Interesting comparison. I like the Fat 50’s better. Both sound very similar, especially the neck PU, but the Fat 50’s to me sound a bit more open, have a bit more chime.
Quod erat expectandum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!???????????????????? A single coil sounds like a single coil! Only the nuances of colouration can be different, but the similarity is among the construction!!!!!!!!!!!
I have made thousands of strat loaded pickguards over the years. 57/62’s are my favorite. Fat 50’s are good, Texas Specials I hate, CS69’s are a close 2nd. 57/62’s are IMO what a strat sounds like.
@@vintagepearlguitars 57/62’s. As far as any pickups, not just Fender, Lindy Fralin Woodstocks would be just below 57/62’s in my book. A lot like CS69’s but more clarity and note separation, and with a baseplate a better bottom end. The different magnets give a definite change in character, can’t really articulate what it is, but it’s there. Also a lot more money. I was in my boutique or nothing phase for a few years. But after trying so many, and spending too much, you find the difference isn’t that big. Just like wiring scheme’s, at first it’s super fun to try all the things. In phase, out of phase, 1/2 out of phase, all 3 on, hss, hsh, noiseless with S1 and superswitch, mintoggles, all that. I made an HSH with 31 different pickup combinations, a challenge to wire up, but fun. In the end though, I come back to standard 5 way wiring. I would say only 2-3% of people will use any of those odd pickup combinations in everyday playing, except for the “check this out” factor. Leo got it pretty much 100% right in every aspect, that’s what I believe.
@@nikolastanic2999 SSL1’s, hmmm. IMO the SSL1’s are pretty close to 57/62’s, but they always seemed a bit sterile. A couple with an SSL5 in the bridge is a good set though. I really like the Lollar Blonde set a lot too, but the price is high. The 57/62’s just get there for the least amount of money. A whole set is close to a single Lollar or Fralin.
Thanks for the demo. I still prefer the 57/62s (which I have in my 1996 USA). The fat 50s are initially impressive but start to sound a bit too much and mono-tone compared to the nuances out of the 57/62s. So about 80-90% of the time I preferred the 57/62s. I'm guessing but I think I would get sick of the fast 50s in a short time.
What an absolute CRACKIN' comparo!! And VERY tasty playing at that - perfect choices to tonally match the pickup positions. I've yet to decide between these 2 but honestly, this has to be by far one of the best straight up excellent sounding and concise reviews I've seen on YT. Subscribed!!! Thank you.
@@Paul-D I ordered the F50s even though they're pricier. I'm banking with a slight adjustment in pickup height, I can attain or mimic the 57/62s quite convincingly if needed, but can't mimic the F50s with the 57/62s
Yeh good thinking - they really are very close and im certain if you set the fat 50s a little lower then normal youll get that slight increased dynamic range the 57/62s have under the fingers
@@Paul-D new guitar arrived with the F50s, and it's magnificent. Question if I may Paul, I noticed you're running all 3 pups on both these Strats quite low. Do you set by ear or have specific measurements you go by? May I ask what the distances are "open E / open e" on the neck and bridge if it's not too much trouble? And if you have an idea what your 8th fret relief is - that'd be absolutely amazing. Ballpark measurements are fine - I'm just fully enamoured with these new pups and have realized their full potential opens up when there's a healthy bit of distance between them and the strings. Thanks so much!! ✊
Sorry my friend I think the 57 get a better tone, that being said they are on different guitar's. I have a Mexican stratocaster from around 95. It has a great tone and a few years ago I put a Fender tremola bridge on it and the difference was crazy. It keeps turning a lot better. Now that I saw your video I'm definitely ordering the fat 50's. Oh yea the Mexican fender bridge underside looked like it was leveled out by a 15 year old with a grinder.
Excellent shoot-out! Lots of demo done right. You say what needs to be said and leave it at that. I love it. Best comparison format I've seen in a while. I agree that they are so close. I immediately thought it would be good to have one of each because they cover similar territory, but, lean to different ends of the scale.
I think the difference in sound is mainly due to the different types of wood on the fingerboard, maple and rosewood. When in doubt, I suggest using pickup models that match, or as closely as possible, the original Fender configuration. Fat 50 for maple fingerboard and 57/62 for rosewood fingerboard.
You right, It is SO close its mad but the SLIGHTLY lower output of the 57/62 allow for abit more 'information' to breath I feel. Good ear man! And nice choice for a player Strat upgrade too!
Considering all settings stay the same, probably the 57/62s because I like that touch of warmth compared to the fat 50's. They sound almost identical except that little bit of high end frequency in the fat 50's.
Pick up heights can also play a factor too. Ultimately the pick up that sounds good in your system not on a TH-cam video should be the one to choose. Also a pick up with more high frequencies might possibly sound better in a song mix.
So I purchased the fat 50’s after watching this and installed them today. What I really really like is that there’s so much there that I actually dial the tone back to get into a sweet spot instead of my usual, playing with all tone pots maxed and begging for more with other pickups :) Thank you for making this video. I probably wouldn’t have discovered these without this video :)
sometimes i feel like the 50's is better but sometimes the 57/62. it's the answer nobody wants to hear but neither is worse or better, just different tools for different job.
I listened very carefully through quality monitoring headphones and for me the fat 50's stray into a little bit of over brightness close to harshness even. The 57/62 sound balanced warm and luxurious, I think construction (rosewood neck) is also having an impact, as all other settings were equal. Great video thanks.
You did listen on quality monitors because you are very right, to the point where ive now tuned it to E flat to try and take away by force some of that top end lol
Hi Paul I keep coming back at this vid, I was reading Squier Classic Vibe have toneriders pickups in them the CV 50s has Tonerider Safari ones, I have secound hand Obsidian Wiring ST Blender 250k and Tonerider Pure Vintage Strat Set which sound like fender customshop fat 50s maybe bit 57/62s you should try them if people like squier CV? and please check out the Artist Signature Electric Guitars they are the as good as squier CV WOULD MAKE A GREAT VID? that's if your still one of us?
Yeh the first few years from 2008 on CVs had tone riders. Havent had them now for years though sadly 😪 part of what makes the earlier ones so much better. Got a link the the other guitars you mentioned?
Both those strats sound great. It's hard to decide between the two. I think Sid is right to say you need two strats. What's so weird is I have a set of ceramic single coils I got on clearance from GFS for $15 a couple of years ago that sound amazing. CTS pots, orange drops and treble bleed, Switchcraft jack, CRL 5-way, pushback wire, shielding paint and body ground round things out. Still kinda crazy how good these GFS el cheapo pickups sound. Cheers!
Guitar Fetish is great. I've bought strat pick ups, brass bridge block, pots, titanium saddles, 5 way switch and input jack to upgrade a Korean strat knock off (Bronx brand) I've played for 15 years. Insanely reasonable prices. The Bronx is now as good, and in some ways better, than my American Standard (2018) Fender Strat at 1/3 of the price. I like ceramic magnet speakers too. They really bark.
I don't have any Texas specials anymore, but I have compared them so can share my thoughts.... If you want a hotter flavour in your Strat sound, something that handles drive nicer, get Texas specials or other more overwound/hotter pickups. If you want very early classic Strat tones on the cleaner/pushed side, get the 57/62
Listening on Focal CMS65 monitors and I hear a very significant difference in sound between the two except the crunch tones were much closer. Found myself preferring the 57/62 in every example, 50s are way brighter and have much less bottom end. FWIW I have sensitive ears (and Misophonia) and am easily irritated by harsh treble / high volume treble.
I know I’m a little late to the game, but I like the 57/62 in the neck and middle and the fat 50s for the bridge. I may do this exact setup. That being said, if you lower the height of the fat 50s slightly, they may be just about the same all over or the 50s may even be better. Thanks for the video!
Late is always welcome here hahaha. Yeh a combo of both sets in that way would be getting that extra squeeze out of them, but damnn need some good budget haha.
