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Thread: Anybody like Fender's 57/62 or 69 pups?

  1. #1
    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Anybody like Fender's 57/62 or 69 pups?

    Anybody like Fender's 57/62 or 69 pups for their "vintage" tone? How would any of these compare to the 2008-11 AmStd pickups? How would these compare to other kinds of "vintage" pups?

    I'm keeping the AmStd pups in one of my Strats; I love them.

    I'm not so keen on the other with Vintage Noiseless. I like the pickups and boost a lot, but I want to go back to passive single coils, at least for a while.

    I don't need a boutique pickup to be happy, but I'm open to suggestions about reasonably priced pickups that can do the job well--if such exist.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

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    Forum Member phantomman's Avatar
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    Re: Anybody like Fender's 57/62 or 69 pups?

    The 57/62 set is pretty close to the prototypical Strat tone and they were the benchmark pickups for Fender's now-discontinued AVRI line for many years. I have them in a couple of guitars but I now prefer the Fat '50s set which I also own. They're a bit beefier in the mids and the bridge coil has an organic, mellow vibe about it that no other Fender pickup can quite duplicate.
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    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: Anybody like Fender's 57/62 or 69 pups?

    Thanks, PM. I may head that way.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

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    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: Anybody like Fender's 57/62 or 69 pups?

    Did some Youtube videos of Fender pickup clips. Very helpful. I like the Fat 50s, especially the bridge, as you said, PM. But I prefer the extra "grit" of the 57/62s, so I've ordered a set. In about a week, I'll get out the soldering iron and burn myself a few times before burning through the wires, but finally getting there.
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    Forum Member melody's Avatar
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    Re: Anybody like Fender's 57/62 or 69 pups?

    I put them is a MIM classic 60's strat that was a great sounding guitar with the stock pups. They made the guitar really cut through the mix IM O they are a bit lacking in mids. The bridge can be a bit shrill with no tone pot hooked up but that's a easy fix. As PM said they are Fenders bench mark for the VRI line of instruments so if that is the sound you want they are spot on.

    I look forward to what you think once you get up up and running...

  6. #6
    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: Anybody like Fender's 57/62 or 69 pups?

    Thanks, I'll give a report once I've got them in and had a bit of time to play them.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

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    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: Anybody like Fender's 57/62 or 69 pups?

    I'm a novice solderer, but I'd like to have the bridge pup connected to the tone pot. What would I need to do for that? I have ordered a pre-wired harness with switch and pots.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

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    Forum Member chuckocaster's Avatar
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    Re: Anybody like Fender's 57/62 or 69 pups?

    Usually it just involves moving one wire, or adding a wire to the switch. Pretty easy really.
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    Forum Member refin's Avatar
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    Re: Anybody like Fender's 57/62 or 69 pups?

    I have a set of the 57/62 pups in my MIJ '50s strat.They sound pretty good.
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    Re: Anybody like Fender's 57/62 or 69 pups?

    I just replaced a set of Lace Hot Golds with 57/62's in a MIM Standard. I have SCN's in my American Standard and wanted to play around with some vintage tones with the MIM. The 57/62's sound incredible, with plenty of spank and classic Strat quack galore in positions 2 & 4.

    A quick reminder that they are not noiseless and the middle pup is not reverse wound. That means the sweet vintage tone is also accompanied with a little vintage single coil hum. Keep playing and you won't even notice it...

  11. #11
    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: Anybody like Fender's 57/62 or 69 pups?

    They just came in. I'm going to try to do them tonight and in the morning--I'm slow with jobs like this.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

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    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: Anybody like Fender's 57/62 or 69 pups?

    According to this diagram, would the bridge pickup be connected to the tone control?
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

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    Forum Member chuckocaster's Avatar
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    Re: Anybody like Fender's 57/62 or 69 pups?

    No, you'd have to move the middle pot one lug to the left on the switch. Or run a jumper to have a "tone" knob on the middle and bridge.
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    Forum Member Don's Avatar
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    Re: Anybody like Fender's 57/62 or 69 pups?

    Yep. I like it with no middle pickup tone control. It makes the middle pickup really twangy and Stratty. I think it helps the sound of positions 2 & 4 as well.

  15. #15
    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: Anybody like Fender's 57/62 or 69 pups?

    I just realized that I have a right handed harness. I think that means I'll have to rewire the connections to the switch. I've read that reversing the right handed pots can suck tone, so I'm going to leave those wired as is.

    Does that make sense? I am very much a novice at soldering and diagrams.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

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    Forum Member chuckocaster's Avatar
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    Re: Anybody like Fender's 57/62 or 69 pups?

