Upgrading!

Hey all, i recenetly purchased an Aria STG003 from my friend for $50. considering what a deal this was (since it retails for $200,) i am planning to push its limits to see what it can possibly furthermore do. As u might know it is a strat shape, almost exact dimensions to that of a real fender. In my opinion, and as far as i know many others aswell, Aria manufactures excellent guitars and on some parts it is on Par and even better in other areas than Fender Squires.

Anywho, im far past the beginner stage and im looking a bit more outta this guitar since im still doing my studies, a few years off university. But yeah, It is a perfect strat style guitar with 3 single coil pickups.

Now im looking to replace the

1. Stock pickups as their faulty and innacurate, (g string is 40% louder etc.)
2. The tuners (since the strings spring from tune every 2 hours)
3. hopefully the bridge.

Can you folks suggest some of these reasonable counterparts that would fit a fender shaped guitar? Keep in mind im still a scholar, and for $400 pickups i might as well get a Mexi strat :P.

Thanks a bunch all

Oh by the way, i even sanded down the neck and revarnished the entire guitar. I even got a "Fender Distortocaster," logo where the original ARIA was plated.

Hey there. I'm a newb, so sorry I can't give specific recommendations, but it would seem that to make this a budget upgrade you're probably looking at used parts. The gearhead in me is always looking at the DIY aspect of all my hobbies, and with guitar being my latest, I'm already thinking in that direction.

It would be interesting to hear about your progress. Do you have an pictures of what you've done so far? You should post them.

Good luck with the upgrades!

Originally Posted by: ShootaMcgavin1. Stock pickups as their faulty and innacurate, (g string is 40% louder etc.)

Are you sure this is not just an incorrectly adjusted height of the G-strings pickup post?

Originally Posted by: light487Are you sure this is not just an incorrectly adjusted height of the G-strings pickup post?

pickup post? the pickup coils are loopy. the G strings coil is much higher than the other coils, and its like that for the neck, middle and bridge pickup. im assuming they intended to do that since they had their configuration set up fine. the only possible solution i see is to raise the string from the bridge. so hte G string is 40% higher than the other strings, resulting in equal sound.

feel free to suggest some parts, or let me know whats up with the coils :P

I think the correct term is "polls" or "poll-pieces". They are the individual metal things in the pickup, one for each string. In some cases, the height of these are adjustable. It's more common for humbuckers to have adjustable polls/posts but some single coil pickup sets are adjustable too. I'm not sure if yours are adjustable but if they are, that could solve the problem with the G-string.. if not, then yeh you need to start to think about what kind of pickups you want.. Active, Passive, or some of the new Hybrid ones that I have seen around. Most people go with passive pickups on a strat because it gives the the standard strat sound.. I personally prefer active pickups.. it's a personal preference. May be research into the pickups your favourite artists use and go from there.