sorry alex, lost sight of your original post.
i know how it is when times are tuff.
if you do sell your mij to get the am std. if its gonna be your only guitar.
by the one you really want.
plan it, give it a week or two.
call musicians friends and ask about the fender friday spcl.
i saw earlier a srv strat for 999.
of course its once in a blue moon youll see that.
or keep your am std strat stock, youmay be surprised. pleasantly of course.

When I bought my first Am strat I had it for about 2 mnts then put Texas Specials in it and it was exactly what I wanted. Loved it. Since you seem to know what you like why wouldn,t you change them out. You obviously want to.

I would go for the American Strat. Play it for a while and you might love it, after al,l with stock pickups. And...........if you decided you like the Tex Mex pickups better, you can always change them later on...........and still have a quality guitar. Also........it's not as expensive to swap out pickups........your wife might accept the cost of the pickups, and you'll have only one guitar, meeting her requirements.

My wife said the same thing to me, as to "you can only play one guitar at a time". I explained to her the reasons for my wanting the three guitars (which I bought over time). She thought about it.......accepted the idea over time...and now I have three guitars which I love and no more problems.

I also told her I wasn't about to start a guitar collection, and would stop at three. I did stop at three and have no desire to buy more. Now I have:

MIM Standard Strat
'72 Thinline Tele
American Deluxe Strat.

Sometimes explainingg, and making your case works.

_________________
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them."-John Wayne

Well - I hope you have good luck with your pickups, but that wife problem...

My ex (note: "ex" wife) made such a stink every time I opened my guitar case (because of the "mouse dust" on it and her allergies) that I sold my first guitar. To this day i regret it.

I have a number of guitars today. Probably more than I need, but I'd love to have a bunch more.

I can understand only having one guitar. I only had one for about 15 years. But... every guitar is different to a degree, and my Gibson Les Paul Deluxe is totally different form my 1962 RI Japanese 3 tone Strat... ask your wife to lighten up... regardless of the money issues - we're talking about YOUR happiness here, not hers!

Try reminding her that marriage is a 2 way street, and maybe she should have only one pair of shoes...

Boy, they are jumping on a wife here they know nothing about. News Flash, not every other married chump on the planet is married to your ex-wife. There are also some wives that have to keep their men in check or they will sell the farm to get something that is not important to the greater good of the family. Take care of basic needs before moving to higher level needs. Don't buy that 6 pack with your last $5 when your family is sitting at the table hungry...get it?

If you can take the TS pu's out of the guitar before selling, this is a no brainer. Play the AM STD for awhile, if you miss the TS's, load them in. If you like the AM STD pu's, sell the TS's and vice versa

The PU's in AM STD are good for that classic strat tone, and so far I love them.

_________________
Guitars:
1. mid 70's Ventura MIJ Gibson l6-s clone (Pre-lawsuit) in Black with Rosewood FB and EMG 81 BR/ 85 Neck
2. ESP KH2 Neck Thru
3. 2008 Am Std Strat in 3 tone sunburst

If you buy one and sell the other, what's your new son/daughter going to play???

If you already know what sound you like I'd support buying a new guit and swapping pups, but you never know if a new MIA is going to feel better than your current guitar.

Congrats on the addition to the family. (<-- Child not guitar.. maybe both???? )

Shhhh...his wife may be listening. This is his excuse for getting yet another strat in 7-10 years...ie..its for the baby

_________________
Guitars:
1. mid 70's Ventura MIJ Gibson l6-s clone (Pre-lawsuit) in Black with Rosewood FB and EMG 81 BR/ 85 Neck
2. ESP KH2 Neck Thru
3. 2008 Am Std Strat in 3 tone sunburst

That should be the official slogan.

_________________
Rated "M" for meaty.