Thanks so much for following me on my tone journey! Minute markers in the description! Please bare in mind the tone comparisons Josefinas clip is on a different amp. Not ideal I know! But I knew I wanted to change them so I’m less bothered there! Thanks to Mick, Tim at Bare Kncukle, and Radioshop pickups! Hope you enjoy this episode. Will it be the last?!

The Josefinas still sound the warmest to me.

I'm thinking your Josefinas sound most like the tone I have in my head when I ponder reasons to buy a Strat. It's a very sweet tone to which you can always add some hair if you need it.

It is amazing how tone heaven is so close to tone hell.

The '63 Veneer Board is currently winning imo. Really nice sounding 👌

The CS Josefina for me, hands down. EXCELLENT series, Rabea. Thanks for doing this.

YES! Just wanted to let you know I just received a Bare Knuckle Silo to put in my new guitar! Can't wait to try it out! 🔥

It's the Josefina's for me ... " back to ground zero. They sound beyond perfect to my ears. All the sets are great, as always it's the tone that's in "your" head. Also, do any of the sets feel different? Is it harder to get the notes and articulations from some of them? I don't mind sacrificing a bit of tone if a set plays easier, you'll more than make up for it in the articulation you'll put forth in your playing.

Just put emgs and a floyd in it

I really like the Ron Ellis pickup's. The high end is there but without that piercing ice pick quality to it but it keeps alot of that bottom end we love. Try 1 pickup frome each set and see how that goes! Beautiful playing Bea!

This series helped me with my strat pu journey. I've tried multiple Fender CS, Monty's, Kloppmann, Duncans. What helped me in particular is what you said about the wire. I prefer enamel wire with low output. When you played the mother's milk for the first time, I had the exact same smile you had. I love how punchy and mid scooped they are. I'm gonna go and purchase a set right now. Thanks Rabea!

The Ron Ellis set of pickups sound about 1000% better to my ears! Warm, sweet, articulate, dynamic AND aggressive at the same time. One of the best Strat pickups I’ve heard so far!

Ron Ellis stand out as having the most character making the others seem flat and standard.... after having jumped around the video hearing them back to back. At first I thought they broke up too much but then figured that is awesomeness lol..... I have a 2006 Eric Johnson strat I think is plain sounding and those Ellis one's would give it some balls!

I have to concur with most of the comments here regarding the Josefinas. They are the only set that delivers that classic early 50s Strat sound. They sound just like the guitar looks and that’s perfect for me. Since I’m a cheap bastard I have the Tonerider Surfaris in my 50s Strat which come surprisingly close to the Josefinas. Just a little bit less clarity I guess. The others are way to hot to my ears, even the 57s. They all have so much more gain, when clean jangly twang is the sound that this guitar should deliver. Of course the other pickups sound amazing, but they are just not suited for the 50s Strat sound. In a mid to late 60s they would indeed be perfect!

I’ve done what your doing with every set of custom shop pickups made. It’s something you have to do but after having done it , the original fenders that come in the guitars are usually the best. They really know what they’re doing at fender, and got it right the first time and are still getting it right today! One secret that prs figured out when researching vintage strat pickups, was that the bridge usually had the weakest output of the three, although they were all 3 pretty close. Most people try the opposite with hotter bridge outputs, so they never get it right! Having said all this, there are two other makers I tried that rival the fenders and those are lindy fralin , and Jason lollar!

Guess it killed time...but I suspect this journey will be a circle.

Hearing the Josefinas melted my heart - hard to explain, crisp but mellow, clear but warm, and also the string definition is the most even. But the Ron Ellis seem to be close and strong enough to cut through the mix.

I just picked up an Eric Johnson Thinline Strat. Wanted one since they first came out. It's so perfect the way it is, and the pickups are so good, I don't have to do a thing to it other than play. Keep up the good work. You'll find what fits what you want.

Those Ron Ellis totally kill! Great strat tones! A winner for me! The bk 63 comes pretty close to but those Ron Ellis just did a special thing

Bea, the Ron Ellis have the "thing" that I identify with the best of vintage guitars. Hard to describe but it's a bit of compression combined with articulation that gets me every time...