@@Paul-D I wish you could buy individual pickups from fender and not the whole set. That’s why last year I bought Seymour Duncan SSL-1s for my HSS Strat because I only needed two pickups. They sound very similar to the fat 50s. Love your playing by the way
For sure, would be a lot better - and makes sense to offer the option to tailer make your own set. The fender mod shop online is hilariously shite for that sort of thing haha. Im back in the pickup rabit hole atm with my gold top P90. Thanks man, appreciated.
From reading one comments below I have changed my mind , in less that 3 minutes 😂, normally it’s quicker, as stated below I think after the initial period the fat 50’s would sound too bright , the 57/62 are more subtle , great video.
Wood type and finish have absolutely nothing to do with tone or sound, its all in the wiring, pickups, and stringsand string hight. I run a set of fat 50s wound by josiphina
fat 50s clean, zero doubt. A bit of drive, 57/62's. depends on what one plays the most I guess! Get a Fat 50s strat for your clean stuff, and enjoy owning a second strat with the 57/62s!
Man that is tough, they are soooo close. Not much difference at all. I feel like the 50’s had a little more power and attack but the difference is fractional and hardly noticeable.
Most of the commenta stating Maple and Rosewood don’t create a different resonance or overall tone don’t build guitars and probably don’t practice much. All you have to do is take a piece of Sugar Maple and one of Rosewood of the same dimensions and drop them each on a concrete floor and listen. If you don’t hear the difference, you might just sell the guitars and start collecting posters of people who have practiced and hang those on your wall where the guitars used to hang.
I always listen first through computer speakers and cel phone to see if I can notice a difference. Fat 50´s sounded brighter. I would stick to the 57 62´s.
I was back and forth on the two as, to my ears and with good headphones (limited, of course, by YT sound quality), the 50's and 57/62's were REALLY close to one another. Same tonal character, to me, with the 50's maybe having a tad more output that accounts for the differences I heard? But in a mix I don't think anyone would pick them out from each other, not honestly anyways. ;-) I swapped my Fender Gen 4 Noiseless in my 2017 Elite with the 57/62's. It turned what was some subtle stratty sounds into iconic ones. The noiseless are 'good pickups' in their own right, but to my ear they lack some harmonic richness vs. a conventional single coil AND they have muted strat qualities in the 2nd and 4th positions... I guess some would refer to this a quackiness, but I would just say classic strat tones your ears would expect from those positions, call it what you like. It was a worthwhile swap and really brought the Elite sonically to life in a way that's now equal to it's great construction and feature set. I can't speak to the latest gen Fender noiseless, but I can say that a strat with the Gen 4's will noticeably appreciate a pickup swap to the 57/62's and I'm confident the same would be true of the Fat 50's.
Your ears heard pretty much exactly what mine heard in the room and over a longer time then a video. These are the closest 2 fender sets ive heard to date for sure.
They sound very similar to me. That John Mayer riff sounded so much better with the fat 50's though, so I would probably go with those. Awesome playing btw! Question: Is it worth putting these types of pickups in a Squier Strat?
They are very close especially compared to my other shootouts. RE squire question - if you have one you like the feel and playing of then yeh for sure - remember youll need to upgrade the pots and caps along with the pickups though to make it fully worth it.
I would say yes. Tons of people who don't wanna drop $1600+ on a guitar will buy a Squire or Mexican strat and replace the pickups as well as the electronics. You get a guitar that sounds just as good as Am made for much cheaper
I have since swapped them round and the result is almost the same. For sure the fingerboard here will make a small difference though, a bigger difference will be that one is poly and the other nitro, and the fact the 57/62 has upgraded pots and caps whereas the fat 50s is totally stock mim parts with the pickups. But, after doing countless comparisons with electric guitars (not so much on youtube theres so many variables anyway, but as part of when i had my store) im convinced the single biggest thing for sound on an electric guitar is the pickups. Like 90% plus. But that only accounts for what the listener hears, far as the player feels, then every single thing about the guitar matters and makes a difference.
I have an American performer with Yosemite’s. I think the 57/62 could sound real good on this, I do have a maple board. I used to have fat 50’s on an older American strat. 57/62 sound warmer I like it
@@Paul-D I hard agree with you mate. And the science is behind you as well. Pickups are 85 to 95 percent of the sound i swear. Assuming same build measurements of course (scale length, pickup position, pickup slant)
The first mistake, a Cardinal-Mistake, to use not the same parameter in the other, not testing parameters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Means: The same woods! Here the freetboards!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Maple- and Palisander-Freetboard have different sound-characteristics!
I hear you and others on this. I do. And your not totally wrong. But…. In my experience the pickups make up the vast majority of difference to the sound and so this comparison is still at least somewhat valid. I did the same thing again this time on the same guitar and the difference was still about the same, not that much in the case of these 2 pups.
Even at this point the fat 50's sounded cleaner and richer to me. Imagine if you actually paired them with the better electronics as the other ones. Thanks for the comparison video!
All that really matters in the other components are the values. Pots of equal value all have the same effect on the sound unless there is something nearly shorting or not adequately grounded. A cheap "dime" size pot measuring 250k will have the same effect as a vintage CTS pot measuring the same. It's just a resistance value of Carbon, and the tone cap value makes no difference when the tone knob is up. I heard what you did b4 reading your description. There is likely some difference in the pickup heights, but the pickup sets are actually very close to the same spec with the 57/52 set being slightly higher inductance. The 57/62 set just shows ~1/2dB lower peak under the same resistance load in the GuitarFreak.xls file. Lacquered Maple FB's tend to damp less highs than bare Indian RW. It makes sense that the lacquer (polyurethane) stiffens the entire surface fiber/fret structure, which might otherwise absorb more highs. It's true of every comparison like this I've heard, and guitar neck I've owned, over the last 4+ decades.
57/62s appear to be more dynamic in pretty much every scenario. They seem to pick up nuance better and are more percussive. I'm sold on the set being the most well rounded great sounding off the shelf strat pickups you can buy, and have been for a long time. I have had 2 strats with them and they both were my favorite strats ever. I deduced that it had less to do with the playability, as I own other strats that play just as well, but the ones with 57/62s just sonically blow away the others.
Pauly, 9 months later have you decided on which you like more? To me the main difference seems to be that the fat 50's are a smidge more mellow, theres more of a low mid bloom to the notes, whereas the 57 62s have that top end attack and cluckiness more than the fat 50's. But theyre both so incredibly similar. Would love to hear your thoughts
The 57/62 ultimately still my favourite, These are still the closest to them ive come across though - and that's playing and listening in real life and I did swap them round to get rid of the maple/rosewood difference (which didn't make any real odds at all)
@@Paul-D Yes. I dont believe in wood affecting the tone. I used to very much, but iv seen enough tests to tell me the difference is either not there or negligible. Thanks so much, will purchase the 57/62 soon cause of you!
Sweet! Enjoy them, I think there's a good argument for putting a slightly hotter pickup in the bridge if you reallllly want but for pure classic Strat tone the 57/62 full set can't go wrong.
Have you tried the Vintage 2 1961 Strat or the Pure Vintage ‘61 pickups ? I’d be interested to know your opinion. I have ‘57 and ‘62 AVRI Strats, and a V2 ‘61. The ‘57/62 pickups certainly have the edge but I still like the ‘61.
Ive tried the pure vintage 61 - nothing to complain about but i do prefer the 57/62 set still. Not tried a vintage 2 or the new mcready out of mexico yet.
For cleans, I tended to prefer the Fat 50s, though there wasn't much to separate the neck pickups on that. For crunchy tones, I preferred the 57/62s for every position except bridge, which is interesting. So for me, maybe a Fat 50 in the bridge, but 57/62s for middle and neck?
