Are these Cunetto pickups?

Guitar Whiskey · June 24th, 2008, 06:33 PM

Is this what you would expect to see in a stock '97 maple board Cunetto Strat?
Notice the middle has a large sticker that says Custom Shop USA, while the neck and bridge say Fender Custom Shop.

Orlando Mike · June 24th, 2008, 07:49 PM

i dont know if they are the right pickups but the solder joint for the pickup grounds is on the wrong side of the pot, I havent ever seen the pot grounds run up the inside like that....I think theyve been switched out..can you post a pic of the whole assembly and lift the pickup wires so we can see the solder joints?

Guitar Whiskey · June 24th, 2008, 08:21 PM

Thanks for the reply. I just buttoned it back up and put new strings on it. Wish I had taken a few more shots. Maybe this will help.

Strat-Talk · June 24th, 2008, 11:11 PM

Vince Cunutto did do pickups you know. He only did the relic work. They do look like the proper CS p'ups. And that solder joint does look pretty messy for the Custom Shop -- so who knows. But of course you can buy CS pickups anywhere.

PS. I don't think the Cunutto Relics had some unique special CS P'ups. Maybe the pole pieces were rusted and the string dirtied, but I'm not aware of anything else truly unique about them.

Guitar Whiskey · June 24th, 2008, 11:34 PM

Your comment got me thinking; the pole pieces are not even rusted or aged at all. They are obviously CS pups but I don't think they are Cunetto.

Orlando Mike · June 25th, 2008, 12:44 AM

hows it sound

Guitar Whiskey · June 25th, 2008, 02:30 PM

It sound great; very nice guitar. I've been told that the center pup is a SRV because of the sticker and yellow wire. The other two have a blue dot on the back of the B string pole piece; anyone know what these are?

Orlando Mike · June 25th, 2008, 05:20 PM

Im pretty sure the colored dots on my cs texas specials are blue...are they hot?

Strat-Talk · June 25th, 2008, 05:53 PM

I'm pretty sure that the CS Texas Specials have a different colored wire cloth on the middle p'up, too. I think it was orange or yellow.

So maybe they are CS Texas Specials. I like those a lot. I had them in my CS Sparkle Telecaster (I realize the Tele p'ups are much different than the Strat p'ups). The specs on those are between '53 and '69 specs. Hotter than '53 p'ups but more sparkle than the '69 p'ups.

s-strats-D-rvb · June 26th, 2008, 09:26 PM

I also think they are TX Specials. The yellow wire on the middle P-up is a give away. I have a Fender CS 60 Strat from 96 that came with those P-ups in it.

johnreardon · June 27th, 2008, 03:02 AM

My 96 50th Anniversary Relic (by Cunetto) doesn't have those CS stickers

Orlando Mike · June 27th, 2008, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnreardon

My 96 50th Anniversary Relic (by Cunetto) doesn't have those CS stickers

all I can think to say is wow

johnreardon · June 28th, 2008, 05:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orlando Mike

all I can think to say is wow

Cheers. Some more

johnreardon · June 28th, 2008, 05:14 AM

And more

Guitar Whiskey · July 2nd, 2008, 02:27 PM

What wood do you think is used for the body of the goldie?

Orlando Mike · July 2nd, 2008, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guitar Whiskey

What wood do you think is used for the body of the goldie?

My bet is one piece ash, here's a recent auction for one that ended today....wish I had the 6k

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...:B:WNA:US:1123

johnreardon · July 3rd, 2008, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orlando Mike

My bet is one piece ash, here's a recent auction for one that ended today....wish I had the 6k

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...:B:WNA:US:1123

Yep that's the same as mine, however, I have the missing bits. Not sure what wood it is , but it does look one piece. My serial No isn't far from that one

Orlando Mike · July 3rd, 2008, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnreardon

Yep that's the same as mine, however, I have the missing bits. Not sure what wood it is , but it does look one piece. My serial No isn't far from that one

It's funny...in my opinion, you cant ask premium price for a collector's item that is missing pieces...guys like you take care of your stuff, obviously....the seller of the auctioned one, (which didn't come close to reserve) acts like it's no big deal, lol....did you see the CS tele he had? reserve of over 3k with no case and the guitar was just beat on....I see the value in having a CS instrument as a player and I wish I had that kind of coin to throw around on a guitar that is an everyday guitar....Id prolly pay 1500-1800 for one in that condition and consider it my go to, but over 3k for an incomplete collectors item? sheeshh