60's Era Single Coil Shootout: Mothers Milk vs Tall Boys vs Suhr.

Pickup Shootout - 061408

MIJ '93 62 RI - Bare Knuckle Mothers Milk Neck/Middle RWP
2007 Custom Shop 1960 Strat Relic - Fender CS 1960 Pickups
1965 Fender Strat – Suhr Pickups & Silent Single Coil (BPSSC) System
Fender/Allparts Strat - Rio Grande Tallboys (non calibrated)
2007 Fender Hot Rod 62 RI - Fender 57/62's w/ Delta Tone System
Warmoth Strat - Fender 2003 American Standard Single Coils

Amp used - '66 Super Reverb & JTM 45 Clone

As we tested these pickups the “Fender Sound” really became the common denominator for judging all the pickups. All the pickups tested except for the Suhr’s (more on them below) all had the same EQ curve and were going for the same sound. This made this a quite useful comparison because we, for the most part, had the opportunity to test single coils all attempting serve up the classic 1960’s single coil tone.

JASON:
From this shootout, it basically came down to two guitars. The Strat with the Bare Knuckles and the Strat with the John Suhr pickups were the two clear winners.

The Bare Knuckle Mothers Milk neck and middle pickups offer excellent examples of the classic 1960 Fender Sound. Hendrixy Clean sounds and classic Strat sounds. The others guitars tested were basically the same take on the classic sound but not really pulled off as well as the Mothers Milk. The Bare Knuckle Mothers Milk were rich, detailed and articulate with great low end, good highs, and that ever so slight mid range dip along the EQ curve that is characteristic of The Fender single coils of the early sixties.

The Tallboys were very nice and very detailed. At times we wanted to say the Tall Boys were more detailed than the Mothers Milk but they were darker sounding. They were also thinner sounding. They did not serve up the classic Fender EQ curve as well. As we tested these pickups this “Fender Sound” really became the common denominator for judging all the pickups It was simply a matter of which pickups pulled this sound off best and had the fullest response profile without becoming harsh. For instance the 2003 issue American Standard pickups served up the basic tone but they were the harshest sounding of the bunch. The 1960 CS pickups were also excellent but just a little thinner sounding than the Mothers Milk. The 57/62s were pleasant but just did not have the detail and the body of the Bare Knuckles or the Tall Boys. They were not as harsh as the Fender 2003s. They were overall good pickups but the single coil tone was more a more generic version that that created by the than the Bare Knuckles and the Tall Boys. I must note that none of the pickups tested were bad sounding. They did however differ slightly along certain dimensions discussed above.

Now enter the Suhr pickups. More difficult to rate because its response profile was different. The Suhr’s were the only pickups in our group that were designed to sound like vintage aged single coils. The other pickups are intended to sound like a set of 1960 single coils as they would have sounded new. The Mothers Milks, Tall Boys, and Fender Custom Shop and 57/62s all were designed with Fenders 1960s pickups specs and building materials in mind, but nothing is done to attempt to age the sound. Note than the Bare Knuckles were the closest exact replicas of the originals in regard to the materials used and the building methods employed. The Suhr’s , with their “aged magnets” had a sound similar to a new pickup with the volume rolled back a bit thus limiting some of the high end response. This is a limited description but the basic idea. These were indeed beautiful pickups and it was demonstrated that some licks sounded sweeter through these 'pups. I think I preferred the Bare Knuckles but I think this was because this was the classic example of the tone I expected to hear. The Mother Milks were desert island pickup if you will and they should age just fine naturally. Having said that I would like to spend more time playing through the Suhr’s. I spent enough time with them already to know that I would like to have at least one strat fitted with these Suhr "aged" 'pups. The sound was warm and nice. The highs were there but slightly muted; indeed they sounded like old pickups.

As the testing started the sounds were really similar from all guitars and favorites drifted back and fourth often based on the licks played. However, as time went on, I think the Bare Knuckles were still the clear winners. But I do want a set of the Suhr’s!