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I just love the whole idea of swappable, pre-wired, loaded pickguards. We’ve been playing with these things, and talking about them for a long time now. The one I replaced back in 2013 still sounds hot as hell – people can’t believe that some of the heavier recordings I made with it are actually a Strat. Granted, it’s actually a rails humbucker. And I got really excited about solderless Liberator volume pots, too. But I digress.
Richie’s actually isn’t a humbucker. But he doesn’t need that. Richie is doing his own brand of fusion that covers jazz, blues, rock, etc, and this new offering is perfect for him. He’s not even really an all out Strat guy – often, we’ve seen him with a Telecaster.
Also, the way these are wired up, you can get humbucker behavior in the 2nd and 4th positions. The magnet is reversed on the center pickup.
Richie’s late 90’s signature Stratocasters all had Dimarzio pickups, so it’s no surprise he’s using them again, only this time you only have to buy part of the guitar to get that sound.
The pickups themselves are medium gain, so they’re going to handle Richie’s style with ease.
It lists at $299.99
Oh, and it’s pearl white. Go get it, but don’t get it dirty.