I'm looking for advice for the best way to sell the pickups and a ballpark value. Everything is mounted in a tortoise shell pickguard, which I will include. The set is about twenty years old, but in excellent condition. I am the original owner.

All advice appreciated. Thanks.

p.s. Based on some of the feedback, I've edited the post and included a second photo showing all of the electronics.

no idea what it's worth but it sure is pretty. hwat body colour would make that snap? black, mayhaps?  good luck to all!

I'm not the person for either of those questions - but look forward to seeing what price you arrive at; I doubt Senior Management will go my pitch whatever it is, I'll dern sure try!

Been:  I have long been of the opinion that black Fenders (and Fender-types) need white pearl; tortoise for sunburst or clear.  Everything else needs black.

Peter (who would not, however, be opposed to trying that on his black Strat........)

Quote from: Steve the Grate on March 21, 2026, 06:58:25 PM
Hi, I just removed the pickups aka "activators" from my Strat, which I'm also going to sell. As near as I could tell, the value of the Strat was pretty much the same regardless of which pickups are in it, so I decided to put the original pickups back in and sell the Alembic pickups separately.

I'm looking for advice as to what is the best way to sell the pickups and a ballpark value. Everything is mounted in a tortoise shell pickguard, which I will include. The pickups are about twenty years old, but in excellent cosmetic condition.

All advice appreciated. Thanks.

Just to clarify, but a picture from the back would help, as you do not mention if the preamp is included. One can guess it is as we can see a battery clip.

Tortoise on Black is a great look... [hat-tip to Bro. Elwood Blue, who wired up these old S-D HotStacks for me] 😊


Good luck with your sale Steve. Looks like some nice kit. Agree, having done it, best thing to do is part them back out.

Does the pick-guard include the Alembic preamp (volume control) and filter (tone control)?  Assuming it does, prices are all over the place.  A new set goes for $1900 msrp.  I've picked up used sets for under $500, but that's probably rare.  On reverb, they list for about $600 - $1500.  What they sell for is likely a different story.  Reverb prices can be a bit optimistic.  Right now there are used sets at almost the new price!

Bill, tgo

As noted there is a range on reverb, hard to say.  A photo of the backside would be helpful though.

Not sure of the value but they sure would go great in this strat I'm holding. Potentially interested.