Stratocaster VINTAGE Hand wound single coil pickups in loaded 5-way pickguard

M.I.E. Music "Music is Everything "

Custom Hand/Scatter Wound Boutique Pickups in a loaded 5-way pickguard. Your Choice of any of the pickups I build, and they come with a RWRP Middle Pickup and Beveled and Staggered magnets. The 82 AVRI's are FLAT TOP magnets and staggered only, and the 1954's have the option of FLAT, Staggered magnets. These pickups come with a complete Fender PN# 0991368000 Aged White accessory kit which includes Pickup Covers, All 3 knobs, 5-Way Tip, Tremolo arm Tip and Tremolo back cover. All electronics are Fender CTS. 047 cap Orange drop, Ceramic or oil & paper with Vintage push back cloth wire and includes a new guitar jack. My stock pickguard colors are White, Black, Mint Green, Red Tortoise or Vintage Tortoise Brown. Demo included at the end of the photos.

I specialize only in Vintage Stratocaster Pickups and for years now my Hand Wound Vintage tone pickups, magnifies the harmonics, the incidentals, the upper octaves, the fifths and the relationship of the pick to index finger strikes while maintaining strong sustained fundamental tone and real clarity. Most of my favorite Vintage Fender pickups have a little bulge in the middle and not the flat sides you see in CNC machined pickups. I added the bulge to replicate my Vintage pickups.

There are 8 choices of pickups:

# 1- True 1954's Vintage Formvar with Alnico 3 .195 diameter magnets,

# 2- pre-CBS 50's and early 60's black Bobbin Vintage Formvar winding Model 5060VF.

# 3-1963 Pre CBS the highest output of the Pre CBS era. That is 3 Pre CBS choices. Then comes the early

# 4-1959 SRV's choice for his #1 guitar.

# 5-64/65-70 Early-CBS gray Bottom " The Jimi Years " wound with Plain enamel .

# 6-1969 Grey Bottom pickups. This was one of the favorite models in Early-CBS.

# 7-Very rare White Top / Red or Grey Bottom Plain enamel wire 1982 Fullerton AVRI Flat Staggered magnets. This guitar was the BIG comeback for Fender.

# 8-1998 AVRI black top / Red Bottom " Fender changed to Vintage Formvar wire. All these pickups come as Staggered / Beveled rod magnets except the 54's are Beveled or flat. The 82's are available in Flat rod magnets. All same price. Just pick the set of pickups you want.  Detailed pickup information below: The main reason Fender vintage guitars are so sought after is the Tone . That Tone came from Hand Wound Pickups

Hand-Wound pickups/Loaded Vintage Single Coil Pickguard with modern upgrades.  A 5-way and RWRP middle pickup.  Staggered and beveled magnets. 82 AVRI’s and 1954’s also has an option for FLAT beveled magnets.  Boutique hand/scatter wound pickups made and assembled in my U.S.A. shop. 

# 1-Pre-CBS 1954- Black Bobbin: 1954 the first year of the Fender Stratocaster . From 54 through 56 Fender used Alnico 3 , .195 diameter Rod Magnets .42 gauge Heavy Gauge Vintage Formvar awg wire Considered by many the " HOLY GRAIL " of the Pre CBS pickups.

 # 2-Pre-CBS-Black Bobbin:  57-62 The First year for Alnico 5 magnets. These Pre-CBS pickups are wound with vintage 42 awg heavy gauge Formvar wire model # 5060VF, which has shimmering highs, classic bell tones with vintage quack, and warm lows. When you think of original VINTAGE classic Fender tones these are the pickups you want.

# 3-Pre-CBS-1963 Black Bobbin: If you like the Pre CBS pickups from the 50's but wish they had a little more output these are the pickups you want. You never see these available. 6.0 to 6.3k. Jimi's go to pickups for studio recording. Plenty of info on a quick google search of Jimi’s love for the 63’s.

# 4 Pre-CBS 1959 Black Bobbin: SRV's pickup of choice in his #1 Stratocaster. 63 Body, 62 Neck and 1959 Fender pickups. These average around 5.9k and can be 5.85k to 6.1k.

# 5-Gray Bottom Bobbin:  64/65-70 Early CBS Vintage 42 awg gauge 1964 mid-late 60's plain enamel wire, nicknamed by some as "The Jimi Years" and for a good reason. His favorite for LIVE performance Has focused presence, detailed, the mid's bite in all the right places and tight low end.  Model #  60GPE , Jimi's favorite for live performance.

# 6 1969 Grey bottoms. This is one of the favorite years for guitarists during the Early CBS years.

# 7-White Top / Red Bottom Bobbin: 1982 Fullerton American Vintage Re-Issue 57/62 guitars. Your choice of two wirings available. 1982 57/62 AVRI vintage plain enamel spec. Tight Bottom end and creamy Highs.

# 8- Black Top / Red Bottom: 1998 AVRI, the winding changed to Vintage Formvar. This is still the current 57/62 wiring. Except these are hand wound and have a RWRP middle pickup. This can also be Black on Black flatware bobbins.

Specs:  Averages:

Tested at 77 degrees and 42% humidity, +/- 5% on a DER EE LCR DE-5000 meter. This LCR meter has a USB output that you can save all your specs to PC/Mac in Microsoft. This gives me a record of every pickup I have made and sold. My pickups average or under 6k and 3.0 Henries except for the 1963 which are 6.0k and up.

