We have a 2008 Fender American Strat and would like to know if anyone could tell me something about the stock pickups in it. What I would like to know is if they have a brand name or how close they are to any of fender's replacements sets. My son would like me to change them and doesn't want to get something that he might already have in there. He wants a more puncier clean tone. Thanks for any replies.

The American Standard pickups are just American standard Alnicos. They aren't offered Aftermarket ,and most of the other sets sound anything like them

Would a set of the custom shop Texas Specials or a Noiseless Set be much of an improvement over the stock set? How about the Custom Shop 69 set? He's looking for more sustain and belllike tone.

You probably shouldn't think in terms of improvement because the American Standard pickups are not bad by any means, they just will sound different from stuff that is aftermarket and other aftermarket pickups will sound different to each other.Also with most strat pickup sets you really won't notice that much change in sustain.That has more to do with the body wood and block in my opinion. Personally I like the Custom Shop '69 Set.

Martian gave his opinion on this matter on this post: http://www.fender.com/community/forums/ ... highlight=

It's almost at the end.

That post was most enlightening. He knows what he is saying. Maybe a little more at playing with the amp settings instead of putting out a couple hundred dollars instead. If Fender put the pickups in there, they wanted them there, I don't think I can build a better guitar than them. Thanks again.

Bell like tones and sustain is what the Stratocaster is known for but there are many factors to dialing in the right tone. Next to the guitar is the amp. "Tweed" tone amps are bright and jangly. Good for Country, Blues, Rockabilly, etc. "Blackface" Fender type amps are darker and very distortion friendly. SRV used Fender amps with a Tube Screamer to add warmth. Fully enclosed "British" amps like Marshals are mostly associated with high gain and crunch which has been the cornerstone of the sound of greats like Hendrix, Slash and Kerry King. Solid State Amps vs Tube (Valve) driven amps also factors into the sound of the guitar. Stomp boxes such as overdrives, distortion, metal distortion and fuzz are all different very subtly. My point is, the pickups can be changed at any time but Fender really does offer some of the best products in their merchandise. It may be something that can be fixed with a $35.00 Boss DS-1 if you have a tube amp or an ART Technology tube preamp for about the same price if you have a solid state amp. These are just low end options that can be the difference. Of course there are much better option--as much as you want to invest.

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"If I don't see you no more in this world I'll meet you on the next one and don't be late... don't be late." -Jimi Hendrix

I have to agree about the pickups .I would definetely play around with the amp settings and such.Too many people are so quick to pull out the pickups before trying other options like amp selection and setting or pickup height.They swap out the pickups only to be disappointed that there is only a minor difference in tone.That being said, the stock pickups in the American Standard can give you chrisp clear tones, but they arent what I would call vintage bell-like tones.To get those maybe 57/62 pickups, but comparitively I think they sound thinner, especially the bridge pickup.Definetly give the stock pickups a chance.As far as amps go, the tweed is more known for overdrive tones and the blackface are more for glassy clean tones.Blackfaces are what people play to get the classic fender clean.With the exception of the Twin, you can still overdrive the blackface and get rich tube distortion, but its the tweed that really accels at this.

I too would not think of any particular pickup change as an improvement, but rather as a modification to taste. Fender's stock pickups produce a great sound, but you may want something different. Texas Specials have a higher DC resistance - that is, they are stronger pickups. That means a more prominent mid-range and less of the chimey characteristics. Thicker is another word you could use.

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I have both the Texas specials and the stock 2008 Americans and they are quite different .The TS pickups are fat and midrangy in tone,but when I want some glassy cleans, i use my 2008 .If I am playing my bassman, glassy cleans arent gonna happen though , no matter what pickups I play. My point is amplicication is more important than pickup selection.What amp does your friend play thru?

He mostly uses it with a Blues Deluxe 40 watt with a Vintage 30. We also have the a Blues Junior which is a very sparkly sounding amp. The best sound from it though is with the traynor yvc40wr.