It's rare and fortunate player who's had the opportunity to play a great 50s or early 60s Strat. That's the player we had in mind with the Virtual Vintage 2.1, because that's the player who really knows if a pickup measures up to vintage standards. In every way, the DP401 will stand the comparison. It even has resistance. impedance and inductance specs like the best 50s pickups, and it was designed to work with the original 250K controls. Obviously we don't expect a player to take the original pickups out of a 50s guitar, but - if you've got a great Strat from any era and want to experience the real deal (with no noise and less string pull, from special Alnico 2 magnets) the Virtual Vintage 2.1 is your pickup.