MIM Strat. Is there a loaded pickguard to be had in my price range?

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ot too sure anything for 100 bucks will be an upgrade.

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That was my main question. What price point is an upgrade from stock MIM fenders? Without going to the 300-500 dollar range.

I got a Squire 50s Vibe Tele that had 920d loaded guard put in already. It has spoiled me.

I’d love to throw FretShack some $$$ but my price point I believe will insult he of the custom hand wound stratosphere? Lol. Got any that suck by your standards Fret? But are an upgrade from MIMs. A reject if you will. Or 3 rejects.

Not really to either question.

Just minor adjustments and my rudimentary set up skills.

Thanks man. They make me nervous though. You know what I mean? $35 set is gonna be better than stock PUPS?

My sons Squire Affinity HSS? Absolutely. Probably buy one next week. But actual stock Fenders, even if just MIMs.

Thanks. MIJ might be the way to go. Not much at $100. It’s all cheap cheap up to 200 bucks plus. Very little middle.

No "upgrade" exists at your price point. Period. You are wasting your time on a project that will bear zero ROI.

There is nothing wrong with stock MIM Fender pickups, and this is coming from a guy who makes pickups. They use quality mags and wire. They are "cheaper" in that they used molded plastic bobbins instead of press-cut Forbon (I can't hear the difference in bobbin material but maybe others can); and that MIM pickups are 100 percent machine-wound in bulk quantity. I could actually argue that their consistency is an asset to a pro - a LOT of pro guitarists use stock MIM Strats - but that's another point to make in another one of these threads down the road haha.

MIM pickups are, however, overwound and fully gaussed based on my analyzation devices. My marketing background tells me this is intentional with the target market's price point in mind. The Ensenada line targets young people who want to play rock/alt/punk on a Fender guitar as their first or first serious electric guitar; and Texas blues Stevie-Ray-Vaughanabes who don't, can't or won't shell out the money for a Corona-made strat.

GFS pickups are a joke as a "upgrade" replacement for ANY guitar bearing ANY FMIC brand name regardless of the country of origin. Read that again so we can make sure I'm understood. Are they bad? No. Are they an upgrade? My gauges and my ears can't detect any improvements by designer, manufacturer or musicians' standpoints, and I've tried, believe me I've tried, I deal with tight client budgets on a daily basis. The best use of a GFS pickup is if a pickup(s) goes dead in a Chinese-made Squier Affinity or similar price point guitar and you're trying to replace it on a Chinese-made Squier Affinity owner's budget.

My Fender style single coil pickups are the cheapest pickups I make and they start at $100 each. They are hand-wound out of the finest components on the planet. I have two stock offerings but most of my winds are custom winds after direct consultation with the buyers. My asking price ensures I at least break even for my materials and labor investment. I cannot help you at your price point, I'm sorry.

And on the $110 MIJ pickguard listing above ... it's priced fairly because it's nothing special IMHO



Each pickup in the photo has a bar magnet (likely cheaper ceramic) charging steel pole pieces.

Vintage strats use six alnico rod magnets per pickup - the poles themselves are the magnets.



The $110 guard also has lackluster pots, caps and switch. may be MIJ as in Fender Japan/FGN factory, but it's not the typically desirable stuff and thus priced accordingly. And not an upgrade by any stretch.

Compare the photo of the Stewmac guard to the MIJ guard. Again, ceramic bars charging steel poles and lackluster pots, caps and switch. Sweet price if you're replacing broken stuff but not an upgrade.

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Stewmac

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The low priced one probably won't be an upgrade, the Golden Age ones that they sell are probably good.

Agreed on add Stratosphere to your shopping list. They buy overstocks and closeouts and part them out, they expedite orders quickly, pack them nicely, and their pricing is very fair. I buy a lot of stuff from them, when shop jobs call for authentic Fender parts.