EX5 standard kit soapbar humbucking pickups review

This was my 1st build and after doing a few more you can reflect back on what could have been done better.

Initially I thought the kit supplied pickups sounded OK but found them low on output which was a surprise given around 16k ohm reading for both neck & bridge (both the same) when left wired in series, as they come with 4 wires (actually 5 with 5th being an outer ground shield). They can be split down at around 8k ohm per coil from memory.

Part of the low output reason was really only discovered long after installing a pair of Custom Bensons that cost around AUD $240......high action at bridge and PUP's seated low down in their cavities left too much space between strings and magnets and was a contributing factor toward lower than expected output, but the sound of the Bensons more than justifies their price point. Maybe the stock ones may have been adequate with a bit better setup and these days reckon trying a $20 Belcat Preamp off eBay first to see if that helps before spending around $200 bucks on upgrades. Due to the size and shape of the PUP cavity most replacements start around $100 each and work their way up from there.

I did a couple of sound demo's before & after upgrade that can be found in the build diary with links to relevant pages copied below.

Before: http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...t=4257&page=12

After: http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...t=4257&page=13

In addition to upgrading PUP's I also converted wiring to Master Vol & Master Tone with 3 way selector switch, and push/pull pots to split coils on each PUP thus providing a lot of useful sounds and tones. Highly recommend this wiring modification even if sticking with standard kit PUP's as they are splittable..... here is a link to that thread too: http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...ead.php?t=6476