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Hey all, I've had this Mighty Mite loaded pickguard installed now for about six months, so I figured now would be a good time to give a fair review of them. First and foremost, these pickguards come loaded with Mighty Mites version of a hot rail. On eBay right now, the median price is around $75.00, however, at the time I bought mine, the seller had them on sale for $63.00. With that said, I cannot stress enough the value in these pickups. If you have a cheap Fender Strat, or any other strat knockoff, there is no easier way to bring that guitar to life. So what can you expect out of these pickups over your stock gear? For starters, the tone is a lot warmer and richer. It's tough to describe to you in a blog, but to me, the stock starts have a very tinny empty sound. Mighty mites will really warm up your sound. Next... They will dramatically improve your sustain. I'm talking a difference of like three times the length over the stock stuff. Here is the best example I can give you, it's a video of my strat with Mighty mite's and it's the solo from Bohemian Rhapsody. You can hear both the warmth and the sustain, coming from a very cheap Samick Strat... Sorry the video is so dark, here's the link.. So what are the downsides to these pickups? Well, they don't have the output of some of the more expensive pickups like Laces, however, considering the cost of the lace line, it's hardly a negative. Secondly, if you have a Strat knock off, or anything other than a Fender Strat, you may have to route out the cavity a little bit. I had to do this on my Korean Samick strat. It's no big deal, you just have to grab a dremel, and route out the area by the bottom tone nob. Here is a photo of the area that had to be routed  Third, you're pickguard may have a different screw hole pattern. I had this problem as well, so I just switched everything over to the original pickguard that was on the guitar. Lastly, be prepared to have to solder a few wires, mainly, the lead to the output and the ground wire that connects to the body. This is Super Simple. If you have any fear of it, go to youtube, and there are countless tutorials on how to do it. So in closing, remember that whenever you work on a guitar, there will be snags. Take your time, do things right, and I promise, it will be worth the time and effort. My overall review of the Mighty Mite hot rails are that you'd be hard pressed to get a better set of pickups for the money. To me, the stock Fender Strat cheapies sound like absolute garbage and these pickups will really bring it to life... Here's a few before and after photos... Before:   And last but not least, here's the final product... Those rails look sweet and sound sweeter... 
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One thing I learned when buying ESP bodies is that they do not sell parts for their guitars. Having said that, it's fairly simple to make a backplate for your guitar. All you really need is a dremal, a sharpie, and a sheet of lexan from Home Depot, which is generally found near the wood. Simply trace the cavity of your guitar with the shapie on the lexan, and cut it out with the dremal. You can see the result in the photo. You can clean it up by sanding the edges and even beveling it with the dremal. A few quick tips though. 1.) Cut the backplate larger than the cavity and sand it down. You can always take away from it but obviously, you can't add it back. 2.) Make sure you drill the screw holes, DO NOT attempt to screw in screws that are too large, or have not been drilled. The plastic can and WILL crack...  |
About Me:I'm Ashley and I've been playing now roughly 25 years. I'm looking to share some knowledge and gain some knowledge while having alittle fun along the way. ArchivesCategories |
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