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Main Description
Late 50s - Come ride the tone!
Loaded plate
This is a loaded plate, complete with pickups, controls, knobs, covers, tips - everything is wired up, and is ready to drop into a Yamaha Pacifica with very little soldering, and absolutely no modification to the guitar.
The Pickups
Our Late 50s single coils are a real favourite of ours – they represent a turning point within guitar history, which whilst almost an “end of era” change to the design, has ticked along quietly in the background thanks to a die hard following from some of the biggest names in music.
Wound using 42 AWG Formvar insulated copper, to around 6Kohm, and utilising 3/16” poles, the Late 50s capture that touch stone moment perfectly, and are capable absolutely nailing some of the most iconic Strat® tones we associate with Blues and Rock.
But, to understand why this pickup exists, we have to dive a little into the history of the Stratocaster® - so, here goes
A little potted history!
The Tele® came first, and I 1954, the Strat® turned the word on its head – Country was evolving into Rock & Roll, and teenagers had become a thing! Fender® timed the Stratocaster® to absolute perfection – too “sexy” to be a country instrument, it had the curves and colours, it had the look of the sports cars of the day – just seeing a Strat® makes you think of a Corvette or a Skylark.
And that was perfect – that was the market! Young men who liked fast cars, loud music, heck, they might as well have stuck a photo of a pin up model on the side – the Strat was the guitar for the teenager. It was sex appeal with strings.
So off it went – from 1954 to 1956 (a whole 2 years!) “Early” Strats were in the wild, and music, basically, started changing as a result. Early models were BRIGHT and twangy and quite raspy, a notable departure from the Telecasters “muscular twang of the bridge/jazzy neck” (the early versions were a little different to the Telecaster® that came later) – spec wise, they were around 5.5-5.7K, same wire, same magnets etc– but, as often happens, music changed a lot faster then the guitar could, and pretty much as soon as the Strat came out, we see musicians pushing things further and further, aiming not for those twangy, clean, sweet tones that had come before, but for, basically, distortion! Crunchy, gritty, hotter, angrier guitar sounds.
And, Fender®? Never one to miss an opportunity, latched on to that demand for “angrier” – and do you know how you make a pickup angrier? You put more wire on them. That pushes the resonant peak into a lower register, increases the bass frequencies, makes them louder, causes amps to break up earlier – so that’s what they did, 1957, we see that magical change from 5.5K single coils, to 6K single coils!
Close, but no cigar
And, weirdly, it didn’t quite work (Fender® shifted a lot of units, don’t get me wrong!) Whilst, sure, a 6K pickup is going to be hotter, angrier, more prone to distortion on a 5.5K pickup, it’s also going to be warmer, bassier, more rounded, and if we all know one thing about playing with distortion – definition is king! The signal is being compressed by the very nature of what distortion is, so retaining that space within the signal is paramount. The Late 50s, and the pickups it was based on, don’t do that – they have a certain amount of “natural compression” (smoothness, warmth) which didn’t lend itself to being compressed again to the degrees people wanted back in the fifties! And even if you were chasing that sort of tone, Gibson® and Danelectro® were doing it better (Fender also gaffed slightly, but debuting the V profile necks the same year, which didn’t go down too well) – it was almost a case of the 57 Strat® being neither lunch nor dinner.
So, Fender ditched the idea in 58-59, and went back to the earlier version (Rosewood fret board this time), and that caught on in a big way – and we see the shift from Rock & Roll to Rock Music that happened in the early 60s, and that’s a story for the early and late 60s pickups!
So why the big fuss about 57?
It wouldn’t be until much later when the 57 Strat (and the pickups that inspired the Late 50s) would get their day – as music came and went, and those early pioneers of Rock & roll faded away (those rich enough to have bought a Strat in 1957!), we begin to see the next generation of genre defining musicians appearing in the late 60s, 70s and even into the 80s – not the out and our Rock players per se, but more “Rock inspired by blues” players – and, many of them, had managed to pick up the relatively unpopular 57 models back in the day, cobbled them into working order, and got on with the business of making music with them, rocking up in the early Blues Rock Trios and 4 piece country rock bands!
