60th Anniversary MIM Strat with Duncan Hot Rails and Vintage Rails.

Yo!! What's up, dudes?!? I'm borrowing a friend's new (used) 60th Anniversary MIM Strat. It has a few changes from stock, including a bone nut, Grover tuners and Seymour Duncan pickups. The neck is a Duncan Hot Rails, while the middle and neck positions are both Vintage Rails. The thing is really heavy compared to my other Strats, weighing in at 8lbs, 11oz. I'm running through TH2 and using all factory sounds.

[@michael_caz_nyc]

I have had those pickups on my strat - since Seymour Duncan 1st released them ( way back ). Great Pickups. NO Noise . . .and retains all that Vintage Fender Chime & Tone.

[@michaskup7919]

The sound great. I went with Hot rail/vintage rail/hot rail config since I'm playing mostly metal and rock. I love it now more than ever.

[@Lex_Interior]

I’ve always loved this dude’s videos. We appreciate you, Steve.

[@tatethompson1234]

I'm not picky on cleaning my guitars, or getting dings etc, but one thing I always am picky about is my windings on the tuners. Makes a huge difference.

[@sniperfx9983]

I have hot rails in my bridge position and cool rails in the mid and neck. I am able to go from Clapton spank to all out rock n roll. Great pickups for strats!

[@TheDgen]

Dude we could hang out all day and talk gear.. love it man! Keep up the great work

[@dreyn7780]

Worshiping idols makes you a delusional human being. You have no morals or self belief.

[@PabloRomero1991]

Dreyn 77 what’s your deal?

[@Slugger84629]

I have a Hot Rail in the bridge of my MIM Strat. Love it. Great pickup.

[@masteryoburgos]

This is the hotrail Demo I am looking for! I am looking for that comprehensive demo for my HSS future upgrade but not sure what the neck hotrail will sound like as my stock single coil mid and neck pickup registered at only 3.5 ohms on the tester. Found it here. Thanks Man!

[@lloydperry2051]

Have spent hours and hours this last couple of weeks, scouring youtube and the Seymour Duncan site, looking to find what next. Pretty sold on the Hot Rails for bridge, but been looking at what to do about the "forgotten middle pickup" (which couldn't agree with more btw, I really want to be happy using this by itself). Your vids are really full of your character and good clear explanation which is great. Your vids have been most helpful and just want to say thank you!

[@angusorvid8840]

I have a special spot in my heart for Hot Rails. They kept me from getting booted from my first band when I was thirteen. By then I'd been playing a couple years and had a strat. Good guitar, but it wasn't happening when it came to metal tones. So I popped a Hot Rail in the bridge and that strat went full metal. To this day I've never heard such a difference in any guitar because of a simple pickup change. It just rocked. Hot Rails rock.

[@Davo2233]

Always have great tone Steve! One of the best sounding tone on KZbin

[@defin99]

put 3 hot rails in my mex stratocaster and turned into a metal head guitar.

[@akindubandara2141]

Have you wired your bridge hot rail to a tone knob and if u haven't, can you wire the bridge hot rail in a Mexican strat to a tone knob ? Sorry I am really noob with electric guitars 😅.

[@50kal44]

@@akindubandara2141 yes it’s one Wire there are videos for it

[@SFBGuitar]

I worked at a place called Norfolk County Music. We had two locations, one in Dedham and one in Norwood. The Norwood store closed in 1992 and the larger Dedham store closed in 1998. Daddy's Junky Music moved to Norwood in the 80s, but it was when they moved to Dedham in the early 90s that it really starting hurting business. It was only a matter of time after that.

[@rickbowersock2968]

The ear to ear grin on your face as you do these reviews is priceless. Same way I feel when I pick up my favorite toys. Life is good. Killer guitar skills by the wày! You make great reviews. Please keep it up!!

