I think if I were to buy a different set of Strat pickups for my Mad Cat clone, I would use the bridge & MIDDLE pickups, to take advantage of the RWRP noise cancellation. The load values of Strat neck & middle pickups are just about identical on most sets I've seen anyway.
D'Addario Auto-trim Tuners. LOVE THEM. Have them on almost everything I own. Any of my guitars that don't have them is just because I haven't gotten around to it. Really solid. I can change the strings on any of those guitars in about 5-10 minutes.
I think the 62’z were brighter with less mids. Both pickups had the most noticeable difference though. I’ve had good results with the 62’z on some other guitars.
Nice guitars. I was going to snag one but I'm not a Maple Neck guy. Agree with you that the PUP swap was not very dramatic at all but hey for $26...:) I did just grab one of their new "Cream" colored LPs which actually looks aged or antiqued as opposed to White. Should be here early next week.
I noticed you got the die-cast tuners, they have a more premium locking tuner that run about $15-20 more for the set. I wonder if they would've been an improvement. Albeit still affordable
I keep thinking about getting one of these. I know it’s just a looks thing, but I’m not crazy about that headstock. Kinda looks like there’s enough wood there to turn it into a Tele shape. 🤔
I noticed on my mad cat both pickups had same magnetic orientation both were north up I believe. I swapped my bridge pickup for a strat middle that was south up. But the neck Firefly pickup must be reverse wound and I had to reverse wiring on the Mexican Strat middle ceramic and voila. Still bright and chimney and no phase issue. Have you tried the middle pickup you bought?
I did not notice any difference in the pickups so I used my flat response studio headphones and still did not notice any difference, I suppose it could be the YT compression algorithm.
1) Regarding the pickups: The new pickups are slightly brighter sounding, but the difference is so small, you’d REALLY have to be listening for it. Sometimes replacing pickups is warranted and can make a big difference, but I don’t think this is one of those cases. 2) Regarding the tuners: This must be one of those rare cases where a set of staggered tuners actually does enable elimination of string trees! Congratulations! That said, I still prefer Jin-Ho locking tuners, if you want a decent set of locking tuners that are don’t cost an arm and a leg.
Regarding the tuners, I know.. I was shocked. I’ve used a staggered set in another guitar but still had to use a string tree on the B and the E… but it worked in this case, color me shocked. And yeah… replacing cheap pickups with a different kind of cheap pickup is a tail chasing exercise. Save your money, buy something better. Lesson learned.
Wilkinson tuners might have been a better buy(Korea). My FF mad cat is buzz city at the first 2 frets. This is my 4th firefly and they're still not very good with the nut filing. I put GFS lil killers on them and it's awesome.
Oh, one other thing: I am left wondering how one might upgrade that neck pocket! The neck pocket on most bolt-on Fireflys I’ve seen are HORRIBLY loose fitting!
@@TheTapeFarm I’m not surprised! I know that even some genuine Fender guitars from the 1970’s, especially some of the ones with 3-bolt necks, have been found to have ill-fitting neck pockets, with some that are even worse than that Firefly! Did you have to drill out the body on yours? I found on my FFTL when I shimmed it that the neck screws were catching in the body as well as the neck, making it impossible to get the screws back into the neck with the shim. It worked after I drilled out the body holes very slightly, taking care not to create splinters on the other side.
@@zuperdee nope. It went right back on. It’s about a millimeter off, so half a mil on each side. I would call that loose, anything beyond that I think we would be in the “sloppy“ range 😬
That's the first time I've ever heard pickups, that sound exactly like the ones you replaced, I'm serious brother,I don't hear any difference at all,are they alnico or ceramic too, they must source their pickups from the same manufacturer,the cheapest I would go for Tele pickups is tex mex, if you haven't tried them,your missing out on that vintage Tele tone,I can't say the same for the tex mex strat pickups, very disappointed with a set I have,thanks for the video.
Yeah… that’s actually why I made the video. There is a slight difference but certainly not an immediately noticeable one. Again butting to bed the whole ceramic bad, ALNICO good thing in my mind. Obviously there is more to a pickup than it’s magnets.
Yeah… I can see why. The difference is minor at best and good/better/best is always subjective. One day I’ll put in some Duncan’s or real live Fenders. But for now it does the job.
Yes, thus the question mark in the title and what I said at the end. The pickups were meh. Not buying Guitar Madness picks ever again. Tuners are ok as tuners but not for eliminating the string tree… however on another guitar I have they did allow me to get rid of the string trees… so your mileage may very.
Sorry Bro, but those pickups sound equally bad. I put a set of Fender Bill Lawrence Black Label S1 and S3 pickups in my Mad Cat copy and it made a HUGE difference in sound. Yes, I spent about the same on pickups as the entire guitar....but it makes the guitar sound like a $700 or $800 guitar for half the total investment.
I think if I were to buy a different set of Strat pickups for my Mad Cat clone, I would use the bridge & MIDDLE pickups, to take advantage of the RWRP noise cancellation. The load values of Strat neck & middle pickups are just about identical on most sets I've seen anyway.
To be honest I didn't notice much if any difference in the two bridge pickups but the new neck pickup is a bit brighter.
I like the video and as always, I love anything Madcat!
KILLER VIDEO MAN!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for the video. I would love to hear what they sound like with a truly upgraded set of pickups.
D'Addario Auto-trim Tuners. LOVE THEM. Have them on almost everything I own. Any of my guitars that don't have them is just because I haven't gotten around to it. Really solid. I can change the strings on any of those guitars in about 5-10 minutes.
Thanks For Sharing 🎸
I think the 62’z were brighter with less mids. Both pickups had the most noticeable difference though. I’ve had good results with the 62’z on some other guitars.
