been used in the 50s.

 

These pickups are wound with a gentle output increase from the neck to bridge in order to provide a more even volume balance. They're wound around vulcanised fibreboard flatworks as all vintage Strat pickups were. 

 

RWRP middle pickup for hum cancelling positions 2 and 4. Supplied with mounting screws & springs.

Specifications (neck/middle/bridge):
Resistance: 5.8/5.9/6.3k
Magnet: modern vintage stagger alnico 5 rods
Spacing: 52/52/52mm
Output lead: cloth covered
Wax potted

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Customer Reviews

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P
P Stott
Bright clear Strat pickups

Put these into a 2021 Squire Affinity Strat and the owner is very pleased with sound and upgrade, owner plays mostly clean with occasional overdrive only coming from her amp. No problems with fitting them into the cavity of the thinner Affinity body, they are standard Strat height. 3 months on, they are great and performing well with no problems encountered. They come with just enough wire to maintain a twisted pair between pickup and selector switch. When they arrive, the middle pickup can be easily identified by the reverse polarity of the pole pieces. Simple resistance measurement confirmed that the values are as listed.

My opinion of the sound is that they have that Strat brightness and clarity which you normally associate with the instrument without being muddy or dark at all. Output levels are much improved over the standard Affinity pickups and the instrument no longer struggles for volume when played alongside a Humbucker. For me, the bridge is fabulous and is my personal favorite of the 3. To me, it has bit more grunt in the bass and lower mid which I like.

I would recommend these pickups to anyone with a Strat where the standard pickups sound weak, but they don't want to lose the clarity or tonal brightness associated with a Strat.