Can you make a Squier strat pickup better?

TBH "better" is too subjective, and I'm not sure the pickups in the MIMs will be considered "better". The published specs on both models' pickups are pretty short on details. Moreover, a lot will depend on what the OP wants. Clearer? Louder? More "stratty"?

I suppose the next step up would be a set of Fender pickups.. Several choices in the $100 to $140 range.

Beyond that, nothing wrong with a set of SSL-1s or Ssl-5s, but then you're getting close to $200.
 
Patience is your friend. Keep an eye out in the Trading Post. I just sold a set of Duncan Designed's for $50 that were in great shape. I may have another set coming up soon. Just "maybe." Haven't decided for sure yet, but they pop up occasionally.
 
You can remove the ceramic magnet, push out the slugs, and put Alnico magnets in their place. You can also put a baseplate on them and shield the coils. There are plenty of videos on Youtube. It will sound better but how much better is your opinion.
 
I personally like those SC's with bar magnet. They sound... smoother/more compressed than their polepiece-magnet counterparts :). To my ears..!
 
They've already been replaced for this guitar but I'd like to make them a little more 'chunky' if that makes sense. They seem kind of weak and lifeless to me.
I'd just like to have them laying around if I come across a Squier and don't like sound of it.
 
solspirit said:
They've already been replaced for this guitar but I'd like to make them a little more 'chunky' if that makes sense. They seem kind of weak and lifeless to me.
I'd just like to have them laying around if I come across a Squier and don't like sound of it.
Click to expand...

In that case, keep an eye on the Trading Post for higher output singles.
 
jeremy said:
some of the ceramic bar singles ive seen are pretty low wind but the big bar magnet gives em a fair amount of output. if you put alnico rods in, you may end up with a weaker pup
Click to expand...

Agree. Most folks when they dislike those pickups it’s because they were expecting chime and they get mud. It looks like this is not the case.
 
I have some some low wind single coils with a bar magnet on the bottom in my Godin. They're not bad pickups at all, but I think they're a bit darker sounding than a regular single coil. I could see preferring them to regular single coils for certain styles of music.

If you have a VM squire, the duncan designed sc101s that they come with have shielding around the pickup - you can take the cover off and remove this shielding to reduce capacitance and make the pickups brighter - they sound pretty close to an SSL-1 when you do this.
 
GuitarStv said:
I have some some low wind single coils with a bar magnet on the bottom in my Godin. They're not bad pickups at all . . .
Click to expand...

You just reminded me of a pair of N/M singles that have dual bar magnets glued underneath, and a nice pole-piece taper. They measure 3.65k and 3.74k. I think they may have come out of an HSS Strat. But I do recall they sounded pretty good. Very Stratty sounding.

Twin_singles_(3.74k_3.65k).jpg
 
i did this recently for a buddys five string jazz bass pups, remove the ceramic bar and slugs and put a5 rods in. those pups were wound about right though, 10k ish. if you have a 3.5k strat pup, its gonna be pretty wimpy and thin with alnico rods
 
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