And in that arena? The 57 Strat absolutely exceled, that extra body, that warmth, that roundedness, in a genre that wasn’t as heavily reliant on pianos, or brass sections? It filled space, it was capable of being hot and hefty, smooth and beautifully clean, it’d take reverb without sounding very alien… it was a match made in heaven.
In closing
So, we have this weird situation where, a cornerstone of music was born, and then largely ignored for over a decade, before it found its niche in the world, and that niche, went on to inspire almost all music that came after! If your hankering after a pickup for 1957 do-wop? This probably aint it – but if you want to make some of the sweetest, soul crushing Strat Blues you’ve ever heard? There aren’t many better! Fuller and “more rich” then a “mid 50s”, lacking some of the twang and bite, but considering not many of us are trotting out many penguins songs in the set list nowadays, maybe that’s no bad thing!
I can honestly say, of all the pickups we make, we’ve done many better then the Late 50s frankly. Its certainly, not capable of everything, and it can be a little “lardy” (if a very traditional single coil can ever be considered “lardy”!) if your aiming for uber clean twang, but, really? Most music, up to a fair amount of distortion? They’re utterly fantastic.
Yamaha® and Pacific® are registered trademarks of the Yamaha Corporation.
Strat® and Stratocaster® are registered trademarks
of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation and Gibson Musical Instruments Corporation. Axesrus® makes no claims to these marks.
Pickguard
This is the “Full guard” for the Yamaha® Pacifica® - Looks like a Strat®, but the plate size and shape is slightly different (catching out more then a few eager modders!) - but, functionally, works the same - all 3 pickups are suspended from the guard, and all of the wiring is mounted into the plastic - a much more traditional approach to the idea then the half guard version.
Unlike the Half guard equiped guitars, Yamaha® make the Pacifica in left handed (specifically the 112J, and only the 112J!) so we also carry these plates in lefty as well as righty.
Now, officially, this is known as an X03 spec guard, and that gives some insight into the, somewhat confusing, Yamaha® naming conventions.
To keep it fairly brief, the X refers to the “tier” of the guitars model (0 being entry level, 9 being best of the best) the 0 refers to the number of humbuckers, and the 3 refers to the number of single coils. (so X03? That’s no Humbucker, 3 singles, to fit any tier of Pacifica, as long as its one of the "full guard" models (something the naming convention doesnt account for, rather unhelpfully)
However, this spec of Pacifica, isn't actually as common as you'd think, believe it or not - i believe, there has only ever been one model which takes the X03 plate, and thats the 303 - BUT - the joy of pacificas, is that the plates are seemingly, universal - so if you've got a HSS "full guard" Pacficia (an X12) - chances are, you can fit this plate, and convert without much fuss!
So, for completeness sake - it should fit these models, assuming you want to convert to 3 single coils.
012 (becoming a 003)
112C or 112J(NOT the V version!) (becoming a 103)
303 (a straight replacement)
312 (becoming the 303)
1990s 412 (NOT the post 90s version) (becoming the 403)
And, chances are, if you’re working with a guitar within those tiers, but the pickup config isn’t “X03” but want to convert it over? Then, assuming the guitar has been routed to accommodate the new config (some are routed for all configs, some aren’t), these plates should be suitable to convert the guitar over to an X03.
Obviously, i'm getting dangerously close to stating the obvious here, but if your not working with the above models, its likely you'll be wanting the half guard version.
Please note, the photo showing the pickup covers is purely to demonstrate the fit of said parts, and they are not included as part of the product.
These are not official Yamaha® Parts
Electronics
This assembly is built using the highest quality components that the guitar design itself will allow, so heres a brief rundown of what and why.
Sound Clips
Should be just below!
What is an Assembly?
This is something I’ve been a little lax with over the years, because the photos were a little self explanatory, but because we’re putting out more and more information on the products nowadays, it’s a nice opportunity to actually explain what an Assembly is.
In short, its all of the electronics, all wired up and working, mounted onto a pickguard, and ready to drop into a guitar. It’s a VERY easy way to completely overhaul your guitar, without having to do an awful lot of soldering, or, frankly, really understanding what’s going on.
And that’s about it really – the pickups are complete pickups, they’re wired to the switch, which is then wired into the volume and tone pots, all the had works been done, and its just a case of dropping it into a guitar, getting some strings over it, and getting back to playing!