[@dreyn7780]

He does NOT make great vids! For a start FENDER is NOT Your friend! They don't make their guitars work in other brand amps! When are you morons going to grow up and stop experimenting with brands every day of your life as IF you're more smart than 20,000 employees! Shut up insane nutter!

[@SFBGuitar]

Agreed!! Plus, my OCD could never allow the utter chaos I see on some headstocks. It's not just about seeing perfectly wound windings, there is, as you say, a huge difference in stability.

[@allan775]

Just picked up a hot rail and about to put it in the bridge of my mim strat. Stumbled across this video and really enjoyed it, love your playing! I had played and owned lots of guitars but now that I own a "real" strat, it's the only one I play. Lol

[@TonyFuentesTV]

Glad to see you are back in action! Love the Strat! The action seems like its really low? Very sweet! Plus your chops and knowledge re always good to see in action! Thank you for sharing! Will watch the vid again! Rock on, buddy!

[@MaxMiller614]

I’m really surprised at how great the vintage rails sound! I just got my hot rail installed into mine so I can’t wait until the tech finishes it up and I can jam it out

[@theishing1]

Your smile makes me happy when I watch your video.

[@hylas99]

Great demo. those pickups sound amazing. They should come stock on every strat.

[@dreyn7780]

You're unwise and insane! Shut up. You're a praise slappin' bully! The human race doesn't need behaviour like yours.

[@KyLesCaster]

@WhatSideOfTheBed DidYouWakeUpOn get a load of this guy! learn a little sarcarm there, holy smokes. this generation is fuckered

[@burresseffects]

I love watching you play, man. Always great sounds and great technique to learn from. Having such a good ear for correcting your tuning is the cherry on top. :)

[@sticksnstones23]

I'm putting a Hot Rails in my MIM tomorrow. Thanks for the demo.

[@twistedpage1]

Hey thanks man!! Just discovered your channel. Very helpful as I am currently building 2 Strats one of which will feature a Dimarzio Mo’Joe in the bridge and Duncan hotrails middle and neck. Your vid was helpful in many ways. Mostly though I enjoy your tasty chops, knowledge. You remind me a great deal of a dear friend of mine who sadly departed this world some years ago, good humor, engaging quick to laugh. Yer alright man. When these guitars are complete, I’ll send ya a little something if the tones turn out in a delicious manner. Thanks again and keep those killer chops coming!! Cheers.

[@carlossalazar3177]

That laugh at the 7ish mark!! Sounds great! I’m getting a hot rail tomorrow!!!

[@SFBGuitar]

Thanks, Jarrod! I try to mix 'em up a bit, but the vlog is easily my most common format.

[@josefinigo7100]

I thought yesterday I was crazy..,but this guy won THE prize!!!OOUCH!!!

[@omorganstudios]

great! love Seymour Duncan pickups... this will be my next project hot/vintage/vintage setup...

[@marioguti9887]

Thanks a lot for this demo, just bought an all stock midnight red MIM strat from CL. I knew I wanted Hot Rails in the bridge position but now I'm sold on Vintage Rails in the middle a neck pisition.

[@ShawnTBell]

You really enjoy what you do, and you sound great doing it. Keep on!

[@SFBGuitar]

Thanks!! It's definitely coming. I already started looking at various camera angles for the close-ups.

[@GoransMusicCircle]

Well done Steve, thanks for good review

[@knowgnod]

Picked one up yesterday. Can't wait for it to come in!!!

[@stevehogan8829]

Hey Pixxy. just catching up on some of the vids I missed. Thanks... Sweet guitar.

[@5thfloor584]

I have the exact same one, and those guitars were actually better than the standard MIM ones. They came with a bone nut and Tex-Mex pickups so they sound more like an MIA than MIM.

[@bgilley8199]

Mine doesn't have the 60th anniversary neck plate, just the little 60th anniversary button on the headstock. They are heavy guitars. Mine is a flat red color with black pickguard and black pickup covers. It's a better playing strat than most American strats I try these days.

