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Post subject: MIM Strat pickup upgrades?
Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2018 11:14 am
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I'd like to upgrade my MIM strat with some better pickups to breath some new life into it.

I know preference comes into play here, but I would just like to know what some other people have done with their MIM strats as far as pickups go. I am staying SSS, so should I just go with Noiseless, or something else?

I like a nice meaty tone.


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Post subject: Re: MIM Strat pickup upgrades?
Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2018 12:19 pm
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Staying with Fender products, and based on nothing but my gut feelings, I'll throw a wild guess that the most used pickup replacement set for MIM Strats is Texas Specials.
Of course, some MIM's already have those... :wink:

OK, but seriously. Which model Strat, what pickups?
That'll give better insight to what you regard as non-meaty.
And: of course your whole signal path (starting with you...) plays a role in the 'meat industry'.

For starters and with Fender pickups, here's some light reading, with sample videos: https://www.fender.com/articles/gear/a- ... er-pickups
If something there sounds just right, go for it.


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Post subject: Re: MIM Strat pickup upgrades?
Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2018 1:57 pm
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That video is very helpful, thank you.

Just to round out the signal path I am working with. I will be doing a small rig like this:

Guitar -> pedal compressor -> pedal noise gate -> some overdrive pedal (undecided) -> Marshall DSL40CR clean or crunch channel. May or may not have any effects in the loop. At most delay.

I am also fond of the Kenny Wayne Sheppard sound in True Lies. (not trying to cop it, but just looking for some reference)



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Post subject: Re: MIM Strat pickup upgrades?
Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2018 3:26 pm
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I have a MIM Strat with CS Fat 50s that sounds sweet.

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Post subject: Re: MIM Strat pickup upgrades?
Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 5:10 am
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Not wishing to be funny, but have you played with your amp settings? That's the most obvious - not to mention cheapest - way to get a meatier sound!

Cheers - Peter.


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Post subject: Re: MIM Strat pickup upgrades?
Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 7:38 am
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Peter S wrote:
Not wishing to be funny, but have you played with your amp settings? That's the most obvious - not to mention cheapest - way to get a meatier sound!.


Yes, but that is not what I am asking ("how to get a meatier sound").

I am asking what pickups people have put in their MIM strats as an upgrade and how they liked the results...just an opinion poll of sorts. I know it's kinda pointless since everyone's opinion will be different, but it was just for reference. Cost was not a concern.

I ended up deciding on the Original 57/62 set. They were at the top of the power scale and didn't have the quack of the Texas Specials.


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Post subject: Re: MIM Strat pickup upgrades?
Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 11:44 am
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bill0287 wrote:
I am asking what pickups people have put in their MIM strats as an upgrade and how they liked the results...just an opinion poll of sorts. I know it's kinda pointless since everyone's opinion will be different, but it was just for reference. Cost was not a concern.

Ya, thing is, you didn't ask for an A/B or even A/B/C/D comparison.
You left it open to probably 100+ available pickup upgrade options including 13 just from Fender (plus the mid-boost kit), 29 from Duncan, probably another 30 from DiMarzio, plus Lawrence, Lace, Fishman.....

Basically, you created a "What's your favorite oil filter?" thread :lol:
Personally, if I'm not running stock pickups (which I do on my G&L S500 and American Special), I'm running Seymour Duncans on all of my guitars, and always have since 1980. I ran a DiMarzio SDS-1 on the bridge of my '78 Strat.
Which Duncan? Anything from the ANP-II to the Invader for humbuckers, Hot rails for a bucking single coil pattern.
If I were to upgrade a stock MIM wanted to stick with a single coil and not a mini-bucker, I would probably go with Texas Specials or Hot Noiseless in Fender, or in a Duncan, probably a Hot Strat or Quarter Pounder.

I'll be using Hot Noiseless in my Partscaster.

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Post subject: Re: MIM Strat pickup upgrades?
Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2018 10:13 am
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CB91710 wrote:
Ya, thing is, you didn't ask for an A/B or even A/B/C/D comparison.
You left it open to probably 100+ available pickup upgrade options including 13 just from Fender (plus the mid-boost kit), 29 from Duncan, probably another 30 from DiMarzio, plus Lawrence, Lace, Fishman.....


Goodness, I'm sorry this was so hard to understand. I did mean among the Fender pickups (not the entire world of available pickups), so yes I should have mentioned that, but being this was a Fender board it seemed to me to be a least a tiny bit obvious - but I guess not. I just wanted to hear a few success stories, that's all. My mistake.

It doesn't matter anymore, I made my choice.


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Post subject: Re: MIM Strat pickup upgrades?
Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2018 1:27 pm
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I don't think anyone was trying to be awkward or rude - I certainly wasn't! The problem is that what sounds good to me may sound bad to you.

And you can try the same set of pups in different Strats and they'll probably sound different in each one. Makes it difficult to recommend anything specific. I know what I like in my 5 Strats, but 4 are bog standard (except for the Fat 50's I changed for older AmStd pups on one of them); the other is an HH so not relevant to you.

And if you want to sound like a particular guitarist you'd have to duplicate all his/her gear, and even then I'll bet you won't sound the same! You probably know this already...!

Cheers - Peter.


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