Fender Custom 54 Strat PU Set

I decided to replace the much underated ceramic pu's on my standard fender strat and was looking for a slightly lower output 50's or early 60's vintage. Went for these as they seemed to fit the brief and Thomann were offering them at a very attractive price. They are quite different from the ceramics in a good way. Tighter bass, less muddy and obviously less output. The bridge one is supposed to be wound a bit hotter and with a bit of tweaking on the amp you can dial in a pretty good lead sound although some may prefer something a bit hotter.

There is a nice musicality with this set, responsive and typically early strat. With an old tube amp and maybe a pedal or two depending on your genre they are great especially at this price.

Once installed the pickups do not disappoint but I only gave 3 stars because of the issues I had in installing the Custom 54s. The standard Fender mounting screws that are supplied with the pickups are far too big to fit into the tiny holes drilled in the bobbins. Apparently this is authentic but if you are used to buying replacement pickups that just drop straight in be advised that you these pickups require you to first enlarge the holes in the bobbin just to the point where you can force the screws in - then you literally have to use the screws to create their own thread in the bobbin. This is not as easy as it sounds and requires you to apply a LOT of downward pressure as you force the screw in. You need to be very careful not to damage the pickup as you do this. A quick search of the Internet reveals that this is a known issue with these pickups but I am disappointed that Fender does not include their own mounting Instructions.

Couldn't resist getting it when it was available as a special offer.

I tested this set in my Fender American Highway One Strat. The pickups have less output than the original set, that I rated as really good.

I was really impressed with the tone that I got clean - warm and chimey. I was instantly reminded of the Shadows. The distorted tone is also very good, although you need to turn up the gain quite a bit. You might need an overdrive panel to really drive your amp - depends on your model.

Note that the middle pickup is not a reverse wound / reverse polarity type - you do not get the "hum bucking" effect in the 2 and 4 positions of the 5 way switch.

Also, with the modern "blang" G string, the vintage staggering makes it louder than the rest of the strings, so you need to correct that if it disturbs you.

i bought these for my 87 japanese squier strat a great guitar well made but the original ceramic pickups where ok but nothing special.
i installed the 54,s and the guitar has come to life it just has that strat tone now and i really like the bridge tone.
ive had many strat copies and alot of them to my ear dont have the sound you hear on recordings of strats clapton,SRV knopfler etc.
these pickups have it and i need look no further than my old squier now to find it.
I recorded them after installation and im very impressed with the tones available
all in all very good pickups for an authentic strat tone.