So today I was searching for pots, a switch, and a jack to do a complete overhaul of electronics on my MIM Strat(2007). I never thought about doing it until a friend of mine said that it would make a big difference to change out the "crappy" pots.\

So I thought to myself, if I'm gonna change out the pots, I might as well change everything since they may be low quality as well. Before I payed for all of my stuff, my local music store's guitar tech asked me if I was building a guitar. I said no and that I was replacing all of the electronics in my MIM strat as an upgrade.

He then went on to tell me that all the electronics in the MIM strat were already very good and not at all low quality, except for the jack(didn't give me a reason why).

So questions:
1. Who's correct? My friend(tone freak) or the guitar tech(don't really trust him with much but for the record he is saving me money if he's correct)?

2. Why would the guitar tech say the jack is sub-par?

Thanks in advanced!

Hi ERAmusicproductions,

Why not check the pots and jack and see for yourself. Many times the Am and Mex Strats use the exact same components, pots in particular. Look for the CTS pots, they are the same as used on the Am models. There isn't going to be much difference in the input jacks, and if it feels solid, it is probably a good one. For most Mex model Strats, like the Std, you will get better tone improvements with a better bridge, or better pickups, but you probably will not notice any difference when changing the pots and/or jack.

Unless you have noise (scratchiness) from your pots, or your jack causes your signal to breakup when the cord is jiggled, I would leave the pots and jack as they are, and look at the bridge and pickups for components that may need improvement.

_________________
---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

Thanks for the reply!

I took a look at the pots and googled what a CTS pot is haha and they are CTS pots. Thanks to you and the guitar tech, I'm gonna save a good amount of money!

I will be replacing the lead and the ground going to the jack because I took a look and the wires are are poorly soldered and the outer jacket is burnt and wrinkled. Plus, they're too short to trim and re-solder.

Thanks again!