Will expensive pups in a cheap guitar improve tone???

[triantobebrian]

Howdy all.

My ground up Warmoth Strat is progressing slowly but steady - the image below is one I'm getting made up into a vinyl decal to put on the backplate of the guitar and then a few coats of clear satin varnish so that it no longer looks like a sticker.

My new question is, I do a lot of interstate travelling for my work and take an iPad away with gargeband on it. This is the limit of my recording expertise - and whilst I'm writing songs and getting riffs down to rerecord properly through my actual guitar/amp setup, I'm finding I'm getting some ok tones through GarageBand directly.   I take a cr@ppy Samick Strat with a 'chipboard' body - it's my knock about guitar that I don't have to worry wether it's on a plane or gets moved by the wife etc etc.....

So my question is... If I put a Gibson burstbucker that I have spare, and a pair of BKP - maybe mothers milks or similar for the strat sound; am I simply wasting my money on a cheap guitar???
I don't mean on the guitar itself - it's a red with black crackle one that's heavily beaten up - and I love it.  It has lots of sentiment so worth a fair bit to me - and I can't (won't) take an expensive guitar away with me (or leave out on the couch at home - my miss us has already knocked over a brand new 335)

But would putting decent pickups into such a cheap chipboard body be the issue?
I realise I'm never going to get it to sound like a start with an all alder body and mahogany neck (just as I won't get GarageBand to sound like my valve amp) but what sort of tonal increase am I going to get considering these ones sound terrible.

If I got say, even 50% better I'd see it as a win, and my gargeband recordings would have to sound even better than they do now.

Any opinions would be appreciated & even suggestions on pups - I don't need to use the humbucker.  I'm currently waiting on Irish tours and a trilogy bridge for my project guitar.

Thanks.

[ericsabbath]

you can grab real wood  guitars for 99 bucks these days
for a hundred more, you get even set neck "mahogany"
I wouldn't invest in a mdf bodied guitar

[triantobebrian]

Thanks for the reply....
But you're missing the point.  It's officially my firt ever guitar - it's been to every city and town in the country with me, it did 4 years on the back of a motorbike as a messenger so I could play in parks between jobs.  It keeps me company at night on the road, and will spoon me without complaining.
I don't want to change the body.  So I don't mind investing in the mdf - thanks for the term.
But to get to the question, would I get better tone even on an mdf body in your opinion?

[witeter]

If you are willing to invest into it, you would notice a difference but the difference wouldnt maybe be as rewarding as putting it into another guitar which whilst cheap may have better specs-but i can see why you are doing it.
All my guitars cost me under 500 pounds, the cheapest one costing me 100 pounds (PRS SE tremonti)-i have upgraded the pups, electronics and had them setup properly and i love all of them!

[ericsabbath]

But to get to the question, would I get better tone even on an mdf body in your opinion?

maybe...
but maybe you don't  :?

I'd put EMGs or some other cheaper active pickups, as they tend to have a very strong character

[Twinfan]

You have a very basic guitar and you're using a computer modeller?

BKPs would be a complete waste of money in my opinion.

[Telerocker]

Total desinvestment.

[TheyCallMeVolume]

It would help a bit, but if you polish a turd and put nice pickups in it, it's still....wait, I guess turds don't need pickups. You get the idea though  :D

Not calling your guitar a turd here, just using a metaphor. It's obvious that you're very attached to your guitar, so if you want to improve the pickups that's fine, but I would say you would be better off saving BKP's for another guitar. Go for a set from Duncan or Dimarzio.

[ericsabbath]

try dragonfire active pickups
the H-S-S set costs about US$70

[metale]

Forget what it's made of. How does it sound accustically? Full or dull? Does it sustain well? It it already sounds acceptable, good pickups will more often than not enhance it.

That being said, if you like EMG tone, go for it. I had an EMG set on a great mahogany guitar, which got moved to a plywood (literaly) $50 strat. Sounds 98% the same.

[triantobebrian]

Thanks all.
Looking at a couple of options on eBay.

Anyone know about blade runner trems?