Alnicov SSS 3-Ply Prewired Loaded Pickguard Scratchplate Backplate with Alnico V Pickups Kit for Strat ST Electric Guitars Replacement Parts

Nicely boxed ready to use loaded pickguard featuring lovely sounding alnico single coil pickups. The 5 way selecter switch is great and is a good component - the "clunk" between positions is a very positive feel and better than the cheap one I replaced it with. The pots work well and the electronics are great. Nice circuit and soldered carefully. Works a charm! I bought this replacing stock ceramic pickups in a budget Encore Strat- this guitar now sounds fab. Each pickup has a distinctive sound and I can select sounds from crunchy and tinny all the way through to warm and Hendrixy. A bargain;)

For the price it is very good quality. It`s very easy to fit if you have more than one brain cell.You could quite easily compare the sound to Squier Standard pickups. This isn`t a bad thing because Squier Standard guitars are very well made.The scratchplate is 11 holes, so a little drilling is required which is very simple to do.You will have to solder the wires too which is also very easy to do.Just don`t bother fitting it to a very poor quality guitar or you will be wasting your money. A lot of players think they will sound better if they upgrade the pickups. Believe me when I say if Eric Clapton picked up a Bulley Strat (very cheap guitar) he would still sound like Eric Clapton playing a Strat.This scratchplate is for people who have a well set-up guitar and need better electrics. Don`t believe that USA Fender pick ups are better quality because they are not unless you look at the wiring which is slightly better. ( I own 2 USA Strats - 1988 and 1999). Obviously the Custom Shop pick ups are better because they are `voiced` to your requirements.Please don`t believe that Chinese guitar parts are rubbish because they are not. Most of the big guitar manufacturers use Chinese made guitar parts.One last thing. These pickups are great for clean playing and are great if you like playing Blues. Just make sure your guitar is set up properly and set up for YOU. I have seen many players who watch a youtube video on how to set up your Strat. That`s just ridiculous because everyone plays differently and they need to set their guitar up for themselves - not a youtuber.That`s right, set your own string height, relief, pickup height. Play around with the guitar and you will know what feels right and don`t be scared because they are tough. I like a low action and a hard tail, so that`s how I set mine up. My brother likes a high action and I just can`t play like that. Set it up right and it will sound totally different and your playing will improve tremendously.

I bought this to upgrade my cheap RockJam guitar. The end result was awesome and I am really please, but had some minor hurdles.The kit was really well packaged, with the pickguard in a plastic wrap, the backplate in a a different plastic and with screws to attach both pieces.The difference in quality to the RockJam pickguard is evident on the photos. The wihte pickguard was the original on my guitar, the cream is this product. Main differences for me where the actual pickups, and the quality of wires and soldering. RockJam is cheap for a reason (not regretting having bought it, but it is what it is) and you can see were the corners were cut.3 wires need soldering, I just had to cut the rubber in the tips and solder them, that was the easy part. When fixing the kit on the guitar body I noticed the screws location didn't match the RockJam ones, so I had use a drill to make new holes. And when mounting the neck I noticed the guard was not letting the arm go all the way down, so had to use a X-acto knife to trim the guard a bit.Now the best part comes at the end. After assembling the guitar and putting new strings (D'Addario XT) I plugged the guitar to my amp, played the E string and got goosebumps... New and improved sound, clear, sustained notes, no crackling and humming. Totally worth it.

Very classic strat tones. For the money I’m very impressed! You get bang for your Buck here. The soldering was a bit ropey and a couple of wires fell off as soon as handled, so marking a star down for that alone, but a bit of solder fixed that. Easy installation, one or two holes misaligned as is very common with aftermarket plates but no big deal an easy fix.5 way switch is ok so far, pots seem smooth enough and it’s generally a good quality plastics. 2 layers of plastic covering the plate so make sure you remove both (you have to pop off the volume and tone controls to properly remove plastic as with every model including new fender product).The alnico v logos can easily be removed with a touch of nail varnish remover (acetone) on a soft cloth, 2 minute job.Overall, sounds are bell-like and impressive. Ive played (and own) worse sounding genuine fender pickups. They have an early 50’s raw kind of feel, I’d say, and the wiring is a bit different as you have responsive tone controls for bridge…I quite like the difference, seems to have a sweeping range of tones available.Recommended. And the value can’t be beaten.

Needed a new plate and pickups to renovate an old Strat Squire. Was easy to install though needed to pilot extra holes, screws provided self tapped into the wood no problem. Sound is brilliant for such a cheap setup. Make sure have a soldering iron, though it's very easy to do.

This is a quality product that significantly improves the sound of my Squire Stratocaster. I bought this kit as part of a complete upgrade including bridge and tuners etc.The kit arrived fully wired and was very well packaged. The quality of the wiring, switch and pots etc is first class and has obviously been assembled with care. I got my local luthier to install the kit and it works perfectly. The pots and selector switch feel much more robust and nicer to use than the Squire items and the colour of the scratchplate is very similar to the latest American Ultra Stratocaster. Finally - It's really good value.