Guitar gear dudes, should I upgrade my pickups?

[Nathans_Dad]

I recently sold my Highway 1 strat to fund the purchase of some new tube amps (which I am very happy with, BTW).

The strat I have is an Olympic White MIM strat which is a 2008 model with a maple fretboard. I got an all single coil loaded pick guard off an American Standard strat about a year ago which I installed to replace the stock MIM pick guard which had a humbucker at the bridge. This was a Craigslist score and I was able to swap the MIM pick guard for the American Standard one as an even swap.

The volume pot on the strat has recently become very scratchy and the volume sometimes cuts out. I have tried cleaning it with electrical contact cleaning spray but it's still scratchy. So, I have ordered a new 250k CTS pot to replace it.

While I have the pick guard off the guitar I was kicking around the idea of upgrading the pickups as well. I thought I had scored some Fender Custom Shop '69 pickups for only $100 shipped but the guy said he ran out of stock. I am also considering Dimarzio Area pickups as well as Fender Tex Mex or Texas Specials.

Any thoughts?

[Rick V]

Yeah,
Talk to Wolf, tell him what you want, and have him spin them for ya

[BlueTone]

I bought a parts-o-caster with some Klea pickups (Jeff Beck model pickups). I think you can only find them on eBay (ebay user Klea3031). The thing that sets them apart from other single coil pickups I've tried (which is a lot of boutique as well as mass production pickups) is that the bridge is FAT sounding, not thin or trebly. I just bought another set for a mahogany strat I built and am anxiously awaiting them. I ordered a set of Texas Magic for $100. They are built to order, so you have to wait a few weeks for delivery. Really good pickups at any price, IMHO.

[targa911S]

I have changed the PU's on every Fender bass I own. The Gibsons are just fine the way they are.

[dhoward]

I've got Texas Specials in my Strat, but I've played some of Wolffs.
I highly recommend his...

[Cajundaddy]

Half of my guitars have bone stock pickups and the other half have been pretty experimental. It hasn't always worked out the way I wanted so sometimes it was just money down the rathole. If there is a specific problem you want to solve find a pickup that gets you there. Otherwise it's a bit like modding a Porsche just to make it different and often different turns out to be worse. A little twist of the tone control usually gets me just what I need.

My best sounding guitars:
55 LP Jr.
67 SG Special w P90s
2003 Fender USA Std. Tele

All stock pups FWIW.

[jwgn777]

The topic of sound is very subjective. We all have different tastes While you have the pick guard off, why don't you also install a TBX tone control. Easy and inexpensive.

[911dean]

I think you'd be happy with new pickups, but also make sure you have high quality pots and caps also. Another pick up maker you could look at would be Lindy Fralin.

I upgraded the entire wiring harness in my Epiphone dot and also upgraded the pickups to Gibson 57's. Absolute world of difference in sound quality.

[WolfeMacleod]

Speaking of Guitar Pickups, the oldest pickups maker, and great pioneer in the field, Bill Lawrence, passed away just a couple days ago.

Bill designed a lot of stuff for Fender and Gibson over the years. He was a highly respected guy in our field.



My answer is always yes, by the way. Whether mine, Lollar, Fralin, or anyones else's.

[stuartj]

Originally Posted by WolfeMacleod

Speaking of Guitar Pickups, the oldest pickups maker, and great pioneer in the field, Bill Lawrence, passed away just a couple days ago.

Bill designed a lot of stuff for Fender and Gibson over the years. He was a highly respected guy in our field.



My answer is always yes, by the way. Whether mine, Lollar, Fralin, or anyones else's.

Bill Lawrence is one of those names that has been around for ever.

Yes, put some good pickups in, it seems to particularly matter with single coil guitars.

And a tip- unless you know what youre doing, buy a set from from one mfr so they're all wound to the same polarities. Some wind this way, some wind the other and most modern sets have a RWRP middle pup. Mixing up three SC pups from different winders can do your 'ead in.....

[Nostril Cheese]

I have Wolfe's pickups in two of my guitars. Well worth the money. His Marshallheads made a world of difference in my SG.

[jwgn777]

Originally Posted by WolfeMacleod

Speaking of Guitar Pickups, the oldest pickups maker, and great pioneer in the field, Bill Lawrence, passed away just a couple days ago.

Bill designed a lot of stuff for Fender and Gibson over the years. He was a highly respected guy in our field.



My answer is always yes, by the way. Whether mine, Lollar, Fralin, or anyones else's.

I did not see any news on Bill Lawrence. My cousin a master Luthier, use to go to Bill Lawrence for pickups once and awhile when he did not wind his own. Sad news.

[VaSteve]

Hey Rick,
If you end up swapping it out, I am working on a real project...a Chinese squier I'm tinkering around with....I'd be interested in what ou take off. PM me when you take yours off.

A real difference playing it back to back with my MIA Strat.