Fender Squire 'Mustang' Pickup Replacement

[swingtoneman]

I have a Fender Squire 'Mustang' (regular 6 string) made in Indonesia. The reason I bought was it has a short scale length of 24" and 22 frets. I want to get a more mellow 'jazzy' sound if possible.

a) Is that possible on a solid guitar?
b) Change the neck pickup to a Humbucker? Would that be the type of pickup to get?
c) Could the bridge pickup be removed and just have the neck pickup?
d) Would the tone of the Humbucker make a more mellow sound suitable for the 'jazzy side of life'?
e) Does changing the pots (vol / tone) help or adding capacitors?

Have you any pickup recommendations?

(Please note my pickup knowledge is 'zilch')

Thanks.

[Jim Soloway]

I have a MIM Mustang and I replaced the pickup with a Fralin hum-cancelling P90. I think the results were pretty good and a huge improvement over the Mustang pickup. Here's what it sounds like in my hands. And I understand fully the desire to get rid of the bridge pickup. You can but I just ignore mine and it works out ok with less hassle. There are lots of options but if you want to do it with the least fuss, I'd check with Fralin. He makes an hum cancelling blade pickup in the actual Mustang form factor so you don't have to accommodate a different size. You can also specify the output level. You can ask Lindy for his recommendation but I suspect the "Blues" output is probably what you'd be after.

Split Blades For Mustang: Boutique Innovative Pickups by Lindy Fralin

[swingtoneman]

Thanks Jim for posting the video--much appreciated. Great sound. Tone Wonderful. I have done a little research on pickups and so far a Humbucker seems a popular choice.

[Jim Soloway]

Thanks Jim for posting the video--much appreciated. Great sound. Tone Wonderful. I have done a little research on pickups and so far a Humbucker seems a popular choice.

And there are lots of humbuckers that would work well. Just don't use anything too hot. Anything in the PAF range would do the job.

[John A.]

I have a Fender Squire 'Mustang' (regular 6 string) made in Indonesia. The reason I bought was it has a short scale length of 24" and 22 frets. I want to get a more mellow 'jazzy' sound if possible.

a) Is that possible on a solid guitar?

You can change the pickups on any guitar. Whether the result will be a more jazzy tone will depend on your subjective opinion.

b) Change the neck pickup to a Humbucker? Would that be the type of pickup to get?

Which model Squier do you have? If it's the Bullet, that already has humbuckers. It's hard to predict what difference a different model of humbucker will make to you. You have to try a few (which, unfortunately, is time consuming and expensive)

If it's the Classic Vibe, a full-sized humbucker won't fit in the cavity that's routed in the body or in the opening in pickguard. You'd have to get those enlarged by a luthier, which would be expensive (unless you can do the work yourself). As Jim says above, it would be a lot easier to get a pickup that will fit the guitar without those modifications. You could get a humbucker that is the same size as the existing single coil pickup. By most accounts, the Duncan JB Jr is the single-sized humbucker that sounds closest to a full-sized humbucker.

c) Could the bridge pickup be removed and just have the neck pickup?

Yes, but taking it out won't change the sound of the neck pickup, so it's not worth the trouble.

d) Would the tone of the Humbucker make a more mellow sound suitable for the 'jazzy side of life'?

It'll probably have less treble and more mid-range, and will be louder overall (and therefore "drive" the amp more). Whether that's "mellow" or "jazzy" depends on your perceptions. There's no single agreed upon definition of what "jazzy" or "mellow" means.

e) Does changing the pots (vol / tone) help or adding capacitors?

All else equal:
higher-value pots = more trebly
lower value pots = less trebly
higher value capacitors = less trebly
lower value capacitors = more trebly

Whether those changes are helpful or not depends on what you are trying to achieve and on your subjective perception of these changes.

Have you any pickup recommendations?
(Please note my pickup knowledge is 'zilch')
Thanks.

Sorry, but not really. I don't know that guitar well enough to be able to say anything more specific than what I've already said.

[st.bede]

Wow Jim… you are making that Fralin noise cancellation p90 sound excellent. Fralin PUs are always on the top of my list, when I start a search for a PU replacement.