# 1- 1954 Pre CBS Black Bobbin: Alnico 3 , .195 diameter Rod Magnets 42 awg Heavy gauge Formvar . Neck: 5.75k 2.64h RWRP Middle 5.80k 2.56h Bridge 5.85k 2.65h

# 2-Pre CBS Black bobbin-  Alnico 5 magnets Pre CBS 5060VF Vintage 42 heavy gauge Formvar
Neck:  5.6k  2.30h   RWRP Middle: 5.6K  2.30h  Bridge:  5.7k  2.30h awg wiring.

# 3-1963- Pre CBS-Black Bobbin: Alnico 5 magnets Vintage 42 awg Heavy Gauge Formvar wire. Neck: 6.10k 2.46h RWRP Middle 6.20k 2.52h Bridge: 6.23k 2.52h .

#4-1959-Pre CBS Black Bobbin: Alnico 5 Magnets Vintage 42awg Heavy Gauge Formvar wire. Average at Neck: 5.92 2.64H RWRP Middle: 5.93k 2.71h Bridge: 5.96k 2.64h

# 5- 64/65-70 Gray Bottom bobbin-  Alnico 5 magnets Vintage 42 awg gauge Plain enamel
Neck:  5.7k  2.40h  RWRP Middle:  5.7k  2.40h  Bridge:  5.8k  2.40h.

 # 6- 1969 Grey Bottoms. 5.8k across all 3 pickups. Average 5.7k-5.9k.

# 7-1982 AVRI White Top / Red Bottom bobbin- Alnico 5 Magnets 42 gauge Plain enamel wiring Neck:  5.70k 2.45h RWRP Middle 5.75k 2.40h Bridge 5.80k 2.42h.

 # 8- Black Top / Red Bottom : 1998 AVRI Vintage 42 gauge Formvar Wire. Big bottom end , shimmering high end. Neck: 5.78k 2.43h RWRP Middle 5.87k 2.43h Bridge 5.90k 2.51

My Assembly Steps: Watch on youtube Mie Music Jobe

1-  I install the Alnico 5 Rod Magnets into the flatwork, using a Pickup Jig on an Arbor Press.  

2-  I dip the finished bobbin in Lacquer.  This does two things, #1 It keeps the coil wire from shorting out directly onto the magnet.  This is where 90% of Vintage Fender Pickups fail.  The coil wire rubbing against the magnets. #2 This glues the flatwork to the magnets, eliminating the use of super glue. Dry time varies.  24 hours average.

3-  Pickup Winding-I use a MoJoTone Pickup Winder.  Varying my patterns and wire tension that I've developed, coming from months of hand on research and beta testing.

4-  I install lead Vintage Push Back Cloth Wires directly to the pickups.

5-  Perform the initial testing. k ohms, Henries, and nf capacitance, rp @1k

6-  Waxing- I use 80% Paraffin and 20% Bees Wax. Heated to 140-150 degrees for 10-15 minutes perfect for response and clarity.

7-  I wrap the coil with fabric tape for four reasons:  #1  It cuts down the chances of damaging the coil when changing pickup covers.  #2 Helps stop high gain monophonic feedback. # 3 Just an added protection and expense of building a long-lasting reliable pickup. # 4 Some guitarists while recording will sit in the control room with the amp in the ISO room, while others like to sit or stand by their amp. I started to notice that most Gibson guitars did not have that high squeal and after checking those guitars had fabric tape on the pickups. So I put some Fabric tape on a few of my Strats and was floored that this worked. Back in the 50's there was really no need for it because the amps was not as high powered as today’s. Leo was a known tight wad and maybe he didn’t want to add the time and expense. Studio tested with No change in tone.

8-  Perform second round of testing, confirming the correct specifications are met.

9-  Charge magnets.  I use a MoJoTone  N/S VISE Charger.  I fully charge all rod magnets once sold.I test the gauss on a Tesla meter making sure of a even, smooth charge across each magnet. Then I put the lead wires through the Flatware hole. I retest the polarity of the pickups which are North up for the Neck and Bridge and South up for the RWRP middle pickup with a small hand tester.

10-  Assemble and solder Pickguard. I have a 5 way template finished and all I have to do is solder in the pickups you choose. I been playing Strats for over 50 years and have a pretty good idea of how a Vintage Strat should sound. 80% of the Strat players are happy with their tone. I am after that 20% very picky players. I would love to have orders from that 80% to show them what they are missing and what a low-cost upgrade can do for their guitar and the enjoyment these pickups can bring.

These pickups are made one at a time, by me, in my small USA shop. I use USA Remington wire and have made my pickups as affordable as possible, using the highest quality parts from top USA suppliers. My pickups have that true vintage tone that only fine made hand/scatter wound pickups can bring. All my pickups are vintage spec'd to the correct Pre-CBS or early CBS years.

My pickups are made to last and come from the result of listening to my vintage guitar collection and taking apart a bucket full of DEAD Fender pickups, studying them, painstakingly un-winding them, and taking very detailed notes. This is how I came up with my proprietary way of hand winding my pickups. I started BETA testing in 2020 on every kind of neck and body wood made. Plus tested on tube and solid-state amps, pedals, digital devices, and software in my recording studio, that I opened in 1999, with fantastic results.

I have built numerous partcasters, and have installed my pickups, and they are highly comparable to my vintage collection. I am receiving great reviews and feedback from all the guitar players currently using my pickups.

"Enjoy peace of mind with your new gear."

The work has been done, so install, and you will find complete nirvana for recording and playing live.

MIE MUSIC "Music is Everything"

Thank you for supporting a small USA company. jj