Fender American Standard Strat Pickups

Single coil with delta tone system - 10? it does what a pickup does

These pickups came stock in my 2000 hardtail strat.

This is why I am writing this because after reading these reviews these pick ups seem to be getting a bum rap, but I want to say these are great pickups. They work well for someone in a cover band playing blues, country, new and classic rock. clean or dirty. I will say that I rareley use the bridge pickup much but believe me you can get enough out of the other 4 positions on your switch to most any popular type of music

If my guitar was destroyed with these pickups i would try to find an identical model with these pickups

Single Coil

Passive

I have nothing else to say.

Well, These came in my 2001 american standard strat.

theyre just too fuzzy when distorted, tough to find a sweet spot, im changing the bridge to an hs-3

the neck and middle are scarily similar

like,

exactly the same

the bridge is too stratty

too much treble

too little everything else

Well, If the robbers sneak in in the middle of the night with their soldering iron and decide to steal it i wont be crushed.

Pickup features: Passive Single Coil
Impedence or other specs: Check Fender's website

Model of guitar or bass: Am.Std. Strat Maple Fretboard
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Blues, Jazz, Most rock styles, especially instrumental/experimental
Reason for pickup change: These are the stock pickups

Perceived output level: Fairly high
Tone: Very clear, good strat tone, bit too trebly on the bridge
Sonic evaluation: Guitar - marshall TSL 100 half stack and a fender twin reverb reissue
and
Guitar - Crybaby 535Q - Crate XT120R

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: doesnt quite have the guts for heavier styles, but then, thats not what strats are really intended for...

Comments: Great, but the bridge pup on its own doesnt quite cut it. The treble is awful and icepicky, especially up high. I at first figured i could fix it by putting the tone control back in the circuit (No-Load), but that didnt fix it and it strangled the rest of the sound. I will probably replace it with a Virtual PAF or some like HB that can bring out the sound of the guitar (which is incredible), plus a little power and depth. I love the neck and middle, the only reason i would think of replacing those would be to get rid of hum, but even that isnt too bad.

Pickup features: Passive single coils
Impedence or other specs: Dunno... measure around 8K Ohms impedance

Model of guitar or bass: Yamaha SE203 (strat-copy with 1-Tone 1-Volume controls)
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Stock.
Other pickups on guitar: Same set of 3.
Artists using this pickup: Thousands?
You musical style(s): Rock and other things
Reason for pickup change: Stock pickups were fine but had a fairly narrow sonic range. I wanted the real Strat sound without spending the dough on the axe...

Perceived output level: Just like a Stratocaster! Rich tonal range, rather punchy, yet mellow depending on the Tone setting.
Tone: With nickel;-wound strings they are a bit on the trebly side with an overall balanced sound range. Definitely not muddy. Just what I wanted.
Sonic evaluation: Guitar is used with a Peavey Bandit 75 amp. On Clean it sounds just like Fender single coils should sound! On distortion we get loads of overtones and a rich palette of harmonics.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: A bit of everything rock, the typical 5-pos combination switch allows for all the sounds I need. I also use a chorus box.

Comments: I wanted the Strat sound so I bought Strat pickups! It's that simple. With their noise and all. Plain Strat single-coils. I didn't think I should spend more cash buying expensive over-hyped hand-wound pups with magnets-made-from-metal-coming-from-outer-space that are supposed to sound like a Strat but not really like a Strat.

Pickup features: passive single coils
Impedence or other specs: don't know

Model of guitar or bass: Fender American Standart
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): rock - blues, clean, and lots of distortuin too
Reason for pickup change: these came with my strat

Perceived output level: hot, maybe the hottest single coils i've playes
Tone: lost of bass and highs
Sonic evaluation: I've used many amps with this ; fender, marshals, roland... These pickups have the punchiest bass sound of all the single coil pickups i've had, but they lack something. They are very bright but they don't realy have the ultimate fender sound. Bridge pickup HATES distortion, sounds harsh and the humm takes over the sustain.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: as i said, clean and distorted rock

Comments: These pickups are ok if you use something else for the bridge position.
strong points: they are punchy and load.
weak: don't realy have a fender sound. Bad with distiortion.
CHECK THIS OUT:
a repair guy told me that the difference between these pickups and say, 62 reissues is that the coils is wound on the plastic that holds the magnets inside, while on the vintage style pickups the coil is wound on the magnets themselves. IS THAT TRUE DEAR FRIENDS AT FENDER? if yes, then there's no way that an american standart or any other guitar fitted with these pickups will sound like a vintage strat. sorry to break the news.

Pickup features: Single coil, passive
Impedence or other specs: ?

