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Post subject: identifying fender pickups
Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2009 8:34 pm
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I recently got an 80s MIJ Squier, and the pickups were not all the same, so they aren't all original. The one that was different had, under the cover, holes between the pole pieces that were square, square, circular, square and square. I was given a USA Fender strat pickup, and it had the same pattern of holes between the pole pieces. I installed it in the guitar to replace one of the other pickups, and it sounds identical to the other one with that hole pattern, although the magnets are different. The only difference in tone is what would be expected with one in middle position and the other in neck position. Since then, I've gotten another USA Fender strat pickup-- a different kind, this one is alnico-- and it has the same pattern of holes. I've looked under the cover of lots of other pickups, and have never seen holes like that on any other pickups, though I haven't seen what Mexican strat pickups look like under the hood, or Fender pickups for other models. Is this pattern of square and circular holes unique to USA Fender strats or just Fender strats in general or maybe just Fender pickups in general? Or have other companies copied this too? I'm just curious as to whether the one that was in the Squier may have been a USA Fender. It sure sounds the same as the USA Fender I put in the same guitar. Thanks.


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Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 9:48 pm
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What you are describing is the typical Fender plastic bobbin. There may or may not be a part number on the bottom with something similar to 016730 molded into the plastic. This bobbin has been used for many pickups over the years. Most obvious is the Fender American Standard/Series pickups, going back into the early '90s at least, and likely into the '80s as well. But they are also typically found in both Japanese and Mexican made Reissue models, such as the Classic Series 50s and 60s Strats, and the Japanese '72 Reissue. The bobbins are the same or similar, but the pickup specs could be quite different. So they may or may not sound the same. One way to tell them apart is, for the most part, the American Standard/Series pickups had colored wire leads. Typically yellow and white, or blue and white, or red and white, with each color corresponding to the position (neck, middle or bridge.) The Classic Series pickups had black and white only as all three pickups were typically identical. The earliest examples of Fender using this plastic bobbin goes back to the very early '80s.

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Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2009 9:07 am
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Thanks! This one has black and white wires, so American Classic, I guess, or maybe a Japanese re-issue. The guitar itself is a MIJ Squier Bullet, SQ serial, from 83 or 84. My assumption was this pickup wasn't original, and the other two were, but maybe the reverse is true. I just got the guitar recently, so there's 25 years or so when it could have been replaced, so it could be almost anything. But it's good to know that it's a Fender of some kind. The sound is so much like the recently made American pickup I put in that I'd be surprised if it wasn't also at least a Fender. I was told the American one was a standard, but the wires are also black and white, so I suppose it's a Classic, which came off of an American Standard guitar.


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Post subject: colored wires
Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 2:59 am
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I have a brand new mexican strat. the middle pickup has the black and yellow wires. I bought a fender noiseless pick up supposedly for the bridge on ebay. but it has yellow and black wires too ..is this a middle pickup?


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Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 4:07 am
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No. The Noiseless pickup with the yellow wire is the bridge pickup. Fender seems to go out of their way sometimes to confuse us. But don't worry, you have the correct pickup.

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Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 3:04 pm
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thanks..but i am sending it back anyways...the stock mexi sounds way fuller and louder(noiseless is about half the volume as the other two.)because i never use the middle I am taking it out of the sound loop. Also i think I have come up with a way to get the stock neck and bridge to be noiseless also. so far it works.. :shock:


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