G&L Legacy stock single coils

[scolfax]

Looking for opinions on the stock single coils that come in a G&L Legacy. How do they compare to, say, a stock Fender pickup? I used to own an Ernie Ball Silhouette Special, and I have to say that the only thing that disappointed me in that guitar was the uninspiring sound of the stock single coils.

BTW, my custom Legacy should be in my hands within the next two weeks!

[offplanetfilms]

I think you'll find the stock Legacy G&L pickups a notch above the Fenders. Glassy with plenty of soul & character. I bought a secondhand Legacy with Fender SCN noiseless pickups installed (the ones that were in the Fender deluxe strats), and I didn't like the tone at all. (Sterile without much soul or sparkle). Luckily, the original G&L pickups came with it, so I re-installed them, and the guitar is absolutely magic now.

[scolfax]

Great to hear, thanks!

[Boogie Bill]

I really like the G&L CLF-100 pickups. I also have older Legacys with the Duncan SSL-2, and these too are highly regarded, vintage toned pickups. BTW, I used to own a 1960 Strat. It was a great sounding guitar, but the Legacys have a little extra sparkle (probably from the Strat's pickups weakening over the years), which I like.

I also have a Legacy with a set of Duncan Antiquity Texas Hots, with the RW/RP middle and the Custom Bridge. Nice set; warmer and throatier than the stock Legacy. I think they are great for Texas Blooze, but possibly not as good an all-around pickup as the G&L.

Another BTW. I use an always-on preamp booster at the beginning of my pedal chain--an ancient DOD FX10 Bifet Preamp. Adds just a moderate boost to help the signal work through the pedals and kick the amp input a little harder. Some guys have trouble adjusting to the sound of single coils if they're a long-time PAF user. The SC won't ever sound like the HB, and vice-versa, but a preamp booster (like the Boosta Grande) can help fortify your signal.

Good luck.

Bill

[SouthpawGuy]

Looking for opinions on the stock single coils that come in a G&L Legacy. How do they compare to, say, a stock Fender pickup? I used to own an Ernie Ball Silhouette Special, and I have to say that the only thing that disappointed me in that guitar was the uninspiring sound of the stock single coils.

BTW, my custom Legacy should be in my hands within the next two weeks!

I have an EBMM Silo Special and an American Standard Strat, 97 model. I feel the same about the single coils in the EBMM, I bought the Strat used with the intention of changing the pickups but never did, I like them quite a bit. I got a used Legacy with G&L alnicos about eighteen months ago now with the same intention, again I couldn't change the pickups, they're great, in my opinion the PTB controls give it the edge on the Strat.

[JonL]

I've got a vintage strat I've owned for 35+ years. I believe the pickups are from 1963. (The guitar was assembled from at least two guitars, a '59 body and a '63 neck, I believe the electronics are from the '63.) I was on a quest for a Strat style guitar that I'd be less worried about gigging with, so I bought an early Legacy with the Seymour Duncans. They really didn't do it for me. Very thin sounding. All spank with no body. I bought an S-500, and those pickups were too thick sounding without the complexity of the Strat's. I finally bought a bone-stock 1995 American Standard Stratocaster, and the guitar sounds fabulous. It's a little brighter sounding than my vintage strat, and that''s actually a good thing. It still has plenty of mids and all the complexity a strat sound should have. I slightly prefer the G&L necks, and I way prefer the G&L tremelo, but the Fender sounds like a Fender ought to sound. They got a lot of things right on those American Standards.

I'd still like to try a Legacy with the G&L manufactured pickups since I like G&Ls overall better than the Fenders, but I couldn't find one priced right when I wanted to buy a guitar. I do have an '86 F-100 that's a keeper.

[CGT]

I find the stock pickups on my 2005 Legacy to be superior to any stock Fender pickup I've ever played. They sound clean with bite and bottom end and plenty of sparkle. I find they're bright without being overpowering, with just the right level of twang. I also feel they have a rounder and more defined sound. Mind you, I had a very specific sound in mind when I bought the Legacy. I play clean through a solid state amp with a touch of reverb and when I took that Legacy off the Wall and plugged it in, it yielded that ultra-crisp '61 sound that was Mark Knopfler's signature in the early days of Dire Straits. However, I think that if you want a somewhat darker sound, along the lines of Stevie Ray Vaughn, you might be out of luck. As with any other factor that influences sound, your mileage may vary but to my ears, the sound is golden.