I’m thinking of trying a set of bootstraps in mine just not sure which set yet
I agree. I don’t hear much of a difference in the pickups. How about putting a pair of noiseless Strat pickups in it next?
Yup… I think that’s my next move. Good call.
Nice guitars. I was going to snag one but I'm not a Maple Neck guy. Agree with you that the PUP swap was not very dramatic at all but hey for $26...:) I did just grab one of their new "Cream" colored LPs which actually looks aged or antiqued as opposed to White. Should be here early next week.
Are those Harbor Freight moving blankets?! You have got to try the Fleor AV P90s ! I love mine!
I noticed you got the die-cast tuners, they have a more premium locking tuner that run about $15-20 more for the set. I wonder if they would've been an improvement. Albeit still affordable
I keep thinking about getting one of these. I know it’s just a looks thing, but I’m not crazy about that headstock. Kinda looks like there’s enough wood there to turn it into a Tele shape. 🤔
Hey hey hey!
Great, honest review. I could not tell any difference in the pickups but my ears are old...
I noticed on my mad cat both pickups had same magnetic orientation both were north up I believe. I swapped my bridge pickup for a strat middle that was south up. But the neck Firefly pickup must be reverse wound and I had to reverse wiring on the Mexican Strat middle ceramic and voila. Still bright and chimney and no phase issue. Have you tried the middle pickup you bought?
I did not notice any difference in the pickups so I used my flat response studio headphones and still did not notice any difference, I suppose it could be the YT compression algorithm.
1) Regarding the pickups: The new pickups are slightly brighter sounding, but the difference is so small, you’d REALLY have to be listening for it. Sometimes replacing pickups is warranted and can make a big difference, but I don’t think this is one of those cases.
2) Regarding the tuners: This must be one of those rare cases where a set of staggered tuners actually does enable elimination of string trees! Congratulations! That said, I still prefer Jin-Ho locking tuners, if you want a decent set of locking tuners that are don’t cost an arm and a leg.
Regarding the tuners, I know.. I was shocked. I’ve used a staggered set in another guitar but still had to use a string tree on the B and the E… but it worked in this case, color me shocked. And yeah… replacing cheap pickups with a different kind of cheap pickup is a tail chasing exercise. Save your money, buy something better. Lesson learned.
Honestly, i prefer the stock pickups. Fuller. Rounder. Thicker.
Yeah. There wasn’t a huge difference. Pretty disappointed with the Guitar Madness Pickups.
Live and learn.
Wilkinson tuners might have been a better buy(Korea). My FF mad cat is buzz city at the first 2 frets. This is my 4th firefly and they're still not very good with the nut filing. I put GFS lil killers on them and it's awesome.
Love GFS pickups. Great for the money.
So what pick ups would you recommend?
@@folkrock4u guitar fetish makes some good pickups that don’t cost more than the guitar.
Oh, one other thing: I am left wondering how one might upgrade that neck pocket! The neck pocket on most bolt-on Fireflys I’ve seen are HORRIBLY loose fitting!
This one is pretty loosey-goosey. But I’ve seen worse.
@@TheTapeFarm I’m not surprised! I know that even some genuine Fender guitars from the 1970’s, especially some of the ones with 3-bolt necks, have been found to have ill-fitting neck pockets, with some that are even worse than that Firefly! Did you have to drill out the body on yours? I found on my FFTL when I shimmed it that the neck screws were catching in the body as well as the neck, making it impossible to get the screws back into the neck with the shim. It worked after I drilled out the body holes very slightly, taking care not to create splinters on the other side.
@@zuperdee nope. It went right back on. It’s about a millimeter off, so half a mil on each side. I would call that loose, anything beyond that I think we would be in the “sloppy“ range 😬
If you want, I just pulled stock pickups out of my MIM Tele I could send ya for very little $$
Thanks man. But being a Mad Cat these actually use two Strat pickups. One of the quirks of the guitar.
The GM pickups are way crisper.
That's the first time I've ever heard pickups, that sound exactly like the ones you replaced, I'm serious brother,I don't hear any difference at all,are they alnico or ceramic too, they must source their pickups from the same manufacturer,the cheapest I would go for Tele pickups is tex mex, if you haven't tried them,your missing out on that vintage Tele tone,I can't say the same for the tex mex strat pickups, very disappointed with a set I have,thanks for the video.
Yeah… that’s actually why I made the video. There is a slight difference but certainly not an immediately noticeable one. Again butting to bed the whole ceramic bad, ALNICO good thing in my mind. Obviously there is more to a pickup than it’s magnets.
Did you happen to get resistance readings on the different pups?
@@alanswanson7515 I did in the original ceramic pickups in the original video. The new pickup are 6.0 on the neck and, 6.4 on the bridge.
The original pickups were 5.6 on the bridge, 4.5 on the neck. Had to go back and watch the video.
lol, I think the originals pickups sound better
Yeah… I can see why. The difference is minor at best and good/better/best is always subjective. One day I’ll put in some Duncan’s or real live Fenders. But for now it does the job.
WASTE OF TIME AND $$
Yes, thus the question mark in the title and what I said at the end. The pickups were meh. Not buying Guitar Madness picks ever again. Tuners are ok as tuners but not for eliminating the string tree… however on another guitar I have they did allow me to get rid of the string trees… so your mileage may very.
Sorry Bro, but those pickups sound equally bad. I put a set of Fender Bill Lawrence Black Label S1 and S3 pickups in my Mad Cat copy and it made a HUGE difference in sound. Yes, I spent about the same on pickups as the entire guitar....but it makes the guitar sound like a $700 or $800 guitar for half the total investment.
Agreed. I think I said little to no difference. So yeah some proper pickup are in order. Thanks for the suggestion.