Model of guitar or bass: American Standard Stratocaster
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: None
Other pickups on guitar: Same as above
Artists using this pickup: Countless
You musical style(s): Blues, Jazz, Country, Rock & Roll
Reason for pickup change: No pickup change, but wanted to comment on these pickups

Perceived output level: A bit weaker than other manufactures like Rio Grande, Seymour Duncan, etc. At least to my ears.
Tone: Balanced with a bit of high end. However, very clear.
Sonic evaluation: I've used all kinds of amps with these pickups and they always sound great. The only time I get frustrated with them is when I'm at my lesson and I am plugged into the same amp as my teacher who happens to be using one of his humbucking guitars. However, I usually don't gig plugged in the same amp with someone else, so it's irrelevant.
These pickups definitely have the signature "strat" sound, but are very responsive and adaptable to all types of amps. I really enjoy the clear tones they posses and I like how even they sound. Not too much bass or midrange. They can sound a bit nasally with some amps or pedals, but then again, that can be a real advantage or disadvantage to some players.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I find they work great with blues, country and classic rock (my opinion, of course)

Comments: I am writing this opinion, because after reading some of these reviews by obviously inexperience, pre-pubescent teenagers wanting to pick up a guitar after they masturbate and play cheesy death metal through their 15 watt solid state Crate or whatever bullsh.t they are making noise through, I just want to find them and slap them.
I've owned my strat for 8 years and I've contemplated changing the pickups out. The only thing is, I really like these pickups. Why? Because they deliver. What do they deliver? Great tone that is very versatile and moldable through just about any setup. Want more midrange? Theres a knob on your amp, tubescreamers, amps with mid-range bias, etc. Want more volume? Well, all I can say is turn it up. These aren't humbuckers folks, and they are never gonna be. If you want more meat, Seymour Duncan makes a pedal booster for single coil guitars that can raise the volume level and add meat to sound more like a humbucker. But, then why not just go get a humbucker if that's what you want. Dorks on here that complain about these pickups "cuz they suk" really need to shut up, grow up and read up on different guitars and different pickups before they get something and then wonder why it's not what they are looking for. That, my friend is not the pickup's fault, it's the dumb-ass who thought he could get a strat and play Korn through a bad amplifier.
I will say if a strat is your only guitar and you're not going to budge. There is a plethera of pickups to suit your sound. If you want nothing but harsh midrange, Texas Specials. Rio Grange makes some great pickups (I have some in another guitar) among many other fine brands. However, if you want a single coil pickups that gives you a distinctive sound, but can be molded to your liking, then there is absolutely nothing wrong with the American Standard Stratocaster pickups. I'm writing this review in hopes that others wishing to upgrade their Squire, Mexican Strat or any other off-brand, strat-style guitar in hopes of obtaining a "classic strat sound" will not overlook these because they are stock. They do not "suk" to quote acne boy somewhere below. They actually sound great and are affordable.

Pickup features: Passive single coils
Impedence or other specs: 3 of them

Model of guitar or bass: 1999 American Standard Strat
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Stock
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s):
Reason for pickup change: These things suck. See my posting under texas specials

Perceived output level: low
Tone: trebly, no mid range, high end dominates
Sonic evaluation: See my posting under texas specials

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: See my posting under texas specials

Comments: KRAP!!!
See my posting under texas specials

Pickup features: Single-coils, passive
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: 1995 Am Std. Strat
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: None
Other pickups on guitar: None
Artists using this pickup: Ralf Lofstad (Violet Scene), Jeff Beck
You musical style(s): Rock, pop, blues
Reason for pickup change: No reason at all

Perceived output level: Standard single-coil output, I suppose. I was surprised to find out they're actually hotter than, or as hot as my Fender-Lace Gold and Silver Sensors.
Tone: Quite full sounding, but rather in-your-face, with that extra piercing upper midrange attack. The TBX setting has a lot to say, however. At five, they sound balanced, at 10, the treble becomes piercing, which is exactly what you want for extra wiriness.ri
Sonic evaluation: Amps: Fender Twin Reverb, Mesa/Boogie Studio .22+
Distortion: Various Boss stomp boxes, Mesa/Boogie V-Twin, Marshall JMP-1

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play rock, pop and blues. These pickups are surprinsingly versatile. I have tried other pickups in my guitar, and right now it features FLSs, but they're not as dynamic and inspiring to play as these genuine single-coils.

Comments: I have recently dicovered just how good these pickups are. The only real drawback is the single-coil noise, which has led me to buying FLSs, which sound nice, but as far as tone is concerned, these pickups have a more complex sound to them and are more responsive. I will try some series wiring mods to see if I can squeeze a humbuckerish sound out of them. All in all, these pickups are underrated.

Pickup features: Single Coil
Impedence or other specs: Custom Staggered Alnico 5 pickup's

Model of guitar or bass: '93 Fender American Standard Strat Alder Body/Maple Neck
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: none
Other pickups on guitar: Fender American Standard Strat Pickups
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Blues, Rock, Latin
Reason for pickup change: No change. These pickups are the stock ones in my guitar.

