so i recently noticed that one of the pick ups on my mexican fender strat was messed up (the bridge one). it's a mid 90s model that still had the classic three single coil pickup setup. the metal post on under the low E string seems to have become unfastened or something and is sitting inside the plastic casing.

the music store recommended bringing it into their tech shop (obviously ). what i'm wondering is...

how hard would it be to replace a pickup?
should i do all 3 at once (the guitar is closing in on 12 years old - the middle pickup is pretty dirty too)
any recommendations for pickups?
what about mini-humbuckers?

i really don't want to put full sized humbuckers in this guitar either, i think strats with HBs look cheesy plus all my other guitars have HBs hehe kind of funny how i've wanted multiple LP styles over the years but never once had the urge to replace my trusty old strat

I'd replace them. They aren't the best pickups anyway. You could replace them one at a time if you don't have the funds but a set of new Fender pickups is only $129 at Musicians Friend.

Strat Pickups

Yes...replace...not hard at all...maybe think about these...

http://www.genesissounds.com/products.html

Nothing wrong with upgrading instead of lateral movement!!!

Are you set up to solder?

If not, or you're not comfortable doing it, I guess you'll have to take it in.

I take my guitars in to get worked on. My old P-Bass just got set up. Runs about $60-$100. It's not enjoyable for me to play crappy sounding instruments. My guitars have to sound great all the time or I'll just be a miserable bastard.

Anyway, this is an opportunity to upgrade! Always a good time.

You don't need to do any routing (unless you want to be the coolest guy on the block and put a couple P-90s up in that b*tch. Well, don't waste those on a MIM Strat).

Seymour Duncan makes humbucking pickups that will fit in a single coil slot (Vintage Rails / Hot Rails).

I would get two normal single coils (SL-1s) and maybe stick a humbucking (like the one mentioned above) in the bridge for a noiseless setting.

A lot of guitar players will argue that Strats should always have single coils and you should just learn to appreciate the hum they produce.

If you have a MIM Strat with stock pickups, they're crap. Replace them.

Some folks prefer DiMarzio pickups. My MIA 80s Strat has the SDs, so I can't speak from experience. I'm sure the DiMarzio PUs are fine, too.

That's what's so cool about Strats. All the aftermarket crap.