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Post subject: New squire standard pup problems
Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2015 12:16 am
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Hello, i am new to this board and this is my first post. Before i ask my question i will preface this with a brief history - i have played guitar for about 27 years . Mostly a hard rock guy over the years ala - Scorpions Van Halen etc...state of the art ( for the time ) hard rock...guitars with floyd roses and humbuckers in the bridge through high gain amps etc etc. But in the last few years i have really gravitated toward the simplicity and beauty of a standard strat ( no humbuckers in the bridge position either, i consider it sacrilege to a strat ) but i still like to " shred" with high gain now and then.

So i purchased a beautiful more affordable squire standard series strat last early November. The main reason i purchased it was for the paint job/hardwear combination. Its a white body with gold hardware and gold pickguard . Its not the classic vibe one with the small headstock, its a squire standard in that color. Im assuming it may be a color combination that was made for Guitar Center exclusively ...i dont know ...because i cant find them anywhere else. So its a gem- at least to me.

The only problem is, when i got it home and played it through my old crappy little Fender bronco amp- i got microphonic squeal on all pickups on high gain and all the pickups seem to be the same output so the mid and neck pups are louder and muddier than the bridge. I would live with the output problem but not the squeal. I bought a new amp ( peavy vypyr ) and i still have the microphonic squeal on moderate to high gain settings. I know this isnt acceptable because i have played other strats ( including my very first guitar in 87 , a japan made fender bullet ) through high gain and even distortion boxes with no microphonic squeal.

My question is , its under Squire warranty as i have registered it but i dont really want the same pickups in it. If squire replaces all the same pups with ones that work, for free, ill live with that. But i was wondering if Fender/Squire will pay for the replacement labor if i buy a new set of pups ?

Also, i want to know what kind of single coils will be good for both high gain and clean ? Is there a set with a hotter bridge and normal output mid and necks ? I really like to get that Knopfler clean tone with the bridge and mid pups...oddly enough this guitar nails it if i roll back the volume knob on that setting...but if i can, i want a set that will be very versatile with various gain settings...

I will be taking the guitar back to GC tomorrow but id like to get extra opinions. Thanks in advance !


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Post subject: Re: New squire standard pup problems
Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2015 8:06 am
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I don't want to cast any doubt your skills, but all three pickups being microphonic in a brand new guitar sounds so rare (even though the pups in Squier Standard price class probably aren't waxed) that let's try to confirm the diagnose:
The guitar is setup right (you've checked also the pickups' mounting screws and springs), and you have experimented with pickup heights?
If you tap a pup with a pencil (strings damped), do you get a clicking sound (it may even become feedback) from the amp?
And: you have tried the same amp with another guitar, plus you don't play in front of the amp?

If the pickups really are all microphonic, contact the seller. Since you don't want another set of the same pickups, you could try to negociate a significant discount for "better" pickups.
Wax potting and/or damping the pup bottom usually helps, but don't do that before the seller has had a chance to inspect the problem. (And as a side remark, all microphonics ain't bad.)
Since your guitar may be some special edition (pics would be nice, all I find in white/gold hardware are the CV50's...), it may have other pups than the standard Standard series "Standard Single-Coil Strat" ones. Did you get the specs sheet?

I won't give you any advice on what pickups to choose - it's a very personal choice, and there are a million possibilities.
But on the high gain, there is a topic you may find useful on the Fender side of the forum: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=97482
See especially the menga.net link on the first (Sev Grey's) answer.


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Post subject: Re: New squire standard pup problems
Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2015 10:17 am
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Thanx for the info. Yes I have considered wax potting them , but my local tech wants too much to take the pups out and put them back in if I pot them ( I have potted humbuckers before ) but I don't think I should have to pay for faulty pickups. I may post a video for proof of all three pups having microphonic squeal if my local GC doesn't work with me. And it is a squire standard in that color...thats why I jumped on it. I can't find that same guitar anywhere else, even at GC where I bought it...otherwise I'd just get a diff one. I'm on mobile right now but I'll post pics from my laptop soon.


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Post subject: Re: New squire standard pup problems
Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2015 10:30 am
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pics

Image

Image


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Post subject: Re: New squire standard pup problems
Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2015 2:41 am
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jmattis wrote:
I don't want to cast any doubt your skills, but all three pickups being microphonic in a brand new guitar sounds so rare (even though the pups in Squier Standard price class probably aren't waxed) that let's try to confirm the diagnose:
IMO no fender regular pickups are waxed . I do his job for many fender owner guitar , mostly American Standard .
A well made pickup can't feedback easily like those one . Is it a new batch of China made with poor specs = loose parts ?





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Post subject: Re: New squire standard pup problems
Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2015 7:57 am
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There's a difference between feedback and microphonic pickups, and I'm still waiting for answers to my questions above to figure out which problem we have here.

stratele52 wrote:
IMO no fender regular pickups are waxed . I do his job for many fender owner guitar , mostly American Standard .
A well made pickup can't feedback easily like those one . Is it a new batch of China made with poor specs = loose parts ?

