MIM STANDARD PICKUPS

agroelcarr · **Joined:** Sun Mar 16, 2008 6:01 am **Posts:** 57

Where are built the ceramic pickups stock in MIM Standards? ¿ Ensenada or other place?

Steve-oh-no · **Joined:** Wed Dec 22, 2010 7:05 am **Posts:** 667

Um, Mexico! Some are better than others. I have played amazing sounding MIM Strats, and some that were lifeless. But that could be factors of all the variables combined in a guitar from one to another.

Stratoblues · **Posted:** Fri May 18, 2012 4:07 pm

Stock pickups on MIM are alnico V, not ceramic

93greenstrat · **Posted:** Fri May 18, 2012 4:29 pm

Stratoblues wrote:

Stock pickups on MIM are alnico V, not ceramic

Hmm...are you sure about that? AFAIK, the MIM Standard pickups have not changed.

agroelcarr · **Joined:** Sun Mar 16, 2008 6:01 am **Posts:** 57

My´04 Standard have ceramics pickups. From me all de Standards have ceramics.

NarooN · **Joined:** Mon Feb 28, 2011 10:28 pm **Posts:** 102

This is the first I've heard of the MIM's having Alnico V's, I think all MIM's have the normal ceramic pups.

T2Stratman · **Posted:** Sat May 19, 2012 6:29 pm

Umm...maybe the Standard MIM strat has ceramics...but here are the specs from my 04 and they are clearly listed as Alnico...but then again this guitar was not a Standard model...

Fender Musical Instruments
Stratocaster Series
013-2004-873
Mexico
Available in 2004
Standard Colors: Aztec Gold (Polyester Finish).
Pick Ups: Vintage Style Single-Coil Strat Pickups with Staggered
Alnico Magnet Pole Pieces and Aged Covers.Body: Alder.
Neck: 1-Piece Maple, Soft "V" Shape (Gloss Polyurethane Finish).
Fingerboard: Maple, 7¼" Radius.
Number of Frets: 21.
Scale Length: 25 ½ inches.
Options: Bolt On Neck
Vintage Style Synchronized Tremolo
Fender/Ping Vintage Style Tuning Machines
Gold Hardware
Gold Anodized Pickguard
One Master Volume Knob
Two Tone Knobs (Neck and Middle Pickups)
Five Position Pickup Selector Switch
50th Anniversary laser-etched backplate
Limited release was available from January 15 to December 31, 2004.

And the 50's and 60's Classic Series MIM also have alnico pickups...per page 44 of the 2005 Fender Frontline...and my 2007 60's Classics came with Alnico pickups too.

FWIW

T2

nikininja · **Posted:** Sun May 20, 2012 1:11 am

Fender Spec Sheet Standard Stratocaster wrote:

Overview
Specs
Artists

General
Model Name: Standard Stratocaster®
Series: Standard
Color / MSRP* / Part # :

Lake Placid Blue
$669.99
014-4600-502

Black
$669.99
014-4600-506

Candy Apple Red
$669.99
014-4600-509

Brown Sunburst
$699.99
014-4600-532

Midnight Wine
$669.99
014-4600-575

Arctic White
$669.99
014-4600-580

Lake Placid Blue
$669.99
014-4602-502

Black
$669.99
014-4602-506

Candy Apple Red
$669.99
014-4602-509

Brown Sunburst
$699.99
014-4602-532

Midnight Wine
$669.99
014-4602-575

Arctic White
$669.99
014-4602-580

Body
Body Shape: Stratocaster®
Body Finish:

(0144600502, 0144600506, 0144600509, 0144600532, 0144600575, 0144600580, 0144602502, 0144602506, 0144602509, 0144602532, 0144602575, 0144602580)
Polyester

