Pickup Identification Overview
Identifying Fender pickups ranges from an easy to a difficult job at times. These pages are a labor of love for sure! I focus on the newer Fender pickups for now.
NOTE: This information is subject to change and I’m updating it all the time as I run into new or conflicting information all the time, so more pickups are getting added and the editorial comments are getting updated constantly. And of course, they keep making new models!
FIGURING OUT PICKUPS
A great place to start is here: Fender Pickup Check List Fender typically has no “set” look for their pickups and often no number scheme or another unique identifier written on the pickup itself, usually the number of the pickup represents some or all the SKU when it does exist, but not always are all the numbers written or even written on them at all. The best way to identify them is often by looks and measurements combined. That said, some pickups, like the noiseless ones, are very easy to identify other can be dog gone hard. Bottoms, Wires and such make it a complete detective project at times because Fender would use whatever pickups they had on guitars in some cases so an MIM could show up with higher end pickups, or test runs, etc.Big Picture Info
- Don’t be fooled – The “Number” on the back of the pickup is usually a middle number in the actually part number or part of the part number, and this may change over time for the same model of pickup. Sometimes it’s rock solid so examine with caution.
- The number that is “molded” into the plastic is a BOBBIN NUMBER and is used over and over in different pickups. That just the plastic part number and is worthless for identifying pickups.
- The resistance values are approx. and can vary up to 10% in some cases or even more. The DCR are a guideline, not an absolute but in some cases they are very close.
- Pay attention to the stock wires used.
- Pay attention to the staggering on the poles.
- DCR is only PART of the sonic equation!!
Links to Pages for Different Fender Pickups
Classic 50’s, 60’s, 70s, Vintera overview comments:
It seems that these years are represented by similar model numbers on the pickups, which is 100% annoying. So it’s very hard to decern the difference unless they are IN a pickguard that has a tag on it and have not been resoldered. However, there are some knowns and at least you can kind of place them per model.- All Classic 50’s, 60’s and 70s are without an RWRP middle pickup
- All Vintera 50’s and 60’s have RWRP Middle Pickups
- The all use white and black plastic coated wired.
- The pickup bottoms can be black or gray. (older ones are black, later releases are Gray)
- They are all staggered
- I included the 75th Anniversary Diamond Pickguard because it actually has Vintera 60’s pickups and has been released on both Gray and Black bottomed 60s pickups..
- Vintera Pickguards for 60s are one screw off (top screw is a little to the right) but you can simply drill the hole to use the pickguard, the old hole is covered by the pickguard in either case.
Classic Series 50’s (no more)
They no longer make this guitar, you can only buy a Vintera or a Squire Classic Vibe version of it.
Sometimes they can be classic 60’s
NOTE: Classic 50’s and Classic 60’s are VERY easily confused because they both use Black and White wires and are NON RWRP. The numbers are confusing also but here are the for sure things:Anything 282,292,302 is definitely a Classic 50s
Basic Info- Wires: black and white plastic coated.
- The older versions have a slightly higher DCR but both versions have very close inductance measurements (2.4H)
- New Version have about 5.5 to 5.6K (2017)
- Old Version have about 5.8 to 5.9K (2007)
- 282,292,302 are definitely 50’s pickups.
- Confirmed: They came on 8 hole pickguards with recessed screw holes and single ply white with Aged White Accessories
- Staggered: REALLY small stagger (unusually close to flat)
- Bevel: Flat NON beveled pole pieces.
- They tend to be fairly consistent with DCR across the set.
- 172-000 (neck), 172-001 (middle), 172-002 (bridge)
- Confirmed: Pickups say 28, 29, 30 (This is short for 282, 292 and 302)
- Confirmed: If you have the pickguard, Middle and Neck have tone, no tone for bridge.
- Confirmed: All Pickups are 5.8 to 5.9 K with 2.35H inductance (very consistent on the inductance)
- Pickups are numbered: 172-00 Neck, 172-01 Middle, 172-02 Bridge (SAME NUMBERING AS The CLASSIC 60s?!)
