Musiclily 11-Hole HSS Prewired Loaded Pickguard with Single Coil Pickups Set for Fender Squier Strat Electric Guitar, 4Ply White Pearl

This is a nice prewired pickguard. The output is really good and it really cranks and sounds really good. Very nice humbucker. Easy to install especially if you buy a Switchcraft jack on Amazon with the soldering already done. Just connect white to white, black to black and the ground and you’re good to go. Very nice finish as well. Would recommend and buy again.

I used this to replace the pickguard on a cheap Starcaster I pulled out of the garbage.I've played for years and I've also built guitars for over a decade, so I was of the opinion that no guitar belongs in the garbage. After working on that Starcaster, I no longer have that opinion. I'll never waste my time on a Starcaster again, as the factory that produced them must have saved a fortune on eliminating quality control and operators that know how to set up and maintain equipment.Anyway, after dumping a ridiculous amount of time into a guitar that's still only worth about a hundred bucks, I wasn't about to waste any more time messing with electronics. This pickguard was exactly what I was looking for - it was cheap and it installed in minutes.I personally don't think the single coil pickups are bright enough - they have all the muddyness of a humbucker, with all the noise of a single coil. I won't deduct a star though, because they are exactly what I was expecting them to be.HOWEVER, the humbucker on this thing sounds amazing for this price point. It has enough crunch to make a Marshall scream, and it still sings nicely on a tweed amplifier.Is this a suitable replacement for a player series strat? Absolutely not. At best, it'll almost keep up with the higher end Squire pickups. But, I wouldn't hesitate to install this as a legitimate upgrade for Bullet series Squires and bargain "S-Style" guitars.

Keep in mind that the total cost was less than $22. I gave this product 4 stars which should be interpreted as a good rating and I highly recommend - for specific buyers. Please read on for a thorough review.Packaging (10/10) - I received the pickguard actually a day earlier than expected so a big win right out of the gate. It was wrapped in bubble wrap and then packed in a small cardboard box. This important because it appears it did not have an easy ride through shipping. There was a hole in the box where one of the humbucker posts had pushed through and the horn corner of the pickguard was bent at a 90 degree angle (more on that below).The packing held up as there was no major damage to the pickguard.Ease of Installation (8.5/10) - I put this on a 2003 Squier Affiinity strat. It was literally a drop-in fit (kind of). 8 of the 11 holes were a perfect match to the pickguard and the screws went right in. I could have screwed in the other 3 without filling and drilling but they would have gone in slanted and I am somewhat of a perfectionist - so I had to fill and drill 3 holes which was easy. If you have a swimming pool route (the whole cavity is one big hole), install will be super-simple. Mine had the single/single/humbucker with a channel routed down the middle for wiring. Herein lies the problem - the wire management on the pickguard doesnt really accommodate the s/s/h route. The wires are kind of bound and secured between the middle pickup and the humbucker. Long story short, I had to redo the organization of the wiring so it would drop into the channels down to the humbucker route and into the switch/pots cavity. This wasnt difficult, it just took some time and patience. I also ran into 2 issues during this process. One of the single coil wires was a bit short so I had to route that wire separately around the front of the humbucker mount while making sure it didnt get pinched. Also, the wires are soldered to the switch box from around the outside of the switch box. There was limited space in the cavity based on how I had to reorganize the wiring which meant I had to fold the wires back over the switch box at the solder connection points. I managed to do this without breaking any of the soldered wire connections to the switch box but I thought for sure it was going to happen and surprised that it didnt. The moral of my install story is this - it's not hard if you take just a little extra time and care (if you are dealing with a s/s/h route); if you dont you will most definitely break or damage something. The pickguard sits perfectly on the guitar surface with no bulges or gaps. Total install time not counting soldering the ground and jack (which you will have to do) was about 20 minutes.Electronics and Sound (8.5/10) - For less than $22, you really cant go wrong with this, but don't expect Fender Vintage or DiMarzio Super Shredder sound out of the pickups. They are adequate and somewhat nice. I love position 4 (Neck and Middle pickup) and these pickups deliver - actually significantly better than the Squier pickups they replaced. They sound very smooth and rich with very low/almost no noise which is surprising. The humbucker is a bit underwhelming - it works fine but just doesnt have any depth - no identity. I have PRS and Gibson LP guitars so that is what I am comparing it to which probably isnt fair but supports the $22 cost - you are getting a cheap pickup (at the original low cost its easily replaceable). The switch is probably cheap along with the dime-sized pots. The volume has a tiny bit of a sandy type static when its turned quickly and I am not sure that the second tone pot works as I dont hear any change in tone from the humbucker when its turned. Neither issue is a big deal to me and it could be related to having to mess with the original wire managment - I usually dial in all 10s on the guitar anyway so I am not using the tone pots to find a sound. If it bothers me, I will pull it and check the connection points.Overall Quality - (9/10) - The pickguard is the star of the show in this deal. Its 4-ply white pearloid and its super nice. The pearloid is subtle and doesnt look cheap at all. Its also shielded around the electronics. Its bright white with no faded spots or discoloration. As I stated in the beginning of the review, the point of the horn was bent at a 90 degree angle at the screw hole, but it didnt break and was easily bent back to straight - crazy! Any other pickguard would have broken. The black line in the layers really stands out against the color of my guitar. To me, the pickguard is worth the price I paid for the whole thing. Also - not sure this is special to mine, but mine had 2 layers of protective plastic on it. The tone and volume knobs are just OK - they feel cheap and have gold letters and numbers which dont match anything. I cleaned up my Squier knobs and put those back on. The single coil pickups are my second favorite part of this product. The humbucker is just so-so. I was looking for something different with regard to pickup combinations so I went with the SSH config - still glad I did. I highly recommend - its a great start for future upgrades to get you going or a budget replacement for low end or non-working electronics.

Looks and sounds great!

Recently stripped my old college guitar (Epi S-300) and replaced it's muddy SSS pickups and worn out 5-way with this HSS pickguard. 100% improvement in tone and function. Note that the bridge humbucker isn't tone controlled like the single coil was on my original (which shared tone knob with middle PU). So, one tone for middle single coil and one for the neck PU. That said, I love having the humbucker in the bridge for high gain and can control tone from the amp. The two single coils sound awesome and I use them the most for my style of play. No noise from the controls. Had to drill mostly new mounting holes, but that was expected going in and no issue at all. Recommended.

Bad switches and pots. Noisy. Static

High output, and fit my beater Arianna strat like a charm. New life for an old guitar. It’s my river lot guitar.Output is balanced between 5 way selector.

I paid $21.95 for this in June 2022. I got the SSH configured for ply Pearl/shell pick guard. The quality is excellent the feel is good the switch has a nice click to it the pots and the switch is quiet and the pick-ups sound amazing. They do clear really well, the humbucker screams if you crank up the volume, and this is absolutely a steal at this price.I also wanna add that I insulated the cavity of my guitar with copper shielding tape. I suggest doing this or using tinfoil - I don’t know what it would sound like without the insulation but there is absolutely no hum, no buzz, it is dead quiet.