Squier Classic Vibe 60s Strat Pickups

[CGT]

Hey folks. Anybody out there played a Squier CV 60s? I've been told that the pups are pretty good Alnico and may even be Tonerider Classic Blues, MIC pups but fairly close to a stratty sound. Thing is I've got the chance to grab a set for 35 dollars and pondering them as an upgrade to my Korean Squier Bullet strat which has a phenomenal neck and crappy everything else.

The thing I love most about the pups on my G&L is the definition, if I can say that. None of my cheaper guitars have that same degree of oomph and, having played Classic Vibe Teles which sound almost as good as the MIA 60th Anniversary models, I'm wondering if these babies can give a boost to my Squier which has a nice tone but is lacking the definition that comes from better pickups.

Any ideas? Also the original pups on my MIK Squier are staggered. Does this mean they may be Alnicos or are there ceramic pups out there with staggered pole pieces? I know this sounds like a newbie question but I haven't hit a definitive answer anywhere.

Thanks and cheers.

[Miles Smiles]

That Classic Vibe pickups are excellent. I've changed the tremolo, the potis the switch, but I will not change the pickups on my 50s CV Squier.

And here's how it sounds: http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=9991865

For 35 $ I'd grab them immediately, even if I don't need them at the moment.

[louis cyfer]

there are ceramics out there with staggered pieces. you have too look at the bottom of the pup to tell. i like the cv60's, but i have been so spoiled by great pups that they won't do it for me. they are ok, not great. i would never spend money to buy those pups.

[Miles Smiles]

there are ceramics out there with staggered pieces. you have too look at the bottom of the pup to tell. i like the cv60's, but i have been so spoiled by great pups that they won't do it for me. they are ok, not great. i would never spend money to buy those pups.

Of course I would not put them in a high end guitar, for that purpose I would use superb pickups not just excellent ones.
But for upgrading of a Bullet-Strat, they are perfect.

[louis cyfer]

there are ceramics out there with staggered pieces. you have too look at the bottom of the pup to tell. i like the cv60's, but i have been so spoiled by great pups that they won't do it for me. they are ok, not great. i would never spend money to buy those pups.

Of course I would not put them in a high end guitar, for that purpose I would use superb pickups not just excellent ones.
But for upgrading of a Bullet-Strat, they are perfect.

i put a set of dallen strat cats in a bullet squier, and it got a fret level and dress, plays and sounds better than any of the stock am standards i have put it against.

[CGT]

Thanks guys. I agree that these won't give me the same tone as top-of-the-line pups, but at $35 for the set I am looking forward to the upgrade in sound and to the actual tinkering. I bought the Squier to test out the Strat waters and it was always intended as a project. Part of the fun is sourcing deals on Craigslist and elsewhere. I have no illusions about building an ersatz custom shop Strat or ever matching my USA Legacy but I figure that throwing in 30 bucks here and 30 bucks there and slowly swapping out parts over time will be lots of fun and will give me a good backup/beater that doesn't sound too shabby.

[Boogie Bill]

I personally don't think it's wise to spend big bucks on boutique pickups for a project guitar like what you have. Just not cost effective IMO; though if you want to spend your life and your retirement fund buying and installing pickups for the thrill of trying out various models, doing that on a budget guitar is probably a good way to go about it.

I think spending the $35 for the Classic Vibe pickups is a smart way to go. I got turned on to the CV Series a couple of years ago, and thought the 1960's Tele might be a good Tele for me, since I'm more of a Legacy player and I didn't want to tie up a lot of money in a Tele that wouldn't get used much. But when I played the guitar, I realized the value--for what I'd be doing, it might not even need new pickups. I thought that guitar was impressive, and I might pick one out here pretty soon. Now, I'm not giving up my Legacy collection, but the CV strats I've played are nice guitars, too.

I'm sure that they make ceramic pickups with staggered magnets. You might take a look at some of the various offerings on the mfgs. websites to check specs.

Cheap guitars can be a lot of fun, even for a pro player. My DanElectro Innuendo 12-strings is MIK, and probably has even worse pickups than your Squire. Trouble is--they sound GREAT! I can't justify swapping them, just to brag about how much dinero I spent upgrading my guitar. IT DOES THE JOB! That's all I need it to do.

I like reading Will Ray's column in Premier Guitar regarding some of his Pawnshop Prizes. I know Will likes a lot of those quirky, cheap guitars--and I'm fairly sure that he doesn't do a lot of pickup swapping.

The Ibanez Super '58 pickups in my MIK Artstar AS-120--I'll put them up against ANY aftermarket PAF. It IBZ Infinity 1 & 2 pickups in my MIK GR-520 Ghostriders are overwound alnico picikups, and they really sing through the Mesa amps. Nice clear rhythm tones, and great Santana-style singing lead tone with gain--though the Infinitys stay cleaner on the bottom--whereas Carlos' tone gets flubby with his PRS. So, you really can find some great tones with some companies' pickups--even the inexpensive ones, even the ones made in far-away lands.

This sounds like a sensible mod to me, and it's not a big cash outlay. There's always a risk in any upgrade, but this is minimal.

(The only real risk is that you will catch the "Upgrade Virus" and you'll want to start modifying and upgrading every piece of gear you own with new caps, pots, tuners, speakers, pickups, yada-yada-yada. WARNING! It will be cheaper instead to just buy a bank!)

So go grab those CV pickups and make some music! And remember the "no pics..." rule. I'm expecting a report back!

Bill