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Sometimes pickups just suck.

Posted on 3/29/26 at 8:57 am
Posted by LSU alum wannabe
Katy, TX
Member since Jan 2004
27732 posts
Posted on 3/29/26 at 8:57 am
Last year I got a Fender American Vintage 2 Strat. It’s the 1961 model reissue. Looks awesome. Fiesta Red. Looks and feel is great. But to my ear those pickups are awful. Just muddy. Don’t know if by design they were meant to sound dull to pick up gain and distortion into a growl?? Sounded good in the store but at home just hated them.

I moved the PUPs all the way down and all the way up and middle. No good.

Bought some mojo tone pickups in a loaded pickguard. Swapped them out. Didn’t even look at pickup height. Just whatever they’re packaged at. Sounds great.

If I now sell the old pickups it only cost me about 100 bucks. Anybody want some muddy pickups??
Posted by Crow Pie
Neuro ICU - Tulane Med Center
Member since Feb 2010
27488 posts
Posted on 3/29/26 at 2:47 pm to
quote:

Bought some mojo tone pickups in a loaded pickguard
Can you tell me more about this replacement pickup guard.?

I have a busted mexican strat that has a great neck and a loaded pickup guard make make it payable again. I bought a very cheap Chinese pickguard ($35) and it didn't fit right and then sounded like a tin can.
Posted by LSU alum wannabe
Katy, TX
Member since Jan 2004
27732 posts
Posted on 3/29/26 at 3:27 pm to
I bought a Mojotone Quiet Coil 58. It’s a standard 3 single coil set up. They have an HSS too. Solderless install if that matters to you. If handy with a soldering iron they sell them that way too.

The set I bought has a blender setting that I have off. I will tinker with it eventually. The whole thing is about $329-349.
Posted by Crow Pie
Neuro ICU - Tulane Med Center
Member since Feb 2010
27488 posts
Posted on 3/29/26 at 7:38 pm to
thx...I will look into it.
Posted by wareaglepete
Union of Soviet Auburn Republics
Member since Dec 2012
18315 posts
Posted on 3/29/26 at 8:48 pm to
Tons of great pickups out there. Don’t hesitate to switch them out. Find the right ones and you’ll be in tone ecstasy.

ETA: I highly recommend these folks here:

Bill Lawrence/Wilde Pickups

I got a P bass pick up from them before Christmas and it is outstanding. I see now they also make guitar pickups. I wouldn't hesitate to give them a try and they have pretty good prices. If you can wait, they run a special before Christmas ever year. I was able to get my P pickup for like $60. Handmade in the US at that price and it sounds as good as any P pickup I've heard.
This post was edited on 3/30/26 at 10:28 am
Posted by 45acp
Near The Big Chicken
Member since Jul 2007
858 posts
Posted on 3/30/26 at 9:06 am to
Assembled a thinline tele with a set up bootstrap pretzel pickups and a gunstreet 4-way harness and callaham bridge.

Essentially a Strat neck pickup with a hot tele bridge.

I was impressed enough with these $65 USA made pickups that I went ahead and picked up a set of each of his tele offerings and a set of his screwdriver p90s for a Les Paul special I’m trying to rejuvenate.
Posted by SingleMalt1973
Member since Feb 2022
23693 posts
Posted on 3/30/26 at 2:14 pm to
The PRS Silver Sky might have the best 60s vintage strat pickups.
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