After having several Strats with both 57/62 and Fat 50, i can say that both sets are very good, but for me Fat 50's are working better, being more versatile. I found that 57/62 can be very nice in some guitars and not so nice in others, because are vintage sound/output. In a very resonant guitar they shine, but in an ordinary strat not so much. Comparing this way (2 different strats, different neck material) is not very accurate, i bet that the red strat is the better guitar, having a thinner finish, and being nitro. I wish you can do only a pickguard swap on the same guitar/strings, that way will be more accurate. And i don't think having both sets of pickups same height is good, because some pickups need to be closer to strings, having a lower power magnets, others need to be the opposite. you have done a great job here, but i'll reserve my final thoughts after test is done on a more uniform platform.
I see where your coming from for sure, I did mess about more off camera later on by swapping the loaded guard over, and the difference was so small wasn't worth even filming. But yeh as the player you'll pick up on it for sure.
It makes a difference but doesn’t make as much difference as the pickups by a long way. Ive done it soooo many times including swapping these over and the difference wasnt worth filming honestly.
Prefer the fat 50s sunburst strat - seems to me like it has more sustain & maybe that guitar body / neck actually is more resonant , I know that isn’t so much about her pickups - but that’s what I’m hearing . Maybe the maple neck . But both sets of pickups sound great . Put the 62s in the sunburst strat ..
I did swap them after into the same guitar out of curiosity and the result was basically the same. If i came across this video, 2 different guitars, different necks, id think it was pretty pointless too… but honestly for the listener the pups make up the vast majority of difference on an electric guitar.
Still the closest sets ive found yet. And i did swap them a few times since and its the same minor difference either way. Recently got more curious about the fat 60s though lol
As you know and tell me pls that your 57/62 had a RW/RP in the middle position???? Original is 3 pickups of 5,6 ohms resistance that are the same 1963 comparing. I guess you had the RW/RP at the middle position Help us out pls
Excellent work! Bravo ! The 62 has a “round, smooth “ tone and the 57 has more “ clarity , pop” … The 62 for Hendrix, the 57 for Knopfler… in the end as I have had both but could only afford to keep one I kept my 1956 reissue I felt like I could turn the to knobs on the amplifier or the guitar to achieve the 62, but I could not achieve the clarity of the 56 on the 62 … You can always change the tone of clarity, but it’s not easy to clean up a tone that is a little more subdued… you confirmed everything that I found and I am very sad about selling the 62 reissue but I know I made the right choice…
I’ll tell you at the end of the day you have to pick a lane … you have to decide what is that one or two guitar players, that have inspired you and the tone you absolutely love.. i’ve had about every guitar under the sun everything .. les pauls. Teles, you name it I’ve had it, and the same goes for amplifiers and pedals .. and once again, I can tell you this you can do everything with a Stratocaster and a fender tube amp.. And it doesn’t matter how your taste change everything from jazz , metal, country to Funk.. every guitar player that’s ever mattered to me as either played a Stratocaster or played one in the end… Keith Richards said it best “ nothing sounds as good as a fender guitar into a fender amplifier”… eventually every artist must draw a line … make a choice make commitment and stick with it. You’ll be a better guitar player because of it. And besides pedals can change and achieve most tones these days, and are much cheaper to trade and sell than guitars. Get a fender Stratocaster and fender Princeton and never look back
Theres alot to be said for that - definitely. But also going through all of those things, in person, is invaluable experience and just fun (as long you do it in a way that doesn’t financially ruin you). Too many people now think they know so much more then they do because they watched a video, or someone they like said xyz. And truth is you just dont know until you physically get these things in your hands… and ears. For me, i dont do anything else… i dont drink ever, i dont eat out ever, no expensive car, i dont go on holidays, so ‘tone chasing’ or whatever someone might call it is just my thing haha.
I have since yeh - nothing to dislike about them really - but for me the 57/62 set are still my favourite. I never stop trying different ones but at this point a Stratocaster just sounds like that set of pickups to my ears haha.
Some people do genuinely have better hearing for these sorts of things - but i swapped the pickups round a few times since and theres no real difference the guitar is making- the subtle differences are the same either way to me.
The two guitars sound completely different. The 57 / 62 pick ups here seem to sound much warmer, with more low end and all in all better. But in my opinion in this comparison the main difference is in guitars itself and not in the pick ups. Switch the same pick ups to the other guitar and you will get the opposite result! I own nitro cellulose guitars and PU guitars, maple neck and rosewood, USA and Mexican guitars. These differences make exactly the differences in sound shown here.
Very rarely you will come across someone whos hearing is exceptionally good. Combine that with knowledge of frequency and music and you have a rare cat indeed. For you to be in the minority here and pick that up even with they way youtube slightly compresses the sound is pretty impressive. To my ears, after many many comparisons including having the same pickups fitted in a, b comparisons off camera and the countless hours swapping and changing etc - only when the pickups are very close will the neck/body woods come into affecting the amplified tone in a noticeable way (like here for example). But if comparing very different pickups what ever wood recipe you have the pickups will be the number 1 factor in differences.
@@Paul-D Thx Pauly, I don't think my hearing is exceptional, I'm just playing electric guitars for 45 years now and make my living with music for about 35 years, so I'm maybe kind of experienced concerning sound differences ... Right now I thinking about the perfect pick ups for a Strat Partscaster I was building up during the last weeks and I am still not sure whether it will be Fat 50th, or 57 / 62th? So this is why your comparison in this video is so interesting for me. Thanks! Nice playing by the way too 😎👍!
I would say between those too if you want something thats a tiny bit more keen on pushing the amp but still by no means hot go for the fat 50s, if clarity and warmth is more important and you can always add drive easy enough the 57/62 beat them basically as you heard haha. Thanks for the kind words - all the best awesome when theres real musicians in the comments 🤘🤘
Total toss up. Whereas other vids you've done...there's a clear difference. And as of this writing...on Amazon Prime the 57/62, in the United States are about $170.00. A drop in pickguard with Fat 50s; $316.14...with just the set being around $270.00. And Texas Special...a set being about the same. Although you can get a nice pickguard for a decent price. As of 4/3/2023. I'm in the process of a Strat build. So watching a lot of vids like yours. I'm wondering if I should just put a set of 2004 Strat pickups I already have back in. But can seem to find specs or reviews.
It represents the real life difference I promise that, these are by far the closest I’ve had the to the 57/62s. And ive compared many more for much longer that i never filmed lol. If you can get the 57/62 for that id go for those! There are 2 different variants on the 57/62, vintage and original i think there called. Mine are originals.
Hi mate, After listening several times I agree to your opinion about prefering the 57/62 The Fat 50’s are really close and would be a good second choice, they’re a bit “Lollar” to me The real difference that the 57/62 made was with “the Sultans of Swing” , (RW/RP????? Or as the original 3 pickups, no RW/RP middle pickup The Fat 50’s became rough💪 at the low- mid section and the 57/62’s stay clean🫣👍 Thank you thank you thank you for this video now I had made my decision and I could hear loud and clear the difference you played very well!!!!!! when you’re in Holland we go have some nice things 🫣🫣🫣🫣⚡️⚡️⚡️
I love the neck pickup on the fat 50's. They sound super excellent clean, thicc and full, but compared to the 62's, once you get some gain in there, the 62's take the cake. I have the 50's. I like the 50's on neck, clean with some reverb.
Just bought CS Fat 50 s for a MIM 2015 Strat. I think they are even better than the stock American Ultras Noiseless P U ..The Loaded Pickguard for fat 50s cost me $369
It's stupid to make a A/B Test of different Pickups with the same guitar. Instead you will veryfy that Strat A and Strat B sounds identical withe the same Pup!
The sunburst is a MIM standard from just before player series and the red one is a 60s classic series that I had refined in fiesta red nitro - changed pickups on both multiple times haha
Hi Paul just watched the video again and Im stuffed again. Those fat 50s are really very good I really, am beginning to warm to them more and more. What amp were you playing them through? Also the Fat 50 middle pickup is reverse wound for noise reduction, where as the 62s aren't. Did you notice any difference in the noise? Were the 62's noisier?
