Anderson pickups for a Fender Vaughn strat

[Kid Metric]

I am considering swapping the Tex Mex pickups for andersons.
I want to get as close to a vintage strat sound as I can.
Any suggestions?
I know, sell the guitar and buy an Anderson!
Not an option at this point.

[dannopelli]

I am considering swapping the Tex Mex pickups for andersons.
I want to get as close to a vintage strat sound as I can.
Any suggestions?
I know, sell the guitar and buy an Anderson!
Not an option at this point.

VA5's are the most vintage, IMHO. I have several Strat's with Texas Specials, and the VA5's in one of my Classics come closest in "sound." That said, the Texas Specials are a bit louder than the VA5's. Not sure how they will compare in output to Tex Mex. But I can promise you they will sound better.

[mslugano]

Had Tex Specials in a Fender. Pulled them and put them in a Suhr. No likey. Pulled them and put in Bare Knuckle Apaches. More vintage-y but too weak and maybe shrill when cranked. Still no likey. Put in VA12, VA12 and VA23 with VA Boost just this week (thanks again Tom!!). WOW!! Great vintage-y tone and then amazing extra oomph with the Boost kicking in extra coils. With the add-bridge tone knob pulled, this is an amazingly versatile guitar. Out of maybe a dozen Strats, this is my go-to S, no question.

Highly recommend looking at VA12, VA23 though I have heard fantastic things of the VA5, too.

[dannopelli]

Had Tex Specials in a Fender...

Highly recommend looking at VA12, VA23 though I have heard fantastic things of the VA5, too.

This is very true. I have those PUPS in my other Classic. They do sound better than the Tex Mex. But to me they sound more like the PUPS in a 65 Custom Shop Strat than 60's. Kind if up to you. They both sound AWESOME and by the way, I use that guitar far more than any other.

It certainly seems a bit louder than my Classic with VA5's. But my understanding is they meter out at the same output. I may be wrong about that, so hopefully others will correct me if I am. And it could likely be the setup. That is the only guitar I have that was not set up by my dear friend in Richmond VA.

Regardless, you can not go wrong with either.

Finally, if you do not like hum,consider the new SF PUPS. I have heard these as replacements in a few Strats and they sound awesome.

[picnic]

Kid metric, I have tried several pup systems in my 04 AM Dlx Strat. S-1's, Texas Specials, Suhr V60LP's and Fralin Vintage Hots. Spent (wasted) lots of money looking for a thicker sounding single coil setup. As soon as I get a set mounted, I play it next to my Classic with SA's. The Fender with every system didn't sound near as good as the TA. FWIW, the VH's were the best of the bunch to my ear.
Rather than try all the different systems, buying a TA new or used would been easier, cheaper and quicker to get what I was looking for.

[dannopelli]

That really is a good point. I went through a similar waste of money with an American Deluxe Fat Strat. Best thing I ever did was sell it.

Might be worth it to just save up until you can get what you really want.

[ConnemaraGuitar]

I have an 80s Japanese Strat set up with SSH. Guitar is in great shape, with awesome action, but the hum coming from the pickups was really annoying. Even my new Monster Cable didn't help.

I pulled the pickup cover and removed the pickups. Shielded the pickup cavity with copper tape and installed an SF1, SF1R and (I think) an HO1. I also upgraded the harness to one I got from TAG. I made sure everything was properly grounded.

As Danno suggested, the guitar has lost its hum. It may not be a "bright" as before, but as far as I'm concerned it wound up being a good investment. Too bad you're no near Philly or you could come over and play it.

[Janine Doubly]

Pickup swaps always prove to me the fact that pickups can only do so much to improve a guitar's tone. Case in point; a good friend of mine had this really cool "frankenstrat" (late 60's Fender body and some of the original hardware, with a no name replacement neck) that had an older Schecter/Anderson wiring loom and pickguard. Unfortunately a beer got spilled all over the pickups and ruined the PUP's and wiring. So we put some new hardware on (Callaham) and a set of Fralin VHots in. Was probably one of the best sounding "gig" Strats I had ever heard until we compared it to an older Anderson Classic and a newer Grosh Retro Classic, both with the same Fralin VHots installed. Both the Anderson and the Grosh plugged straight into a Z Route 66 were noticeably more alive than the frankenstrat. Obviously the guitars brought A LOT to the table, as even the frankenstrat was a VERY good sounding guitar.

Better pickups have the potential to improve a guitar's tone, but they can't work miracles. The VA5's or the VA12/23 set are great choices to improve your Vaughn Strat, but the guitar will still be what it is. If your expectations are realistic, you should be very happy.