- All pickups are about 5.5K with 2.4H inductance
- DCR: 5.8 to 5.9K INDUCTANCE: 2.35H
- Numbers: 282 (neck), 292 (mi), 302 (bridge)
- White and Back Plastic Wires
Another one
Vintera 50s (VINTAGE AND MODIFIED)
From the stats these look like really good pickups and the middle is RWRP. In a real guitar they totally rock (field tested by me). They work REALLY well in series wiring. Edited: 2023.09.06- Poles: Staggered, Alnico 5
- Middle: RWRP wind
- Loaded Pickguard
- Single Ply 8 hole pickguard with Aged White (almost cream) accessories
- Tone Wiring: Tone1 (Middle/Neck) – Tone 2 (Bridge)
- SKU: 7715998000 (bar code on pickguard)
- DCR 5.8K, 6K, 6.1K from Neck to Bridge
- Inductance: 2.8H, 2.4H, 2.6H
- Real Measurements
- Measured 1: Bridge (6.3k – 2.7H), Middle (6.1K – 2.55H) , Neck (5.7K – 2.34H)
- Measured 2: Bridge (6.5K – 3.15H) 894 , Middle (6.4K – 3H) 933 (or 8), Neck (5.9K – 2.72H) 939
- Measured 3: Bridge (6.1K) – Middle (6K) – Neck (5.6K)
- Measured 4: Bridge(6.1K) – Middle (6K) – Neck (5.8K)
- Red Marks: Red Marks on pole bottoms until around 2021ish
- Numbers on Pickups:
- Bridge: 939-010 (SOUTH)
- Middle: 938-010 RWRP (NORTH)
- Neck: 894 (SOUTH)
- Note: Little ski symbols on the bottom right sometimes, number could be anywhere on the bottom
- Retail Package: Available
- Black bottoms on the pickups, Paper with Wax
- Wire Color: Neck (White), Middle (Yellow), Bridge (White) – Blacks are grounds
- Formvar-coated magnet wire
- Staggered pole pieces for balanced output
- Reverse-wound/reverse-polarity middle pickup to eliminate hum
- Beveled Alnico 5 magnets for more focus and dynamics
- Wound and calibrated for each position
- Vinyl-coated output wire and fiber bobbin
- 5.5K, 5.9K, 6.0K (Neck to Bridge)
- Manufacturers part Number: 0992206000
- Vintage-Style ’50s Single-Coil Hot Strat® are the pickups installed
- 938 (NECK) South – Yellow wire
- 939 (MIDDLE) North – White wire
- 940 (BRIDGE) South – Red wire
- The basically did what the did on the 60’s, they moved the Vintage Bridge to Middle and Middle to Neck and added a new Bridge PIckup.
- “roughly” – 6.0K Neck, 6.1k Mid, 6.5K Bridge (Hotter)
- Part Number of Pickguard: 7715999000 (Baja 50s Strat)
- Part Number on a Retail Box: 0992208000 – Made in Mexico
- Incorrect documentation on retail packages.
MODIFIED 50s Vintera
PART NUMBER: 7715999000 Notice the MIDDLE pickup is WHITE/BLACK and the number is 939 Notice NECK Pickup has the yellow wire and is normal wound, Middle is white and RWRP
VINTERA 60s (Vintage and Modified)
Updated 2023.01.21 There are 2 version of Vintera 60’s – Vintage and Modified Fender updated these pickups in 2019. The wire colors are different in the photos of the new edition. Also, the Fender website does not have “Modified” version only the Vintage version. The vintage version of the pickguard does not include the S-1 Switch on the modern version does.VINTAGE
Note: Fender is now selling these in a retail package as of 2022 check- Enamel-coated magnet wire
- Staggered pole pieces for balanced output
- Reverse-wound/reverse-polarity (RWRP) middle pickup to eliminate hum
- Non beveled alnico 5 magnets for more focus and dynamics
- Wound and calibrated for each position
- Pole Polarities: South – North – South
- Vinyl-coated output wire and fiber bobbins
- Style Vintage-Style
- Configuration SSS
- Cover Color Aged White
- Magnet Type Alnico 5
- Magnet Wire Enamel-coated
- DC Resistance Neck: 5.7k, Middle: 5.95k, Bridge: 5.95k
- Inductance Neck: 2.32 Henries, Middle: 2.58 Henries, Bridge: 2.75 Henries
- Bobbin Material Fiber
- Lead Wire Vinyl-covered
- Pole Pieces Staggered unbeveled
- Tone Vintage
- Output Vintage
- Numbers:
- Neck (942)
- Middle (943)
- Bridge (895)
- Real Measurements
- Neck (5.75k: 2.54H) – Middle (6K: 2.65H) – Bridge (6.38K: 2.78 H)
- Neck (5.71K: 2.5H ) – Middle (5.9K: 2.62H) – Bridge (6.34K: 2.77H )
- Wire Colors
- Neck: White
- Middle: Yellow (Middle RWRP)
- Bridge: White
MODIFIED
“Revoiced. New pickup color wires. ” – This was done in 2019 The New Vintera Stratocasters now say “Vintera 60’s Modified” instead of Vintera 60s. – See the note about the wire colors!! SPECS-
- Vintage-Style
- Configuration SSS
- Magnet (Poles)
- Alnico 5
- Staggered
- Not Beveled
- Enamel-coated Wire
- DC Resistance
- Neck: 5.7k,
- Middle: 5.95k
- Bridge: 5.95k
- Inductance:
- Neck: 2.32 Henries,
- Middle: 2.58 Henries
- Bridge: 2.75 Henries
- Bobbin Material Fiber
- Lead Wire Vinyl-covered
- Tone Vintage
- Output Vintage
- RETAIL PACKAGE
- Part Number: 0992209000 Made in Mexico
- Printed Values: Neck (5.7K 2.71h) Middle (5.7K 2.54h) Bridge (6.1k 2.82h) — LOL, taking the henries to the next decimal is just silly, it implies accuracy that just isn’t there.
