Mim Srat Pups

Maxisoft

Hi guys,

Got my hands on a Fender LPB Mim strat with Maple fretboard today. I' m keen to change the pups as they look like they been through some wear.... Oxidised, rusty, etc...they play perfecly fine but it needs a new set. I have never done this before, but would appreciate some help on firstly what to put in their place and secondly whether I could do this myself or get it done professionally? Also keen to change the scratchguard.

Could I get some constructive advice?

Chocklit_Thunda

Maxisoft wrote Hi guys,

Got my hands on a Fender LPB Mim strat with Maple fretboard today. I' m keen to change the pups as they look like they been through some wear.... Oxidised, rusty, etc...they play perfecly fine but it needs a new set. I have never done this before, but would appreciate some help on firstly what to put in their place and secondly whether I could do this myself or get it done professionally? Also keen to change the scratchguard.

Could I get some constructive advice?

Easy enough job? You just have to apply a soldering iron the the joints to melt the solder and remove the pickups and replace them with your new ones. Usually the pickups on a strat are straight to the switch and the grounds are on the back of a pot.... Just unscrew the pickguard, unscrew the pickups and replace em.

As for changing the pickguard you don't have to remove the pickups then. Rather you remove the electronics (pots and switches) or even better would be to add new electronics to the new pickguard, solder the new pickups to it and just remove the old one (and sell it to me if you aren't using it ?) and replace it with the new pickguard.

TL;DR you don't have to remove the pickups if you want to replace the pickguard.

Now about what pickups you want to replace them with, for that we're gonna need your genres of music, amp type, amount of gain, size audiences you play for and any other info you think would help because usually pickups are subjective.... Main info though is amp and genres you play though... Don't sweat the other stuff

Maxisoft

I play for pleasure... Blues and some Rock mostly. Playing through a Marshall (not so great) 30w amp. Dave Gilmour, Mark Knofler, Eric Clapton, Gary Moore, Santana....etc, etc, etc but I wouldnt want to change the tone too much as the original already sounds awesome...

When I change my pickguard I will let you know.... Btw, can these be purchased locally or do I do the mail order thing? I was advised by a fellow member to use local Tone Riders.

Chocklit_Thunda

Maxisoft wrote I play for pleasure... Blues and some Rock mostly. Playing through a Marshall (not so great) 30w amp. Dave Gilmour, Mark Knofler, Eric Clapton, Gary Moore, Santana....etc, etc, etc but I wouldnt want to change the tone too much as the original already sounds awesome...

When I change my pickguard I will let you know.... Btw, can these be purchased locally or do I do the mail order thing? I was advised by a fellow member to use local Tone Riders.

Well you can get enough gain from your Marshall for rock... So low output pickups would be alright here.
You're in luck as Andre from tonerider is selling off and has 3 strat pickups left (last I checked) for 250 each... They're not from the same set but could work as a set as they don't differ in output that much. You may want a RWRP pickup though for him cancelling in position 2 and 4 and also that extra scooped hollow sound for Knopfler songs.

If you want ultimate clarity if suggest Bareknuckles...
For warm mellow tones GFS Alnico II pickups are great bang for their buck.
Duncan surf rock pickups apparently do blues and soft rock really well too. They also have an alnico II set for that mellow tone but they're more expensive as with the Bareknuckles.
Also pickups from the creamery, lollar, fender and others could be what you're looking for... You should definitely check out reviews and YouTube videos (even though some of them sound like they're recorded on a potato, others have quality enough sound for you to judge what sounds you like)

As for pickguards you can get them locally but they may just be generic OEM brand or just fender. Other dudes like to buy online from warmoth or allparts or other guys... Some swear by the better quality from these guys while I'm sort of the guys who's like "calm down... It's just plastic"
But do go to the stores and ask how much they can do it for (they usually have to order in if you want a less common style) and also check against online prices (including shipping and vat hey... Always add these so you get near the actual price you pay) and see which works out best.
You should also specify how many screw holes you need as it changes from 8 - 11 or so depending on the year, brand and manufacturing location...

Wizard

We enter the new era where the answer isn't Tonerider anymore.
:'(

StefStoep

Wizard wrote We enter the new era where the answer isn't Tonerider anymore.
:'(

I think Andre still has a couple of sets left, and he is back on Tuesday. I'm going to contact him on Tuesday to see if he has a set of Alnico iv in stock for me!

But don't quote me on this, he might be sold out completely!

slyd

Wizard wrote We enter the new era where the answer isn't Tonerider anymore.
:'(

Very sad times indeed ! ☹
Just so happy I got my set of Pure Vintage Toneriders last year, before the demise. :?

If you like the sound of your current pups, there is no need to replace them just due to a bit of rust. So little of the pups are visible, so I gather it's the exposed polepieces that are bothering you ? A gentle fine-sanding, or steel-wooling can make them look better.

I would recommend genuine Fender pickguards for a MiM strat, as they fit precisely (screw-holes an all). Many of the generics require a bit of extra hole-drilling to fit (not a train smash, but it's great to just zap one on without any hassle).

Bothners CT carries Fender parts, as I'm sure it's cousin's around the country do as well. Prices vary according to colour, number of ply's, etc.

Whatever you decide, ENJOY it bro ?