In the late 1980s, Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Red Stratocaster was modified by his guitar tech René Martinez with a salvaged Danelectro lipstick pickup in the neck position. Unlike a standard Strat coil, the lipstick design produces a smoother frequency response with extended high end, reduced midrange emphasis, and a slightly compressed attack.
The Red is built to those original specifications. Using an Alnico VI bar magnet with 42 AWG plain enamel wire wound directly on the magnet, and enclosed in a thin nickel-plated brass tube, it replicates the electrical and acoustic properties of a vintage Danelectro lipstick. The result is a neck pickup with ~3.9kΩ DC resistance and ~1.6H inductance, closely matching the values of the units Vaughan used.
Specifications
Magnet: Alnico VI bar
Wire: 42 AWG plain enamel
Winding: Direct-to-magnet scatterwind
DC Resistance: ~3.9kΩ
Inductance: ~1.6 Henries
Housing: Nickel-plated brass tube, hand-polished
Mounting: Custom Strat neck bracket
This construction yields the bright, glassy treble and hollow midrange heard on Vaughan’s performances of Lenny, Riviera Paradise, and Life Without You during the late 1980s.
Wound by hand in the UK. Designed for players who want to bring out the purest, cleanest voice in their Strat.
In the late 1980s, Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Red Stratocaster was modified by his guitar tech René Martinez with a salvaged Danelectro lipstick pickup in the neck position. Unlike a standard Strat coil, the lipstick design produces a smoother frequency response with extended high end, reduced midrange emphasis, and a slightly compressed attack.
The Red is built to those original specifications. Using an Alnico VI bar magnet with 42 AWG plain enamel wire wound directly on the magnet, and enclosed in a thin nickel-plated brass tube, it replicates the electrical and acoustic properties of a vintage Danelectro lipstick. The result is a neck pickup with ~3.9kΩ DC resistance and ~1.6H inductance, closely matching the values of the units Vaughan used.
Specifications
Magnet: Alnico VI bar
Wire: 42 AWG plain enamel
Winding: Direct-to-magnet scatterwind
DC Resistance: ~3.9kΩ
Inductance: ~1.6 Henries
Housing: Nickel-plated brass tube, hand-polished
Mounting: Custom Strat neck bracket
This construction yields the bright, glassy treble and hollow midrange heard on Vaughan’s performances of Lenny, Riviera Paradise, and Life Without You during the late 1980s.
Wound by hand in the UK. Designed for players who want to bring out the purest, cleanest voice in their Strat.