No difference in noise to me, personally i never get the bother of single coil hum its just part of the sound to me, as long as it goes away when playing it dont matter just turn volume down when not playing lol. The amp was my jubilee 20w head on this one :)
@@Paul-DNice one me either bud. But the way some are talking about the 62's they make em sound like there's a gaggle of magpies sqwarking in the back garden!! I used to rehearse with an original 50w jubilee, man that thing used to sing and wail!! Ok thanks again..... I'm still undecided....but those 50's do sound sweet....
haha I guess to some people small things are a big deal, and conversely bigger issues aren't a problem lol. Truth is you cant go wrong either way with these 2 pickup sets in particular
I’m think the 57/62 take it, but the overdrive with the fat 50s is way better. Just depends on what you’re playing. Wonder if you could add a fat 50 on the 57/62 configuration.
Thanks for replying! I am new to the electric game, but have been playing acoustic for many years. I’ve been going down the rabbit hole and I appreciate all your content! Very helpful. Cheers!
WoW I always like 57/62s but some reason liked 50s only a tiny bit richer if i'm right? But if you can help are the Squier classic vibes 50s 60s and 70s do they all sound the same and do they have same pickup cheers.
They are a tiny bit hotter then the 57/62 so take better to abit of dirt. But in this case it is very subtle between them. The squire classic vibes for the most part sound pretty similar and if your in the market for one. Try and find a good used one from 2008-2014ish. They were far better.
So if your still there? what's a good fender cheap medel to buy if I can get a good second hand one cheers I like the 50s classic style and like the same songs you do?
If it was fender i always search out the classic player Mexico guitars. They are some of the best fender ever did to come out of mexico. The best was the early roadworn versions but the cats out the bag with those and i see them sell for well over £1,000 now. You should be able to get a classic series (think they run to 2016/17) for around £450-£500. Very similar specs and sounds to the old roadworns but poly finish over the nitro. I have vids of all these guitars across the channel 😁 All that being said, if your not a rosewood board guy like i am, the new MAPLE neck player series is a fine guitar. Just avoid the pau ferro ones haha
This was incredibly useful. I'm starting a strat build and wanted to put Suhr pickups in it first, but since with electronics that would set me back closer to 600€ whereas a fender preloaded pickguard is only about 350€ I wanted to decide which fenders would be best. The fat 50's seem to have a whole lot of color and more rounded tones, but there's also a harshness to the top end that's off-putting. The 57/62 sound like everything you could hope for in a strat: lots of responsive dynamic range, percussiveness for all those funk & RnB rhythm tones plus lots of color for solos. I'm sold
I might be imagining it, but i think the mim without the rosewood might have provided some extra chime. I am a big lover of rosewood fretboards though. Maybe i'm giving it too much weight. I liked both. What's important for me is that the bridge pickup gets hooked up to a tone pot.
The 57/62s sound slightly choked compared to the fat 50s. The fat 50s have a little more open/chimey sound. I have a set Fender Yosemite pickups in my MIM strat, I wonder how they sound compared to the fat 50s. They have a different sound because instead of being wax potted, they are shellac'd, with all flat pole pieces. All three pickups just sound more than their regular counterparts. The neck pickup is woodier and clearer, the middle is extra chimey, and the bridge (if you have the bridge tone mod), sounds like a weak PAF if you turn the tone down to about 5.5
Ive tried those before on another vid but havent compared direct to the fat 50s. Its funny what some people hear as chime/open others hear as a slight shrill topend. For me of all the strat pickups ive shot out, on film or not these 2 were the closest overall
Pure clean the 57/62’s do it for me, but when the effects come in the fat 50’s come into their own.
Conclusion- you need at least 2 strats 😊
I concur hahaha
only two????
If you like both but can only choose one, the Fat 50s since the middle pick up is reverse wound for hum cancellation in positions 2 and 4
Interesting comparison. I like the Fat 50’s better. Both sound very similar, especially the neck PU, but the Fat 50’s to
me sound a bit more open, have a bit more chime.
Quod erat expectandum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!???????????????????? A single coil sounds like a single coil! Only the nuances of colouration can be different, but the similarity is among the construction!!!!!!!!!!!
I have made thousands of strat loaded pickguards over the years. 57/62’s are my favorite. Fat 50’s are good, Texas Specials I hate, CS69’s are a close 2nd. 57/62’s are IMO what a strat sounds like.
Nice one 🤘🤘 im not in the thousands - more like dozens of all the popular sets and 57/62 still win for me too.
The CS69's are a close second to what? To Texas Specials or to 57/62?
@@vintagepearlguitars 57/62’s. As far as any pickups, not just Fender, Lindy Fralin Woodstocks would be just below 57/62’s in my book. A lot like CS69’s but more clarity and note separation, and with a baseplate a better bottom end. The different magnets give a definite change in character, can’t really articulate what it is, but it’s there. Also a lot more money. I was in my boutique or nothing phase for a few years. But after trying so many, and spending too much, you find the difference isn’t that big.
Just like wiring scheme’s, at first it’s super fun to try all the things. In phase, out of phase, 1/2 out of phase, all 3 on, hss, hsh, noiseless with S1 and superswitch, mintoggles, all that. I made an HSH with 31 different pickup combinations, a challenge to wire up, but fun. In the end though, I come back to standard 5 way wiring. I would say only 2-3% of people will use any of those odd pickup combinations in everyday playing, except for the “check this out” factor. Leo got it pretty much 100% right in every aspect, that’s what I believe.
What about duncan ssl1?
@@nikolastanic2999 SSL1’s, hmmm. IMO the SSL1’s are pretty close to 57/62’s, but they always seemed a bit sterile. A couple with an SSL5 in the bridge is a good set though. I really like the Lollar Blonde set a lot too, but the price is high. The 57/62’s just get there for the least amount of money. A whole set is close to a single Lollar or Fralin.
I've got a set of the 57/62 and really like them. The low end is nice and clear and not too ice picky on the highs
Thanks for the demo. I still prefer the 57/62s (which I have in my 1996 USA). The fat 50s are initially impressive but start to sound a bit too much and mono-tone compared to the nuances out of the 57/62s. So about 80-90% of the time I preferred the 57/62s. I'm guessing but I think I would get sick of the fast 50s in a short time.
What an absolute CRACKIN' comparo!! And VERY tasty playing at that - perfect choices to tonally match the pickup positions. I've yet to decide between these 2 but honestly, this has to be by far one of the best straight up excellent sounding and concise reviews I've seen on YT. Subscribed!!! Thank you.
Thankyou man - appreciated
@@Paul-D I ordered the F50s even though they're pricier. I'm banking with a slight adjustment in pickup height, I can attain or mimic the 57/62s quite convincingly if needed, but can't mimic the F50s with the 57/62s
Yeh good thinking - they really are very close and im certain if you set the fat 50s a little lower then normal youll get that slight increased dynamic range the 57/62s have under the fingers
@@Paul-D new guitar arrived with the F50s, and it's magnificent. Question if I may Paul, I noticed you're running all 3 pups on both these Strats quite low. Do you set by ear or have specific measurements you go by? May I ask what the distances are "open E / open e" on the neck and bridge if it's not too much trouble? And if you have an idea what your 8th fret relief is - that'd be absolutely amazing. Ballpark measurements are fine - I'm just fully enamoured with these new pups and have realized their full potential opens up when there's a healthy bit of distance between them and the strings. Thanks so much!! ✊
Sorry my friend I think the 57 get a better tone, that being said they are on different guitar's. I have a Mexican stratocaster from around 95. It has a great tone and a few years ago I put a Fender tremola bridge on it and the difference was crazy. It keeps turning a lot better. Now that I saw your video I'm definitely ordering the fat 50's. Oh yea the Mexican fender bridge underside looked like it was leveled out by a 15 year old with a grinder.
