RARE 1974 Greco Maxon “Excel” 1962-1964 Strat REPLICA .... LOADED Pickguard + Electronics Mounted – Original Pre-Wired Assembly ... the BEST 60's Strat voiced pickup CLONES (Reverse Engineered)

Vanborn Vintage Guitars Presents…

A rare and fully original 1974 Greco / Maxon “Excel” Stratocaster loaded pickguard, featuring a complete matched set of vintage Maxon single coil pickups (serial numbers #14924). This is a fully pre-wired factory assembly, preserved in original condition with electronics, wiring, and hardware intact.

These mid-1970s Maxon pickups are widely regarded as part of the early Japanese reverse engineering era, where Maxon studied highly desirable Stratocaster pickups from 1962–1964 and translated their tonal response into consistent, production-ready designs. Rather than copying cosmetics, the focus was on dynamic response, clarity, and musical feel. They achieved this from using the same Alnico magnets, slugs, gauge of coil wire, scatter pattern, bobbins material, ...

Pickup outputs:

Neck: 4.88 kOhms

Middle: 4.84 kOhms

Bridge: 4.70 kOhms

This results in a set that delivers:

• Clear, open vintage Strat cleans with body
• Smooth top end without harsh “ice-pick” highs
• Full midrange while retaining clarity
• Natural compression when pushed
• Excellent note separation and touch sensitivity

These qualities — combined with Maxon’s consistent manufacturing during this period — are why these pickups have become increasingly sought after, especially when found as a complete matched loaded assembly like this one.

• Original potentiometers
• Original 3 way pickup selector switch
• Original output jack (disconnected currently)
• Original wiring fully intact
• Original grounding wire
• Original mounting screws included
• Factory solder joints untouched

Also features the original neck heel truss rod access cut-out, including the removable access plate secured with two screws — allowing truss rod adjustment without removing the neck. A practical and increasingly rare detail of early MIJ Strat-style construction (integrated in the Greco SE-600 and up models)

Fully original and unmodified throughout. Honest vintage ageing.

No repairs, no restoration work.

Cosmetic condition is as pictured.

You are a couple of solder joints away from PURE Rock ‘n Roll!

(As pictured this item is currently packaged in a UV plastic enclosure to preserve the condition when we take this item with us to Guitar Trading Shows)

Available for WORLDWIDE shipping, the shipping cost is calculated automatically in the shopping cart, based on your location. If you're purchasing from inside the EU, your purchase will include VAT.

Combine & Save shipping costs! Adding multiple items from our store in your shopping cart for purchase together will result in highly discounted shipping rates for everything combined. (for example: a guitar pedal + Vanborn Guitar Picks OR an electric guitar + a guitar pedal OR 3 bags of Vanborn Guitar Picks OR ... the possibilities are endless)

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Cheers!
Vanborn Vintage Guitars
Belgium’s finest vintage & rare guitar store!
Family owned & operated in Sint-Truiden (Est. 2024)