Hi, I was thinking of putting A set of DiMarzio pick ups in my strat, but the repairer I called said that the strat would need the holes made bigger as they are a different size, not wanted to take such drastic measures with my strat so is there any other pickup that would give me a good vintage sound and also be noiseless and that would drop right into the holes!

Thanks
Indy

Find another "repairer". Unless you were trying to install a set of PAF-style humbuckers, this one doesn't know what he is taking about. What is a "repairer" anyway? Most people take their guitars to "guitar techs" or "luthiers".

_________________
Bill

I find it odd that they would be using screws that are of a different size or have a different thread spacing than the original ones Fender uses.

Get a second opinion on that because this would mean making it impossible to restore the guitar to original condition. While sometimes it can happen with things like strap buttons or tuners that screws are a different size from the stock ones or that you even have to drill extra holes because the existing ones don't line up with the new parts, I've never heard of this happening with pickups.

Also, couldn't you just use the original screws that came with the stock pickups? Once they go through the pickguard it's not like they are going anywhere. They tend to make the size of the pickup to fit without having to modify the pickguard (unless you are going from a single coil to a humbucker).

Hmmm...interesting.
I have installed DiMarzios (single-size and double-row humbucks) without having to alter the openings or screw-holes on all sorts of Strats.
That's the first I've heard that.

The "repairer" clearly doesn't know what he is talking about. I have installed pickups from several different manufacturers in many different guitars, and except for the occaisional humbucker string spacing/pole spacing difference, they have all been drop-ins as long as you are not changing the overall form factor.

_________________
Bill

Because its BS.

_________________
Bill

If you have an hss (humbucking, single coil, single coil) model strat you'll need to change pickguards?

That falls under changing the form factor which the OP has not mentioned.

_________________
Bill

I understand the post as follows:

you have a guitar with 3 single coil pickups and you want to install DiMarzio humbuckers???

If the guitar is routed S/S/S under the pickguard, there's additional routing to be done if the humbuckers are "normal" size, which is twice as wide as single coils.
You would need a different pickguard as well!

As an alternative there are Fender noiseless single coils, Fender Lace Sensor single coils or even humbuckers (DiMarzio, Seymour Duncan and others) in single coil size which all easily "drop in" whithout changes to the guitar body. They all avoid the humming. For humbuckers you might need to change the pots to 500k pots, single coils use 250k pots.

@ all: BTW: with "repairer" he certainly means either "luthier" or "guitar tech". Could be a language/vocabulary thing.

_________________
Kindest regards from Germany, Dee
My recordings --> http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_mu ... dID=564337
STRATS ROCK!!! but Teles and Firebirds, too!

Hi Guys, thanks for all your comments.

Ok I said repairer as I called a guy who advertised on the net as a repairer/guitar technician.

Ok he was talking BS, thanks for clearing that up, I thought myself that if I was putting new single coil pick ups in that they should just drop in without modifying the guitar. He obviously doesn't know what he's talking about and I won't be taking my baby to him lol.

I am not looking to put humbuckers in it, just replacing single coil ones. I seen a pickguard that comes complete with pick ups built in it, this is probably a better idea I think, no soldering involved.

Now I know I can get single coils and drop them in, I will have a look again at what ones I want

Thanks again guys!!

Good deal.

_________________
Bill