Excellent shoot-out! Lots of demo done right. You say what needs to be said and leave it at that. I love it. Best comparison format I've seen in a while. I agree that they are so close. I immediately thought it would be good to have one of each because they cover similar territory, but, lean to different ends of the scale.
Thanks man 🤘🤘
I think the difference in sound is mainly due to the different types of wood on the fingerboard, maple and rosewood. When in doubt, I suggest using pickup models that match, or as closely as possible, the original Fender configuration. Fat 50 for maple fingerboard and 57/62 for rosewood fingerboard.
Its not. I promise. Ive swapped them since and made no real difference
More jangle and snap from the 57/62's. I may be biased as I have a set in my Player, lol. Great playing for the demos!
You right, It is SO close its mad but the SLIGHTLY lower output of the 57/62 allow for abit more 'information' to breath I feel. Good ear man! And nice choice for a player Strat upgrade too!
Love the 57/62 in my strat, it took me YEARS (like 7 years) to decide what set to put but once i tried them i didnt go back
Considering all settings stay the same, probably the 57/62s because I like that touch of warmth compared to the fat 50's. They sound almost identical except that little bit of high end frequency in the fat 50's.
They really do. Your completely right - mad how accurate it seems to have come across on youtube. Usually im frustrated its not right haha.
Pick up heights can also play a factor too. Ultimately the pick up that sounds good in your system not on a TH-cam video should be the one to choose. Also a pick up with more high frequencies might possibly sound better in a song mix.
I think the Fat 50s sound sweeter.
So I purchased the fat 50’s after watching this and installed them today. What I really really like is that there’s so much there that I actually dial the tone back to get into a sweet spot instead of my usual, playing with all tone pots maxed and begging for more with other pickups :)
Thank you for making this video. I probably wouldn’t have discovered these without this video :)
Glad you like them, i do still have them fitted to my second strat so theyve lasted alot longer round here then the tex mex did haha
@@Paul-D Haha. Same same. My Tex-Mex’s are in my misc Strat parts box. Lol 😆.
yes I like mine too, thx! but as you said, the output sweet Spot is around 7😊
sometimes i feel like the 50's is better but sometimes the 57/62. it's the answer nobody wants to hear but neither is worse or better, just different tools for different job.
Great demo. Both sound great but the 57/62s are more what I'm after at the moment.
I still prefer them :) in either maple or rosewood fingerboard.
Fabulous pickups either way!
I agree
Love the “Bad Penny,” riff!!
Forever a work in progress haha
Both great. Your playing was great too. I prefer the fuller sound of the fat 50s. But that’s just me
I listened very carefully through quality monitoring headphones and for me the fat 50's stray into a little bit of over brightness close to harshness even. The 57/62 sound balanced warm and luxurious, I think construction (rosewood neck) is also having an impact, as all other settings were equal. Great video thanks.
You did listen on quality monitors because you are very right, to the point where ive now tuned it to E flat to try and take away by force some of that top end lol
I thought exactly the opposite, wearing JBL headphones. Weird
I agree mate
Hi Paul I keep coming back at this vid, I was reading Squier Classic Vibe have toneriders pickups in them the CV 50s has Tonerider Safari ones, I have secound hand Obsidian Wiring ST Blender 250k and Tonerider Pure Vintage Strat Set which sound like fender customshop fat 50s maybe bit 57/62s you should try them if people like squier CV? and please check out the Artist Signature Electric Guitars they are the as good as squier CV WOULD MAKE A GREAT VID? that's if your still one of us?
Yeh the first few years from 2008 on CVs had tone riders. Havent had them now for years though sadly 😪 part of what makes the earlier ones so much better. Got a link the the other guitars you mentioned?
thats good to know cheers.
Another great comparison, extremely helpful. The 57/62s for me: all that I like about the strat tone.
Me too. These comparisons are only a vague idea at best but seems most people can hear the differences and pick there favourite.
Both those strats sound great. It's hard to decide between the two. I think Sid is right to say you need two strats. What's so weird is I have a set of ceramic single coils I got on clearance from GFS for $15 a couple of years ago that sound amazing. CTS pots, orange drops and treble bleed, Switchcraft jack, CRL 5-way, pushback wire, shielding paint and body ground round things out. Still kinda crazy how good these GFS el cheapo pickups sound. Cheers!
I think 2 is a good place to start 😆
Ahh right ill have to try those i wonder if they are the ceramics in the new vintage coaster series
Guitar Fetish is great. I've bought strat pick ups, brass bridge block, pots, titanium saddles, 5 way switch and input jack to upgrade a Korean strat knock off (Bronx brand) I've played for 15 years. Insanely reasonable prices. The Bronx is now as good, and in some ways better, than my American Standard (2018) Fender Strat at 1/3 of the price. I like ceramic magnet speakers too. They really bark.
It's a great public service you do mate 😎
50s have better fullness. The 57,62 sound like thin and fuzzy.
I think they both sound as advertised.
Exactly.
Those are custom shop fat 50's right...they sound better
Hello 🙏🏼 This is amazing!! Can u try Texas Special vs Fender OG 57/62 please
I don't have any Texas specials anymore, but I have compared them so can share my thoughts....
If you want a hotter flavour in your Strat sound, something that handles drive nicer, get Texas specials or other more overwound/hotter pickups. If you want very early classic Strat tones on the cleaner/pushed side, get the 57/62
@@Paul-D thank you so much 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
Great video, I prefer the fat 50’s , in the red strat they would be ideal.
57/62's in the neck, fat 50's in the middle and brdge.
Listening on Focal CMS65 monitors and I hear a very significant difference in sound between the two except the crunch tones were much closer. Found myself preferring the 57/62 in every example, 50s are way brighter and have much less bottom end. FWIW I have sensitive ears (and Misophonia) and am easily irritated by harsh treble / high volume treble.
After watching your videos I ended up buying Fender 57/62 pickups. Glad you made these videos.
Awesome hope you like them as much as i do 🤘🤘🤘
6:03 now wow holy moly those 57 / 62 's sound identical to Jimi they sound phenomenal particularly there
honestly. If you told me they were the same pickups, i'd believe you. I feel like if i were to say theres a difference, it'd be physiological
They are VERY similar. Ive since swapped them to mitigate the necks and made no difference
I know I’m a little late to the game, but I like the 57/62 in the neck and middle and the fat 50s for the bridge. I may do this exact setup. That being said, if you lower the height of the fat 50s slightly, they may be just about the same all over or the 50s may even be better. Thanks for the video!
Late is always welcome here hahaha.
Yeh a combo of both sets in that way would be getting that extra squeeze out of them, but damnn need some good budget haha.
@@Paul-D I wish you could buy individual pickups from fender and not the whole set. That’s why last year I bought Seymour Duncan SSL-1s for my HSS Strat because I only needed two pickups. They sound very similar to the fat 50s. Love your playing by the way
For sure, would be a lot better - and makes sense to offer the option to tailer make your own set. The fender mod shop online is hilariously shite for that sort of thing haha. Im back in the pickup rabit hole atm with my gold top P90.
Thanks man, appreciated.
Is the sunburst fat 50s Strat a black label traditional Strat from 95 or 96?
No its just a mim from 2016 with the pups and pots swapped
In the in between postions I like the Fat 50's better, 1 - 3 - 5 the 57/62 pickups
From reading one comments below I have changed my mind , in less that 3 minutes 😂, normally it’s quicker, as stated below I think after the initial period the fat 50’s would sound too bright , the 57/62 are more subtle , great video.
Wood type and finish have absolutely nothing to do with tone or sound, its all in the wiring, pickups, and stringsand string hight. I run a set of fat 50s wound by josiphina
😂
@@philthompson6832 you find facts funny? Thats cool
fat 50s clean, zero doubt. A bit of drive, 57/62's. depends on what one plays the most I guess! Get a Fat 50s strat for your clean stuff, and enjoy owning a second strat with the 57/62s!
