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Step 10About pickups
The 'new' pickguard came fully loaded with three pickups--but not really good ones.
No matter. If the guitar sounds halfway-decent and plays well, the pickups can always be upgraded. (Cheap pickups usually sound a bit thinner, with more treble. Well, since that's quite different from my Gibson, it's cool with me. If you're a veteran de-'Fender' then you might hate the sound.)
To quickly compare good vs. not-so-good single-coil pickups:
Better pickups generally have more coil winds, which result in more power and a somewhat mellower sound. Most use cylindrical Alnico magnets as posts.
Cheaper pickups have fewer winds, and have a thinner and somewhat more harsh tone. But there is more treble from the skimpier coil. A pair of cheaper (but strong) ceramic bar magnets are used to magnetize the steel posts. (not all pickups with the ceramic bar pair are cheap, however.)
Whatever--if you don't change strings every three weeks you probably can't tell the difference...once you filter and amplify.
I had one 'vintage' single-coil from the mid 70's, and tried it in the guitar. Unfortunately the impedances weren't well-matched for the phasing mix, so I reverted back to to the newer pickup.
No matter. If the guitar sounds halfway-decent and plays well, the pickups can always be upgraded. (Cheap pickups usually sound a bit thinner, with more treble. Well, since that's quite different from my Gibson, it's cool with me. If you're a veteran de-'Fender' then you might hate the sound.)
To quickly compare good vs. not-so-good single-coil pickups:
Better pickups generally have more coil winds, which result in more power and a somewhat mellower sound. Most use cylindrical Alnico magnets as posts.
Cheaper pickups have fewer winds, and have a thinner and somewhat more harsh tone. But there is more treble from the skimpier coil. A pair of cheaper (but strong) ceramic bar magnets are used to magnetize the steel posts. (not all pickups with the ceramic bar pair are cheap, however.)
Whatever--if you don't change strings every three weeks you probably can't tell the difference...once you filter and amplify.
I had one 'vintage' single-coil from the mid 70's, and tried it in the guitar. Unfortunately the impedances weren't well-matched for the phasing mix, so I reverted back to to the newer pickup.
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