Fender Texas Special Strat Pickups vs Fender Fat 50's

[@ChipLeach]

I suspect if the fat 50’s were named “Thin 70’s” they would sound thinner.

[@lomoholga]

The scary truth most guitarists don’t want to experience is the results of actual blind auditory testing- I’m guessing there would be be indistinguishable differences between similar classes of pickups. But marketing always wins- as well as hearing with our eyes

[@ChipLeach]

Same goes for amps. Modelers vs tubes. So much is psychological

[@martin-1965]

As a 4,800 year old vampire, I've only been playing electric guitars since they were invented (you might know my younger brother Keith from the Stones?). My take on pups, guitars and amps/modellers is... they ALL sounds bloody brilliant these days. You cannot - within reason - go wrong and it's all about personal taste and enjoying each guitar you own. I've swapped pups, nuts, bridges and even necks all in the pursuit of the perfect guitar. Still not found it lol. I reckon a set of decent Toneriders, quality Wilkinsons (not the new cheaper models) plus many others you can get for around £100 a set are generally pretty brilliant. I've also got a set of custom wound Radioshop pickups costing £300 in my strat which, when I compare to an old 1996 Korean Squier strat, I'll be damned if I can spot much difference. Sometimes the ceramic pups in the Squier work great in a mix, sometimes I love the Radioshop... or toneriders or wilkos. It's just a brilliant hobby playing, and messing around with guitars. I do miss the cocaine, whisky and hookers from the 1970s so a guy has to distract himself from hunting humans for blood somehow 😂😂😂😂

[@lomoholga]

@@martin-1965 cringe

[@Nightingale1887]

I never got the whole pickup pricing thing. It is just copper wire at a certain gauge with a certain amount of winding at a pattern. The magnets have a certain compound and gaussian strength, stagger form and coating of wax, lacquer, formvar or unpotted totally option. It is not rocket science but people pay a lot for them. Antiquities most notably.

[@bobdillon1138]

With quality pickups the differences tone wise between manufacturers is subtle at best.

[@HansOellerich]

I feel like the middle pickup sounds identical on those sets. However, I felt that the bridge, and neck pick up on the fat 50s was a little brighter, and bigger.

[@JasonGraystone]

Great video. LOVE the middle pick up on a strat. Probably my fave

[@cropcircle5693]

I could tell that the Fat 50's had better definition/clarity throughout. The Bareknuckles sounded great as well, very distinctive. Probably due to that gorgeous red finish!

[@MrBoze-TicoCR]

Im on the same trip now looking for my SSS set to install. I can offer that if you're expecting 1 set to have more or less treble than any other....I would state that if the pick-guard material: metal vs plastic, has been known to alter the highs. What you're expecting from the Texas to sound brighter than the Fat 50's, the pick-guard could be adding the highs back in. Just something to add to the rabbit-hole.

[@conordyer2307]

Apparently the gold anodised pickguard (than a plastic one) can add a slight bit of bass in some test videos and even rabea when he did the strat tone journey showed this just changing the pickguard. I dont understand why it does it though. But if it was plastic all 3 sets would sound even closer in tone.... Theres alot of snake oil going on with pickups, small adjustments on an eq pedal would account for all the variance between pickup brands easily.

[@lasombra_br]

The Texas Specials seem to have less treble or maybe mids to me. The Fat 50's sound more open, brighter (?), and incredibly similar to the Bareknuckles. And the bridge with drive the Fat 50's seem to keep its characteristic compared to the Bareknuckles and Texas Specials which sound more muffled. Again, to me :)

[@etherlords88]

It’s the opposite!

[@DogFoodTunes]

pickup heights very different. that alone can make a huge difference in tone.

[@karnbroad8504]

I thought that, then he mentioned he measured between strings and pole pieces to match, not plastic covers.

[@officialWWM]

Nope, he set them the same!

[@edwardlopez5457]

Ok, that Harley Benton was actually my favorite. In appearance and sound.

[@MaxRadin]

I think they both sound great - maybe the Texas Specials. Are they equally noisy? Do you need to run a noise gate? Thanks!

[@adyuriar]

They’re different. Fat 50s sound more like 50s style but a little bit fatter with highs mostly intact. TS sound beefier through the whole spectrum less sparkle. Both sound great but you sold me on the fat 50s. Great video. Always enjoy your content!

[@JoesMusicStudio]

Great review. Sound can be such a personal thing. It's like saying the color blue is better than the color green. For me, I love the fat 50s. They are smoother and have great frequency response from lows to highs. Other players may like the bite of the Texas Specials. There is no WRONG answer.

[@derekjohnson5720]

My favourite was your red strat, looks epic, is it a fender or a custom build?