I forgot to ask, are the middle pickups on the '57/62s reverse wound as well?
No i dont think they are on that set. True to vintage spec.
Man that is tough, they are soooo close. Not much difference at all. I feel like the 50’s had a little more power and attack but the difference is fractional and hardly noticeable.
Fat 50's for me, because 57/62's it sounds too bright for me on the tails.
Also can't compare Maple to Rosewood.
Rosewood always sound's brighter.
I like the pickups in my 2022 Squier Strat CV 50 better than either of these.
Consider that a win haha.
I have had the 57/62s in my #1 Strat for 13 years! ...I can't find anything else that sounds good to my ears.
Nothing has beat them yet for me either - although there are still countless ones out there to try 😅
Most of the commenta stating Maple and Rosewood don’t create a different resonance or overall tone don’t build guitars and probably don’t practice much. All you have to do is take a piece of Sugar Maple and one of Rosewood of the same dimensions and drop them each on a concrete floor and listen. If you don’t hear the difference, you might just sell the guitars and start collecting posters of people who have practiced and hang those on your wall where the guitars used to hang.
I always listen first through computer speakers and cel phone to see if I can notice a difference. Fat 50´s sounded brighter. I would stick to the 57 62´s.
I was back and forth on the two as, to my ears and with good headphones (limited, of course, by YT sound quality), the 50's and 57/62's were REALLY close to one another. Same tonal character, to me, with the 50's maybe having a tad more output that accounts for the differences I heard? But in a mix I don't think anyone would pick them out from each other, not honestly anyways. ;-)
I swapped my Fender Gen 4 Noiseless in my 2017 Elite with the 57/62's. It turned what was some subtle stratty sounds into iconic ones. The noiseless are 'good pickups' in their own right, but to my ear they lack some harmonic richness vs. a conventional single coil AND they have muted strat qualities in the 2nd and 4th positions... I guess some would refer to this a quackiness, but I would just say classic strat tones your ears would expect from those positions, call it what you like.
It was a worthwhile swap and really brought the Elite sonically to life in a way that's now equal to it's great construction and feature set. I can't speak to the latest gen Fender noiseless, but I can say that a strat with the Gen 4's will noticeably appreciate a pickup swap to the 57/62's and I'm confident the same would be true of the Fat 50's.
Your ears heard pretty much exactly what mine heard in the room and over a longer time then a video. These are the closest 2 fender sets ive heard to date for sure.
The 57/62’s they are smoother in the top end and bottom end. A rounder tone. The fat 50’s are a bit brittle IMHO.
Never liked Fat 50’s. Sterile sounding, too much bass to my ears. 57/62’s For the win.
If you're going to compare properly you really need to use the same guitar so swapping pickups
They sound very similar to me. That John Mayer riff sounded so much better with the fat 50's though, so I would probably go with those. Awesome playing btw! Question: Is it worth putting these types of pickups in a Squier Strat?
They are very close especially compared to my other shootouts.
RE squire question - if you have one you like the feel and playing of then yeh for sure - remember youll need to upgrade the pots and caps along with the pickups though to make it fully worth it.
I would say yes. Tons of people who don't wanna drop $1600+ on a guitar will buy a Squire or Mexican strat and replace the pickups as well as the electronics. You get a guitar that sounds just as good as Am made for much cheaper
Vintage 60s and Texas Special my favorite Fender single coil pickups
Honestly the fat 50’s sound brighter and I think it’s actually more because of the maple vs rosewood necks rather than the pickups.
I have since swapped them round and the result is almost the same.
For sure the fingerboard here will make a small difference though, a bigger difference will be that one is poly and the other nitro, and the fact the 57/62 has upgraded pots and caps whereas the fat 50s is totally stock mim parts with the pickups.
But, after doing countless comparisons with electric guitars (not so much on youtube theres so many variables anyway, but as part of when i had my store) im convinced the single biggest thing for sound on an electric guitar is the pickups. Like 90% plus. But that only accounts for what the listener hears, far as the player feels, then every single thing about the guitar matters and makes a difference.
I have an American performer with Yosemite’s. I think the 57/62 could sound real good on this, I do have a maple board. I used to have fat 50’s on an older American strat. 57/62 sound warmer I like it
@@Paul-D I hard agree with you mate. And the science is behind you as well. Pickups are 85 to 95 percent of the sound i swear. Assuming same build measurements of course (scale length, pickup position, pickup slant)
The first mistake, a Cardinal-Mistake, to use not the same parameter in the other, not testing parameters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Means: The same woods! Here the freetboards!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Maple- and Palisander-Freetboard have different sound-characteristics!
I hear you and others on this. I do. And your not totally wrong. But…. In my experience the pickups make up the vast majority of difference to the sound and so this comparison is still at least somewhat valid. I did the same thing again this time on the same guitar and the difference was still about the same, not that much in the case of these 2 pups.
maybe im weird but i love the sound of the 50s ! epic
Fat 50s for me.
Even at this point the fat 50's sounded cleaner and richer to me. Imagine if you actually paired them with the better electronics as the other ones. Thanks for the comparison video!
Yeh would be nice if i had same electrics in both for sure
All that really matters in the other components are the values. Pots of equal value all have the same effect on the sound unless there is something nearly shorting or not adequately grounded. A cheap "dime" size pot measuring 250k will have the same effect as a vintage CTS pot measuring the same. It's just a resistance value of Carbon, and the tone cap value makes no difference when the tone knob is up.
I heard what you did b4 reading your description. There is likely some difference in the pickup heights, but the pickup sets are actually very close to the same spec with the 57/52 set being slightly higher inductance. The 57/62 set just shows ~1/2dB lower peak under the same resistance load in the GuitarFreak.xls file.
Lacquered Maple FB's tend to damp less highs than bare Indian RW. It makes sense that the lacquer (polyurethane) stiffens the entire surface fiber/fret structure, which might otherwise absorb more highs. It's true of every comparison like this I've heard, and guitar neck I've owned, over the last 4+ decades.
57/62s appear to be more dynamic in pretty much every scenario. They seem to pick up nuance better and are more percussive. I'm sold on the set being the most well rounded great sounding off the shelf strat pickups you can buy, and have been for a long time. I have had 2 strats with them and they both were my favorite strats ever. I deduced that it had less to do with the playability, as I own other strats that play just as well, but the ones with 57/62s just sonically blow away the others.
Still my favourite too 🤟
Pauly, 9 months later have you decided on which you like more? To me the main difference seems to be that the fat 50's are a smidge more mellow, theres more of a low mid bloom to the notes, whereas the 57 62s have that top end attack and cluckiness more than the fat 50's. But theyre both so incredibly similar.
Would love to hear your thoughts
The 57/62 ultimately still my favourite, These are still the closest to them ive come across though - and that's playing and listening in real life and I did swap them round to get rid of the maple/rosewood difference (which didn't make any real odds at all)
@@Paul-D Yes. I dont believe in wood affecting the tone. I used to very much, but iv seen enough tests to tell me the difference is either not there or negligible. Thanks so much, will purchase the 57/62 soon cause of you!
Sweet! Enjoy them, I think there's a good argument for putting a slightly hotter pickup in the bridge if you reallllly want but for pure classic Strat tone the 57/62 full set can't go wrong.
57s on clean and fat 50s overdriven for me. To be honest it was pretty close to me without watching.
They are SO close its mad
Fat 50s for me didn't think they would be
Have you tried the Vintage 2 1961 Strat or the Pure Vintage ‘61 pickups ? I’d be interested to know your opinion. I have ‘57 and ‘62 AVRI Strats, and a V2 ‘61. The ‘57/62 pickups certainly have the edge but I still like the ‘61.
