Lipstick pickups in strat (2024)

Danielknudsen

Member
Messages
163
  • Mar 2, 2013
  • #1

Hey! I was wondering if any of you had some experience with lipstick pickups in a strat?

1. What style are they in your opinion best for?
2. How do they work with overdrive? anyone got a good pedal combination?
3. How is the clean sounds/overdrive sound?

VaughnC

Silver Supporting Member

Messages
19,659
  • Mar 2, 2013
  • #2

One of my favorite Strats is a Squier VM Surfer Strat (with stock Duncan lipsticks) and I think it holds up very well against my more expensive Strats. I play mostly on the clean side of the spectrum and the lipsticks sound clear but not ice-picky. The pickups aren't real hot so they may not be the best choice for overdrive...but that's very subjective. Sounds ok to me with a basic Tube Screamer though.

hunter

Silver Supporting Member

Messages
10,018
  • Mar 2, 2013
  • #3

I've got a near strat with three lipsticks. Really low output. The bridge can be very thin. If I was playing clean, skanky, rhythm guitar only in a funk/soul band? Great pickups for the job. They are a good for whiny, squealing multi-string slide too. For solo work, I always want to boost em...a lot. And even pumped up, I can't love the OD sound.

For me, they boil down to special flavor use. I don't think I could live with lipsticks as my only electric sound. Cool sound but limited. Then again, Jimmy Page seemed to know how to make em work.

hunter

Danielknudsen

Member
Messages
163
  • Mar 2, 2013
  • #4

How are the pickups compared to regular single coil ?

kinmike

Gold Supporting Member

Messages
2,218
  • Mar 2, 2013
  • #6

VaughnC, what are the pot and cap values in the Squier?

Thanks,

Mike

D

Dave Wakely

Member
Messages
1,863
  • Mar 2, 2013
  • #7

I have Duncan lipsticks in an old Strat Plus. Very clear, balanced and even. I expected thin and jangly, but actually they're warm sounding. I rarely use OD of any kind, but they wouldn't be an obvious choice for that route.

Danielknudsen

Member
Messages
163
  • Mar 2, 2013
  • #8

What about mixing your pickups? how would that work? You guys think that lipstick pickups doesn't work well with OD, what about having your neck pickup as lipstick and maybe other's single coil? how would that work?

K

kimock

Member
Messages
12,519
  • Mar 2, 2013
  • #9

I'm a lipstick Strat guy, over 30 years main guitar, so. .

They sound great with fuzz, I have a couple germanium types.
They all rock with the lipsticks, I don't have much use for overdrives, all my amps work fine for that. Just turn 'em up.

I'm not gonna link, because I'm NOT trying to spam or advertise, but my buddy Theo Hartman probably has a clip on his website of some Zero gig where I'm obviously using the lipstick/germanium thing.
I like the sound of those things turned up, distorted etc, but like I said before I've been using them for almost 35 years so I've kinda gotten used to them.

kingsleyd

Frikkin genyus

Platinum Supporting Member

Messages
8,522
  • Mar 2, 2013
  • #10

This is a clip of my 2012 AmStd Strat with lipstick pickups. I concur with Kimock (as I do often) -- fuzz = fine, amp OD works pretty well too, but any of my regular OD pedals = not so great.

[SOUNDCLOUD]https://soundcloud.com/kingsley-durant/sought-and-not-found[/SOUNDCLOUD]

Last edited:

VaughnC

Silver Supporting Member

Messages
19,659
  • Mar 3, 2013
  • #11

kinmike said:

VaughnC, what are the pot and cap values in the Squier?

Thanks,

Mike

Don't know...never saw any need to remove the pickguard as it sounds great as is. However, measuring at the output jack, I read: Bridge 4.5k, Mid 4.3k, Neck 4.0k. Nice tone for such a light wind, can't complain there...but I did spend some time getting the pickups balanced as they seem more tonally sensitive to their height setting than most Strat pickups I've tried. Once I dialed them in for their sweet spot though, the guitar tonally now holds its own against the more expensive Strats in my harem. And the playability is nice too. The only thing I replaced was the small potmetal tremblock (with a Callaham steel). Probably one of the best $250 "bang for the buck" gear purchases I ever made.

Dhango

Member
Messages
23
  • Mar 23, 2013
  • #12

I think that Marshall Creenshaw had one with Chandler lipsticks in the mid-80s. Can't remember how it sounded.

gmann

Member
Messages
9,828
  • Mar 23, 2013
  • #13

I saw David Hidalgo play a Strat with lip stick pups, great tone but then everything he plays sounds great. SRV had a guitar that used them. I think Rene' Martinez made them, not sure. That guitar sounded great too.

D

dunara

Member
Messages
1,900
  • Mar 23, 2013
  • #14

Here's mine (on the left!). Sounds thin and chunky. Very useful alternative to 'bigger' sounding guitars when I'm tracking up parts. I'd never try to use it for a fat 'feature' sound, but rhythm parts done on this guitar sit very cozy in a mix....

Lipstick pickups in strat (12)

S

SRVBlue

Member
Messages
102
  • Mar 23, 2013
  • #15

gmann said:

I saw David Hidalgo play a Strat with lip stick pups, great tone but then everything he plays sounds great. SRV had a guitar that used them. I think Rene' Martinez made them, not sure. That guitar sounded great too.

I just saw on Rene's site that mojotone is making signature lipstick pickups for him now. I'd like to try a set.

2HBStrat

Member
Messages
41,216
  • Mar 23, 2013
  • #16

One of my partscasters has an old Danelectro bass lipstick pickup in the neck position and an old Gibson P90 in the bridge. The lipstick in the neck definitely gives an SRV sound, while the P90 in the bridge is a LOT louder and great for rock stuff. I don't have any experience with the newer reissue lipstick pickups.

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Lipstick pickups in strat (2024)

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