Neck
Neck Shape: Modern "C" Shape
Number of Frets: 21
Fret Size: Medium Jumbo
Position Inlays: Black or White Dot Position Inlays
Fingerboard Radius: 9.5" (24.1 cm)
Fretboard: Rosewood or Maple
Neck Material: Maple
Neck Finish: (502, 506, 509, 532, 575, 580) Rosewood Fingerboard: Satin Finish on Back, Gloss Finish on Headstock Front with Buffed Fingerboard
(502, 506, 509, 532, 575, 580) Maple Fingerboard: Satin Finish on Back, Gloss Finish on Front
Nut Width: 1.650” (42 mm)
Scale Length: 25.5" (64.8 cm)
Neck Plate: Standard 4 Bolt
Truss Rod Nut: 3/16" Hex Adjustment
Electronics
Pickup Configuration: S/S/S
Bridge Pickup: Standard Single-Coil Strat® Bridge Pickup
Middle Pickup: Standard Single-Coil Strat® Middle Pickup
Neck Pickup: Standard Single-Coil Strat® Neck Pickup
Pickup Switching: 5-Position Blade: Position 1. Bridge Pickup, Position 2. Bridge and Middle Pickup, Position 3. Middle Pickup, Position 4. Middle and Neck Pickup, Position 5. Neck Pickup
Controls: Master Volume, Tone 1. (Neck Pickup), Tone 2. (Middle Pickup)
Hardware
Hardware Finish: Chrome
Bridge: Vintage Style Synchronized Tremolo
String Nut: Synthetic Bone
Switch Tips: Parchment Switch Tip
Tremolo Arm Handle: Vintage Style Tremolo Arm
Tools
Truss Rod Wrench: 0.1875"
Miscellaneous
Strings: Fender® USA Super Bullets® 3250L, NPS, (.009-.042 Gauges)
Unique Features: Vintage Styling, Fender Transition Logo, Parchment Plastic Parts
Accessories
Control Knobs: Parchment Plastic

The pickups on the Standard are ceramic. And in my experience vary wildly in quality. The worst thing I ever did was to replace mine with Vintage Noiseless. They were superb. Overwound, high output, aggressive things. Though their not all the same.
To quote eminent pickup guru, Bill Lawrence,

"When I read that ceramic magnets sound harsh and alnico magnets sound sweet, I ask myself, " Who the hell preaches such nonsense?" There are harsh-sounding pickups with alnico magnets and sweet-sounding pickups with ceramic magnets and vice-versa! A magnet by itself has no sound, and as a part of a pickup, the magnet is simply the source to provide the magnetic field for the strings. The important factor is the design of a magnetic circuit which establishes what magnet to use.

Though ceramic magnets cost less than alnico magnets of equal size, a well-designed magnetic circuit using ceramic magnets costs much more than the six Alnico 5 magnets of a traditional single coil pickup".

Toppscore · **Joined:** Sun Nov 20, 2011 3:16 am **Posts:** 2337

nikininja wrote:

The pickups on the Standard are ceramic. And in my experience vary wildly in quality. The worst thing I ever did was to replace mine with Vintage Noiseless. They were superb. Overwound, high output, aggressive things. Though their not all the same.

Hi. Please help me here. You said "the worst thing . . . " then you stated they were superb?
Which pickups are you discussing?

I recently, I purchased a 1998 Fender MIM Fat Strat
with three Seymour Duncan pickups installed:
* Bridge: Seymour Duncan JB Humbucker (original was Tex-Mex Fat Strat Humbucker)
* Middle: Seymour Duncan Classic Stack Plus (original was Tex-Mex Flat Pole Single Coil)
* Neck: Seymour Duncan Vintage Hot Stack (original was Tex-Mex Flat Pole Single Coil)

The seller included the three original Tex-Mex Flat Pole pickups.
How does one tell if the Tex-Mex Flat Pole pickups are ceramic or alnico?
Thanks. Toppscore

nikininja · **Posted:** Sun May 20, 2012 11:57 am

Vintage noiseless, Topscore. Sorry for my poor sentence construction. I hated them but loved the Mexican ceramic pickups.

As for the Tex Mex pickups. I think they are AlNiCo 5.
You will tell by looking at the underside of the pickup.

The mid and bridge pickups have a bar magnet running underneath the polepices. That is a ceramic magnet.

Or like this

AlNiCo magnet pickups have polepieces made of AlNiCo and no magnet underneath the pickup.
Like this

Tex Mex's
AlNiCo for sure.

T2Stratman · **Posted:** Sun May 20, 2012 1:13 pm

Niki...now that is a full on answer...nice job :!:

T2

nikininja · **Posted:** Sun May 20, 2012 1:19 pm

Thank you Sir

Andorra	EN	ES	FR
Belgium	EN	DE	FR
Croatia	EN
Czech Republic	EN
Estonia	EN
France	EN	FR
Germany	EN	DE
Italy	EN	IT
Latvia	EN
Lithuania	EN
Malta	EN
Netherlands	EN
Poland	EN
Romania	EN
Slovakia	EN
Sweden	EN
United Kingdom	EN

Austria	EN	DE
Bulgaria	EN
Cyprus	EN
Denmark	EN
Finland	EN
Greece	EN
Hungary	EN
Ireland	EN
Liechtenstein	EN	DE
Luxembourg	EN	DE	FR
Monaco	EN	FR
Norway	EN
Portugal	EN
Slovenia	EN
Spain	EN	ES
Switzerland	EN	DE	FR	IT

	Page 1 of 1	[ 12 posts ]

Mod Shop

Custom Shop

MIM STANDARD PICKUPS

Who is online