I should have been more accurate, let's edit it to: "even though the pups in Squier Standard price class probably aren't waxed or lacquered". Fender has used both in its history, don't know which is the today standard - or if there's a modern way they use.

But an innocent ( :twisted:) question; if those AmStd pups are so much better than the Chinese "poor specs" pups, why do they need wax potting..? :mrgreen:

[IMHO, a certain amount of microphonicity (is that a word?) is acceptable, even desirable - it's a part of the Fender sound. It can be a problem with high gain and/or a row of OD/fuzz/distortion pedals, that's why I mentioned that menga.net link...]


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Post subject: Re: New squire standard pup problems
Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2015 8:06 am
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But an innocent ( :twisted:) question; if those AmStd pups are so much better than the Chinese "poor specs" pups, why do they need wax potting..? :mrgreen:

Very good question Jmatis

1- I don't know , :lol: they dont feed back to me at my shop at loud volume

2- These customers play very very loud in small stage :?:

3- They read about waxing Pickups on the web and want that :?:


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Post subject: Re: New squire standard pup problems
Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2015 8:17 am
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Guessing alternative #3 :lol:

BTW, a bit offtopic: according to web sources, some pickup makers (e.g Fralin) have dropped beeswax, and use paraffin because it sounds better...
Hmmm. :roll:


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Post subject: Re: New squire standard pup problems
Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2015 8:41 am
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jmattis wrote:
Guessing alternative #3 :lol:

+ 1

BTW, a bit offtopic: according to web sources, some pickup makers (e.g Fralin) have dropped beeswax, and use paraffin because it sounds better...
Hmmm. :roll:


Before they drop Beeswax they tell another story :lol:

Money talk .


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Post subject: Re: New squire standard pup problems
Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2015 2:22 pm
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Wow...didnt know id open a can of worms here...anyway, called fender and they are going to replace all three pups. Yes, all three squeal at relatively high gain even at a moderate volume...tried the squire modern vintage and another standard and they didn't squeal...so I don't think its a normal problem on all their guitars.

As for potting I've only had to do it on two humbuckers ....a dimarzio distortion and a Jackson stock humbucker ( close to a Seymour jb ) and all I used was parafin...it was actually cheap wax from a big candle from WalMart lol...but it worked great. That Jackson bridge pup I'll never part with. Best humbucker for classic rock I have ever heard...sounded even better after potting it. But I don't play buckers anymore.

On a side note, I wonder if I have a real rare squire in that color combo. I know they make a 50's style squire in that color but I can't find another standard in that color, otherwise I would have just swapped it...


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Post subject: Re: New squire standard pup problems
Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 1:19 am
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Nevermind the worms, it's SOP in the forum to drift off topic...

Nice to hear that Fender/Squier consumer policy (once again) is very customer friendly. I'm still a bit surprized that all three pickups are faulty. That might suggest a fault in the whole series; so if you know the specs, posting the pup type here may later help someone else.

Your guitar is the only one I've found with the gold pickguard and hardware combined to the 70s style large headstock, and with the modern 2point tremolo.
They did 60th Anniversary models of several series (on those, the neck plate is also "anniversary"), but your combination is new to me. It must be part of a series, I'm not aware that Squier (factory) would make a one off unique single guitar.
But: you're in contact with Fender on the pups, request the specs and additional series info (based on the serial number and/or model number) from them. And again: post them here, every single piece of seemingly trivial info may be of help to others.


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Post subject: Re: New squire standard pup problems
Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 2:23 am
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jmattis wrote:
Nevermind the worms, it's SOP in the forum to drift off topic...

s.



We always talking about pickups problem :lol:


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Post subject: Re: New squire standard pup problems
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2015 9:57 pm
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Well , it seems fender/squire screwed me on my warranty . My guitar was registered for coverage and they refuse to cover anything - even with two fender authorized techs saying there is a problem with the pups. Pathetic . Ill give guitar center props for taking the guitar back....One thing i can say is - fender makes a beautiful LOOKING product and probably a great performing product for higher end stuff , but you take a risk buying their lower end stuff. Funny thing is , i jammed on a Bullet while waiting for a response and it didnt feed back at all....so the problem is mainly customer service . I will buy future fender products , but with the intention of changing things with aftermarket parts. Its a shame that a company with such a beautiful product such as a strat has to screw people.


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Post subject: Re: New squire standard pup problems
Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2015 2:28 am
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Quote:
called fender and they are going to replace all three pups

Quote:
it seems fender/squire screwed me on my warranty . My guitar was registered for coverage and they refuse to cover anything


In general, the FMIC warranty policy is very customer friendly. So could you explain what happened between those two quotes, and why did they rule your guitar outside the warranty?


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Post subject: Re: New squire standard pup problems
Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2015 2:56 am
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The only thing that happened between that time is - the guitar was looked at by two fender authorized guitar dealers/repair people and they determined the guitar had micro phonic squeal ....fender refused to make good on their warranty . Its that simple. The guitar is defective out of the box.

I may still order a different strat through guitar center with their extended coverage. But if its this bad now, i hate to see what it will be like when you have to buy direct from fender. Its not like the guitar was ran over by a truck..it had defective pickups...


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