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Post subject: MIM and MIA pickups
Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2008 3:07 pm
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I recently sent my MIM guitar to have one of its pickups repaired. Instead of fixing them, however, the guy just replaced all three with new ones. When I got my guitar back I noticed that the new pickups had staggered pole pieces, unlike my old ones which were flat. And according to the product descriptions on this site, the American Strats are the ones with staggered pickups.

I was excited for a while cause I thought the guy had accidentally put in American pickups instead of Mexican ones like he was supposed to... until a recent trip to Guitar Center, when I saw that EVERY Mexican Strat in there had staggered pickups.

So now I'm unsure... I think my guitar is a 2006 (MZ6201996), I don't know if staggered pickups are new for 2007 MIM Strats or what.

Is there any way I'll be able to tell? What are the main differences between Mexican and American pickups? Information will be greatly appreciated..


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Post subject: BUMP
Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 9:08 am
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65 views and NO ONE has any insight on this situation? Have I officially stumped all the strat-experts on these forums?


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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 9:16 am
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No, you haven't stumped anybody, you just didn't give enough information for anybody to tell you what you want to know.

Was the repairman an Authorized Fender dealer doing warranty work? Do you know for sure he used Fender pickups (staggered poles could be anybody's pups)? And, the most important question of all..

Why don't you just ask the repairman what he did?



I believe that the major difference between MIM and MIA pickups is that MIMs have ceramic magnets and MIA's use alnico.


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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 10:34 am
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To be honest, it was somewhat of a rhetorical question, only meant to get people's attention.

Yes, it was a warranty repair. However (and this is slightly embarrassing)... the warranty was actually void, and the guy realized that after the repair. But for some reason he decided to be nice and gave it to me for free anyway. So I thought it would quite awkward if I continued to press him and ask him questions about the freebie he gave me. Plus, I didn't start to care about this issue until recently, and the repair was about a month ago... I'm not sure if he'll remember the details.

Since it was warranty work, it only makes sense that he replaced them with the same type of pickups... although I could be wrong. So my question is: are staggered pickups only for the American series (according to this site) or for both? Why did all the MIM Strats at Guitar Center have staggered pickups, while my MIM didn't?

I hope I gave enough background information now. If it's still confusing, please let me know!

I have one last additional question: should I follow Fender's recommended standard single-coil pickup height setting (on this site) for staggered pickups? Or would the middle pole pieces be too close to the strings?

Thanks again for the help.


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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 10:42 am
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Well, I can't tell you why your MIM had level poles and the ones at GC now have staggered poles. I haven't been watching that close. :D

But, I can tell you that Strats usually sound better (to my ear) with the pickups set quite a bit lower than Fender spec.

Use your ear. Start with the pickups flush to the guard, and play the neck pup alone, raising it until you feel it sounds best. Then raise the other two until you get a nice volume balance across the selector, and Bob's yer uncle.

I use EMG SV (Strat Vintage) pickups in my main STrat, and those pickups have staggered poles, too. Most folks will run EMG's very close to the strings just because they can, but I have mine cranked down on the deck, and they sound awesome.


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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 11:11 am
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I have a CP 50'S and it has staggered poles

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Post subject: Re: MIM and MIA pickups
Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 11:11 am
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Easy Mac wrote:
I recently sent my MIM guitar to have one of its pickups repaired. Instead of fixing them, however, the guy just replaced all three with new ones. When I got my guitar back I noticed that the new pickups had staggered pole pieces, unlike my old ones which were flat. And according to the product descriptions on this site, the American Strats are the ones with staggered pickups.

I was excited for a while cause I thought the guy had accidentally put in American pickups instead of Mexican ones like he was supposed to... until a recent trip to Guitar Center, when I saw that EVERY Mexican Strat in there had staggered pickups.

So now I'm unsure... I think my guitar is a 2006 (MZ6201996), I don't know if staggered pickups are new for 2007 MIM Strats or what.

Is there any way I'll be able to tell? What are the main differences between Mexican and American pickups? Information will be greatly appreciated..



You're going to have to spend some serioius time reading up on the product line. MIM guitars do not constitute one particular catalog number. There are a variety of Stratocasters which are MIM and their electronics may vary. If Fender still publishes its wonderful catalog, see if your dealer can get you one.....then read....and be ready to get dizzy.

If you have the wherewithall to remove your pickguard assembly, you should find a part number on the pickups. That might tell you something as well. As far as positioning the pickups, string damping in a magnetic field varies with pickup designs. The EMG's spoken of as an example. Lace Sensors, on the other hand, do not have any damping effect and can be set as close to the strings as possible if so desired.


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