I have to say having listened to samples, the Texas special pickups aren't really to my taste.

After a great deal of thought and agonising, I really don't think i can justify the price of the Kinman Woodstocks. If they were the same price as Fender custom shops I would certainly go for them, but for a set they are about €100 more expensive. Really beautiful sounding pickups, but sadly just too pricey for me.

I'm back to thinking about CS '69's or maybe the vintage noiseless...
Getting rid of the quite bad noise in single mode is still a major aim for me, which gives me concern's about the '69s.

I have a 2007 MIM that I upgraded as follows. Graphtec nut, shielded the cavity and got Dimarzio area pickups. Look into the Dimarzio area 58, 61 & 67 pickups. No 60 cycle hum! The 67 & 61 will match up with the CS 69's tone wise.

Im thrilled with my Area pickups. I put 2 area 58s and an area 61. I stayed away from the 67 right now. Ive heard it and it sounds great, but I wanted a lil more midrange on this guitar. But I'm planning on getting another strat to put 67's in. IMO these are the first noiseless ive used that has personality to them. And they're quieter than humbuckers I have on another guitar.

Thanks guys, I'll have a look at those ones too.

I have to say I'm liking the CS '69s more and more every time i listen to them. The vintage noiseless aren't really doing it for me though!

hey,

i literally just dropped a Callaham trem block into my 10-day old MIM...I can't emphasize enough how much of a difference this makes.

the guitar sounded sick before, now it is just unbelievable. IMO i got the exact sound i was looking for (which was kind of a mix of Clapton with Jimi heat) by spending $80. That brings the total I've spent on this guitar up to $486.50 (I got it for $400 instead of the $550 retail, it is a 2008).

The closest I came to a Strat that sounded this good was the American Vintage '57...which goes for over $2000 in my color.

this is one of those "positive investments" that people keep on talking about. get the Callaham.

I've ordered the Callaham MIM premium upgrade pack, everyone raves about that block, so i reckoned it is a 'must have'.

I'm organising a cavity shielding, as whatever pups go in, i want as little noise clean as I can get, plus a full set up.

Schaller strap locks; speak for themselves!

And I couldn't resist buying a white pearloid pickguard! I'll be sure to post some picks when I'm all finished.

The only question that remains is which pickup, but I'm leaning very heavily toward the CS '69...

yeah the CS 69's are on my list too, but my MIM doesn't buzz w/ the stock pup's, plus they sound sick as it is, so i might give them a year or two. i like the sound of the 69's though, very hot and Hendrixy

For anyone who's interested, I've finished my upgrades. No point in posting a pic as the guitar looks exactly the same, but it sounds way different! My final modifications were:

- Changed to 10 gauge strings and set up for this
- Trem set back to flush to the guitar so it will only drop the tone.
- Custom Shop '69 pickups
- Cavity shielding
- New pots, 250k replacing the old 500k's.
- Callaham bridge block

It really has given the guitar a new lease of life, a much better sound than it had before. The '69s seem to have a much more lively character than the SCN's I have in my MIA (although I really like these pups too). All in all a very worthwhile exercise.

I have a 94 mim Lake Placid Blue strat that I have just upgraded.....

put large CTS 250k pots in.......with vintage caps....replacing the horrid 500k mini pots that came with it...and a new switch....all vintage style cloth wiring and braided shielded to the output jack.

did a bit of a weird mod...changed the tone control to bridge and neck, leaving the middle with no control, with different cap values for each.......I wanted to be able to warm up the bridge a bit....sounds GREAT now.

put VOODOO pups in ('60's versions) - great pups for the price.......

I also put a trebble bleed on the volume control......

shielded the body....

I blocked my bridge...left the origional - this did a lot as well.....and was really cheap.

I haven't done the tuners yet....that is next......but I have a totally "NEW" guitar....I would put this up against a lot of higher priced strats with no fear!!!