Anybody have them? Opinions?
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Anybody have them? Opinions?
I don't have them, but there seem to be more opinions out there than errrr..... something about which many people hold an opinion...
Someone will be along in a minute to tell you to buy the Dimarzios...
I have played them in a few different strats that belong to my friends. The "theme" about them that my ear perceives is this:
They sound pleasant enough taken on their own. Nothing bad at all. But, they don't sound like, or have the feel of, a vintage (or faithfully made vintage style) stratocaster pickup. They are a different electromagnetic tool than the old style pickup.
Whether that is for you or not only you can decide. In the end it is less about the pickup and more about what you do with it. I don't judge a player by their gear. Rather, I judge by what I hear being done with the gear.
I'm actually very happy with my stock 2008 Am. Std. pups. I get a vintage quack out of them, and they're really versatile. I'm just curious about them for when, eventually, I get a Strat body for a Fender Am. neck a buddy gave me. I have to say, I love the clean sounds Clapton gets from the VNs.
I'm gonna leave the "obligatory" DiMarzio post... But seriously, give the Yngwie pups a serious consideration!!! Do not read their hype, or DC specs... If you are wanting "vintage" tone with no noise, then that's what I suggest. One of the best sounding Strats I built had them. No one, and I mean NO ONE, would have guessed they are what I used in it. Next Strat I have will have them in it. And I don't even care if my guitars hum or are noisy! They're THAT good.
Yeah, I use 'em. I have the in a Stat and like them very much. Not quite as clear as a traditional pickup, but damned nice.
For some reason, it's obligatory that that every stage have a neon sign over it and sometimes the VN's save the day and let me get by with no gate.
That said, I run 'em on 1Meg tones and a 500K volume pot so you gotta figure that just dropping them in as a swap with standard 250K's is going to sound a lot different. I think that may be one of the reasons I've been able to get such good results with them.
YMMV.
I had a set for a time, but I found the Vintage Noiseless set to be a bit too shrill for me. I tried 1M pots, 500K, and 250K and I just could not tame them down.... to my taste, that is. Never even though of different value pots between volume and tone. As they say YMMV!
I like mine for alot of things,but they aren't exactly like a chimey original,like buckaroo said.
I'm more interested in a vintage tone than in noiseless-ness. I do like Fender pups, and I've thought about a set of their Vintage pups or of Seymour Duncan's (duck and hide?????).
(Eery ghostly voice) Get the Yngwies... Build it and they will come (up to you after the show and tell you how great you sound!) :D
It's been a few years since I used them but I found the VNs to sound pretty good. Not a perfect vintage sound practicing by myself but the really worked well playing live. If your not worried about noiseless then some other options are the Van Zandt Vintage set or Dimarzio Class of 55's (discontinued unfortunately but they are out there used). The Duncan vintage pups sound great too.
bang for the buck....the newest USA 57/62 Fender reissue machine made pickup reproduces a very good vintage strat tone. These are very underrated in my view. They sound alot like mid-late 60's pre CBS /early CBS original Fender strat pups in my view. You can get better, but these nail it fairly well.....for the money.
Just sayin...YMMV
Honestly, I've always loved the bone-stock pups in the ASe Strats. They do pretty much everything well for me. The tone controls are REALLY effective and you can go from vintage chime to Ritchie Blackmore with the flick of the wrist.
But I always tell everyone that if they are unhappy with their sound it's usually your amp and not your pickups. A good amp makes a Dano or Tiesco Del Ray sound great.
If your amp doesnt have a happening direct sound, no amount of effects, pickups or tonewoods will make it better.
As with all things tone related, above is my opinion and yours may vary vastly. It's all good.
Amen! Can I get a hallelujah? :dude
Some time ago I bought a very nice 57RI with Kinman VN fitted . They were good but not quite authentic and a little grainy sounding . I installed Fender Custom 54s . These were real sweet and bona fide .