Pickups

  The Fender guitar produced for the public was the Fender Broacaster after a lawsuit with Gretsch the for a very short period had the guitar featured  no name except Fender on the headstock hence the Nocaster.

Soon after Fender settled on the name The Fender Telecaster and the Fender Esquire. They basically looked the same and today the Fender  Broadcaster and Fender Nocaster are more desirable because of the limited production and name controversy . They sound the same there are a few slight differences that is all

The fender Broadcaster lead pickup had a steel base and larger that normal pole pieces. The pole pieces are not noticeably bigger unless put side by side with a Telecaster pickup. The neck pickups were the same. The Fender Nocaster pickup is the same with normal size pole pieces and steel base plate.

Also i must mention all the pole pieces on these pickups were flat pole pieces By 1951 The telecaster pickup was the same as a Fender  Nocatser pickup. By around the end of  1952 the base plates were replaced with brass base plates and this final stile would continue until 1956.

In 1956 the lead pickup went to staggered pole pieces which would continue on throughout the remainder of the 1950 ’s and 1960 ’s . the neck pickups would remain the same. The color of the pickup wire also changed in the 1960’s and again at the end of the 1960’s but again this is a brief summary and it would take 5 pages just to get into all the technical details. At this point we will not get into the 1970’s pickups.

The Fender Stratocater was introduced in 1954 . The earl Fender Stratocaster pickups were all hand wound and look uneven and like like they were wound by hand . By around i believe 1957 they had pickup winders and the pickups looked more evenly wound and had consistent reading.

The early pickups had a raised D pole piece and by 1956 the Raised D pole piece was gone. The wire was the same throughout the 1950’s and all Fender Stratocaster pickups were wound north. All the pickups had black bottoms with no dates throughout the 1950’s.

By 1961 the color wire was changed and the Fender Straocaster pickups were all wound south. The basses of the Fender Stratocaster pickups remained black until 1964. In 1964 some black bottom pickups has yellow date stamped pn them but most did not. In 1965 the pickups changed to grey base with hand written dates.

In and around 1965 the color wire changed again and remained the same throughout the 1960’s. In 1968 half way through the year the company changed to plastic black and wire lead wires were in all pre 1968 pickups had cloth leads.

By late 1968 also they began to code date pickups with a black rubber stamp. In 1968 it is common to find both by 1969 all pickups were rubber stamped. We will not get into the 1970’s pickups at this point.

We offer discounts for large parts orders click for details.