- Wiring Diagram: The wiring diagram INCORRECTLY puts the middle pickups as the YELLOW wire but it is the WHITE wire on the mod set (the req set is yellow)
- DIFFERENT WIRE COLORS
- PICKUPS ARE MOVED IN POSITION AND THE BRIDGE HAS A NEW NUMBER
- Bottom Color: BLACK at first, then re-released as GRAY
- NUMBERS
- Neck 943 YELLOW
- Middle 895 WHITE
- Bridge 946 RED
-
- Enamel-coated magnet wire
- Staggered pole pieces for balanced output
- Reverse-wound/reverse-polarity middle pickup to eliminate hum
- Non beveled alnico 5 magnets for more focus and dynamics
- Wound and calibrated for each position
- Vinyl-coated output wire and fiber bobbins
- What they did was move the Middle and Bridge to the Neck and Middle and create a brand new on 946 for the Bridge, very confusing with the wire color changed to white.
- The stock pickguard also includes an S-1 Switch for blending the Neck with the Bridge in positions 1 and 2.
- YEAR INTRODUCED: New 2019 Fender 60s Vintera Modified Stratocaster Loaded Pickguard. Features three Hot ‘60s Strat® single-coil pickups;
- Wire Colors:
- Neck: Yellow
- Middle: White
- Bridge: Red
Actual Pickguard (Vintage)
- Type: Single-coil
- Active/Passive: Passive
- Magnet Material: Alnico V
- Position: Bridge, Middle, Neck
- Number of Conductors:2 wire
- DC Resistance:5.7K (neck), 5.95K (middle/bridge)
- Measured Real DCR – (In circuit which means it slightly lower than it really is because of the 250K pot loads) – 5.5K, 5.5K, 6.3K) – NOTE the bridge is HIGH!!
- Numbered: 942 (neck), 943 (Middle) 895 ( Bridge)
- Number of Strings:6
- Covering: White
- Manufacturer Part Number:0992205000
CLASSIC 60s
No longer made by Fender, replaced with Vintera Series.- Numbers: 54172-00,54172-01, 54172-02 (Neck to Bridge)
- Other Numbers: 170-00, 172-01, 172-02
- Measurements: DCR: 5.7K all 3.
- Middle Pickups is NOT RWRP
- Note: Classic 50’s and Classic 60’s can EASILY be confused.
VINTERA 70s
- Bridge 6.35K
- Middle 6.3K
- Neck 5.86K
- Flat Poles
- Non Staggered
- Gray Bottoms
- Middle RWRP
- Plastic Coated wires
- Numbers: 950 (neck), 951 (Middle), 952 (Bridge)
CLASSIC Series 70s
Not the same as the Vintera 70 series. These can be a little tricky to identify but they are solid little pickups. No RWRP unfortunately. Last Update: 2021.12.07 Specs- Not Beveled
- Strong Stagger
- Black and White Plastic coated wires.
- 31,32,33 on one set the other one is unmarked
- Many sets are NOT marked
- Anico 3
- The top 2 poles look even almost with each other, the B is very low (typical of these older classic versions)
- DCR: Approx. 5.75K to 5.85K
- Inductance: Approx. 2.7H
- Capacitance: 190 to 200 pf
- One Model Number 0054594000
- All pickups are close to the same, there is no preference on location.
- There is no RWRP pickup in the set (like the classic 50s)
- Came on the Classic 70’s Stratocaster
- These were also used to be on the Highway One Series before 2006.
MIM 75th Diamond Anniversary Pickup
NOTE: This was released with 2 different pickup sets. MOST of them are like the bottom picture
This pickguard has 60’s pickups in it. They are numbered the same as the Vintera 60’s. The bottom line is that these are 60’s voiced pickups.
Another important fact is that the SAME numbers is used with both BLACK bottoms and GRAY bottoms making this a poster child of how confusing Fender can get.
So to confirm they can have GRAY or BLACK bottoms but the numbering is consistent, so they are first generation 60s pickups produced for the Vintera series. MOST of the ones released had black bottoms.
My official guess is that they moved on to the new MODIFIED VINTERA version in 2019 and they had these pickups left over so they simply slapped a 75th anniversary sticker on em.
- Vintage-Style
- Configuration SSS
- Magnet Type Alnico 5
- Magnet Wire Enamel-coated
- DC Resistance Neck: 5.7k, Middle: 5.95k, Bridge: 5.95k
- Inductance Neck: 2.32 Henries, Middle: 2.58 Henries, Bridge: 2.75 Henries
- Bobbin Material Fiber
- Lead Wire Vinyl-covered
- Pole Pieces Staggered unbeveled
- Tone Vintage
- Output Vintage