# Fender V-Mod Pickups



## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

Was chatting with @Todd68 earlier today about the Am. Pro. Strats & he sent me this link on the different types of magnets used in the V-Mod pickups.

The Tele SCs are like a Duncan 5-2, but surprisingly enough the Strat pickups are “backwards”. FTR I’m not arguing with Tim Shaw, it just seemed a little counterintuitive to me. I wonder if he voiced them with a rosewood or maple board in mind?

How Pickup Guru Tim Shaw Powered the American Professional Series


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## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

I’ve heard a few positive comments, but would love to get feedback from anyone who owns one of these Strats. How do the V-Mods stack up to other pickups you’ve tried?


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## TubeStack (Jul 16, 2009)

I love them in my new Am Pro, but can’t offer much comparison as it’s my first Strat. (Always played LPs/SGs). I’m curious to hear how they compare to Fat 50s, etc. They do seem on the hotter/more aggressive side.


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## TubeStack (Jul 16, 2009)

Guitar World reviews seem like paid ads, but here’s their remarks:

_“The Strat’s V-Mod pickups have the most appealing character I’ve heard from a Strat since Fender’s first John Mayer model, and the Tele’s V-Mod pickups are beefy and ballsy with twang that packs a solid punch.”

Review: Fender American Professional Stratocaster and Telecaster | Guitar World_


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## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

TubeStack said:


> Guitar World reviews seem like paid ads, but here’s their remarks:
> 
> _“The Strat’s V-Mod pickups have the most appealing character I’ve heard from a Strat since Fender’s first John Mayer model, and the Tele’s V-Mod pickups are beefy and ballsy with twang that packs a solid punch.”
> 
> Review: Fender American Professional Stratocaster and Telecaster | Guitar World_


I don’t think they’ve ever given anything a bad review.


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## Shawn B. (Aug 10, 2012)

A bit off-topic I guess, but I bought an American professional Jazzmaster, and really did not like the V-mod pickups. They sounded like strat pickups, so I promptly replaced them with a Fender Pure Vintage '65 JM set. The image below is from the Mike and Mike Guitar Bar blog and shows a standard JM on the top and the VM JM pickup on the bottom. Not surprising it is strat-like!


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## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

Keep in mind this is coming from a guy who does not own a Strat....but. I tried out a Fender Pro with the V-Mods the other day at L&M. Not only did the Vmods sound fantastic through the little Pro Junior, but everything else about the guitar also surprisingly appealed to me and my playing style. I actually found a STart (aka: Strat....lol) that I liked playing for probably the first time.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Thanks for the link to the Fender site. I have a bunch of Alnico III and V polepieces in my bin and was planning on winding some experimental pickups once I get bored with making pedals. I hadn't realized that Fender was already combining such different Alnico types. This gives me a leg up!


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## nonsense (Aug 3, 2016)

I just bought a used Am Pro strat and I quite like the pickups. I haven't experimented much with height etc., but the way the last guy or gal had it set up, the pickups are more on the clear, bright, low-output side. Neck is very good, middle is fantastic, and also there's a bridge pickup. The treble loss in 2 and 4 is pretty notable, so players who use those in conjuction with the single positions may want to err on the bright side and roll tone back a bit if needed.

That said, given how much competing information is out there on the internet (it's more of a rock pickup! No, it's super weak compared to the fat 50s! Etc.), I assume these are pretty responsive to height adjustments.


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