Man I wouldn’t switch out those josefinas for nothing she’s been twisting up pickups for over 30 years and learned the craft by shadowing Abigail yavaro who spun Leo fenders originals… true OG

Dude you're looking great. Congrats on shedding a few lbs my dude. Love this tone video!!!

Those Gray bottom pickups sounded very percussive and funky with long sustain i really like the way they sounded.

Clearly the Ron Ellis PUs...great definition, great bottom end and very open sounding.

BK 63 Veneer Board PUPs sound the best to my ears...always fantastic Bea keep rocking brother!

I have Lollar's Dirty Blonde's in mine, and I could not be happier. To be honest: They all sound "Very Stratty" and you couldn't go wrong with any choice. Only way to tell: Play through a looper and Demo each pickup (with the exact same phrase) played & edited to be Listened-to: back-to-back-to-back = lot's of work. Easter to Differentiate. Those Josefina's sounded like vintage strat - to me.

Josefinas! More balanced. They are less "in front" of the tone than the others. They let the expressivity of the player come through better than the other sets of pups. The other sets lead the tone. I dunno if it's a good or a bad thing... but from what I hear I prefer Josefinas by far.

I now have two Fender Custom Shop Strats. A 59 and 57, I’m leaving the stock hand wound pickups in both. They are perfect for the guitars.

First of all, high compliments on the exceptional playing style. To my ear, the original Josefina's still reign supreme over all the options demoed in this video. There is just this unspoken "thing" about the tones these generate, partly in the single note bite early on but particularly the lower end chording that is clear and bell like. Wonderful demonstration.

Love the white aged 3ply pick guard. The original pickups are the best “Josefinas”.

Adonized gold pickguard looks soooo sick with the sunburst! Love your vids!

As someone who dabbles in banjo, I dig the old timey string band transition music.

All the pickups sounded good in their own way. I've watched enough of your videos to notice that you do have a liking for a clean, expansive, ethereal sounds. That is something the Josefina's can deliver, but the other's can't. It's easy to add breakup, overdrive, dirt, etc. to your tone with a pedal. You can't make a dirty pickup sound clean unless you turn the pots way down, but then you give up on the rich tones you get by having the pots wide open. If you want those beautiful clean tones, then of the pickups you've tested, I think the Josefina's would be the best choice. Thanks for sharing your tone journey, which many of us have made numerous times.

Did you keep that anodized pickguard on ? Great sounding pickups from radio shop!! Wow !! You’re too cool Rabs !! Much love bro!

Im doing this exact type of thing at the moment.... The favourite so far are the Lollar Dirty Blond set... The Josephina's and the Bare Knuckle sounded good but the Ron Ellis ones were magnificent!... For the best part of £800 tho!... I couldnt justify that!... Id love to see what you thought of the Lollar Dirty Blonde set!?!?!?!?! ...

Miss Campos gets the nod for me.Josefina is a legend and after listening,I know why. Great vid Bea! Thanks!

They all sound awesome, dude! I think the '63 Veneer suit your playing the most, but every set you've tried (including the originals) sound great 👌

Still loving the Mother's Milk set, but to my ear, that's what a blues strat should sound like. Every set sounds great and has it's own character. The Ron Ellis set definitely has an old school late 60s/early 70s rock and roll sound on the crunch.

I like the sound of the Josefina's best. They sound fuller with a sweeter top end.

I love watching you play your touch is so soft at times... yet you play hard as well , shows that you need to vary your technique and playing for the moment and music

For me the Josefinas sound the best but now that I know you are playing them through a different amp it makes me question that....but they sound SO good!!

I've spent entirely too much money over the last few weeks on tone journey gear and I fully blame you, Mick, and Dan lmao. Bought my first p90 guitar ('19 gibson les paul special tribute dc in blue), ordered a set of silos for my prestige s5470q, set of montys pafs for my epiphone LP traditional pro, emerson 50s wiring kit for the epi, locking tuners for both the gibson and epi and a Ryra Klone. I can't wait for the pickups to get here.

Next try the bare knuckles in the bridge for aggression and josefina in the neck for smooth , and add a gilmour switch to mix ?

I thought the original pickups sounded beautiful... I think you are crazy for even considering the others. ;) ... fun video, thanks Rabea.

