A friend wanted a "surf guitar", so, lipstick pickups!
This one started out as a brand new 2018 MIM Player Series Strat.
Duncan lipsticks. They may use alnico 6 magnets, as original, but nobody there seems to know for sure. Marketing says one thing, engineering says something else. However, they are Strat route sized, so no routing required. Convenient. Nep-Tone uses alnico 6, like the originals, but they only build full length pickups (and may be out of business?). Maybe Novak on next one. Last alnico 6 lipstick maker standing.
I swapped the black pickguard and electronics for a tortoise pickguard, vintage wiring (tone on output lug), a .047uf Mullard fish cap, and a tone jumper for the bridge pickup.Sounds incredible. Look for SRV playing "tin Pan Alley" and THAT'S the tone. I want one for myself now.
When I dropped it off, we A/B'ed it against his Clapton USA Strat. Yep, that's how people get annoyed!