    Just rotate the switch 180, should have enough lead on the wire.
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  17. #17
    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: Anybody like Fender's 57/62 or 69 pups?

    Thanks, Chucko. I do believe there's enough wire.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

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    Forum Member chuckocaster's Avatar
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    Re: Anybody like Fender's 57/62 or 69 pups?

    And I'm with Don about the middle pup not having a tone.
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  19. #19
    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: Anybody like Fender's 57/62 or 69 pups?

    Well, I've had the pickups in for a day, and I've been playing all morning. I tend to get excited about something and then see the flaws as time goes by. So, I'll reserve final judgment. At this point, I really dig them. They have a tone as close to vintage as I've ever gotten.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

  20. #20
    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: Anybody like Fender's 57/62 or 69 pups?

    A week in, and I don't know if I've ever been this excited about the sound of my Strats. This is the tone I've heard in my head ever since I bought my first Strat many years ago. As a lefty, I don't even pick up the righties in shops, and so I'd never had a real hands-on experience with these pickups. Noisy buggers, but tone tone tone.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

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    Forum Member stratcat62's Avatar
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    Re: Anybody like Fender's 57/62 or 69 pups?

    I'm glad you like them and quite agree. When I retired I thinned out my heard and kept only 2 strats. An AVRI 57 and AVRI 62. Was going to keep one but I like both maple and rosewood necks. At the risk of creating a debat, with the exception of necks these guitars are virtually identical but sound considerably differet. The 57 is noticeably brighter. Just my 2 cents.
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    Forum Member chuckocaster's Avatar
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    Re: Anybody like Fender's 57/62 or 69 pups?

    I'll bet it's a combination of the different necks, and also the bodies. Wood is wood and varies, even in the same tree. Density, grain structure, etc, can drastically change the sound of a guitar. Some guitars, even with the same components, can sound radically different from each other. That's why you need to check out a bunch of them to find the one you like. I don't mail order anymore for that reason alone.
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  23. #23
    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: Anybody like Fender's 57/62 or 69 pups?

    I've been dog lucky with ordering online--the lefty dilemma. Out of maybe 10 guitars I've bought, I've had one real clunker. The rest have come out of the box ready to play. I'd love to be able to go in a shop and compare and contrast.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

  24. #24
    Forum Member chuckocaster's Avatar
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    Re: Anybody like Fender's 57/62 or 69 pups?

    Seems like all the guitars I've bought online would serve better as doorstops or beer coasters... I can't imagine how frustrating it must be to have little to no selection to choose from!

    Anyways, glad things worked out and that you're enjoying those pups.
    "don't worry, i'm a professional!"

  25. #25
    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: Anybody like Fender's 57/62 or 69 pups?

    It's frustrating in a way, but having only ever been in one shop with a wall of quality lefties, I've grown to accept that I don't have that luxury. Fortunately, the geets I own now are great, not CS great perhaps, but as good as I'll ever need and as many as I need for right now.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

  26. #26
    Forum Member chuckocaster's Avatar
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    Re: Anybody like Fender's 57/62 or 69 pups?

    "If it makes you happy, it can't be that ba a a ad..."
    "don't worry, i'm a professional!"

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    Forum Member gibsonjunkie's Avatar
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    Re: Anybody like Fender's 57/62 or 69 pups?

    I was at a Guitar Center once and they had a set of '69 Custom Shop pickups for around $80. I bought them- not even owning a strat at the time (but knowing I was getting one some day). When the time came I did some serious strat shopping with my friend Bob F and we finally found a really nice MIM strat that sounded and played great! He helped me wire up a whole new pickguard assembly with all new switches and pots, etc. The pickups seemed a little funky - I suspect that someone actually swapped them out and returned the old ones in the box - but Fender made good on it and sent me a brand new set (with the appropriate initialing by AY). Now that thing sounds amazing - a really nice guitar!
    "We catched fish and talked, and we took a swim now and then to keep off sleepiness." Mark Twain

  28. #28
    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: Anybody like Fender's 57/62 or 69 pups?

    Fender gets it right sometimes, and when they do, they really get it right.

    Chucko, what if it makes me so happy that I play the greatest show ever, and then pumped up on super vibes, I drive the two hours it would take me to get to Sheryl Crow's front door and tell her that it really isn't that bad after all and that she should either go out with me or co-write a song with me, but I would secretly hope she'd choose the latter?
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

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    Forum Member chuckocaster's Avatar
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    Re: Anybody like Fender's 57/62 or 69 pups?

    LOL
    "don't worry, i'm a professional!"

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