I've owned a lot of Strats and moded them all to some degree including pickups. A few years back I traded for a Fender Kenny Wayne Shepherd model. I've changed the tuners (Hipshot staggered locking) and the bridge (Calaham vintage narrow), but have never even considered opening the control cavity. For whatever reason the stock "Fender KWS Custom Voiced" pickups just sound amazing. Apparently Kenny spent a year working with Fender to find the correct "voice" for the pickups he wanted, and they nailed it! They have the warmth, articulation and vintage tone I think many of us seek, but struggle to find. This guitar is MIM, but it plays and sounds like a Custom Shop instrument...

20:47 man those Radioshop pups sound sweet as hell

I like seeing you testing stuff instead of just demoing it at the end. I would love to see more videos like these. Keep up the great content! :D

This is a brawl between titans , Rabea, thanks for giving us the chance of listening top-notch tones. Anyway Josephina's warmest , probably the ones singing more with your touch are Mother's Milk . Veneer probably more all-rounded , Ron Ellis … bare with me mate , I can see Mick's eminent point , but prolly they fit better his touch/playstyle. They just didn't "click" with you I thought.

Hey, Bea. I'm torn between the 63 Veneers and the Ellis set from Micks Strat. The neck pickup on the 63's sounded monstrous, and the bridge was fat and not "too" Strat-y. However, Mick's cleaned up so nicely. The note chime and string seperation in that 4th position was a thing of audible beauty. Cheers!

💣💣Oh hell yeah the Josephine’s for sure. You can always warm/heat up the signal but it’s very hard to get back to that round clear strat tone if you go too far past 1960 😂 great vid series long live the bunny holes

I can only reiterate what I've said before... they all sound amazing in your hands Bea! :-) Sometimes it takes a bit of a journey to find out that you like home just the way it is.

For me the bareknuckle mothers milk just scream. after hearing them I'm really considering a set. Great video, thanks for taking us on the journey with you!

Over the years Ive found that the more I look for the perfect tone the more confused I get, yet still I search.

Throughout the whole journey I preferred the original set. Now it’s the Ron Ellis! The volume knob is your friend if they’re too much. Sterling work as always!

When I think of a classic strat tone I hear the Josephinas or the 57’s. The others almost sound like a single active pickup. I liked the 57’s best

The way Fender made it originally sounds great to me. This was fun, at least I know I really can’t go wrong with any of those choices. Thanks

Man I found you on a Leo video and have been watching your videos and subscribed. First I had a band at the beginning of the 80's. Me on guitar and my cousin on drums, my brother singing and a friend Mike White who's father was Harold White, some country music star, but we wrote our own music and played bars and parties. The DT's. Well I have not played in 27 years and you make me want to play again. I am going to try. I still have my stick and amp.

Josefina murdered them all!! Perfect strat sound… Ron Ellis sound good but just too thin and WAAAY over priced!!!! Josefina was just perfect!!

Josephine's sounded best! Loved the clarity and warmth!!

Hi Rabea, def with my headphones on I liked the warm tones of the josefinas ! Thanks for the time with this vid.

You´ve got a very nice strat and you had a very complex work with this video. I think it took a long time to get it done. Since I´m an old SRV fan I would have liked to hear this great PUs and your great strat with old Fender Amps like an old Deluxe Reverb or a Pro Reverb for example. I love this Fender/Fender combination.

Great! Very enjoyable and relaxing. They all sound good to me, but I'll admit to really liking the Ron Ellis and Custom Shop pickups for different reasons. But mainly they both sound really natural and the tones are balanced among settings. Some of the others have a "WHOA! NEW POSITION" sound to them. Maybe it's just me. Also I laughed out loud to the Mick popup and honk. I needed that after all the crazy shit that's been going down here in the US today. I"m ready for the next one and consistently dig your playing and vids.

I would say either of the BK's. I was surprised that the Ron Ellis were as powerful as they sounded. My heart belongs to Blue but my head says BK. The good news, there are no losers, just incremental gradations of WIN.