[@SixStringHarmonies]

Satch's luthier Gary Brawer has a great video on how to string with a "friction-locking" method. He also recommends minimum winds (2/3 wraps) on the low 3, and more winds on the high 3. Somewhat related is the "Frudua Method" for tuning a non-locking tremolo. The trick is seating the strings tightly at every friction-point so you can throw it back into tune with a simple yank up on the bar. Axis of Awesome is the band name you're looking for. Song's called "4 Chords". It's classic.

[@SFBGuitar]

Thanks! That Radius was a total score. It was well under $300 with a hard case. They're a rare model because the RG and S series were more popular at the time. It was only a few years before they discontinued it and just called it the Satriani model.

[@zagan1]

good to see the playing etc and the stories. From Australia here

[@Hugh9]

Never mind the pickups. You play great.

[@charleshendricks9188]

I enjoyed listening to you play sir. Thank you :O)

[@LuciousMidnite]

Can’t wait to put a cool rails in the middle and a vintage rails in the neck Already have a hot rails in the bridge of my strat

[@kwtcherbtchn]

Dude, I love your videos. You are the man. And That is a rockin Strat!

[@stevezane]

It's the same color as the first ever built Strat...great!!!

[@coolblues14]

thanks great vid!Sold me on Vintage Rails in mid and Hot rails for bridge going to replace my classic stacked in mid and dimarzio Malmsteen in bridge and keep my hot stacked bridge pickup pickup that I have in the neck.

[@PabloRomero1991]

Very nice playing!

[@DesertScorpionKSA]

The vintage pickups are just humbuckers wired in parallel and the hot rail is wired in series.

[@n97223]

Great Video as usual! I really look forward to these, I enjoy the subjects you bring up and love the sound of the TH2. Thanks for sharing!

[@thomasbohner1649]

Just bought this hot rail for my bridge of my reissue strat - really fat tone!

[@SFBGuitar]

They're nice, a great addition to any Strat. Adding a coil cut would really bring out all the tones, especially pairing coils from the bridge and neck with the middle.

[@mtbikingrulz]

I have the same one and thought it was ok, now you're making me wanna change the pickups to those duncans!!!! ;-) \m/

[@ljgaines8170]

Always enjoy your video Steve I think you're a damn good guitar player I'm building my number to guitar Stratocaster type the first one had the Seymour Duncan Little 59 I think I'm going to put the hot rails like you're playing there in this one have a great day brother stay safe and well you and your family

[@robertjohnston5011]

Vintage Rails have a very rare high end clarity and spaciousness and yet still show a nice full spectrum volume. I can hear the bass and lower mids showing up nicely. Few single-coil sized anti-hum pickups can achieve that inclusive balance. Seems only the non-stacked designs, like blade types or newer, such as new tech options by Fralin, Lace, Bill Lawrence, get there. I'm wondering if a Cool Rails would be a better match than the Hot Rails, which is clearly losing all the high end in favor of crunch.

[@SFBGuitar]

Agreed! And there needs to be a Jimmy Spring Clip. I hear the springs rattling on a bunch of my guitars with trems.

[@leokimvideo]

What I like about you is your ability to pull off so many of the great rock guitar styles. ACDC kept it simple and that worked for them so well. There are a few videos up where Angus Young is speaking about his style and it's well worth a look.

[@dreyn7780]

Acdc did NOT keep it simple! You're the simple person.

[@metalman2943]

I love finding KZbin channels that I would watch when I was younger in comments sections haha

[@matthews5531]

Great videos. Love your talks 😎

[@SFBGuitar]

Thanks!! I never worked at EU's but I bought a lot of stuff there. After they left Newbury Street they were never the same.

[@SFBGuitar]

I have a video called "My Rig" that shows how I connect. Keep in mind that I no longer use the tube preamp. The tube burned out and I never replaced it.

