Loaded Pickguard

What are the best pickups to buy for a strat?

Hey,
i have a japanese stratocaster and i want to put some new pickups in it. what would you guys say are the best pickups for the money. Ideally I’d like to buy a loaded pickguard and just plop it in, but if anyone knows of any nice pickups in a set of 3 for under say… $120, let me know. i play mostly jazz, fusion, blues, and some rock.
thanks,
ben

Ben, when questioning pickup choices, you are bound to get a different opinion from just about every player! For me, I prefer pickups that provide that rich, toasty tone for which Fender is famous. My frustration with the stock pickups is that once a bit of overdrive is applied, the noise level jumps to the point of being overbearing! I had installed Seymour-Duncans (Alnico Pro II APS-1’s) into one of my guitars, and although I thought the clean tone was a huge improvement, once again any appreciable amount of overdrive made the noise level (hum, buzz, etc.) unacceptable. Of course, you can always use the combined pickup settings (five-way switch, selecting the neck/middle and bridge/middle combinations), but I did not like the resulting tones. In my current Stratocasters, I swapped in the newer DiMarzios (Virtual Vintage Area 58′s in the neck/middle, coupled with a Virtual Vintage 54 Pro in the bridge), and was treated to a wonderful balance of true Vintage Fender tones and very focused and smooth overdrive (with no noise!). Even the neck position tone (which I never used previously, because it was too “warm”) was detailed and distinct. A new set will cost you $180, but bargains can be found on eBay and other used equipment sites. Hope some of this helps. Best regards, Dana

Taylor Plug & Play Loaded Pickguards – 3 Single Coils

Grizzly H7658 Prewired Pick Guard 3 Single-Black $25.50 …