Perceived output level: Between Normal to Hot. They overdrives really well a tubes amp.
Tone: balanced. The bass is incredibly clear. Without proper EQ setting possitions bridge and Middle can be too much trebbly.
Sonic evaluation: Fender American Standard Strat --> CryBaby --> BD-2 --> NS-2 --> Peavey Classic 50 2X12

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: It is indeed a good match for the styles I mentione before. Good for overdriven sounds not good for high gain applications. Bridge pickup usefull for position two only.

Comments: They only way I would change this pick-ups will be to try Kinman's noisless. But at a price of $260 that's is not going to happen in the near future, although I have hope on getting the woodstock's model. The strong point about this pickups is that they bring up unaltered the accoustic properties of the guitar. The reason I bougth my Am Std. was because of it accoustic properties (harmonics are audible even without been amplified). Would I recommended them for any other guitar? problably not. This pickups are good for this guitar and good tube amp. If you have a crapy guitar, crap if what you'll get from this pickup. I think Duncan Humbuckers do a better job hidding guitar crappiness mainly because they color it a lot and have excesive output. Anyway, I have fineshed liking these pickup's so much that I'm afraid of changing them and having the new ones not come up to the challenge. Please, do get a noise suppressor (NS-2) if you plan to use neck and bridge possitions a lot with distortion or a highly overdriven amp. I give them an 8 because that for me is like an A-, but I know that you will eathier hate or like these poickups. Vey little middle ground with these.

Pickup features:
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Samick Valley Arts Custom Pro Strat
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: DiMarzio blade humbcker
Other pickups on guitar: DiMarzio Megadrive
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Blues, Progressive Rock, Grunge, Rock, Jazz, Metal
Reason for pickup change: To get a classic strat tone at the neck position

Perceived output level: Weak to Normal
Tone: clear, rounded and trebly clean, sweet blues crunch, fuzzy warm transparent distorsion
Sonic evaluation: Marshall ValveState 8080 - Fender Twin
My Strat has an Alder body, and a Maple neck, a Wilkinson Tremelo, and a roller nut.
I use two of these pickups at neck and middle. $50ea out of a brand new USA Std - some people think they have to change their pickups for the sake of it I guess.
Anyway the originals in mine were shit. Typical flat magnet with steel bits going up. I put in DiMarzio mini humbuckers at the neck and bridge, with a USA std in the middle. I split the coil with a switch at the neck.
The coil tap didn't sound anything like my original USA std so I took out the humbuckers and put in another single coil at the neck, and a megadrive at the bridge.
I have some custom wiring to give the single coils in series. This gives a quite yet huge sounding humbucker type distorsion, or a fat jazz tone. I love these pickups and this guitar sounds amazing.
If you pick up a Mexican or lower strat, and then play a USA std you can hear the clarity of each note in a clean chord.
The USA has an alder body, and single magnet pole piece pickups - these two things are needed to give a strat sound. Buying a mexican model is a waste of money. Get a USA, or get a good strat copy made of alder and put US p/u's in it. That will get you the true sound of the strat. They were originally made in America, and the non US models are just over priced crappy copies of the original. ie. Korean is made of plywood, Japanese???, Mexican is poplar I think??? They will never SOUND the same but just look it. BTW I think the USA model is very overpriced. I find my Valley Arts model is better made, plays better, has a better neck etc - to the extent that I sold my USA Strat because it just wasn't up to par - but I loved the sound... dig :)

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Bridge - very very very very poor - same as a USA Fender Strat sound - some may like it at the bridge I don't

Comments: Anyway, I use these pu's at the neck and middle. They give a nice rounded woody clean tone. The notes in a chord are beautifully defined.
Blues is fantasitic. With a crunch sound, don't use too much gain on the amp - you want to hear a tone which doesn't sound actually distorted, but one in which the instrument sounds like it is singing - when you sing you don't sound distorted do you :)
For distorsion you should roll off the tone quite a bit or it will sound very brassy and unapealing. The number two position comes into its own when using lots of gain because the mids are scooped out by the way the parallel impedences of the pu's interact. Interestingly Curt Cobain used a USA std single coil in his Jazz-Stang, with a hot humbucker in the bridge - JEcKaL and HyDe = versatile :) Just think of the dynamics of grunge.
The Strat is a very bright instrument relatively speaking, so on your amp put the treble and midrange down about half that of you bass setting. Use your ears, you don't want to dull out the thing. Ideally a strat should require the use of the tone control(s) to get the sound you want. If it sounds dull at full tone, then you've turned down the treble and mid on the amp too much!
A strat will give you huge sonic changes from the guitar itself. They are an amazingly expressive instrument, and they can take a bit of precision to get a great sound out of them. Think about the types of sounds Hendrix made. - he could have played any other guitar of the day (OK he did have a Flying V but he looked pretty bored with it hehe). So a strat is indeed an interesting instrument, and these pickups (and the wood) are a major factor in producing these sounds.
Hope I haven't offended anyone, shown my ignorance, or spoken too much shit :) have a nice day