FrankenSTRAT advice.

[Sea Chief]

Chaps,

I have the basis I hope of a fine guitar, a wonderful sunburst strat body & a MIJ jazzmaster neck (on its way).. but need to get decent other bits I'm not so clued up on.

What exactly this body was ie whether one heck of a squier, a VG korean, or even fender usa I've no idea: it was just bought off ebay as a strat body. Probably the best body Ive ever come across, so Ive been lucky.

What I need to find out if I can is what it might be, are there any clues? also (mainly) its going to be alot easier to get the spot-on correct scratchplate for the holes to marry up to knowing exactly what it is.

Also pickups: what are the best VG sounding bang-for-buck fender p'ups to go for in your opinion? Im not in the know at all, I can only surmise maybe a MIM set of somesort? are lace sensor uncool thesedays enuf to score a bargain set? sounded VG from what I recall.

Thanks SC

[ric]

I had Lace Sensors in a Strat thru a Fender Ultimate Chorus and loved the tone. Sold the guitar, but I have a set of Lace Duallies and will put them in something someday, more than likely.

Bought a Strat at a pawn shop and thought the pickups sounded really good, opened it up and they have the initials A.Y. and the date. Now I know what all the fuss is about with Strat tone. Abigail Yabarra (hope I spelled that right) has retired, but if you can score a set I'd say they're worth looking for.

[eschertron]

I had Lace Sensors in a Strat thru a Fender Ultimate Chorus and loved the tone. Sold the guitar, but I have a set of Lace Duallies and will put them in something someday, more than likely.

Bought a Strat at a pawn shop and thought the pickups sounded really good, opened it up and they have the initials A.Y. and the date. Now I know what all the fuss is about with Strat tone. Abigail Yabarra (hope I spelled that right) has retired, but if you can score a set I'd say they're worth looking for.

Don't keep us in suspense, what was the date?

[ric]

Don't keep us in suspense, what was the date?

11/14/06
11/9/06
11/10/06

Hey, happy eleventh birthday to one of my pickups.

[Sea Chief]

I should say Im not after the best pickups, as these might arguably be ric.. Im after the other end of the market: I need best bang-for-buck affordable ones. Looking at lace sensors it seems pricewise I was way off with these then/ so will forget that idea.

[Justin Thomas]

Without knowing what you mean by "affordable," I don't think you can go wrong with Seymour Duncans... Then again, you're in the UK, so I don't know what the prices are like there. As far as make and model, no clue. I've only got the ones in my Tele to go by.

Justin

[big_teee]

When you say frankenstrat, I think Eddie Van Halen and his 2 pickup Frankenstrat guitar.
Humbucker bridge, and single coil neck.
https://www.google.com/search?q=fran...h=530&dpr=1.09
If you're talking a regular 3 SC body with a mismatched neck, then it is a Partscaster.
It helps to clarify what you have, and what you are dealing with.
Pictures always help!
T

[ric]

I should say Im not after the best pickups, as these might arguably be ric.. Im after the other end of the market: I need best bang-for-buck affordable ones. Looking at lace sensors it seems pricewise I was way off with these then/ so will forget that idea.

Abigail's pickups were sold as aftermarket upgrades as were SRV "Texas Specials" etc.

They aren't made out of unobtainium. She wound them from the early years, but my guitar is recent and so are the pickups. She did retire, but they would still be available from somewhere.

I understand cost. I only can get what I can get a deal on.

[J M Fahey]

best bang-for-buck affordable ones

Three conflicting targets, and which depend a lot on personal preference, so it´s a tough to answer question.

[eschertron]

Three conflicting targets, and which depend a lot on personal preference, so it´s a tough to answer question.

Agree, and add:
The best "bang-for-buck" pickups are the free ones. Divide by zero, no better option. If the pickups work in the guitar now, it would be them.
If you have a budget, though, then share some pickups that you've seen in that range. Then be prepared to discuss at length the pros and cons of each.

edit - I see Juan interpreted "best" as its own category. I assumed it indicated optimization, in the sense of "best practices"

[Dave H]

Also pickups: what are the best VG sounding bang-for-buck fender p'ups to go for in your opinion?

These from Ironstone sound just fine to me. Also check out the ones from Axetec

[Sea Chief]

thanks chaps- actually Dave H I have Ironstone's in & they sound fairly good.. but they dont fit the scratchplate c/o well (gaps) & are cheapest nasty whitey white placcy finish on them.

Strat p'ups should be, afair, NOT the same width ie they shoud be staggered sightly I think? these ironstones are all the same width so gaps occur esp in the neck p'ups cutout.. I wasnt impressed with this either tbh. I was thinking my superb bodkin + MIJ jazzyjobbie neck maybe deserves a step up from these.

[Dave H]

Strat p'ups should be, afair, NOT the same width ie they shoud be staggered sightly I think? these ironstones are all the same width

I thought all three pickups were the same width on a Strat but the the pole spacing was different (narrower at the neck). On the Ironstones the bridge and middle poles are the same width but the neck is narrower if I remember correctly.

[Sea Chief]

Ah ok.. then the scratchplate I have isnt right for the p'ups anyway, so may that Co can tell me what type for their p'ups: but then the holes will likely not marry up to the body holes. A partscaster is far more of a tricky proposition than I anticipated, I had to refettle the neck holes too iirc, then shave off some form the scratchplate = all a FAFF hence I want to start again.

[Sea Chief]

Ive got a more pressing issue 1st: the MIJ jazzmaster neck arrived & a fine neck it is, but the 4 neck holes do not marry up to the body. Now I had the same issue with the previous MIM neck I had on (too slim for me).. which were annoyingly only a few mm's off/ filled & redrilled the neck holes.. but not great results: not a dead-sure hole & so bolts never had the solidity they should have.

So this time the holes are further off (I can just see a bit of one neck hole, thru the body holes). Im loathed to 'ruin' the MIJ neck holes by re-plugging mainly as its worth 3x the body, & a well made item (in case I need to sell on at some stage too).

So is the idea of re-plugging then re-drilling the body holes feasable? Im not sure how Id get the perfect positions of the neck holes onto the body, as it'll be unseen/ covered of course.

Any ideas?