N3 pickups in my deluxe american strat

[insanecopilot]

Bought this guitar in 2010 new. Loved it's sound at first , but have grown to hate them. At least with the s1 wiring. Cant get the sound i like, either thin and tinny or thick and muffled.

Can these pickups be wired like a normal strat, or should i order a loaded pick-guard and save the stock one for originality. I play classic rock, blues rock, Psychadelic rock mostly. So many options out there i dont know where to start.

[YoGeorge]

It seems like about every 2 years Fender comes out with yet another new "noiseless" pickup type that sound "just like vintage single coils". I think the fact that they keep redesigning these tells me that they are still trying, and failing, to get a noiseless pickup to sound or feel any good to most players.

You could either get a different guard or just pull the pickups and whole harness off your guard intact if you wanted to change out the electronics. I recently got an Eric Johnson strat which has its own specific set of pickups, and they are great. Eric Johnson allegedly went thru 19 sets of pickups to get the set that worked the best. They are not noiseless.

Good luck,
George

[MahoganyMan11]

Guitars are all about playability. unless you plan on selling it someday, changing the pickups and wiring would be a good idea imo. welcome to the forum!

[Tle4]

I went through the same thing with an American Deluxe Strat and the N3's. I liked them at first and then grew to hate them. I was real close to changing out the pickups and started doing research on different pickups. The I figured with the extra money I spend on pickups, pickguard, pots and switch, I could just trade the guitar and put some money on something else

In the end I traded the guitar towards a 52 Hot Rod Tele.

One thing I did notice with the N3's is they are sensitive to pickup height and want to be lower set lower. Try playing just one of the pickup positions that you dont like and lower that pickup a little at a time and listen if it starts to sound better. I found if they where too high, they got some wierd overtones and sounded really brittle and high treble..... almost like a sitar. The N3's get great reviews.... I just didnt get it. I think it depends on the amp you play through. I could get them to sound good with my Marshall 2203 but not on my Ac15

[insanecopilot]

Thanks for the replys. I do plan on keeping this guitar. I do have a pearloid pic guard from a mexi strat. Not sure that fits. and a couple of oddball pups. A chopper, little 59, JH1, and a custom shop texas special neck and bridge. None of these are middle pups. But maybe could use one of these and add matching ones.

I build my own amps. Mostly based off the 18watt marshall. But also have a super champ and Mesa. So i cover a wide range of tones.

[YoGeorge]

That is a really nice and expensive guitar; I think the Mexi guard should fit, so you could rough it in with the Tx Specials or something. (I don't have a lot of faith in the other buckers you own...) Maybe play with the pickup heights to make sure there isn't something in the N3's that you can live with.

If the Mexi guard does not work, you can just pull the pickups and whole harness off your guard and make up a new harness with vintage-spec pieces. If you build amps, you know how to solder and read a schematic. :)

But in the end, I think the guitar is deserving of some top shelf pickups like a set of Fender hot 50's or some designer pickups of your choice... I have a good friend with an Am Deluxe tele and he's got Bardens in it (not that I like Bardens)

Good luck,
George

[Tle4]

MIM pickguards holes will not line up the same. You would probably need to drill new holes. I would strip the old pickguard rather than drill more holes if it where mine.... or get an American PG. I read that WD pickguards holes line up nice if you where looking for cheaper

When I was thinking of swapping my N3's, I was just going to pull the whole PG and wire up a new one. Then I could either sell the Deluxe PG all wired up to get some cash back or put it back to stock if I decided to sell it

[YoGeorge]

Originally Posted by Tle4

MIM pickguards holes will not line up the same. You would probably need to drill new holes. I would strip the old pickguard rather than drill more holes if it where mine.... or get an American PG. I read that WD pickguards holes line up nice if you where looking for cheaper

When I was thinking of swapping my N3's, I was just going to pull the whole PG and wire up a new one. Then I could either sell the Deluxe PG all wired up to get some cash back or put it back to stock if I decided to sell it

Agreed that I would not drill any holes in the guitar. I have interchanged 8 and 5 hole American, MIM, and Allparts guards on teles but strats might be a different story. I even have a Squier tele that I have a generic Allparts Esquire guard on.

George

[jmontgomery]

Before giving up on the N3s you should adjust the heights. Mine ended up being set a few turns lower than stock settings. I think they sound good when dialed into the sweet spot. Lower them 1/2 turn at a time and use your ears until they start to sing.

[insanecopilot]

My real problem I have is the series parallel wiring. I wonder if these pups would sound better with normal strat wiring. Can it even be done?

Anyway i will go ahead and get a new pick guard, Pups, pots, etc and wire it myself. So many different pickups to choose from. It was expensive for me to buy and want good ones in there. BTW i experimented with using SOZO caps i use in my amps for the tone control in my mexi strat, and they sound nice. Better than orange drops IMO. Any of you try SOZO's ?

[k tone]

Originally Posted by Tle4

MIM pickguards holes will not line up the same. You would probably need to drill new holes.

I think that a newer MIM Standard guard will fit. I have the SCN's in my Deluxe and love em. Dimarzio Area 61's are nice if you want to just swap pickups.

[Tle4]

Originally Posted by k tone

I think that a newer MIM Standard guard will fit. I have the SCN's in my Deluxe and love em. Dimarzio Area 61's are nice if you want to just swap pickups.

Alot of guys are not fans of the SCN's here but I put a set in my American Standard Tele that I gig with and I love em. Single coils can be a pain playing out in little dives with bad wiring and neon lights.

I was close to trying the Dimarzio Area pickups in my Deluxe till I eneded up trading it.

[Jared Purdy]

I too have been having second thoughts on my SNC PUs in my 2009.

[insanecopilot]

The MIM pickguard fits, thru in a set of fender fat 50's , new 5way switch. But one of my new 250k pots is a straight shaft. :-( now thats the only thing holding me back.

[Jared Purdy]

I performed radical surgery on mine: I bought a Custom Shop Deluxe and am now going to sell my American Deluxe. That's one way to get rid of the PUsc

[insanecopilot]

Well it's done finally! I like the fender fat 50's. They might not be the best out there with all the choices, But i like them, cheap too. They are very clear, fat, but not too bright. Balanced too. I still need to adjust height.