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I found some vintage 80's pickups that are supposedly out of a Mustang guitar on CL.

The seller says they read 5.69k and 5.72k. He also doesn't believe they have ever been used.

Here is the picture he sent me of the pickups:


My concerns are:

1)Are these 80's Mustang pups?
2) Do the output levels of the pickups seem right for a Vintage Mustang? (cause there is almost no difference in the output)
3)Shouldn't both pickups have the triangular shaped base (the top one does not appear) and does it even matter?

I'm pretty sure the top one does, if you think about how it is oriented and you can see it beginning to branch into the triangle on the far side, I wouldn't sweat it.

looks good. Lots of vintage pickups don't have a hotter bridge pu. OG PAF pickups were roughly the same output neck and bridge so the neck pickup was jacked WAY low and the bridge way high on most 59 bursts les pauls etc

taylornutt wrote:I found some vintage 80's pickups that are supposedly out of a Mustang guitar on CL.

The seller says they read 5.69k and 5.72k. He also doesn't believe they have ever been used.

Here is the picture he sent me of the pickups:

I can't tell for sure, but those both appear to have black and white leads on them... a true Mustang set would have one pickup with blue / yellow leads, and the other with black / white. The blue / yellow is RWRP, so when you run both pickups together, it hum-cancels.

My concerns are:

1)Are these 80's Mustang pups?

They sure look like Mustang pickups, but remember - the Mustang was discontinued circa 1982, and replaced with the Bullet series - which also used those same pickups in most models, so they could be from a Bullet.

2) Do the output levels of the pickups seem right for a Vintage Mustang? (cause there is almost no difference in the output)

A bit on the lower side of acceptable, but still within range. 5.5 - 6.5k resistance seems to be the range for Mustang pickups, and while most have slightly "hotter" bridge pickups than neck pickups, that isn't always the case.

3)Shouldn't both pickups have the triangular shaped base (the top one does not appear) and does it even matter?

I just assumed that you couldn't see the "triangle" due to the angle of the pic. :idk: Yes, they should both have the same base plates and bobbins.

PS I'd say that, based on the relatively short length of the leads on both of those pickups that they have definitely been used previously. Also, one other thing - are those cloth wires? Cloth wasn't used in the late 70s / early 80s. Also, grey bottoms were replaced with plastic bobbins by then too... I suspect those are probably older than the seller thinks.

they might be 80s pickups. they might be out a "mustang" guitar. but I don't think they are fender pickups. if they are actually 80s pickups it might be a cool buy anyway. I'd ask for a little more information about where they came from.

if they are fender pickups they must be some kind of late 80s fender japan pickups. didn't all CBS fender pickups always have date stamps or some kind of indicating marks on them? I've never seen any that are just completely blank like that. they don't have that CBS era gluey potting shit all over them either.

They could be Duncan Antiquity bridge/middle from a Strat set. They'd look like that, have leads that length/colour and be about that far apart in resistance. They'd also be RWRP. Not certain, but fits the look.

They look good, fit fine, I think it's a go as far as I care.

The seller wants $50 for the set. I will offer him a bit less and see if he comes down.

Phil O'Keefe wrote:... a true Mustang set would have one pickup with blue / yellow leads, and the other with black / white. The blue / yellow is RWRP, so when you run both pickups together, it hum-cancels.

Yes! That is gold. Now I know what to look out for in a pickup to match my vintage neck pickup. Thanks!

Those pickups look good to me. His book may be diseased.

GOT IT!! A fender pickup of that vintage [80s] would not have used cloth insulated wiring because by then they had switched to plain plastic insulated wires.
im good

What's it matter if they're vintage 80's or not ( Vintage 80s... Holy fuck I feel old now ) ? Are restoring a guitar ? You looking for a certain sound ? Frankly all a pickup is is a certain gauge wire wrapped around a ceramic or aluminum nickel body given a magnetic charged , wrapped up and dipped in wax . Unless you're restoring a guitar I'd either go to Fender for standard or custom shop ( they make em ? who knows ) Stang P'ups or throw in whatever tickles your fancy .

Do your homework on the manufacturing processes of Fender during the 80s and see if any models had the same compatible pickups . Might narrow your search . But are THOSE Mustang pickups ? Most likely . The guy would certainly be a ballbag if they weren't. Just sayin,

I am building two Mustangs and these pickups would go with the 1978 Vintage Mustang Body I got from Joey(aka Mulletstang) I will probably do RI pups for the other Mustang.

Mulletstang (business in the front; party in the back)

mullet stang ruaelz


those pickups have some short fucking leads on them. have fun

I never measured a pickup, but from what I see my first guess is MG 65 Reissue pickups if theyre not vintage. See here my former 65 RI:



and if that helps this is the 65 Duo:



As you can see, both sets have very short leads too, so that doesn't mean anything I think. 50 sounds good for a pair of those 65 RI ones, because they sound good, too

65RI pickups have all cloth leads

Thanks for the pics. I made the seller an offer and I am waiting to hear back.

I just went and got the pickups. They look great. The seller is convinced they are vintage unused pickups but based on your pickups they may just be RI pups. Either way, $50 for RI pups isn't bad They are just so clean, I have a difficult time believing they are vintage. I think the seller sees the cloth wiring and assumes they are older.

When I tested them when I first got home, they measured 5.73k and 5.76k. Now they are reading 5.65 and 5.68k. Can heat cause the readings to be higher until they cool down?

Here are some pics: