Replacements for 'Squier by Fender' strat pups

[Al Heeley]

I just got this cheap Squier strat body off ebay for a self-mutilation project, it comes with the stock 'squier by fender' pickups. I'm getting a strat replica neck to bolt on, but am wondering if it's worht hanging onto these pups, they look cheap and nasty but I have no chance to hear them yet. The guitar itself will not be good enough to warrrant $120 SD pups but I might go for some GFS strat s/c types, they have a really great offer on at the moment.
Anyone have experience of the squier strat pickups? Are they half decent for a budget guitar, or truly awful?

[jeremy]

depends. is there magnets stuck to the bottom of the pups?

[Al Heeley]

Yep.

[ArtieToo]

Al; Let me give you 3-cents worth.

My Squier Tele came with the most Godawful pups I've ever heard. Its hard to believe that simply winding some wire around a bobbin could produce something so lifeless.

On the other hand, the pups that came in my cheap Johnson Strat, (with glued-on-the-bottom magnets), sound good. Not great, but good enough that I left them in for almost a year before swapping them out for Duncans.

All my guitars are inexpensive. They've all responded well to upgrades with Duncans. Even my boy's really cheap-ish Squier Bullet. (In my sig.)

You may want to do what I've done with several of mine. Keep an eye out for good deals in the Trading Post. I've grabbed some nice pups in the $25 - $30 range.

Artie

[Al Heeley]

Sound advice, sir. Thanks, will keep an eye out, I'm just so tempted to get these GFS vintage strat pups at $15.75, the same set are selling in the uk at an internet-based store its unfair to mention, for £55. Thats nearly $100.
I'll get the strat oput together first and try out the cheap squier pups, then go bargain hunting.

[kmcguitars]

What position PuP do you use most? That's where you put your money 1st. The other's can wait. It's better to buy one good $50 PuP and wait, That pay $75 for three mediocre one's IMO.

[Jocelyn]

Around the same lines, I might pick up a Squire as I need a second backup guitar, the pups would defintly be changed. What I want to know is, are the Squires "univeral or POOL" routed under the pick guard or is it Traditionaly routed.

[Lewguitar]

Al; Let me give you 3-cents worth.

My Squier Tele came with the most Godawful pups I've ever heard. Its hard to believe that simply winding some wire around a bobbin could produce something so lifeless.

On the other hand, the pups that came in my cheap Johnson Strat, (with glued-on-the-bottom magnets), sound good. Not great, but good enough that I left them in for almost a year before swapping them out for Duncans.

All my guitars are inexpensive. They've all responded well to upgrades with Duncans. Even my boy's really cheap-ish Squier Bullet. (In my sig.)

Artie

Like Artie, I've heard some MIJ Strat pickups with ceramic magnets glued to the bottem that sounded WORTHLESS and also some that sounded VERY GOOD. But none that sounded as good as a set of Duncans. You might want to go with a set of SSL-1's...those are great Duncan Strat pickups that remind me a lot of the Antiquity Surfers...like a '62 style Strat pickup. Pretty reasonably priced too at about $179.95 for a calibrated set of three. Lew

[Lu_B]

+1 for the SSL-1's. I have a set in my MIJ Squier Strat and they have made it come to life. The stock pup were horrible and tinny and definately lacked that vintage vibe!

[St-Jimmy]

GOO! Squier by Fender strat pickups are horrible. When I ordered my squier about 2 years ago (for project purposes) I thought I'd entertain myself by plugging the guitar into my spider II and seeing what they sounded like. My curiousity and smile quickly turned into an unsatisfactory awe of horror. Clean, they sound like sparkly wet farts! "prack prack prack". I quickly switched to distortion... a little better but still had a little of of the hershey squirts lingering under the gain. So I walked over to the shop immediately and popped in a JB jr in the bridge. Much better. But I grew sick of its super small neck (been used to more of a slim taper SG neck which feels wider) and now that guitar is on the floor in pieces.