[@colinparks619]

Deff a more rounded musical timbre To the fat 50

[@edwardlopez5457]

I can’t tell but you just gained a listener.

[@davidmarks5400]

I've heard a lot of people complain about the top end being too high with Texas Specials. I have them in one of my strats,but I also have a tone knob to roll off the highs a little and they sound good.

[@sundrenched6248]

I ordered some pickups from Slider's Vintage about 10 years ago, among which an SRV set. From memory, he told me it's basically an overwound 1959 pickup. In that sense it's not surprising the "hot 50s" don't sound that different. I'm sure they've voiced them a bit differently, but both are basically overwound 1950s pickups. For me, the Bare Knuckles have a nice fresh-sounding top end to them that the Texas Specials completely lack. the Hot 50s are a little better in this regard, but by far the BKP for me, and I'm surprised the difference is that big because usually I find it subtle.

[@JheridanSoe]

Are the pickup heights different on each guitar though ? I have texas specials on a 2008 standard. I think there more mid range in them

[@powerhouse1981]

Fat 50's got the Tex specials beat. Can hear it on the growl on those slides toward end of the vid. Thiccer sounding, better quality. Clear winner for me. As far as fat 50 vs 60, I haven't made my mind up yet.

[@peskypesky]

On my speakers, the Texas Specials have a bit more bass when played clean. But they're pretty close.

[@guilhermecavalcantevieira5730]

Same here.

[@ralphbenitez4407]

They all sound similar to me but the Fat 50’s appear to sound louder.

[@leonardorohr9261]

Hi what reverb pedal / effect are you using in this test, please I'm a reverb freak so that info will be very usefull, I can tell tou like reverb too, reverb levels are high in your vid, please let me know. Thanks

[@amadigidigaula771]

The Fat 50s sounding much nicer to me here. A very different sound between the two coming thru - excellent demos

[@barrylawrynowicz5629]

I noticed you have different body woods and ash and alder have very different sound characteristics…I find alder always brings out high end Robert cray kinda thing… ash tames it down kinda makes single coils more warm sounding . Teles are best known for ash ,in reference takes some of the high end off …. Either way you have amazing tone with all your pickups combos with slight differences….in tone

[@deadstarcowboy]

Wow. Great playing. I have to know. What is that red strat you’re playing? It’s magical.

[@leonardorohr9261]

Hi Fat 50's in person sounds way warmer than Texas Specials, VERY different mid frecuency responsd, dynamics , just veey different beasts, the only silaritty is in the output level, rhey are both louder and middier than a vintage set or IE Fender 57/62 pickups (made in usa ones) don't firget Fender has two different sets off 57/72 during rhe years, you can telk by the box, I have rhe first ones thet came out in early 2000's thats my regeferenfe, later Fdnder issued a new ser off 57/62 with a different pakaging, in 2010 ish, they don't state where those were made, I didnt have the chanxe to test rhem, but specs are not rhe same impedance, they are rhe same in eveey position....wuth Texas Specials happened amost the samw but they change the name , Texas Spwcials (USA) AND Tex-Mex (Mexican) again don't have any off those so I cant say whitch sounds better

[@officialWWM]

If you want a “different” sound, try the Fender Cunefe set. Apart from being really expensive, they sound completely different to anything else!

[@lassehaugen57]

I love the Bare Knuckles. 🥰

[@peterczaplejewicz1653]

Texas Special sound like special Fat 50s, there is a little difference, thanks for the video as I used to have Texas Special and I really missed them. I got Fat 50s now but always wanted to go back to Texas Special but now I am a bit over it.....

[@AnnoDomini-l3u]

Texas specials faved Thumbs up Great video

[@kensolo6793]

they all sound great; however, I prefer the Texas Specials, followed by the barenuckles and then the fat 50's. That being said, it is only when played back to back.

[@oldasrocks9121]

Both of these are super close to the Fat 60s too. Im searching for a set that nails the initial CBS w/red enameled wire, 67? Those are the breakaways. Put steel plates on the Fat 50s, that'll get you some darkness and keep the clarity

[@DougMen1]

They're both slightly overwound alnico 5 sets, so why would you expect them to be very different? Plus, you can't judge a pickup just by the DCR, because the magnet strength will affect the tone too, and the inductance is more an indicator of tone than just the DCR, which is more an indicator of output. Higher inductance will be warmer and lower inductance will be brighter. Looking at the specs of both sets, the Texas Special neck is slightly lower DCR than the Fat 50s, but the inductance is the same, so the neck pickups will sound almost the same, with the Fat 50s maybe having slightly more output. However, the DCR and inductance of the middle and bridge Texas Specials are higher than on the Fat 50s, so the Texas Specials will be higher output, but the Fat 50s will be brighter in those 2 positions.

