Replacing Pickup On Fender Squire 'Mustang' 6 String Guitar

[swingtoneman]

'Newbe' rearding pickups, hence questions------

I want to replace the neck pickup on the above guitar--made in Mexico. The current sound is 'thin and tinny'. (I have a good amp). I am looking for a warm & jazzy sound. I have done some research and apparently the way to go is to replace the neck pickup with:

a) A covered Humbucker pickup with a metal cover
b) Lower value pots (less treble)----(What value am I looking for?)
c) Higher value capacitor (less treble)---(What value am I looking for?)

Regarding the Humbucker pickup--
a) Are all humbucker pickups wound the same?
b) Is there a difference between a thin vs thick (depth of pickup) in tonal quality? On the 'Mustang' would you have one built in or a floater? Difference in tone?

Your knowledge welcome.

[GuyBoden]

A good quality new pickup with installation will cost more than the guitar's value, even DIY .


A Squier Mustang guitar with Humbucker pickups are currently £149

Squier Mustang with HUmbucker Pickups at Gear4music £149

[sgosnell]

The stock pots are probably 250kohm, the lowest readily available and usable. It's a Mustang, so thin and tinny is part of the expected tone. If you want warm and jazzy, a Fender Squier probably isn't the guitar you want. A different capacitor can roll off more highs, but the tone may still not be what you're looking for. .047 microfarad is the darkest normally used value, and commonly used in Fender guitars, so your guitar may already have that installed. Adding a cover to a humbucker doesn't do much, IME, other than perhaps slightly weakening the magnetic field. As Guy noted, you'll spend close to the price of the guitar on just a new pickup alone. You're going to be throwing money down a rathole. Learn to love the sound of a Mustang.

[Cunamara]

For further information, what amp are you using? Have you experimented with bringing up the bass knob on the amp or lowering the treble knob, playing around with the mid knob if there is one? Usually all of those things will fatten up the tone.

Have you adjusted the pickup height? Closer to the string, farther from the string can make a significant difference in sound. Have you tried putting on heavier strings? Have you tried flat wound strings? Have you tried a different pick? How about a clean boost pedal?

before you start dumping significant amounts of money into a cheap guitar, it's worth experimenting with all the free things that you can do first. I mention this from personal experience with a Squer Affinity Tele...

[swingtoneman]

Many thanks everybody for your knowledge on pickups. Well worth my question. 'At the end of the day---' I will keep the Mustang as is and just use it at home for practice purposes.

Thanks once again for taking the time to reply.

[pauln]

Agree; start with it as is, with what you already have, first.

- restring it, maybe bigger ones for Jazz
- lower your pickup(s) way down away from the strings
- turn amp's treble and bass all the way down
- start with the guitar's tone turned all the way down

Play with it like that for about five minutes, then move the tone on the guitar up a little. Play for a few more minutes, turn tone up a little, repeat... take your time. Try to get familiar with the sound each time before upping the tone a little (this helps compare the difference in sound).

As you hear you're approaching the right tone, stop and note the setting.
Correct any imbalance with the amp tones (typical is quiet high E string) .
Suppress artifact noises from pick or fingering squeaks with guitar volume.

I made the Hello Kitty sound like Jazz.

[rpjazzguitar]

If Wes Montgomery's sound is the goal, you'll probably need an L5.

But there are other useful jazz sounds.

This includes something that may sound thin played solo but might, nonetheless, sit in a band mix very well.

My guess is that lowering the pickup, avoiding the lightest possible strings and rolling off the treble control will get the guitar sound closest to typical guitar jazz. You might be able to do more with the amp.

Note that rolling off the treble may be required, on otherwise jazzy sorts of guitars, in order to get rid of a fizzy kind of sound on the high E. I've come to think of that as normal.

And, if you had an L5, there still might be reasons to play the Mustang instead in certain musical situations.

[AllanAllen]

Agree; start with it as is, with what you already have, first.

- restring it, maybe bigger ones for Jazz
- lower your pickup(s) way down away from the strings
- turn amp's treble and bass all the way down
- start with the guitar's tone turned all the way down

Play with it like that for about five minutes, then move the tone on the guitar up a little. Play for a few more minutes, turn tone up a little, repeat... take your time. Try to get familiar with the sound each time before upping the tone a little (this helps compare the difference in sound).

As you hear you're approaching the right tone, stop and note the setting.
Correct any imbalance with the amp tones (typical is quiet high E string) .
Suppress artifact noises from pick or fingering squeaks with guitar volume.

I made the Hello Kitty sound like Jazz.

This is the way, use the tone control on the guitar and EQ on the amp. Figure that out and you’ll sound good on anything.