I would have bet you anything this would be my last response but I like the Josefinas best. I can't believe I'm even typing this. I didn't know Radio Shop before this but I would have bet on the Bare Knuckles before we started and, once announced, was sure the Ron Ellis pickups might do it but... nope. They're all pretty good (and fairly similar) but I actually love the warmth of the Fender Custom Shop set. That being said, I've never been a big fan of that "chimey" sound most often associated with the Tele but also the Strat. My favorite Strat (I've got three) has a Custom Shop "Texas Special" set that I lower as low as possible (a tip from Dan Patlansky - works great) and it's so versatile. My other two have a Custom Shop "Custom '54" set and DiMarzio set. This was a great series. Stay safe everyone. Cheers from Florida.

Loved both Radioshop and Mike's pups. I found the BareKnuckle a bit darker for my taste. Now because of you, i need to order a Radioshop set of pickups :(

The josephinas were recorded differently, panned in the middle, whereas all the others panned right, which leads me to believe the set-up is different too. I’d need the josephinas recorded the same way to make proper judgement, but in this video they just sound the best. Thanks for this, loved it.

man this is tough, overall i like the ron ellis bridge pickup the most, for the neck it's almost impossible to pick a winner, because when you dig in the mothers milk are awesome, but when you play softly the ron ellis are awesome, i'm so confused

The Ellis pickups are looking for a Rosewood Board to be comfortable. Respect the journey you're on Rabea.

Bare Knuckle 63's all day everyday ! Sound and feel amazing, with the little top end rolled off and the mid's just speak to me. Not to mention the high bottom end.

I think I like Josefina’s, Barr Knuckles Varner Gray and Ron Ellis. I really like the warm creaminess of the Vaneers. But wonder how the Ron Ellis would sound with volume knob tweaked? It’s nice to have that punch when doing Bluesy stuff like Mick does. If it cleans up a bit with volume knob cut, this might be the most versatile. Can’t go wrong with any of those 3 imo. Great vid. I just put a set of Mojotone 58’s with hot bridge in a homemade partscaster. Very happy with them. But the tinkerer in new wants to try some of these you tried out.

I checked out this video for the sole reason that I thought you were the lead singer of Zeal & Ardor. I stuck around and learned things! Cheers

I 've put the BK Veneer Board 63's set in my heavily modded MIM strat. I have had these pup's for almost 5 years - I got them a bit by chance, a shop owner talked me into getting them for the Mark Knopfler sound that I have forever been after. I am a bit torn sometimes though - I keep having a love-hate relationship with this set - largely depending on the kind of amp and setting I am using my guitar with. What I can say for sure though - the BK 63' is a low output, spanky, honky and nasal sounding set with a rather shrill and ice picky bridge pickup if you're using it wrong i.e. with bright amps and speakers. However, after watching this shootout again I am fairly convinced that they did sound the best to my ears - but I am always listening for some beautiful cleans in a strat esp. in position 2 - to get that Sultans of swing tone. Having said that I am a bit itching to swap them over for a set of Texas specials just to see. Yet, Rabea you did a fantastic job comparing them all and the cleans you got from the BK 63's have made me believe that I'd made the right choice - again! thanks Rabea, pleasure to watch and listen, as always.

Woooo shout out to Mick and TPS! :D

All the sets exaggerate this marvelous Strat tone except the original one. Josefinas are the best! Oh, these mids warmed my heart immediately!!!

And that's why they call it the rabbit hole. For me the Josephinas are hard to beat, but those Ron Ellis pickups sound pretty good too.

Rabea I have an idea. Grab your favorite amp and a couple of pedals. Mix and match the various pickups. Neck of one with a bridge of the other middle of the other. Put in a quick connect on your output jack to save some soldering time. I've made this trip once or twice before and ended right where I started for some reason. Now I have three different loaded pick guards. Plus the original.

After dozens of boutique pickups I can attest that Fender can wind some wonderful pickups....

The Radio Shops are still doing it for me, just a more interesting sound. The Bareknuckles are a little too much for a strat for me. They would be good if you were in a Rage Against the Machine cover band or something like that, but when you turn down the gain they lack everything the Radio Shops seem to have.

Randall, First off... Happy New Year! Solution? You need more guitars to house those and more boutique Strat pups 🙂

Holy f**k! Haven't watched you in a while, you just keep shrinking! Looking great dude.

