1982 Fender Red Bobbin 57/62 Stratocaster Pickup Set Vintage

1982 Fender Red Bobbin Pickup Set! Made in Fullerton, California. USA!

These were featured on the original first run of reissues from Fender, the ‘57 and ‘62 Stratocaster introduced in the early summer of 1982.

These are as clean of a set as I’ve ever seen. The man who sold these to me pulled them out of his guitar in 1982 because he had an original set of pre-cbs pickups he wanted to use. These have sat unused for the last 35 years. 

This is a very early set. You can tell by the dark colored copper wire they used to wind these with. They also used a poly/plastic wire for the leads. Later in 1982, they switched to a lighter color copper wire and cloth covered leads. These early sets were also dipped in lacquer, which is still present. 

These pickups also feature the Red Bobbins that have become so highly collectible.

The ink stamps on the back read:
N 17 31 82
M 17 31 82
B 21 28 82

Only a light amount of patina and age is present. The neck and middle pickups have plenty of lead length, the bridge pickup might require some soldiering to add a little length. 

Something worth mentioning; the "Red Bobbins" came in three different versions: 

“Vintage with staggered poles which went into the first Fullerton Strat reissues (What I’m Selling), the non-staggered poles version (Bullet Series, Japanese JV), and the 1982 Smith Strat version (non-staggered poles with a red bobbin X1 pickup in the bridge spot). Needless to say, all versions are hard to find, and seldom seen for sale. Besides the magnet poles, the only difference I know of between these pickups and the Fullerton Reissue versions is that the Fullertones have a darker winding and a slightly different top. Resistance measurements and sound characteristics are similar between all versions, except for the hotter X1 pickup.”

If your 1982 Fender “First Year” reissue is missing it’s original pickups, you already know that it’s worth a grand or so less than what it would be. I know these pickups are expensive but they are a valuable investment and a necessity for an all original first year 57 or 62 Strat reissue. Don’t hesitate, these are the real deal!  

These pickups are in fantastic condition and are about as close as you can get to having a time machine and going back to 1982, strolling into the original Fender Fullerton factory and walking out with these pickups.