Jake, if price is a consideration then Mighty Mite might just be the answer: http://www.mightymite.com/single_Coil.html
look at the price list to see how they fit your budget, preloaded pick-guards are just over the 100 dollar mark. If you choose them, then play your upgraded Strat for your bandmates without telling what the new pick-ups are and watch as they make all of the guesses but Mighty Mite. Surprisingly good.

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you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.

I'm with SBLS there... mighty mite loaded pickguards are really good. You could also check ou Iron Gear pickups........cheap but very good value IMO........I use them in one of my Teles and an Epi Les PAul.......

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speak slowly I'm a drummer too!!

And I proudly lack a stick or a kazoo up my arse...........

1) That will just make it a strat-shaped Mustang to literally everyone that hasn't been playing for YEARS. There will be no noticeable difference between the two guitars unless you have quite the ear and are actively looking for it. Only potential for any new tones is all 3 pickups active at once, middle pickup MIGHT sound a tiny bit different alone, and even then difference would be minimal.

2) IIRC, there's no such thing as Mustang neck pickups and Mustang bridge pickups. They're the same exact pickup.

But, if you really want those, you might want to go with these for a slightly different tone. The bridge pickups in these sets are 10% stronger. Plus they get rid of that godawful hum the pickups suffer from.

http://www.fralinpickups.com/mustangs.asp

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Favorite bands:

Melvins
The Jesus Lizard
Cows
Big Business
R***man
Minutemen
Flight
Minor Threat
Big Black
Shellac
Karp
Scratch Acid
Wipers
Pixies

Anyone tried these? they're inexpensive:

http://www.guitarfetish.com/GFS-Guitar-Pickups_c_7.html

Before you spend needlessly clickety click on the following links. You will find that tuning up your pickups should be the first items on the list of "searching for new sounds "

I'm not criticizing Boutique aftermarket Pup suppliers but the reality is that your stock pups are quite versatile, you just have to tweak em a bit...That only takes a bit or research and a few dollars spent on different caps, Potentiometers, wiring and switches......

http://www.smitspickups.com/index.htm
http://www.1728.org/guitar.htm
http://www.tgpwebzine.com/
http://www.fralinpickups.com/default.asp
http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/stratlovers.php

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

"EMG pickups are for heavy metal aren't they?"

David Gilmour and Stevie Ray Vaughan aren't really noted as heavy metal players. (Stevie's Hamiltone -- the one with his name inlaid on the fretboard, which he nicknamed "Main" -- had EMG's.)

Metal players do love EMG humbuckers, but even those aren't exclusively for heavy metal. And the Strat-sized EMG's are a completely different story.

(I'm not saying you should use EMG's -- I'm not a huge fan of them. I'm just saying they aren't just for heavy metal.)

The Mustang pickup is incredibly low output, it gives it that weak, trebly sound. What did you think gave it it's sound?


And that would, for the most part, sound like a start sans one of the pickups. You might get a bit more of a "rubber band" sound from the strings themselves and a rather significant loss of sustain, both because of the shorter scale, but that's about it.

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Favorite bands:

Melvins
The Jesus Lizard
Cows
Big Business
R***man
Minutemen
Flight
Minor Threat
Big Black
Shellac
Karp
Scratch Acid
Wipers
Pixies

Well said. I use EMG 81/85 sets for my live Reggae shows all the time. I think too often people think of bedroom tone more than what cuts through in a live setting. For a live performance EMGs do quite well at doing just that. If you use more distortion than overdrive, they kick the distortion very smoothly. They're clean, bold, and noiseless in the clean channel if you set the pickup heights right. I love mine and use them quite often.



My favorite vintage type single tone is Fender '57 AVRI. Haven't really tried the 57/62 set, but I do love the AVRI pickups. They will hum though. It's just the nature of the beast.

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Here's a Strat that I loaded with Mighty Mite Split Rails - hum canceling pickups that fit into single coil slots.



This guitar gives me great tones with a lot of variation from one pickup to the next and at a very reasonable price. If I were you, I would buy a loaded pickguard and swap the whole thing, keeping your original safe and intact.

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963