Expensive Pickups In A Cheap Guitar - Is It Worth It?

What happens if we take a cheap guitar and put some incredibly high-end pickups in it? Will it transform the guitar into something amazing?

Life too short for long YouTube videos? Please see the ‘Interesting bits and go-to sections’ information below.

Gear In This episode

Squier Affinity Telecaster
Ron Ellis Bridge Pickup 60T
Ron Ellis Neck Pickup Julian Lage
Dan’s Fender Custom Shop 52 Reissue Blackguard Telecaster
Fender Deluxe Reverb

Interesting bits and go-to sections
0:00 Intro
0:20 Hi Everyone
0:34 Squier Affinity Telecaster
1:00 Keeley Modded BOSS Blues Driver
1:10 Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue
1:20 The sounds of the standard Affinity pickups
3:00 The Ron Ellis pickups
3:17 Swapping the pickups
3:55 Measuring the pickups DC reisitance
5:00 The sounds of the Ron Ellis pickups
5:45 A/B Comparisons
6:30 The changes in feel
10:15 What did you think?
10:52 Has the guitar been transformed?
11:45 How does it compare to Butters?
12:20 What’s the cost?
12:40 Thanks for watching

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[mauricerrr]

In my opinion, expensive pickups in cheap guitars are totally worth it. Just remember to keep the original pickups. If you ever choose to sell the guitar, you can just put the original pickups back in and keep the expensive pickups for something else

[albertosotelo]

When they said cheap and showed a Telecaster I saved for years to buy... I felt like "ouch" hahahaha!!!, in Mexico where I come from, these cost about a whole by-weekly payment

[jeromewagschal]

I've been doing that for over 35 years 😁 installing high-quality pickups in affordable guitars...And it was ALWAYS worth it...
It comes from the fact I was a financially-challenged kid and even in later years I kept doing it even though I could afford anything I wanted...
These Ron Ellis pickups sound amazing and they make a HUGE DIFFERENCE...But I still love Squiers and other affordable guitars and I will continue to customize them... Because it's fun...

[SimonHolcroft]

"Clean your room, or its the Squire pickups back in..."

[Old_Sailor]

Short answer - Yes, it's worth it.

As long as you like the neck and it sets up well a nice set of pickups can make a big difference. Bonus, it costs a lot less than a top-line guitar that you will probably change the pickups in anyhow...

[Martinroque]

I love Squiers. They're affordable, they sound good, they feel good, they stay in tune if you take good care of them, and they are easy to upgrade. Adding new pickups, new pots, a new pickup switch, tuning machines and a bridge can really improve the sound, and you can do all of that whenever you want, if you want to. Or you can just leave it the way it was and it's still a great instrument.

[guitarfreak]

Definitely a lot clearer sounding, the neck pickup difference was huuuuge.

[stanislavmigra]

So my take is, if you enjoy playing the guitar, but wish it sounded bit better, go for pickup upgrade.

[nicolaskotseronis]

I’ve used very expensive and medium price pickups in cheap guitars. The results were phenomenal. You always have to do a proper setup, some fretwork and swap some other parts too, but even my cheapest guitar turned into something very playable.

[RickP]

Next week: Can we make a £4, 000 guitar sound like a £200 one? Squier pickups in Butters!

[GitShiddy]

It amazes me how frequently Dan gets away with steal ...er "borrowing" his daughter's Tele. Waiting for the inevitable.
"Where's my guitar? DAD!!!"
"Sorry sweetheart, had to borrow it for a second. Oh and I changed the neck, painted it green & slapped some EMGs in it. A TokTok meme said it was what all the kids were 'cracked' to."

[verigone]

Keep in mind, I am not an amazing guitarist, but I am partial to a nice bolt on neck on any old piece of body wood and a nice set of electronics....Almost all of my internals have been swapped out for gold stereo connectors instead of direct soldered wires as well so I can swap pickup values and types, potentiometers, treble bleed circuits, etc. The biggest difference between good and poor pickups is response speed and sensitivity. I have noticed for about 5-7 years now, even the cheapest guitars have properly shaped necks and bodies where it counts most, and the cheap pickups and potentiometers that go into the cheap guitars fool your ear into thinking the wood of the guitar isn't good or not responding well...the second you put good electronics in its as if you are playing a completely new instrument that is responsive and far more tactile to play.

[frankhoxsey]

My guitar top three, in this order:
1) Neck, if you don't like it, you won't play it.
2) Pickups, that's where you sound is and influences how you play the neck.
3) Bridge, for that bang on intonation, it influences the way the strings articulate and transfer of resonance to the body.
Get these three bang on and you'll love whatever guitar you play.

[allengoeddey]

I took my daughter’s STARcaster and put my American standard pickups in it after I upgraded the ones in my Strat. Did the electronics as well. HUGE difference.

[TheMaineSurveyor]

It’s a totally different guitar now. It has so much more presence after the upgrade. You gave her a voice. Well done!

[artamussumatra]

I’ve got a Squier Bullet Telecaster, and a Fender American Professional Telecaster. I love them both, they play, sound, and look great. That’s really all that matters to me.

[chriskastelic]

I think the cheapy pickups actually pretty good.The Ellis pickups definitely sounded better, but it's not quite as dramatic as some might think.

[ljdellar]

The answer is simply "Yes". And I know because I did this myself. My favourite guitar to play (and I have over 20) is still a Squier Affinity with all the poly stripped off and with Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders + 4-way switching. The neck has been sanded to satin feel and I have spent a little time doing a good job of fret levelling and edge rounding. It is the most comfortable guitar to play that I own, and the only thing else that I think it could do with is replacing the jack socket with a decent Neutrik one and upgrading the pots. The machine heads may be cheap, but they have never slipped or given me an ounce of trouble. The nut is plastic, but was beautifully cut when I bought it and just occasionally needs some pencil lead.

[iamsandman]

Absolutely agree with what you observed. I found that when I find a “cheap” guitar that’s very comfortable for me, upgrading the pickups made all the difference in completing the instrument. It’s certainly not going to be just any guitar, we all have to find that “magical” alchemy for our selves.

[chzzyg]

This is my typical game. I usually buy my guitars by how they feel in hand, and how they sound unplugged. If both are good I take it. I don't really care about the price tag because I know I'm gonna mod the heck out of it anyway. Cheaper guitars tend to skimp on the electronics and hardware, and usually do fairly well on overall assembly.