It is currently Mon Mar 16, 2020 5:08 pm

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 10 posts ] 
Author Message
Post subject: Upgrading A MiM strat
Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 11:06 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2007 10:53 pm
Posts: 21
Well I posted a few months back about upgrading pickups sadly I needed to use the money to fix up one of my Acoustics but, now I've decided to try and give my MiM strat an overhaul it has all of it's original parts and here's a picture any suggestions guy's? I know I'm focusing mostly on the pickups but, other than that. Also I like to play Rock + Classic rock, Heavy metal, and a bit of Jazz and Blues.
Image


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject:
Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 11:37 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Tue Aug 21, 2007 10:55 am
Posts: 10
Hey Anthywill ! I just installed a set of hand wound non reverse mid pickups from copperheadpickups.com These sound incredible!! very vintage and hand wound to fender specs, mine are a set of 1959's, I play mostley blues, but running these through my line6 pocket pod you can play metal with these things too!! most handwound sets go for around $200, but these are $135. check out the site there are a few sound clips there too. I replaced the stock pups in my MIM gold sister strat. Buy these and you wont be disapointed :)

Paul Stanley


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 1:02 pm
Offline
Amateur
Amateur
User avatar

Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2007 6:01 am
Posts: 179
You can also look at the Seymour Duncan site. They have a web page with a program that you tell it what kind of guitar you have, what the current pickup style is ( 3 singles, 2 humbuckers or 2 singles and a humbucker ) what kind of sound you are going for and it comes up with the best pickups for what you are trying to do.

You can also match different pickups from different companies. I am upgrading my MIM and going more blues classic rock with a seymour duncan in the bridge and two fender 69's in the neck and mid or maybe a fender 69 & texas special. Also putting in the copper tape while installing the pickups to cut down on the buzz.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 1:50 pm
Offline
Roadie
Roadie
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jul 24, 2007 3:16 pm
Posts: 248
Location: Hilo, Hawai'i
Seymour Duncans are great. If you're on a budget, try GFS pickups
Upgraded tuners may be a good thing to get too.

_________________
"#1"Highway 1 Strat - Sunburst
Classic Vibe Tele
Squier Strat -GFS 60s P'ups
Hot Rod Deluxe
Pearl Export Series Drum Kit
Rogue Ukuleles
-----------------------------------------
The only guy on FLF who plays reggae :(


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 1:58 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Thu Jun 21, 2007 12:50 pm
Posts: 1114
Location: Bloomfield, NJ
SCN-Samarian Cobolt Noiseless...with an S-1 Switch


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 3:44 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2007 10:53 pm
Posts: 21
I've heard a lot about Seymour Duncan and I'll give them a listen but, I'm not very good with guitar tech so what kind of tuning machines should I look for also I'm going to get a new pickguard and get new volume and tone pots.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2007 10:09 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2007 9:20 am
Posts: 9
I went the MIM route, and put some extras into it and the result was amazing. I put in some GFS I36 pickups, and it sounded great. Then I had it set up by a guy in the Dallas area that is truly a genius, and it came back a completely different guitar. Even my instructor was shocked at how it sounded and played, and he's a lifetime professional musician. The guy that did the setup knew all about GFS pickups, and even though I offered to buy DiMarzio's or Seymour Duncans from him, he recommended I try the GFS's first.
Now what would happen if I did all that to an American Strat, I don't know. I only have experience with this one. I am a relative beginner, so I don't know what my opinion is worth, but I can tell you that the guitar now plays SO much easier, and even unplugged, it rings out almost like an acoustic! It was night and day.

Here's a list of what he did (most of which I don't have a clue about!)
-blocked tremolo
-added shim to neck
-removed all paper shims in cavity.
-relocated tone controls from middle to bridge pickup
-shortened all ground leads to lessen hum
-replaced tape on pickup harness with heat shrink
-crown, dress, burnish, and knuckled all frets

hope that helps


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2007 3:41 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician

Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2007 1:07 pm
Posts: 427
Everybody has a different opinion i'm sure, but i'm EXTREAMLY happy with the upgrades to my Mexican strat.
Dimarzio Area '58 in the neck and bridge
Dimarzio Area '61 in the middle
You can find some retailers who sell this combo, but with the suggestion you put the Area '61 in the bridge. After much experimentation I found that I like it better in the middle. It gives more variety between the neck and middle sounds and has a nicer sounding quack (to my ears) when combined with the Area '58 in the notch positions.

Added to this I have a midrange shaper I got from www.guitar-mod.com.
Right now I have it as an additional tone control, but I’m seriously thinking of replacing the other tone control with another one and dedicating one to just the bridge pickup (I already have a superswitch that will make this easy).
This is also a great mod to get that nice mid scooped sound (which the area '58 has to a degree already) and also can act as a mid boost (although not technically a boost).

Check out the reviews of these pickups on Harmony-Central because I think they are very accurate.

-Eddie


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2007 9:09 am
Offline
Roadie
Roadie
User avatar

Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2007 4:24 pm
Posts: 276
here's what I did to my MIM strat, and now it is perfect. Better than a custom shop.

-New pickups (fender Vintage noiseless)
-New volume and tone pots (replaced the ones that came with the new pickups)
-Rewired the 2nd tone to the bridge instead of the middle
-Shortened all the wiring to reduce any leftover hum
-New pickguard and knobs (aged ones)
-modified the vintage bridge to function like a modern one (you can read how to do this in the Fender set up guides)
-shaved down the wood behind the nut (for behind the nut bends)
-killswitch. (push button kind, not the toggle switch kind)

the most expensive thing to do was get the new pups, pots, and pickguard. it cost about 200 for those parts.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2007 2:25 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2007 10:53 pm
Posts: 21
Thanks for your help guys I've decided to upgrade at-least the bridge pickup and get new volume and tone pots plus a new pickguard also anybody know if those planet waves locking tuners are any good?


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 10 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: