Fender Tex Mex Pickups Review

History: I've been playing for nine years now and I play everything from rock to southern Gospel. I love playing the Blues which is what led me to buy these Tex Mex Pickups by Fender. I have a Squier Strat and have debated on spending $600 for a good Fender Strat, but I like the feel of my guitar, so I decided to go the cheaper rout of just installing pickups.

Purchase: I purchased these pickups from Tillman Music in Rock Hill, SC for $76. This was the cheapest that I could find them since they ranged from 79-95 dollars online.

What I Like About This Unit: First of all, I put these in my Squier Limited Edition Strat. There was a very noticable difference once I installed them. Very good output yet EXTREMELY quiet, which I am so thankful for. I was worried that since these are high output pickups that I would have very noticable static and noise when not playing, but that isn't an issue until the gain on the amp is turned up rather high. These pickups have a great low end and beautiful crips high. I had read several reviews saying that these were very "thin" sounding, but I haven't heard that at all. What I love about these pickups is the sound when bending strings. These are very good pickups and have made my Squier sound like an expensive Fender Strat.

What I Do NOT Like About The Fender Tex Mex Pickups: There really isn't anything that I don't like about them so far. The only thing I've noticed is, like I said before, the are really quiet until you add a lot of gain. But, you just have to remember that single coil pickups just produce noise, and to me that is just part of the whole strat experience. I don't think I'd ever go to noiseless pickups just for the fact that I like a little bit of static because I find it easier to get feedback when it is wanted in a performance.

Tex Mex Pickups Quality: They are very sturdy and overwound with copper wire. I compared them to the stock pickups that came out of my Squier and they are taller and wound much better than the Squier pickups, but that was expected. Mine also came with white hand writing on the back of the pickups and they were kind of dirty out of the package. But, I just wiped them off and the writing won't be seen.

Summary: The bottom line is that if you are looking for a good strat sound or an upgrade for a cheap project guitar, then these are worth every penny. Would I put these in a real Fender Strat? Probably not, but if you have a Squier and can't afford a Fender, or just love your Squier like I do, then these will help you get a $600 sound out of a $200 guitar.

Rating of this product: 5

This Fender Guitar Accessories Review Submitted By: Johnathan

Date: 2007-11-05