Fender's objective was to always improve, innovate. The "early years" to me is a myth.

This is absurd. Crap? Really?? Let's not perpetuate the myths and mysteries of the past in order to sell more product. My guitar sounds like a Strat should to me. Not crap! lol

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-Kirk

GUITARS
'12 Sonoran Acoustic - black (dated 10/31/12)
'13 Standard Strat
AMP
Vox ac4c1-bl
PEDALS
Compressor
Big Muff
Vox Stomplab 1G
Carbon Copy Delay

I've got the HSS (C22,AP11,AP11) configuration in a guitar assembled of Carvin parts before they came out with the kits. Don't care for the AP11's, but the C22 rips!

I have an 08 American Standard and the pickups are far from crap.They used the same pickups they did since 2000 and in 08 pit an improved trem block in and better saddles and it is one of the nicest sounding strats i have played.

Well, all I can say is 'Thank You' to the original owner of my '00 Am Deluxe HSS for swapping out the original pups and putting in EMGs (I know that EMGs are rarely discussed in these forums and when they are its as though a leper has entered the room). Because of his mods to the axe (which I love) I was able to pick it up for $425.00.

Prior to owning this axe I was a Gibson man all the way so the added gain from the EMGs work for me whereas to my puerile Strat friends .... as I said.

I did recently, however, swap out the EMG85 humbucker for an 89 so I could split the coils and get a SC bridge sound as well.

Others using EMGs in their strats - David Gilmour & Vince Gil use SSS configs Lou Reed uses a HSS config.

As someone said above know the sound you want before you pay the $$$.

No, I never did buy them. Sorry I can't help out.

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I really like all them "Aster" guitars. You know, like the Stratoc, Telec and Jazzm.

Huh? 7.02K is only 3.2% greater than 6.8K ... no anomaly there.

That's well within a 10% tolerance range.

Of course, how do we know that they shoot for a 10% tolerance range?

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Yep, I had a brain fart; thanks for catching that. I was very tired while typing that and while typing it, I was thinking about a DiMarzio FS-1 vs. an SSL-5 and somehow, my thoughts on the two merged. (Yet another, "senior moment".).

To clarify:

What I meant to say was that Duncans are pretty much right on the money with what they say their DC resistance per pickup model will be.

The 10% tolerance figure was told to me by Larry DiMarzio many years ago.

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You dig?

A DiMarzio FS-1 is about 12K or 13K ohms, aren't they? That's about 100% fluctuation from a 6K ohms pickup.


At least the old "Fat Strat 1" I have measures that high/overwound.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Yes and as you have taken the time to reinforce, I only get, 'quality', "mental hiccups".

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You dig?

I think pickups are often brought up as a common mod because pups are one of the easiest things to change on a Strat that can substantially alter the tone. I have a '98 American Std. of which I changed the pups to Copperhead '59s in March. My decision to attempt this mod was due to the fact that I felt like I need to be reinspired to learn and play guitar. I was feeling stagnant with my guitar if that makes sense.
After the mod I was reinvigurated and have learned many, many, many new songs. I am loving the tone my '98 Amer. Std. produces and I am having a blast learning and teaching and jamming with lots of people, both old friends and new friends. So all in all I am very happy with the pickup replacement and if you're feeling stuck in a rut and unhappy with your tone try a pup replacement (if you've already tried dialing in a tone you find more agreeable!).

Russ

Believe it or not , i am more inclined to change amps than pickups, although i have a Texas Special Fat strat and took the humbucker out and put a single coil in the bridge.I just couldnt warm up to the humbucker after a year.Interesting thing though, i also have a SRV strat with Texas Specials and it has a markedly different tone than my TS Fat Strat does.

I suppose that's a useful figure. There's some "vintage" info at
http://www.provide.net/~cfh/pickups.html
that was gathered by Duncan (averages across the years). It's too bad we don't have any information on the variability of the specs.

You'd think they could get tighter tolerances these days with better winders, etc.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Fender pickups get replaced because they are inferior to aftermarket pickups. Fender builds a great Strat, but the pickups they put in are simply an afterthought. Duncans, Dimarzios, Fralins, Kleins, are all superior to what Fender gives you.

I just replaced the pickups in my American Standard; I can tell you exactly why too. There was nothing "wrong" with the old ones. I wanted something different and after having played a few pre-CBS Strats, had a pretty good what I was looking for. I narrowed my choices down to Seymour Duncan Antiquity "Surfers", and Bareknuckle Mother's Milk, and ended up going with the Duncans. Putting it mildly, the new pickups have COMPLETELY changed the persona of the guitar. Both sets of pickups sounded "Strat-y", but the Duncans give it that real 1960s quality to match the guitar's somewhat ragged looks. The #2 and mid pickup solo positions are completely different; the mid pickup in particular has a really gorgeous "chimey" quality that sounds unbelievable on a slightly crunched-out tube amp. Really great rhythm sound. I could not be more ecstatic with these pickups. They really set it apart from my 70s Strat, which also sounds great but has a much different, but appropriate funkier quality in the 2,3, and 4 pickup positions. I was thinking of throwing some CS '69s in that guitar, but I like the contrast between the two so I may just leave it as is.

Sure, there are some people who are snobs about factory pickups, but lots of players have good reasons for changing them. The factory pickups aren't crap in the least, but they ARE designed to appeal to a huge range of players and as such are kind of generic in my opinion. It's all about personal preference...

ALL THAT SAID.... I definitely think it's worth it to fine-tune pickup height before even thinking about dropping some serious coin on new pickups.

+many to that!

Speaking of coin, I'd certainly recommend the 'nickel height' setup before going shopping...it's a good place to start for most varieties.

And for the informal poll...I like my stock pickups.

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1967 Epiphone Madrid EC-30
1975 Fender Stratocaster
1981 Rickenbacker 360
2002 BC Rich Bich
2007 Fender Standard Stratocaster
2012 Taylor GA3-12
2012 Squier Telecaster
2017 Les Paul Kit


"Make every song you sing your favorite tune."