New Pickups Day

PC_Dave

I’ve been toying with the idea of changing the pickups in my Strat for a long time - the existing pickguard had aged in the sun from when it was in the shop I bought it from, but it had a sticker on the pickguard plastic cover, so it had developed an unslightly non-aged area which looked rubbish. I was keen to swap everything out, so I took the plunge and ordered a set of ‘Continuum’ pickups from the lovely chaps at Radioshop - these are based on the infamous “Big Dipper” pickups made famous by Mr Mayer, so I was looking forward to hearing what they could do.

I went for parchment covers, and ordered the matching pickguard and parts from Chas at CD Guitars (amazing service as well!) Fitted it all last week, and I’m extremely happy with the sound they give. They’re classically Strat-y, but have that mid scooped sound that I love from the Mayer tone, but not too much that it takes away from the overall tone of the Strat. I’m looking forward to using them more and maybe even getting a different set of Radioshop pickups for my old Deluxe Strat.

Anyway, obligatory pic attached.

PC_Dave

New pickguard and covers (no idea why this particular pic won't embed):

https://imgur.com/a/7eGbaas 

PC_Dave

This was what the old pickguard looked like:

https://i.imgur.com/ni83scz.jpg

thermionic

Good to see some praise for Radioshop. I have some Classic 63s in my Strat - I can't say much about them as these are the first set of replacement pickups I've put in a Strat, but they're definitely in a different league to the stock Classic Series MIM pickups. A bigger improvement than when I replaced the equivalent Classic Series pickups in a Tele with Fender Custom Shop Nocasters. Will definitely be getting another set from them in the future. 

PC_Dave

@thermionic - I wasn't sure who to buy from, as the market has so much to offer! I had a few chats with Paul and he offered me a brilliant price on a set, so I had to go for it. 
They certainly are in a different league, you're right about that. I think I might go with the Chris Buck signatures in my Strat Deluxe, when finance allows.....