Hey, thanks for bringing us along your journey.. enjoy making your choice!

Pretty happy you liked the '63 Veneer board set, I have that set - well voiced for maple boards. Looking forward to seeing what set you choose!

Gotta say I love Mick's pickups and that Mick Taylor is the man!.

I will applaud you for testing these out so I don't have to. I will just keep my noiseless pickups and work with the eq.

I cannot watch these videos without picking up my strat!!!!! LOL!!! Love the vids!!!!! Cheers from Texas!

Josephina !!! Of course !! 👌

Hey Rabea, just wanted to say I've really enjoyed this series of videos. Thanks for all the great work. My two cents - I think I prefer the Josefinas.

Short and sweet the original pickups👍

Aaah, the pickup swapping rabbit hole. Gone down that road way to many times only to learn: it's best to find a guitar that sounds and plays great from the start. More time better spent on playing. You can finetune all day long, it is fun; it can get frustrating after a while. Good series!

RON ELLIS HAD AN UNDENIABLE SPARKLE, SPECIAL! BUT THE 63 VENEER WERE GREAT TOO...I WANT TO BE A LES PAUL GUY, BUT IM BECOMING A STRAT GUY, MORE EVERYDAY.....SO MUCH YOU CAN DO WITH A STRAT, ENDLESS.....AND SO MANT GREAT STRAT PUP MAKES, WHERE AS, THE PAF LP SCENE, IS MORE SHADY THEN WE THINK...IVE SPENT THOUSANDS TRYING TO GET THE TRUE PAF SOUND, I DONT THINK I EVEN CLOSE...I NEED A PAF BREAK, IT CAN BECOME AN OBSESSION....LOL...AWESOME RABEA

Remember, the aluminum pickguard will take a bit of the top end off the Ellis. Mick deliberately left the aluminum shield plate that is on real '64s off of Blue but mentioned that he will probably try it on his black "transit van" guitar when he gets the other Ellis pickups. I had a local winder make me a set of vintage style pickups that were halfway between true early '60s and the Suhr Landau's I had in another guitar. They were still very bright, similar to the Ellis pickups. Putting the aluminum shield plate in tamed them just enough.

This is an amazing series, most of the time the comparisons are so close to not bother but these all sound amazing in their own way! I like the veneer board ones I think :) The Josephinas were on a different amp so it's hard to tell, they sound more compressed in that clip and I love more open clearer sounds, the closer to David Gilmour the better imo haha! I hope you put out a final video and let us know why you chose them! :)

hey you could try a regular set of pure vintage fenders.... i have the 59' set and it is really dinamic.... just vintage output but with enough power and nice smooth top end .... Oh yeah... and the in between positions are so cool... clear and spanky...

Josefina in the neck & middle, Bare knuckle 63 Venner in the bridge, master tone and a blend circuit.

I'm going to guess that the veneer boards are going to work so well in a mix.. in a band context everything is going to change so much. One of my favourite strats is actually wired up so I can get the bridge and neck together, and that works really well in a band context opposite another strat or Gibsonish tone because I can switch out to a tele(ish) sound! I'll say it till I'm blue in the face, guitar in isolation is one of my favourite sounds BUT 99% of the time as working musicians our guitars are part of a greater whole and THAT is the ultimate tonal test. Rabea, man, I have to say I've REALLY enjoyed this series, after 30 plus years of playing all I can say is that just when you think you're finished with one rabbit hole, another opens, but that's all part of the joy and the journey!

Fender custom shop has really figured out the way to remove the harsh top end and still ring like a bell type tone. I have been trying out the hand wound ones and really never anything sounded so balanced across all strings, really i am over searching for new sets. Enjoyed watching your journey Bea.

The The Bare Knuckle 63 veneer board pickups sounded best to me with the Josefina set being a close second.

I liked the special 57's (second ones). Seemed like the most versatile.

Hi Rabea. Josefinas sound great to me, but obvious jump in amp chain making it tricky. If you continue the experiment do take a look at Iron Gear, affordable but I'm very pleased with my purchases. I'm sure they'd play along.

Watched them all, and for me, it's the Josefinas the whole way through. Just the right blend of all the right ingredients. Not too much, not too little.