First off, this is my first post, but I've been lurking for a while

I have a '09 MIA SSS Strat and I'm thinking of upgrading the pups.

I don't have much experience with this, so I wanted to ask opinions on different pup choices. They can be Fenders or any other brand.

I like blues, classic rock, etc. My strat is mainly a blues/classic rock guitar.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I have used Lindy Fralin and VanZandt pickups and really like them and also the vintage Fender '57/'62 pups sound really good.

Texas Specials (or Tex-Mex if you're on a budget) are my favorites pickups for blues. I have them installed in my Squier, so it's about the best sounding Squier you could get. They're good for classic rock too, but not if you're going to high gain. Texas Specials have a deep bass end and lots of mids so it has a fatter sound than most single coils. Whether or not that's something you like, I don't know. You'd have to hear it for yourself.

Not that this is the best example, but I play my Squier on all three of the tracks I have up on purevolume. On Soul to Soul I take the second lead, and on Texas Flood I'm the one with the less distorted sound. On the last one I played my Fender too, but I forgot which tracks were the Fender and which were the Squier. http://www.purevolume.com/Texasguitarslinger

Other pickups I'd recommend that you look at are Fender 57/62s, Fender '69s and Fender Fat 50's (if that's what you're after). I don't have too much experience playing non-Fender aftermarket pickups so I can't really comment on any of them.

You can find demos of all kinds of pickups just by doing a quick search on youtube. I decided on Texas Specials without ever playing them in person because of the demos I found on youtube.

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The stock pickups are actually quite good.It all depends on what type of music you play.

All good options so far! I have Kinman Hx pups in my strat right now. I love the way they sound.... kind of hot and raspy. Great for blues. Also on the expensive side, but they were put in by the previous owner so they were almost free. even better!

I've had the Texas Specials as texasguitarslinger pointed out. Also a favorite of mine.

Pickups are so much a personal taste that its hard to tell someone else what to get. What makes it even worse is you cant just go to a guitar store and try them out unless the guitar has them in..... Youtube is good, but you are listening to them through computer speakers.... not always the best.....

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'00 American Deluxe Stratocaster (Kinman Hx pups)
'08 Ibanez AS73 (Gibson Burstbuckers)
Fender DeVille 410

Kinman Traditional MKIII zero hum

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Blues with a feeling.

GUILD GUITARS: MADE TO BE PLAYED!

I think one should really put in alot of time on the original pickups (especially an '09 AmStd pup, they're great pups) before making the change. I know many people think that new pups will make you sound like Jimi or SRV as soon as they are installed. That takes alot more than a new set of pups and some soldering. With that being said sometimes new pickups, or a new pedal or an amp for that matter, can inspire one to play more or try a new things. I myself have a set of Chevalier (formerly Copperhead Pickups) '59s in one Strat and Chevalier '67s in another Strat. I couldn't be happier with my decisions and yes they did inspire me to play more. Jeff is a very nice guy, truly a guitar lover and will work with you on a custom set to sound like you want them to. He built a very nice set of John Mayer "Big Dipper" types for a friend of mine. Shoot him an email if you've got any questions and I'm sure he can help you out.

http://www.chevalierpickups.com/

Russ

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'08 Amer. Dlx. Strat, '98 Amer. Std. Strat, '10 Squire CV Tele Custom, '96 Seagull S+6 Cedar
Deluxe Reverb RI, Tweed Blues Jr., Champion 110, Champion 600, Mustang I, Line 6 Vetta

I put the Vintage Noiseless pups in my American Series Strat, lowered the middle pickup compared to the other two; it sounds great.

Very cool, thanks all for the input

Check out the DiMarzio Area pickups

http://www.dimarzio.com/site/#/pickups/

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"I like the way he puts Yngwie J. Malmsteen on his album covers. You know,....so you don't confuse him with all the other Yngwie Malmsteens in the business"


2008 Fender MIM Stratocaster
2010 Epiphone Masterbilt
2009 Fender Super Champ XD

If you looking for a mellow tone, CS '69s will work. If you looking for some more grit, Texas Specials should work.

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"Epitaph on a blues musician’s tombstone: “I didn’t wake up this morning”" Davy Knowles


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I agree with DeadAhead in spending time with original pups before swapping,I probably played 30 years with original pups in guitars before buying custom made pickups.
There's much more to tone,the amp being a major piece of the puzzle.
Different pickups can be VERY different or SLIGHTLY different than many originals,and you can spend lots of money and can get frustrated in the sound.
There's no quick fix.

+1 for the DiMarzio Area pickups.
For a hum canceling pickup they are as good or almost as good as the Kinmans at a lower cost.

I watched a video with the DiMarzio Area '58/'61 installed in a Fender Custom Shop Fusion Classic, "

http://proguitarshop.com/store/guitars- ... -1_476_600 "

but I cannot actually find those pickups sold in the U.S.

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"Epitaph on a blues musician’s tombstone: “I didn’t wake up this morning”" Davy Knowles


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