[@FingersOnAFretboard]

(tried visualizing a graphic equalizer in my mind's eye) The Texas specials seemed more bumped in midrange, treble rolled off a tad, seemed more aggressive(Like they were pre-determined to be pushing like a tubescreamer in frequency) The F Fifities more traditionally treble-enhanced ,slightly more scoopy and Bass bloomy snappy strat bouncy. Adding a mid boost and they'd probably be pretty balanced AND dynamic. Clean or gainy i'd prefer the Fat Fifties for a more 'traditionally' strat frequency palette. then again, the whole point to the texas specials is probably wanting MORE (hotter /denser tone)than what a vintage e.q. P.U. can do? Your red guitar killed them both in the looks department, and preferably close to Fat Fifites ...simply delicious!

[@DanDjurdjevicplus]

You’d need a graphic equaliser to see a difference. Because if you heard them one after the other but 30s apart, you wouldn’t know it wasn’t the same guitar. In a mix? No one would know.

[@FingersOnAFretboard]

@@DanDjurdjevicplus

[@sEaNoYeAh]

All very similar. The BK was the best sounding individual sound here to my ears. The 50s is a little louder, perhaps a touch clearer than the Texas, but really, really close.

[@markmullins2756]

Iv owned probably about 12 strats ....2 American specials and they are my favorite ,but at the sme time i dont change anything on my guitars ....i buy them for the a they are.

[@karnbroad8504]

The Texas Specials have less very high frequencies, sound a little thicker when driving the distortion. Less 'slap' when hitting a chord. Texas Specials for me out of those three, knowing the amp and pedals I play through. I have a Nashville B-Bender with overwound Tele pickups and a Texas Special middle - tuned (modded) my amp and a couple of pedals to suit. Sounds like I need the Texas Specials in my Strat too having heard this. It'll then match my Tele better.

[@stratcat3216]

They sound different. Texas specials seem a bit more compressed sounding. Other than that if the volume was matched I'd be hard pressed to tell the diff.

[@francophillips1552]

Fat 50s for the win. Sounded different enough to me.

[@bmrbca3658]

They all sounded about the same. All good, but so close

[@arnolddealiii4259]

Personally I thought they sounded the same. Some were louder but tonally I’m with you, they sound so close only at the component level is it going to make a difference. Btw coming from a strat guy like myself I’ve tried all the off the shelf fender brand pickups and Fat 50’s are my favorite.

[@MPNNag]

Texas special sound spiker vs Fat 50s smoother!

[@ltaylor2238]

I say the Fat 50's for the win!

[@LizardKing513]

I think the fat 50’s are brighter but just the right amound of brightness.

[@mrtonysantos]

all sound great

[@user-ev2qo1hj1g]

Fat 50s are bigger sounding and more 3D in sound quality. Hard to compare the red Strat with the bare knuckle as now you changed the sound dynamic with the rosewood board. Naturally it will be warmer with less highs.

[@PherotoneStudios]

Nah. Tonewood is fictional

[@gscgold]

I think the bare knuckles, and the fat 50s sounds almost identical, but the Texas specials are different

[@srennielsen4545]

This is like testing two cars by only driving round the parkinglot with a max of 15miles an hour and never reving the engine or turning hard/braking hard. Surely that feels about the same in similar cars.

[@Joshuaalan21]

I hear the difference. Fat 50’s sound slightly stronger, brighter but also smoother. They sound just like a Strat should sound clean

[@johnsullenger4397]

If Stevie Ray played them, they are good enough. You need to practice 6 hours per day. And then get back to reply. Nuff Said.

[@icarus7073]

Yes, and remember to glue your finger calluses back on you previously ripped off ... SRV was a warrior !!

[@Texasbluestunes]

He might have played them.. supposedly Fender designed them in ‘89 and he was able to play a prototype version. I’ve tried them in 3 guitars and they just plain suck to my ears.

[@LoveUnderWill]

SRV superglued his callouses back on. Lemme know when your callouses fall off

[@bradcarter5403]

Idk why people try comparing pickups in Strats with different fretboards. The rosewood is always going to be why it’s sounding different and you are never going to get the pickup tones bc the other guitar has a maple fretboard/neck lol. If you are going to compare pickups then it needs to be done using the same guitar. Maple strats are always brighter sounding no matter the pickup.

[@PherotoneStudios]

Nah. Tonewood is a myth in electric guitars

[@christophervincent8420]

Texas Special in Neck and Bridge with the Fat 50s in the bridge

[@Nizodizo]

I just use whatever came in the guitar. Cereamics sound better to my ear.

[@artamussumatra6286]

Me too. My #1 go to Guitar is a 2013 Mexican Standard Strat with the stock pickups. I originally wanted to get an American Standard, and I spent three months trying every one I could get my hands on. I also tried other Strat models for comparison, and was surprised to find I preferred the MIM Ceramics over the CS Fat 50’s. I also like the feel of the MIM better. I never thought I’d be persuaded by a Guitar that cost half as much as I was prepared to pay. I guess it’s like The Beatles sang : “Money cant buy me Love” - and I definitely Love my Strat!

[@Matt_Holcomb]

The 50s sound brighter to me

[@quintonholley5923]

Maybe do this with Telecasters?

[@michaelnowak3570]

I agree with you I have the fat 50's and was considering going to the Texas specials now I will save the money

[@Aries_Alpha]

I shut my eyes and I like the fat 50's about 5% better but they all sounded great.

[@giulioluzzardi7632]

Fat 50's don't give ear-ache at this end.

[@MDN1505]

Fat 50s are sweet spot of 3 compared. 🥰

[@SO-bp2uc]

They are so close that almost no one would be able to tell you’re switching pickups if they listened to the audio without the talking. Maybe only those with really good ears for tone I certainly wouldn’t be able to tell.

[@Robertkelly_5150]

I think the fat 50’s sound significantly better. More depth and clarity.

[@petersouthwell5971]

I think the red guitar is a wee bit more treble ring. barely more. I sorta like it better. Custom is cool though no doubt. Guess Im just a sucker for red.

[@macauley70]

Texas special are more midrange...in band they cut better than f50 and better for gain..

[@tideslider664]

It’s the pick up height you can clearly see it

[@JacClifton-nf4fe]

Fat 50s seem a little more compressed at the top end

[@zodiacbluesbaby]

If I hadn't been watching, I couldn't tell any difference

[@Beaudoinam]

The fat 50's sound more brighter here on KZbin

[@MAX96MENDES]

the diference is in ... the Price !

[@juankang]

I think that my fav is the fat 50s

[@timb7257]

The 50's are brighter.

[@joshuajohnston8452]

50s sound a tad brighter to my ear

[@AnnoDomini-l3u]

The 50's are a little Brighter

[@millight1]

50's for me more clarity

[@svetoslavslavov7215]

The are different,and the best sound pickups are Texas special

[@madade27]

I put a set of Texas Specials in a 1996 Stratocaster, a bad decision in my view, I simply didn't like them, they were just nothing special at all..."Generic" is the best description in the sound for me.

[@muli99]

Pickup height is different and hard to give any opinion!

[@maxs.5163]

You have 3 different guitars...

[@johnnyguitar-uu3zr]

Fat 50's are definitely are darker tone ...

[@ΤεσταροΤηφαση]

very very different

[@maxwellbowden9961]

I thought the fat 50 sounded sweeter, undoubtedly due to said fatness

[@kaekayyy2554]

hotter treble on the 50s relative to the specials fs

[@giulioluzzardi7632]

Fat 50's have a little more mid. If you play at drum volume those Texas specials really sing.

[@RickDanner]

sounds the same . I have 2 american strats a 2000 and a 2012 the 2000 tone is 1 million times better . But not changing out PUs i think whatever the guitar the pickups dont really matter

[@aarontkacheve4595]

Fat 50s definitely more articulate

[@chadujardino5871]

Consider also the wood of the guitar.

[@oudaram1]

can't tell, different guitars

[@mikemcdaniel8746]

They so similarly voice, I dont think theres really much difference in the 3

[@marionunz5395]

50’s have more of a chime to them

[@rv3789]

Custom shop fat 50s have more clarity

[@Steve-wz5pz]

At the end of the day -- it's copper wire wrapped around magnets.

[@leonardorohr9261]

Yeah and Strats are just pieces off wood bolted togerher.... Don't you think you are over simplifying things. I know copper arround magnets that wounds way different IMHO

[@Steve-wz5pz]

@@leonardorohr9261 "Don't you think you are over simplifying things(?)". Nope. But you do you.

[@svetoslavslavov7215]

For better comparison you need real tube amp,not this preamps, wich a very digital sounding pedals

[@etherlords88]

Texas specials sound more trebly! Best fit for country shtis! All over Texas is just ear bleeding country music !

[@markmullins2756]

The height are different so.,...

[@mixchifius]

I know this is old, but I'll comment anywa. the Fat50s are my favorites, fuller clearer and just better all around frankly. Texas is janglyand hollow to my ears , and that other guitar even more so, just sounded like it was anorexic compared to the others, did they all have the same string gauge and brand for that matter?

[@andrewkashevarof7325]

Bk make the guitar strings sound old and dead

[@DanDjurdjevicplus]

No appreciable difference.

[@markmullins2756]

Put some mud on it

[@gaborosas6699]

I didn't find any difference

[@antoniocapozzi6893]

Fat 50's are better