Ive tried the pure vintage 61 - nothing to complain about but i do prefer the 57/62 set still.
Not tried a vintage 2 or the new mcready out of mexico yet.
For cleans, I tended to prefer the Fat 50s, though there wasn't much to separate the neck pickups on that. For crunchy tones, I preferred the 57/62s for every position except bridge, which is interesting. So for me, maybe a Fat 50 in the bridge, but 57/62s for middle and neck?
That would be a sweet combination for sure. Fender should sell them that way save scratching around for 2 different sets haha
for this vid, today, I'm going with the fat '50s
After having several Strats with both 57/62 and Fat 50, i can say that both sets are very good, but for me Fat 50's are working better, being more versatile. I found that 57/62 can be very nice in some guitars and not so nice in others, because are vintage sound/output. In a very resonant guitar they shine, but in an ordinary strat not so much. Comparing this way (2 different strats, different neck material) is not very accurate, i bet that the red strat is the better guitar, having a thinner finish, and being nitro. I wish you can do only a pickguard swap on the same guitar/strings, that way will be more accurate. And i don't think having both sets of pickups same height is good, because some pickups need to be closer to strings, having a lower power magnets, others need to be the opposite. you have done a great job here, but i'll reserve my final thoughts after test is done on a more uniform platform.
I see where your coming from for sure, I did mess about more off camera later on by swapping the loaded guard over, and the difference was so small wasn't worth even filming. But yeh as the player you'll pick up on it for sure.
Fat 50s have that shrill. 57/62 sounds ear friendly. Could be maple neck produce brighter tone?
When the pickups are so close the neck wood definitely comes into it, but only when your already in a very close tonal place I think
Great vid man liked and subscribed. Can you do a comparison between the 57/62 and teh Pure Vintage 65? Thanks!!!
The only vid ive got on those pups is when we compared the silversky SE to an american original series back when the se silversky first came out
Different guitars, in this case mainly the different wood of the fretboard, influence the tone as much as the pickups!!!!!!
It makes a difference but doesn’t make as much difference as the pickups by a long way. Ive done it soooo many times including swapping these over and the difference wasnt worth filming honestly.
Prefer the fat 50s sunburst strat - seems to me like it has more sustain & maybe that guitar body / neck actually is more resonant ,
I know that isn’t so much about her pickups - but that’s what I’m hearing . Maybe the maple neck . But both sets of pickups sound great .
Put the 62s in the sunburst strat ..
I did, the result was super similar either way.
What a joke... you cant compare TWO different guitars and pickups... you need to use the SAME guitar
I did swap them after into the same guitar out of curiosity and the result was basically the same. If i came across this video, 2 different guitars, different necks, id think it was pretty pointless too… but honestly for the listener the pups make up the vast majority of difference on an electric guitar.
57/62 very simiar to real vintage anyway
Too close to call on playback, but maybe more nuances come out in the room.
If prices are similar, I think I'd be happy with either!
they really are that similar even in the room. by FAR the closet to the 57/62 yet.
The 57/62's have that Strat tone I like, but those fat 50's are right there close to the 57/62's, very close challenge sir.
Still the closest sets ive found yet. And i did swap them a few times since and its the same minor difference either way.
Recently got more curious about the fat 60s though lol
As you know and tell me pls that your 57/62 had a RW/RP in the middle position????
Original is 3 pickups of 5,6 ohms resistance that are the same 1963 comparing.
I guess you had the RW/RP at the middle position
Help us out pls
No RW/RP on the middle pup with the 57/62. Fat 50s there is.
Love boht! I heared maple vs rosewood more. Nice demo
Excellent work! Bravo ! The 62 has a “round, smooth “ tone and the 57 has more “ clarity , pop” … The 62 for Hendrix, the 57 for Knopfler… in the end as I have had both but could only afford to keep one I kept my 1956 reissue I felt like I could turn the to knobs on the amplifier or the guitar to achieve the 62, but I could not achieve the clarity of the 56 on the 62 … You can always change the tone of clarity, but it’s not easy to clean up a tone that is a little more subdued… you confirmed everything that I found and I am very sad about selling the 62 reissue but I know I made the right choice…
Thanks man - as it happens im currently down the same rabit hole with humbuckers the last few weeks. Havent filmed any of it though lol
I’ll tell you at the end of the day you have to pick a lane … you have to decide what is that one or two guitar players, that have inspired you and the tone you absolutely love.. i’ve had about every guitar under the sun everything .. les pauls. Teles, you name it I’ve had it, and the same goes for amplifiers and pedals .. and once again, I can tell you this you can do everything with a Stratocaster and a fender tube amp.. And it doesn’t matter how your taste change everything from jazz , metal, country to Funk.. every guitar player that’s ever mattered to me as either played a Stratocaster or played one in the end… Keith Richards said it best “ nothing sounds as good as a fender guitar into a fender amplifier”… eventually every artist must draw a line … make a choice make commitment and stick with it. You’ll be a better guitar player because of it. And besides pedals can change and achieve most tones these days, and are much cheaper to trade and sell than guitars. Get a fender Stratocaster and fender Princeton and never look back
Theres alot to be said for that - definitely. But also going through all of those things, in person, is invaluable experience and just fun (as long you do it in a way that doesn’t financially ruin you).
Too many people now think they know so much more then they do because they watched a video, or someone they like said xyz. And truth is you just dont know until you physically get these things in your hands… and ears.
For me, i dont do anything else… i dont drink ever, i dont eat out ever, no expensive car, i dont go on holidays, so ‘tone chasing’ or whatever someone might call it is just my thing haha.
This is a tough one, the fat 50's sound so silky and the 57/62 have much more of a twang but still silky.
The 57/62 for me are just what a strat should sound like haha. Of course - taste varies and some want a hotter strat etc
Do you have any experience with the pv61 pickups? How might they compare to the 57/62 set?
I have since yeh - nothing to dislike about them really - but for me the 57/62 set are still my favourite. I never stop trying different ones but at this point a Stratocaster just sounds like that set of pickups to my ears haha.
Fender fat 50 are fenders best coils.
Sound very different to me, maybe maple neck making fat 50’s sound much brighter ?
Some people do genuinely have better hearing for these sorts of things - but i swapped the pickups round a few times since and theres no real difference the guitar is making- the subtle differences are the same either way to me.
The two guitars sound completely different. The 57 / 62 pick ups here seem to sound much warmer, with more low end and all in all better. But in my opinion in this comparison the main difference is in guitars itself and not in the pick ups. Switch the same pick ups to the other guitar and you will get the opposite result! I own nitro cellulose guitars and PU guitars, maple neck and rosewood, USA and Mexican guitars. These differences make exactly the differences in sound shown here.
Very rarely you will come across someone whos hearing is exceptionally good. Combine that with knowledge of frequency and music and you have a rare cat indeed. For you to be in the minority here and pick that up even with they way youtube slightly compresses the sound is pretty impressive.
To my ears, after many many comparisons including having the same pickups fitted in a, b comparisons off camera and the countless hours swapping and changing etc - only when the pickups are very close will the neck/body woods come into affecting the amplified tone in a noticeable way (like here for example). But if comparing very different pickups what ever wood recipe you have the pickups will be the number 1 factor in differences.
@@Paul-D Thx Pauly, I don't think my hearing is exceptional, I'm just playing electric guitars for 45 years now and make my living with music for about 35 years, so I'm maybe kind of experienced concerning sound differences ... Right now I thinking about the perfect pick ups for a Strat Partscaster I was building up during the last weeks and I am still not sure whether it will be Fat 50th, or 57 / 62th? So this is why your comparison in this video is so interesting for me. Thanks! Nice playing by the way too 😎👍!
