Guitar Pickups Upgrade

#1 You can get dual coil pickups that fit in single coil slots if you want them
#2 You can get replacement pickups cheap at Guitar Fetish
#3 If you like the feel of the guitar and it plays good it is certainly worth changing to pickups you like better

http://www.guitarfetish.com/Strat-and-Tele-Guitar-Pickups_c_8.html

http://www.guitarfetish.com/GFS-Guitar-Pickups_c_7.html

Oh! And welcome to Guitar Noise

Thanks very much for the reply! I shall have a browse and see if anything takes my fancy :)

Hi and Welcome,

The Seymour Duncan site is worth a visit as it has a lot of general information about pickups, some fitting tips, and a huge range of sound clips for comparison. Seymour Duncan

It's a fun exercise swapping out pickups too. But when you do narrow it down a bit then it's worth trying to play something similar to what you've chosen, if you can. The first swap I did resulted in my discovering that what I really needed to swap out was my inept fingers. :oops: It was months, if not years, later that I couild really say that I was able to properly use the undoubtedly better quality and sound of the new pickup. :wink:

Good luck with it.

Chris

All of the previous suggestions are good, though I myself have not tried GFS pickups, many others have. They are not costly, and it is nearly always agreed that they offer substantial improvement.

If you e-auction shop, you can look for used or new bargain pricing on Fender Custom Shops - a lot of players seem to take their Texas Specials out, probably to go "boutique" or possibly less aggressive. They may be what you want.

You usually need a stronger output (technically it is resistance) to drive distortion, but there is no rule, since magnet materials can vary the tone and power, independent of resistance in ohms, and ceramic pickups are an example. I think you have ceramics already, and inert slug or steel poles.

+1 to both suggestions if you read their websites and listen to sound bites. I have changed pickups on most of my 30 - 35 Strats, and on many, many more before that, which are sold or gone, and for others. To be honest, and not something to discuss because they are unavailable, I prefer my own pickups, made for me, to my specs. Aftermarket, I like Dimarzios, Seymour and Rio Grande. Kinman is worth looking into (some players swear by them, and are passionate), and Joe Bardens.

Hi, I'm new to this site so sorry if I am doing it wrong. I have an Aria STG003 Strat Copy, and the stock pickups in it are just terrible. From what I can see the body and neck seem quite reliable so i was thinking of getting new pickups for it, single coils obviously. My current style is quite varied, however i kinda need something that will give me thick punchy distortion. Maybe the guitar is not worth upgrading, to me it seems like it'd be good. Any help on any particular ones would be much appreciated :)

I'm gonna give my standard recommendation here: before throwing money at your problem, try adjusting the height of the current pickups. Sometimes a little bit higher or lower can make a stunning difference.

GFS (Guitar Fetish) makes some top notch pickups for a budget price - like Carvin, their practice of marketing direct saves them money and they pass those savings on to the customer. They're pretty responsive and helpful before, during and after the sale too. I'd take a good look at their "L'il Puncher" sets for your needs.

Thanks for the advice people. I have been playing about with the height of the pickups ever since i've had the guitar, just cant seem to get the tone i want how ever i sit them. I have been looking on GFS and was quite drawn to their "L'il Puncher" sets before you sent that, they seem like a decent upgrade. Obviously I'm new to fitting pickups so that link to the seymour duncan page was much appreciated, if the worst comes to the worst then I will just take it to a guitar shop and let them do it :oops:
Just gotta keep looking round i guess. Are there any dangers to buying second hand?

Are there any dangers to buying second hand?
Yeah, they might be broken. Otherwise, I'm sure it's fine. It's not a big job if you can solder. I replace them one at a time so I don't get mixed up. When I nip the old ones wires off I leave just a little piece on the connection so I remember where the new wires go. Old come off, new go on.

Yeah, they might be broken. Otherwise, I'm sure it's fine.
Don't they also kind of just wear down after a period of many years?

I've got one of those 'lil Punchers on my MIM Tele in the neck position. Love it. I've also got a couple sets of their P90s and had a set of s-s-s for an MIM Strat I no longer have, and a set of humbuckers for a different guitar that I just plain sold. They were good, though. Very aggressive.

Are there any dangers to buying second hand?
Yeah, they might be broken. Otherwise, I'm sure it's fine. It's not a big job if you can solder. I replace them one at a time so I don't get mixed up. When I nip the old ones wires off I leave just a little piece on the connection so I remember where the new wires go. Old come off, new go on.

I think it would be better for someone of my level of knowledge to buy new just in case :P i may just go for a "lil puncher" set, they seem like decent pickups. I'll keep that in mind when fitting them, it seems a relatively straight forward job if you do it right. Thanks for the help :)

http://www.guitarfetish.com/Lil-Killer-Black-Humbucker-Rail-Pickup-for-Strats-Three-Versions-Available_p_461.html
I was thinking of getting these, only for the bridge pickup however as it's a cheap option and i use the bridge the most. Would these be fine in an Aria STG003?

I may be wrong ...... (wouldn't be the first time) I believe it is the ANICO's that lose strength in their magnets as time passes and the ceramics last. Figures cause the ALNICO's sound the best. :roll: I think the shelf life is pretty long though.

I may be wrong ...... (wouldn't be the first time) I believe it is the ANICO's that lose strength in their magnets as time passes and the ceramics last. Figures cause the ALNICO's sound the best. :roll: I think the shelf life is pretty long though.

Alnicos can lose their strength and strange but barely noticeable things can happen if you lean or store your guitar too close to your amplifier or cab's speaker magnet, which has immense power, of if you store pickups themselves together in a box for too long. It's an unexplored science, and virtually goes where no other player has gone before? :shock: Leave it to Physicists?

I'm glad to hear endorsements for GFS, but just like to note that the rail design will change a Strat sound, whereas Boston Blues might be "Texas" like SRV or whatever? As for the rails, I love using Joe Bardens but am aware of the sonic difference from a true single coil pickup. They do sound good in a Tele bridge, or anywhere on a Tele. I have used Seymour's non-rail Lil '59 and JB Jr. in a Strat, some extinct DiMarzio similar pickups with adjustable pole pieces, side by side or stacked, and Malmsteen's HS3. I'm sure that FB here is on his way to making a good choice, based on the input, and based on his preferences, and sound. 8)

Yes, magnets loose power as they age... but not much and not fast without hitting them or putting them in really powerful magnetic fields so, as mentioned, you don't lean them against the amp.

Would you hear the difference over a decade? Probably not. My nephew is playing the Fender Mustang I got used in 1976 and it seems to be doing just fine.

For alternative pickups... there is a site that does a blind comparison between a squier (with updated GFS bridge, electronics and pickups... not a lot of money) with a $1600 SRV. I couldn't say which was which... nor could most people. The GFS "grey bottoms" were being used if that is any help. Listen and decide and realize that the amp makes a difference.

I changed the bridge pickup in my Ibanez because the original wouldn't take distortion well as well as to get some unique wiring happening. My results... versatile & good, but not great. Not every pickup matches the guitar/amp/style and some pickups just don't combine well.

Note that sound tests on YouTube go through some recording medium, compression and then come out the sound card of your computer... it isn't the same as your guitar and amp...

Myself... I like the SRV style but when I pick up a strat I'm just not happy with the tone. My next mod will replace the pups with a JB Jr in the bridge and some GFS Lil'Killers in the middle and neck. It won't sound like a strat - and sure won't sound like SRV.

- r