[@tacobell5150]

One of my best friends works at the fender corona plant and he says this..."Mexican starts are made in Mexico by Mexicans, U.S. Fenders are made in California by Mexicans lol! The differences are MAINLY in craftsmanship. There are not enuf things different in material to justify the cost difference in MOST tele's and strats. I have 9 strats and am sad to say that with the exception of my 3 made in japan strats (by FAR the best strats EVER!) my 2 MIM strats are every bit as good as my friggin eric clapton signature. One is a jimmy Vaughn signature and the other is a MIM fat Strat with 2 humbuckers and a floyd trem. My favorite, best etc. Strat is by FAR my Eric Johnson signature. Which if you do a side by side comparison is EXACTLY the same as ANY of the $6 and $7 thousand dollar 50's and 60's reissue strats, so there u go....anyone want to buy an Eric clapton Strat real cheap?

[@mariomessina6389]

tacobell5150 the pickups being wired to the tone pots set apart the Eric Johnson from other artists models and his pickups he designed with fender are phenomenal ! I will be buying a set of his fender pickups for my Mexican made seafoam green strat real soon and I can’t wait to hear the sound of the guitar after ?

[@dreyn7780]

All the new humans are anti-social people. This hobby has had the bubble burst effect and all people have left. You're in the 'DAYS GONE PS4' era of the electric guitar hobby/ lifestyle. Only zombies are left and you're shooting at them!

[@gscgold]

@@dreyn7780 what?

[@dreyn7780]

The Internet has taught you to no longer look into numbers for an answer to your questions. The numbers are now too great to comprehend any meaning in them. The idea that something made by somebody is 'the same' or 'not the same', really does mean absolutely nothing! If 2 guitars are the same accept for a paint job, then both guitars are radically different, because the owner of the products will live completely different lifestyles based on the audience's reaction to the different paint images. YOU are to THINK LIKE A CUSTOMER and when you hear industry language spoken by the seller/ maker, you MUST REINTERPRET THOSE WORDS so they can apply to your life. Humans are gonna ATTACK YOU no matter which guitar you buy. Don't worry about the humans who'll be praising you for your purchase.

[@gscgold]

@@dreyn7780 what?

[@twistedpage1]

And subscribed I am. Thanks again for sharing.

[@SFBGuitar]

I really liked them, especially the Vintage Rails. The Hot Rails is good, but for a Strat I prefer the brighter tone of single coils. The Vintage Rails provides that but without all the 60-cycle hum. You can get really creative with these, coil splits, mixing splits, series, parallel, etc.

[@GoransMusicCircle]

You said "The Hot Rails is good, but for a Strat I prefer the brighter tone of single coils" . That's my opinion too. Which ones do you like on bridge position better?

[@SFBGuitar]

Thanks!! Those plates look great! Very heavy duty.

[@SFBGuitar]

Thanks!! I'm just catching up on the comments. ;)

[@swanny3382]

Tempted to get a set of these, great demo

[@SFBGuitar]

Love Strats! Classic rock guitar through and through.

[@williamduckworth305]

Thats the best sounding Malcolm young chords if heard from a strat lol

[@satchbooggy]

a well spent 23 minutes dude. cant wait to see those kramers and ibanez...right up my alley!

[@Bulle893]

Used mim strat are a steal of a guitar. I use a 2003 mim for my backup and sometimes even my main!

[@SFBGuitar]

It's just whatever comes my way. This guitar belongs to a friend and I thought it was interesting enough to check out in a video. But it's gone now. It was ok. I thought the neck was a little chunky compared to my other Strats. Up for review soon is an '88 Ibanez Radius 540R, a 2002 Fender MIM Classic 50s Strat, an '83 Kramer Pacer Imperial and an '87 Kramer Pacer Custom II.

[@jackrumen]

Nice sound,Bro....and your smile and good mood,too:)

[@famousguitars]

@ 7:40, what a great tone! Heavy chorus, very jazzy. Like it!

[@SFBGuitar]

Yeah, there's so much inventory out there, it's a buyer's market for sure. I prefer the Classic series, the 50s and 60s stuff. Love those guitars and they're great bargains.

