Fender Custom Shop '69 Strat Pickup Set  (Used)

Comments about Fender Custom Shop '69 Strat Pickup Set:

ONLY 2 OUT OF THE 3 PICKUPS WORKED!

I purchased a set of the Fender Custom Shop '69 Pickups after hearing great reviews from some buddies at a local music store, and watching YouTube demos. Well, long story short, I received a set from Musician's Friend that were already opened, and looked used -- the pickup covers had telltale pick scratches on them.

I went to have them installed in my MIM Fender Strat, and was disappointed to find that the Authorized Fender Tech could not install the bridge pickup, as a fault in the internal wiring was preventing the pickup from working at all.

So unfortunately, I paid full price for two pickups and have been left with a dead bridge pickup. Don't know who was truly at fault here, but the shoddy open packaging and the seemingly used nature of these pickups makes me think Musician's Friend was the culprit.

The last three purchases I've made from Musician's Friend have been suspect in quality -- sorry MF, three strikes and you're out.

Comments about Fender Custom Shop '69 Strat Pickup Set:

I bought these last year to replace the pickups on a 2005 MIM Strat. I wanted pickups similar to those on my 2002 reproduction '62 Strat. I also have a '95 American Strat and another 2005 MIM Strat to compare. Out of the four different sets of Strat pickups I have , these are the least "hot". These are the cleanest of them all. Yes, you will get a little growl when they are overdriven but they need the help of a Blues Driver or Tube Screamer to get any balls. They are nowhere like the '62 Strat pickups. The original MIM pickups have more balls than these. I had the guitar with these pickups set up for open tuning slide but wasn't getting enough gain out of them. I switched back to a late '90's Squire Strat which has hotter pickups than these. The pickups on my '95 Strat seem to be Lace Sensors and I like that guitar the best and then the '62. If you want sparkly cleans, go with these. If you play rock or blues and want some overdrive, I'd go with something else. I also have a 2005 Highway One Tele and I like the stock pickups on that more than these pickups.

Comments about Fender Custom Shop '69 Strat Pickup Set:

I like the 69 vintage vibe
I have these pickups in my American Deluxe and in an American Standard. I

Some have complained about having to make the maountin hole a little larger to accomodate the mounting screws. This is true, I had to do this in both cases. This was not a big deal to me since I mod my guitars anyway. Fender could do a little better with the fit...

While the middle pickup is not reverse wound, I put copper sheilding in the cavity and I do not hear any more noise than any other pickups. I also put a baseplate on the bridge pickup, its adds a little more bass and presence.

I really like these pickups, they work well for the the style of music I play. I have a bunch of amps - a Fender Twin, a Fender Blues Deville and a Mesa Mark V among others. It pairs best with the Fender Amps.

I was fortunate to get several sets that are signed by Abigail Ybarra before she retired. I think these pickps signed by her will become in great demand in time....

I recommend these if you want a vintage strat sound with a lttle more bite than average pickup and classic strat sound. .On my American Standard, the bridge pickup is reverse angled ala Hendrix, and I dig the vibe it put's out - great pickups for classic rock and blues or really almost anything you throw at it.
Other than the mounting issue it's good...
I think the price is fair

Comments about Fender Custom Shop '69 Strat Pickup Set:

These pickups are not loud . Great mellow tone and bright tones. Great for all styles of music.
Had these pickups professional installed into a 1995 Mexican Stratocaster . MY start now sounds better than most American made Fenders.
Had the pickups professional installed. They sound awesome. They place where I had them installed was blown away by how good these pickups are.
Great tone. They made my Mexican Strat sound better than most American made Strats.

Comments about Fender Custom Shop '69 Strat Pickup Set:

mine weren't signed and dated and I don't think A Y did them.
sounded worse then texas special
If you like thin sounds

Comments about Fender Custom Shop '69 Strat Pickup Set:

Ad states these are Signed and Dated by Abby.Not so.I returned 1st set because of this and I was advised 2nd set would be signed.2nd set was same as 1st.Not signed or dated.I called and was told Fender no longer dates or signs these PUs.Ad online still advertises Signed and dated.I wanted these for and investment as I have a Masterbuilt Strat with Abbys in it..Now I'm stuck with These.

Comments about Fender Custom Shop '69 Strat Pickup Set:

I'm very pleased overall with this purchase. Installation was fairly painless, with exception of getting the screws started in the waxy bobbin material, and easy instructions were included. Can't say enough how great these sound in my standard (Mexico) Strat without any other upgrades. It truly sounds like a guitar worth twice the price. Must stop typing to go play it now.
These pickups feature Alnico (who knows what it means? ALuminum NIkel CObalt) magnets and grey bobbin material. I don't know how it makes these basic looking pickups sound awesome, but it does. The cloth wrapped single strand wire is very cool and "vintage" correct, too.
As all Fender products are concerned, and this is from a dyed-in-the-wool Les Paul freak, quality is very high. I replaced another brand of "upgrade" pickups with the '69 strat set and was wonderfully impressed with the new, real Fender sound these pickups provide.
I would rate these a 10 at just a little smaller pricetag, but the sound they provide is excellent for the money. As stated above, other even higher cost pickup sets do not offer this level of tonal purity or true Fender twang and sass.

Comments about Fender Custom Shop '69 Strat Pickup Set:

Like i said in the title these pickups are perfect for classic rock sound and clean as well. They are definitely not for hard rock or metal, but sound great if you play hendrix, led zeppelin, pink floyd...

Comments about Fender Custom Shop '69 Strat Pickup Set:

I have a '62 reproduction Strat which I bought in 2002. I love the sound of it but it is an expensive guitar to be taking to gigs. I asked a local dealer what pickups would be closest to it and he said the '69 pickups. I bought the '69's from Musician's Friend and I also got a free gift of a pearloid pickguard. I put them on my 2005 MIM Strat and I'm very happy. This is now my main gigging axe. I've played sixties Strats and this is the tone.I read a lot of reviews about pickups. Single coils are not humbuckers these pickups and expect them to sound like a LesPaul. If you want that classic Strat sound, buy these.

Comments about Fender Custom Shop '69 Strat Pickup Set:

Very satisfied. Nice timbre and bonus that all three pickups are identical so no impedance changes when switching pickup positions. Made a World of difference getting rid of the MIM pickups which are not even built with true pole pieces but rather mild steel poles with bar magnets stuck on the bottoms to set up a magnetic field. Cheesey. THESE ARE QUALITY! As a coil winder, I can see these were built with care. Sound like a million bucks. Note, with all three pickups identical, no hum cancelling in the 'tween switch positions. Still lots of 'quack' and 'quoock'..... awesome job Miss Ybarra.