Now, with our assemblies, we cut no corners. Its CTS pots throughout, Cornell Dubilier caps, 22 AWG cloth covered wire and a Switchcraft mono socket. Theres some variation in the switch we use, purely because certain switches don’t fit certain guitars, but we always use the best switch available to us for any given job (so, with Strat assemblies, its always an Oak Grigsby, and with guitars designed to take a shallower switch, its always a Pat Pending PBC switch)
We don’t connect the mono socket to the assemblies, but this is because on 99% of guitars, you’d only have to remove it to thread the wires through a hole into the sockets cavity, and, we obviously cant connect the ground wire to your bridge/trem claw to earth the strings.
so, whilst no completely solder free, what soldering you do need to do, is pretty minimal (and we’ll even throw in a little solder and heat shrink to do the job – purely to save you any extra expense)
You will need a soldering iron I’m afraid, that’s unavoidable, because of the way most guitars are designed, but beyond that? It’s a dream job installing assemblies frankly. Very little to go wrong, very little to actually learn, and it opens the door to making a huge modification to your instrument.
Warranty & Returns
In an ideal world, I wouldn’t have to write this section up, and, I really wish I didn’t have to, but, if I’m being honest and transparent about how pickups work, for better or worse, it’s probably worth being honest and open your rights as a consumer too, and maybe give a little insight into how we actually build pickups.
How we do it
Pickups, at our end of things – are “Custom made” – I cannot stress this enough. When you click the “Add To Cart” button, there is no pickup on the shelf, no bucket of pre-terminated bobbins or half complete pickups. It is made, entirely, from scratch using the parts we have available.
This means, if you order a Bourbon city, or a Hot Iron, or a Texas Blue, it is wound FOR YOU. It is being built to the specifications you have stipulated in the drop-down menus, even the most “normal” design, is still, essentially, built to order.
That entails our pickers collecting the parts from stores, delivering them to the winders, who then get the copper on there, and then the wound coils going to the techs to solder, terminate, test, polish, wax pot, clean, retest… you get the idea.
This is all done “in house” and, obviously, there is a queue, which is first in first out, so pickups will NEVER be shipped same day. Realistically, it takes about 2 weeks, but we do get busier at the beginning/end and middle of the month, so that can have a knock on effect.
And this is all being done, by hand, on a VERY small scale. At maximum, we can produce about 6 pickups a day.
It works wonderfully frankly, because we can make, pretty much, anything you can dream up, and keeping it small scale, means we have an exceptionally high attention to detail with each pickup sold.
Returns
So we have an item, when all is said and done, that didn’t exist until you purchased it, that has cost a lot of man hours to actually manufacture, and has been manufactured to your exact specifications.
As such, pickups come under the remit of “custom work” as laid out under the our terms and conditions, and as outlined in the UK governments distance selling regulations.
This means, in short, pickups are none returnable, and none refundable.
I understand, in this day and age, that may seem quite the hard-nosed approach, but, sadly, there’s no wiggle room in this. Once a pickup is wound, there’s no going back. It belongs to you. There is no “I’ll test it to see if I like it” or “I’ll return it if I don’t like the colour!”.
Warranty
All Axesrus pickups come with a “relaxed lifetime” warranty as far as I’m concerned. I’m never going to ask you to register the purchase, stop offering support 12 months after purchase or limit support to the initial customer in the case of second-hand stuff. We are incredibly proud of the pickups we produce, and I’ll help out wherever I can.
However, its worth laying out what I’d consider “realistic” expectations as to what we will cover as part of a warranty.
Repairs and replacements
Whilst we will not accept pickups as return for refund under any circumstances, we reserve the right to repair or replace any pickup that develops a manufacturing fault within a reasonable time frame.
I won’t put a scale on that time frame, but I will say, its at our discretion. If you’re lucky enough to have some of the VERY early hand wound stuff we made, and we (stupidly) thought we could do it at £20 a pickup, and the coil wires snapped after 10 years? I’m probably not in a position to repair or replace it free of charge, you know? You’ve had your fun; you’ve got your money’s worth!
