It's taking me long enough to get together the cash for the guitar. I'm thinking that, unless I come into a windfall, the Duncans are going to be what I go with.
Eventually.

I have 2 sets of other tele pickups I don't use - duncan hot rails (came in my 89 blue tele when I bought it used) and the stockers from my japanese 85 snot tele. The hot rails are basically going to make it sound like a les paul, and I haven't the faintest clue about the japanese pickups but I'm skeptical. I'd happily mail you either set for free, but I suspect they aren't what you want.

Thanks so much for the offer, but I have a (Chandler) Hot Rails in the bridge of my Squire Strat and I know that is not what I am looking for from a Tele. As to the Japanese pickups: the guitar is already Jap-built, so they're probably the same pickups.
I really do appreciate the offer, though. Thanks so much.

You know it duder. I have other parts too - tuners, strat pickguards, switches... if anything ever comes up, hit me up. I am a world-class guitar parts hoarder.

What does your gift card store carry? Maybe get the pickups and work done through them and get a better deal on your thinline elsewhere?

Fender dealer.
Other than that, they don't carry much else that I am too interested in. Ibanez, maybe. Meh.
And, as I said, it's the Jap-built Thinline, not a Squire or a Mexi-built. Outside of Guitar Center, not sure what kind of deals I can get elsewhere.
Besides, I do want to give them the business. They are a local business, owned by a very nice guy. I like to give my support.
Kinda dorky that way.

buddy, at this rate they'll be out of business cause duder will die of old age, so you might as well get a deal elsewhere. You definitely need to buy it before your kids hit college or you'll never afford it.

Should have it in the next couple of months.

Used pickups come up pretty often on craigslist or ebay, too, so there's some savings there.

dig it. I'm glad you're getting the thinline and not the jag.

Damn dude. I didn't think they were THAT bad.

Kyle has told me twice that he liked it.

So, you're a liar Kyle and I can never believe anything you say ever again.

Also, FYI, that was a FREE guitar.

FWIW Todd, I didn't realize you were getting a MIJ Tele. It very well may have some good pups in it. I wouldn't sweat it.

YOU ALREADY KNEW THAT.

That guitar PLAYS very, very well. But it doesn't handle any kind of oomph from an amp, period. It gives up way too quick. We practiced with it at Terry's shop space, and just couldn't for the life of us get it to cut through drums and bass. Shit looks like a million bucks, though.

I've played it a few times and think its just kind of...thin, which is saying a lot since I play a Strat.

Also the stock pickups on my strat, snot tele, tele deluxe plus, and (assumably) the 89 tele were all pretty crappy and thin. It's a rare guitar that comes with properly good pickups stock, unless it's over $1000. I have the stock US pickups out of my 88 strat in a pickup box, along with a note that reads something like:

"These are your stock '88 US pickups. I know what you're thinking - maybe these aren't as bad as you remember. You are wrong, they are that bad. Do Not Install Them In Anything Again." I had to write that note because twice over the last 20+ years I've been looking for a more authentic, soft, strat-like sound, and have re-wired them into one guitar or another, and every time I've immediately regretted it.

i have never changed the pickups on any guitar I've ever owned. I suppose it's something I should do at some point. Perhaps I should experiment on one of my dust collectors.

It's so much fun, especially when you're wedging in a mini-humbucker or something where you've only had a single coil before. It feels like you bought a new guitar, except it cost so much less. 30 minutes, a cheap soldering iron, and a new set of strings and you're done.

I don't trust myself with even that much.

Oh, and this is what I'll be playing it through:

It's very, very easy.

That may be Kyle but I'm willing to bet the first time you did it wasn't with one of your prized possesions but with some beater, or homemade, guitar.

I'd be intimidated doing it also.

The first time I did it, I was with Bloor. And it was on my only guitar, the snot tele. And we (literally) chiseled a strat pickup into the bridge spot on that tele. I don't recommend chiseling, but when you get pickups meant for your guitar style, it's honestly as simple as connecting 2 wires and turning some screws. Example Tele 2 pickup replacement project, in a nutshell:

1. Take your strings off. You can do that.
2. Take off your pick guard. Ditto.
3. Take off the control cover with the Vol and Tone knobs attached to it (2 screws).
4. Take off the bridge (5 screws) and unscrew the bridge pickup from the bridge (3 screws).
5. Look at the wires coming from each stock pickup. Note the color, and where it goes in the control cavity. One will go to the pickup selector switch, and one will go to the back of a pot to ground. So two wires each pickup, not 50. MUCH simpler than you're picturing.
6. One pickup at a time, push the new wires through the body hole into the control cavity, and ONE WIRE AT A TIME melt the solder, pull the old wire, put in the new wire, and let it cool / harden.
7. Bolt the pickups back in place, bolt the bridge back down, set the neck pickup height, put strings back on, tune it up, plug in, splooge.

I'm not kidding when I say that making a decent thai stir fry is harder. Any of you could unscrew those pieces and screw them back together - there's no tricky parts, it's all super simple. It's the soldering that scares you, and only because you haven't tried it. If you do 1 wire at a time, you pretty much can't screw it up. And if you want a "feel good" check during the process, you can plug the disassembled guitar into an amp and hold any watch that ticks (not sweeps) up to the new pickups. You will hear a loud TOCK... TOCK... TOCK if the pickup is wired right. Bolt it together, string it up, you're done. Half an hour. 1.5 beers.

Or you can pay someone a hundred bucks to do it, but there's no fun in that.

Looks like, with a sale that is going on right now, I HAVE ENOUGH!!!
The shop ordered one up for me and I should have my new baby any day now!
Giggity!

"Kids, I'll be in the bedroom playing this for the next hour. Do not come in NO MATTER WHAT YOU HEAR."