I would say between those too if you want something thats a tiny bit more keen on pushing the amp but still by no means hot go for the fat 50s, if clarity and warmth is more important and you can always add drive easy enough the 57/62 beat them basically as you heard haha. Thanks for the kind words - all the best awesome when theres real musicians in the comments 🤘🤘
Total toss up. Whereas other vids you've done...there's a clear difference. And as of this writing...on Amazon Prime the 57/62, in the United States are about $170.00. A drop in pickguard with Fat 50s; $316.14...with just the set being around $270.00. And Texas Special...a set being about the same. Although you can get a nice pickguard for a decent price. As of 4/3/2023. I'm in the process of a Strat build. So watching a lot of vids like yours. I'm wondering if I should just put a set of 2004 Strat pickups I already have back in. But can seem to find specs or reviews.
It represents the real life difference I promise that, these are by far the closest I’ve had the to the 57/62s. And ive compared many more for much longer that i never filmed lol. If you can get the 57/62 for that id go for those! There are 2 different variants on the 57/62, vintage and original i think there called. Mine are originals.
Hi mate,
After listening several times I agree to your opinion about prefering the 57/62
The Fat 50’s are really close and would be a good second choice, they’re a bit “Lollar” to me
The real difference that the 57/62 made was with “the Sultans of Swing” , (RW/RP????? Or as the original 3 pickups, no RW/RP middle pickup
The Fat 50’s became rough💪 at the low- mid section and the 57/62’s stay clean🫣👍
Thank you thank you thank you for this video now I had made my decision and I could hear loud and clear the difference you played very well!!!!!!
when you’re in Holland we go have some nice things 🫣🫣🫣🫣⚡️⚡️⚡️
I love the neck pickup on the fat 50's. They sound super excellent clean, thicc and full, but compared to the 62's, once you get some gain in there, the 62's take the cake. I have the 50's. I like the 50's on neck, clean with some reverb.
if I had to pick I would go 57/62 in neck, and fat 50's in middle and bridge
Yeh that would be killer if you could put together your own custom sets
Just bought CS Fat 50 s for a MIM 2015 Strat. I think they are even better than the stock American Ultras Noiseless P U ..The Loaded Pickguard for fat 50s cost me $369
It's stupid to make a A/B Test of different Pickups with the same guitar. Instead you will veryfy that Strat A and Strat B sounds identical withe the same Pup!
Both 61s? One custom shop, one vintera? Just guessing. Anyway, I found the fat 50s a bit fatiguing and the 57-62s more responsive.
The sunburst is a MIM standard from just before player series and the red one is a 60s classic series that I had refined in fiesta red nitro - changed pickups on both multiple times haha
@@Paul-D I was way off! Anyway nice playing.
I wonder how much difference the rosewood vs maple makes? Fat 50's for me
I swapped them after and it was such little difference wasnt worth filming
Hi Paul
just watched the video again and Im stuffed again. Those fat 50s are really very good I really, am beginning to warm to them more and more. What amp were you playing them through?
Also the Fat 50 middle pickup is reverse wound for noise reduction, where as the 62s aren't. Did you notice any difference in the noise? Were the 62's noisier?
No difference in noise to me, personally i never get the bother of single coil hum its just part of the sound to me, as long as it goes away when playing it dont matter just turn volume down when not playing lol.
The amp was my jubilee 20w head on this one :)
@@Paul-DNice one me either bud. But the way some are talking about the 62's they make em sound like there's a gaggle of magpies sqwarking in the back garden!!
I used to rehearse with an original 50w jubilee, man that thing used to sing and wail!!
Ok thanks again..... I'm still undecided....but those 50's do sound sweet....
haha I guess to some people small things are a big deal, and conversely bigger issues aren't a problem lol. Truth is you cant go wrong either way with these 2 pickup sets in particular
@@Paul-D that's what I'm thinking!!....Hmm maybe a self build vintage strat for the 62's?🤔
I feel a project coming on...😆
First off..great playing. Whoa. My vote,having had both sets myself; is the 57/62s
Is there anything out there you think beats the 5762?
@@Paul-D not at all...I remember a couple yrs ago the 57s were cheap af; price wise.
Fat 50 has more “wide” and rich tone … 57/62 is narrow and pitchy
I’m think the 57/62 take it, but the overdrive with the fat 50s is way better. Just depends on what you’re playing. Wonder if you could add a fat 50 on the 57/62 configuration.
A Fat 50 in the bridge (with tone control) would be the PERFECT set. But it wouldn't be cheap haha
Thanks for replying! I am new to the electric game, but have been playing acoustic for many years. I’ve been going down the rabbit hole and I appreciate all your content! Very helpful. Cheers!
Thanks for stopping by. Im in the market for an acoustic about now funnily enough. A Eastman E10SS in particular (Kind of similar to a J45)
Like the fat ‘50s all the way
WoW I always like 57/62s but some reason liked 50s only a tiny bit richer if i'm right?
But if you can help are the Squier classic vibes 50s 60s and 70s do they all sound the same and do
they have same pickup cheers.
They are a tiny bit hotter then the 57/62 so take better to abit of dirt. But in this case it is very subtle between them.
The squire classic vibes for the most part sound pretty similar and if your in the market for one. Try and find a good used one from 2008-2014ish. They were far better.
@@Paul-D cool thanks I knew you put me right cheers
So if your still there? what's a good fender cheap medel to buy if I can get a good second hand one cheers I like the 50s classic style and like the same songs you do?
If it was fender i always search out the classic player Mexico guitars. They are some of the best fender ever did to come out of mexico. The best was the early roadworn versions but the cats out the bag with those and i see them sell for well over £1,000 now.
You should be able to get a classic series (think they run to 2016/17) for around £450-£500. Very similar specs and sounds to the old roadworns but poly finish over the nitro. I have vids of all these guitars across the channel 😁
All that being said, if your not a rosewood board guy like i am, the new MAPLE neck player series is a fine guitar. Just avoid the pau ferro ones haha
Fat 50’s both clean and dirty for me. I didn’t expect to prefer them over the 57/62,,,but I did everywhere.
This was incredibly useful. I'm starting a strat build and wanted to put Suhr pickups in it first, but since with electronics that would set me back closer to 600€ whereas a fender preloaded pickguard is only about 350€ I wanted to decide which fenders would be best. The fat 50's seem to have a whole lot of color and more rounded tones, but there's also a harshness to the top end that's off-putting. The 57/62 sound like everything you could hope for in a strat: lots of responsive dynamic range, percussiveness for all those funk & RnB rhythm tones plus lots of color for solos. I'm sold
The 57/62 set just seems to be pretty much unbeatable for any kind of strat application i could ever want. Glad the video was useful ☺️
I might be imagining it, but i think the mim without the rosewood might have provided some extra chime. I am a big lover of rosewood fretboards though. Maybe i'm giving it too much weight. I liked both. What's important for me is that the bridge pickup gets hooked up to a tone pot.
It can make a difference and i did swap the loaded guards later on - but the difference was absolutely tiny
And totally agree on the bridge having tone control haha
@@Paul-D Cheers mate!
Both are good but I preferred the 57/60s
I think they still rule the day, Was a close one this time though :D hope your well!
I prefer the Fat 50’s. It got narrower when it was bridge vs bridge, but there’s an airiness to the neck that I like better on a Fat 50.
The 57/62s sound slightly choked compared to the fat 50s. The fat 50s have a little more open/chimey sound.
I have a set Fender Yosemite pickups in my MIM strat, I wonder how they sound compared to the fat 50s. They have a different sound because instead of being wax potted, they are shellac'd, with all flat pole pieces. All three pickups just sound more than their regular counterparts. The neck pickup is woodier and clearer, the middle is extra chimey, and the bridge (if you have the bridge tone mod), sounds like a weak PAF if you turn the tone down to about 5.5
Ive tried those before on another vid but havent compared direct to the fat 50s. Its funny what some people hear as chime/open others hear as a slight shrill topend. For me of all the strat pickups ive shot out, on film or not these 2 were the closest overall
They’re both good, each in its own way.