Squier Strat upgrade question

[superdave]

Okay I bought the Squire Strat Pack by Fender.I have read where some people upgrade their tuners,pickups...etc. on their guitars and I was wondering if my Squire (Indonesia make) was worth upgrading the pickups? I understand it's an entry level guitar but it plays (as far as I'm concerned)pretty good but sort of has cheesy sound sometimes. I'm not dumpin' on it because I know it's not going to sound like a top of the line Fender.

[Ricardo.]

If you do, I highly recommend 'mighty mite' pickups on eBay. They sell loaded pickguards that you drop in (all the wiring done is attaching the ground to the tremolo) with an s/s/s set for $30 and an h/s/s for $36. I dropped the 'fat strat' set into my Costco/Fender Starcaster and I'm happy

[caprae]

If it feels like a decent guitar then it might be worth upgrading. I've known guys to upgrade those parts on $500 guitars.

 

How much are you looking to spend on upgrading it? You might want to try these pickups: Bill Lawrence

 

I'm getting ready to try one myself.

[ekoldr]

I say if your going to upgrade your squier don't spend too much money, really, it may feel good but an more expensive fender would feel even better.

[Ricardo.]

What do you mean pickup covers, LP? The pickguard? Fits on mine (except for a few holes that didn't line up).

 

I recommend because some Harmony Central reviews http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data2/Mighty_Mite/ are from people who replaced their Squier set.

[The Geoff]

Originally posted by LPCustom:

Strat pickups have a little plastic "beauty" cover that's removable.

But beware, most Strat-fit pups are 50mm bfrom centre of 'E' to cente of 'e' - but some are 52mm and need a different shroud.

 

I have 6 Fender style pups and 1 (Seymour Duncan) is 52mm.

 

Geoff

[Kramer Ferrington III.]

I think you should also bear in mind that even if you get the best pickups on the planet, when it comes to resale time your guitar will just be an Indonesian Squier with fancy pickups.

 

So if you are going to change pups it'll have to be for your own personal satisfaction. There comes a time when you're learning and all of a sudden you HEAR and say to yourself "this guitar sounds gross!" and you're ready to move on.

 

If you haven't had that moment yet, don't bother with the pickups. And when it happens, you might be better off with a better quality guitar. A dolled up cheapie doesn't resell anywhere near as well as a quality brandname guitar.

[Darcy H]

Or you can do what I did. Put some pretty high-end pickups on it (Fender Custom Shop Fat50's), then if and when you decide to upgrade your guitar, move those high-end pickups over as well.

 

If you like how it sounds, I think some quality pickups will far and away be the best upgrade I'd bother with. You can find unlimited discussion regarding Strat pickup options here;

 

http://www.fenderforum.com/forum.html?db=&message_area_number=32&lastpost=2006-06-2220:47:56

[Xplorer]

Originally posted by Geoff Byrne:

Originally posted by LPCustom:

Strat pickups have a little plastic "beauty" cover that's removable.

But beware, most Strat-fit pups are 50mm bfrom centre of 'E' to cente of 'e' - but some are 52mm and need a different shroud.

 

I have 6 Fender style pups and 1 (Seymour Duncan) is 52mm.

 

Geoff

Would the 50mm be for middle and neck, and the 52mm for bridge(slant)?

[Kramer Ferrington III.]

Originally posted by Hfx_Buzz:

Or you can do what I did. Put some pretty high-end pickups on it (Fender Custom Shop Fat50's), then if and when you decide to upgrade your guitar, move those high-end pickups over as well.

Yeah, that's a pretty good idea too.

[The Geoff]

Originally posted by Xplorer:

Originally posted by Geoff Byrne:

Originally posted by LPCustom:

Strat pickups have a little plastic "beauty" cover that's removable.

But beware, most Strat-fit pups are 50mm bfrom centre of 'E' to cente of 'e' - but some are 52mm and need a different shroud.

 

I have 6 Fender style pups and 1 (Seymour Duncan) is 52mm.

 

Geoff

Would the 50mm be for middle and neck, and the 52mm for bridge(slant)?

Actually, I've just checked them out - and I was talking a load of mince!!

 

Most of my Pups are 52mm, and the Seymour Duncan is 50mm.

 

The base plates atre the same size - it's the distance across the poles that's odd - 'G' spaced?

 

But the slant idea was a good one.

 

G.