[@zagan1]

The band is axis of awesome, the 4 chord song.

[@henrydiaz6514]

Sounds awesome, man! Keep them reviews coming!!!!!

[@SFBGuitar]

That's them! Talented bunch of guys.

[@HorridFroth]

This was great. Very educational. @7:40- childlike wonder FTW.

[@jarrodhroberson]

This style of video is my favorite kind of stuff you do!

[@jamesiow]

Beautiful playing

[@bobsyeruncle4841]

that just sounds great

[@SFBGuitar]

I love the sound of the Duncans. Great stuff!!

[@anthonybymallia7067]

i love that white strat its very nice

[@HiOctane62]

always great to see a new video from ya bud.

[@wannapg3750]

You are a good guitar player! Nice pickups.

[@SFBGuitar]

Thanks!! Must be heating up there, because it's really cooling down here!

[@JohnHowell00]

I would like to see a 'How to wrap string properly' video man! I really enjoy your videos.

[@SFBGuitar]

I like them! I think the Vintage Rails are more impressive because they still have the vintage tone without the noise. The Hot Rails is nice, too, but a more traditional humbucker sound.

[@DriveAndDesire]

I used to have one of the 60th Anniversary MIM Strats, sadly it was a total dog so I sold it on. It was a shame, I loved the Blizzard Pearl finish, it's a gorgeous platinum colour!

[@SFBGuitar]

I might take you up on that! Are you going to NAMM in January? I'm in the process of figuring out my plans for that. It runs Thurs-Sun, but I think I'll only be there for Friday and Saturday, flying in on Thursday and back home on Sunday.

[@Lodud2]

Nice guitar, fantastic sound!

[@SFBGuitar]

Thanks! Like SSH said, some new Duncans can go a long way to improve the sound.

[@ThomasMetal75]

Im not much of string changer myself, but you can be a pal and not make fun of his stringing ways and help! I know I'd appreciate it! I hate restring!

[@SFBGuitar]

Yes, stock bridge, which is surprising considering all the other changes. It seems to work ok, so long as I don't touch the trem bar. ;)

[@SFBGuitar]

Thanks! This is TH2 by Overloud. It's one of the better guitar amp simulators on the market.

[@apr8189]

Great guitar. Own one myself with the EMG DG-20 set in mine.

[@SFBGuitar]

That's TH2 showing off its stuff. I love that software!

[@SFBGuitar]

Thanks Leo! Great minds think alike: I was absolutely going for an AC/DC "style" riff (lest I get into any copyright trouble...hehe).

[@byronofcalgary6985]

angled humbuckers are a revelation - rails or stacked - got a Squier Deluxe Hot Rails for $200 inc case - had "Duncan Design" rails and they're 4 wire so try one out and you can prob get $100 for the loaded rail pickguard when you're ready to move up - one of the few Squiers with a pickguard worth anything - of course if you have a Strat maybe buy a loaded pickguard ? there's an Iron Maiden one with a JB Jr too

[@wickedwayzzz33]

Care to inform me about loaded pickguards? Dont see the point in taking the original part off if theres no need to replace. Does it make things easier?

[@SFBGuitar]

Thanks, Tony! Yeah, the action is really low on this one, probably a little too low. haha But it's not mine so I can't go screwing around with it....even though I REALLY want to. ;)

[@SFBGuitar]

Thanks, Shawn!

[@SFBGuitar]

I love 'em!! People were trying to get me to switch to AKG, but I stuck with the Sennheisers.

[@fleadoggreen9062]

Sounds great 😊 What do u recommend for like a “chicago maxwell street “ like gritty cheap blues

[@stratman457]

sounds amazing to me...I have a pearly gates trembucker in mine and love it. U rock bro!

[@dreyn7780]

You must be deaf and blind! Fender isn't stupid as you say they are! You're INSANE! Fender guitars only work in fender amps!