On the flip side of that – if you’ve bought a £200 humbucker 2 years ago, and it’s developed a fault? You’d better believe Axes is bending over backwards to get it repaired and get you up and running again.
I’ll say this too, we won’t hang you out to dry – if that £20 pickup can be repaired, even if we’re not doing it as part of the warranty, we will offer to repair it at a reasonable price.
Damage vs. Fault
Pickups are delicate creatures I’m afraid. Nature of the beast I suppose, they were never designed, all those years ago, to be “presented” outside of a guitar, so go in knowing this, pickups can be damaged. Either in transit, whilst in storage, or during install.
It is VERY difficult to know how a pickup has developed a fault, so most of the time, we will go into all warranty claims with the mindset that “it’s a manufacturing fault”, frankly, because it keeps everyone happy, avoids any awkward conversations as to “who’s done what” and, normally, repairing damage done during install is the same work as repairing a manufacturing fault either way. Worst case, we might have a delicate email exchange about who’s covering the postage, but that’s about as bad as it gets.
However, we will take this approach only when a pickup, which is showing damage, is only showing minimal damage. I appreciate everyone makes mistakes.
Pickups that have been heavily damaged, have seen heavy wear and tear, or have been intentionally broken in an effort to raise a warranty claim, will see not be repaired, or replaced. Neither free of charge or “for a fee”
Lead times and cancellations
We do publish the lead times on all of our custom build work, and there is very little we can do to decrease the time it takes to actually manufacture this stuff I’m afraid, short of jumping you to the front of the queue (which is never fair, and we won’t do it)
Be aware that once an order is placed, work beings on your build, and as such, you’ve entered into the contract, and there is no backing out. Coils can often be wound within the hour or the order being placed, but they will sit in the work queue due to a back log at terminating/testing/cleaning.
Modifications
There are, occasionally, situations where someone buys a pickup or a wiring loom, installs it, plays it for a while, and then might want something a little different down the line. Maybe a different magnet, or a cover fitting, or a new hookup wire fitting.
I am happy to carry out this work, and, normally, regardless of the “time since purchase”, this will be done simply for the cost of parts and postage.
However, the “depth” of these modifications, and if we’re willing/capable of carrying them out, is at the discretion of Axesrus. We’re happy to discuss this on a case-to-case basis, but go in eyes open, that its unlikely to be part of the warranty.
“Warranty with initial purchase”
I’m not a stickler when it comes to this stuff, but I will say, we do have to draw the line somewhere, so, strictly speaking, this “relaxed warranty” is, officially, limited to the original purchaser of the product.
That said, I’m not a robot, nor am I a fool. I’m aware that sometimes, a pickup is moved on relatively quickly, or is bought by a 3rd party for someone else, so, in these cases, lets just be sensible about it. I’ll carry forward a “true” warranty on a pickup for 12 months after the initial purchase, regardless of who is contacting me in regards to any issue.
However, I will need to know who the initial customer was. Even if it’s just their name and a rough date of purchase.
This goes for technical support too – I’ve no problems offering support on Axesrus products, regardless of “time since purchase”, but I will ask for some proof that they are in fact, Axesrus products.
Modifications to second hand parts, will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis too.
Changes in specification/tolerances
Over the years, we’ve had a few “interesting” conversations regarding pickup specifications, especially when it comes to returns and warranty.
The published specs of our pickups, are published with a “within tolerance” subtext, based off of the readings from our testing equipment.
There will, always, be variation between one pickup and the next, and whilst we endeavor to keep those readings within the tolerances stated, they do occasionally wander outside of the 10% we stipulate as “acceptable” – this is usually due to temperature fluctuation, or specification changes outside of our control (wire diameter, alloy composition etc.) – any resulting change in readings based on these factors, will result in an updated technical spec on the website, but, as you can imagine, the first we know about an unforeseen spec change, is when the pickups come off the winder.
We do not consider these “out of spec” accidents to be cause for a warranty claim I’m afraid, and we endeavor to keep on top of them so the information we’re giving you at point of purchase, is as accurate as possible.
Warranty postage
Repairs or replacement postage cost, outside of an initial 14 day period, is at your cost. I appreciate, in some situations, that this is prohibitive (especially when shipping outside of the UK).
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