It never occurred to me that I needed to do a continuity test on a new set of pickups; I stupidly assumed that new pickups would simply work (as they do from other manufacturers). So I did a full electronics rebuild on a Strat copy only to find the middle pickup didn't work. When tested this pickup showed infinite resistance indicating a broken coil.
But that was just the insult to the injury caused by these pickups. The ones that did work have the worst 60 cycle hum I've ever heard on any pickup; I couldn't even leave the soldering iron on if it was in the same room while I was checking connections. The screws provided didn't fit the mounting holes even after I scraped out the gunk Fender had used to cover the induction coil mounting plates. The hot leads on two of the pickups were mounted too close to the coil, preventing the covers from seating properly. And if all this wasn't enough, 3 of the six leads on the set of pickups were cold soldered. Lesson learned; future builds will not include any Fender components.
Edit: I don't think these were actual Fender pickups.
I couldn't believe Fender quality had gotten so bad, so I took a chance and ordered another set (Tex Mex this time). The difference was night and day. The new set were correctly soldered, the windings were good, and the backs were marked with output and position. So: apologies to Fender and shame on Amazon for allowing fakes to be sold under the Fender name.
- Amazon Business : For business-only pricing, quantity discounts and FREE Shipping. Register a free business account