Mounting vintage lipstick pickups in a strat?

Blurillaz · Post by **Blurillaz** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 12:47 am

What is the best way to go about this with vintage lipstick pickups? From the photos of one on eBay, the part where you screw it onto the pickguard is awfully low, and I'm worried that if I buy some then they will turn out being mounted too close to the strings. Any instructions or tips you fellas have on this?

cobascis · Post by **cobascis** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 12:50 am

GFS, bro. They make strat sized lipsticks, assuming you haven't bought the lipsticks yet?

LANK

Blurillaz · Post by **Blurillaz** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 12:55 am

I've seen those though I have hears many negative things about them and the GHS, Seymour Duncan, and even Danos own reissues don't sound quite the same. I'm really just looking for help with the vintage ones, but thanks anyway.

Sparky · Post by **Sparky** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:08 am

Blurillaz wrote:I've seen those though I have hears many negative things about them and the GHS, Seymour Duncan, and even Danos own reissues don't sound quite the same. I'm really just looking for help with the vintage ones, but thanks anyway.

Don't be such a cork-sniffer.

Those vintage ones were made cheaply for cheap POS department store guitars. Just go with GFS, I assure you you won't be disappointed. People say negative things about everything. Try things out, if you don't like the way a certain pickup sounds, send it back. It's that simple.

Will · Post by **Will** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:20 am

As the owner of 4 Danos, I assure you the GFSs are terrible. Just being honest here. The GFS has half the output of vintage, but with all the noise. If you go to the higher windings, they sound muddy. It's a lose-lose.
GFS uses a magnet that's too small and too weak - Alnico II instead of VI. Both my vintage Danos are twice as loud, even though the PUPs have 1k less resistance. The reissue Dano PUP is closer, but still a bit lower-output and flat sounding compared to the real deal.

The GFS Lipstick Humbucker is amazing for jazz, though. Go figure.

Seymour Duncan and Curtis Novak (especially Novak) make lipsticks that are identical to the originals. The full-size ones are about half an inch longer than strat size and mount in the back of the guitar. Both companies offer a strat-sized version that will give you 95% of the sound. Leave the real vintage ones for people restoring butchered old Danos.

Buy the Novaks.

Blurillaz · Post by **Blurillaz** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:24 am

I'm not trying to be a croksniffer but as Will has stated the GHS reissues are not the solution for the tone I'm after.
Thanks for the advice on the Novaks though, that was extremely helpful as now I don't need to find some way to mount those giant old ones.

blankfield · Post by **blankfield** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 3:18 am

Will wrote:As the owner of 4 Danos, I assure you the GFSs are terrible. Just being honest here. The GFS has half the output of vintage, but with all the noise. If you go to the higher windings, they sound muddy. It's a lose-lose.
GFS uses a magnet that's too small and too weak - Alnico II instead of VI. Both my vintage Danos are twice as loud, even though the PUPs have 1k less resistance. The reissue Dano PUP is closer, but still a bit lower-output and flat sounding compared to the real deal.

The GFS Lipstick Humbucker is amazing for jazz, though. Go figure.

Seymour Duncan and Curtis Novak (especially Novak) make lipsticks that are identical to the originals. The full-size ones are about half an inch longer than strat size and mount in the back of the guitar. Both companies offer a strat-sized version that will give you 95% of the sound. Leave the real vintage ones for people restoring butchered old Danos.

Buy the Novaks.

Not to hijack but have you tried the Lace lipsticks at all?

Will · Post by **Will** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 3:39 am

Haven't tried them - they look similar to the Kent Armstrongs, which I've heard middling things about.

Most of the cheaper lipsticks, like GFS, are made by Artec and suck. They're barely even lipsticks - different magnet, different resistance and coil structure, different metal for the tube, different physical construction. It'd be one thing if they sounded good, but they don't. They're extremely quiet, a bit noisy, and sound lifeless.

I recommended the Novaks because I know they're the most accurate replicas available.

martinharispe · Post by **martinharispe** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 5:01 am

hey there, i just see this post, i have a 83 strat with 3 seymour duncan lipstick, and i must say its the best choice, i had another strat with original lipstick tube and i had to make some modifications, but the seymours not only has the same sice than a regular pickup,also they sound really good!!!!

here i leave a sound sample of my strat!
http://martinharispe.com.ar/track1.mp3

pics
http://www.fotolog.com/stringbender/71480127
http://www.fotolog.com/stringbender/65730321

cobascis · Post by **cobascis** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 5:05 am

Fantastic playing, Martin.

martinharispe · Post by **martinharispe** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 5:10 am

cobascis wrote:Fantastic playing, Martin.

Hey cobascis, thanks man, i just was seeing your web page, cool mal, nice equipment!!! i used to have that firebird, i miss it!!!!

timhulio · Post by **timhulio** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 4:00 pm

I got one of these. Was expensive but sounds good:

http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/e ... ck_tube_f/

Blurillaz · Post by **Blurillaz** » Sun Jan 17, 2010 6:18 pm

Will wrote:As the owner of 4 Danos, I assure you the GFSs are terrible. Just being honest here. The GFS has half the output of vintage, but with all the noise. If you go to the higher windings, they sound muddy. It's a lose-lose.
GFS uses a magnet that's too small and too weak - Alnico II instead of VI. Both my vintage Danos are twice as loud, even though the PUPs have 1k less resistance. The reissue Dano PUP is closer, but still a bit lower-output and flat sounding compared to the real deal.

The GFS Lipstick Humbucker is amazing for jazz, though. Go figure.

Seymour Duncan and Curtis Novak (especially Novak) make lipsticks that are identical to the originals. The full-size ones are about half an inch longer than strat size and mount in the back of the guitar. Both companies offer a strat-sized version that will give you 95% of the sound. Leave the real vintage ones for people restoring butchered old Danos.

Buy the Novaks.

I emailed Curtis Novak on the 9th about the strat sized lipstick pickups and still haven't gotten a reply... Does he usually take this long to reply?

paul_ · Post by **paul_** » Mon Jan 18, 2010 6:09 am

Maybe he went to NAMM

Blurillaz · Post by **Blurillaz** » Mon Jan 18, 2010 7:00 pm

paul_ wrote:Maybe he went to NAMM

Actually, he just got back to me and NAMM was the reason