Noiseless pickups

[inspector710]

Hi all-wanted to upgrade my Mexican Strat pickups with some vintage noiseless ones. Any thoughts??

[rudutch]

I did not care for them, seems the 'chime' went missing.
It's all personal preference, you might like them

[Totally bored]

I have Dimarzio Area 58's in the Neck and Middle and a Area 61 in the Bridge on 1 of my Strats. Sounds very nice and similar to my newer style 57/62s . Very vintage single coil like but Dead quiet.

They sound like this : http://youtube.com/watch?v=gwubC7G0NZM

I also have Dimarzio 61's in the Neck and Middle Position and a Dimarzio Virtual Vintage Solo Pro in the Bridge for Vintage Punch on my #1 Strat. Dead quiet and lots of Stratty chime.

[Spudman]

I have some Vintage Noiseless in my Mexi Strat. They are quiet but something is just odd. The mojo isn't there. I think the Dimarzio sound better.

[DoobieK]

I like the Dimarzio Area 61 for all positions of my Strat.

[inspector710]

I was under the impression that the pickups were different for different positions.

[DoobieK]

Some folks like hotter pups in the bridge. In the old days, there was no differentiation between bridge, neck or middle.

[djinn1973]

I have the hot noiseless in one of my strats. I really like them, you do loose a bit of definition (as the trade off for hum canceling) but over all the guitar still sounds like a Stratocaster.
Try them, the nice thing about a pickup swap is, if you don't like them you can take them right back out.

[phantomman]

Another vote for the DiMarzio Virtual Vintage pickups.

I put a set in each of my '65 re-issue CIJ and '50s re-issue MIM Strats -- an Area 61 in the neck, an Area '58 in the middle, and a Solo Pro in the bridge (respectively; DP416, DP415, DP414). They spank, they crank, they squawk, they talk......and totally noiseless!

The only caveat I'd add is, the Virtual Vintage pickups are slightly taller than a standard Fender and use a longer mounting screw. DiMarzio typically supplies a pair of chrome-plated round-head screws with each pickup. If you need the oval counter-sunk screws as used with the re-issue instruments, or a different color (gold and black are available), you'll hafta go to the DiMarzio website and order them there.

I'm thinkin' about buildin' another guitar in Burgundy Mist Metallic (for weddings, bar mitzvahs, etc) and I may try the YJM/HS2/HS3 combo in that one.

I don't think you'll be disappointed in the DiMarzios.

[Stonefreefuzz1]

I have the hot Noiseless in my strat and I like 'em alot, I haven't tried those Dimarzio's yet, but Phantomman knows his poop so they prolly sound great!

[wingnut1]

I've had a couple Am DLX Strats and Teles that had either VNs or SCNs and changed to true SC and there is a definite difference. You lose the chime of of the true SC with the noiseless. They sound somewhere between a humbucker and a SC. I still have a set of VNs in one of my Teles, but everything else is now true SC.

[phantomman]

I have the hot Noiseless in my strat and I like 'em alot, I haven't tried those Dimarzio's yet, but Phantomman knows his poop so they prolly sound great!

Well I dunno 'bout that, LOL! I'm one of the minority who actually likes the SCN/S-1 combo (yeah yeah -- blasphemy, I know!).



An' o'course I come here to The Forum to learn more "poop".



But gittin' back to the subject at hand......I think any tampering to Leo's original Stratocaster pickup recipe is gonna cause some change to the instrument's overall tone. But then again, how many of us are usin' various flavors of stomp boxes, modded amps, etc to arrive at that same sonic equation? Cuttin' to the chase, if it sounds good to you an' your band mates are down with it then you've knocked it outta the park. And if not? Well......that's why God invented the screwdriver and aftermarket pickups. I just wish I had a guitar around with some nice original Fender-US pickups in it for comparison, but bein' "PWT" I cain't afford me no Gringo-Caster.

[Stonefreefuzz1]

I like the SCN as well, your not alone amigo!

[refin]

Fender Vintage Noiseless are nice pups for me.

[Iowegan]

I like the SCN pups to. It took me a while to dial them in to the height that gives me the sound I want but once I did they're great.

I had some VN's in an Am. Series and they were nice to play but the SCN's have more depth.

[phantomman]

I like the SCN pups to. It took me a while to dial them in to the height that gives me the sound I want but once I did they're great.

I had some VN's in an Am. Series and they were nice to play but the SCN's have more depth.

Some time back at the Gitt City in Tucson I happened to be test-driving a new amp an' the guitar they handed me was one of those "Deluxe Player's Strat" models with VN pickups an' the 7-way switching. I thought the guitar sounded quite chimey, with the typical "sparkle" that I expect from a SC Fender. Conversely, the set-up on the thing was totally hosed......like something from the "Minsk Tank & Tractor Factory" from outta Soviet Russia during WWII. Strictly gomersville!

(I think the guitar musta been built during the World Cup Soccer Playoffs or Cinco de Mayo week)

[Iowegan]

+1 Phantom

The GC in my area takes it out of the box and puts it on the wall. The local indie music store sets everything up, keeps the strings changed if it's there for a while. Guess where I buy most of my gear?

5 minutes per guitar isn't going to kill anyone. Well maybe, but first impressions are everything.

[phantomman]

+1 Phantom

The GC in my area takes it out of the box and puts it on the wall. The local indie music store sets everything up, keeps the strings changed if it's there for a while. Guess where I buy most of my gear?

5 minutes per guitar isn't going to kill anyone. Well maybe, but first impressions are everything.

I'm down wif dat. GC is a great place to look at stuff, an' mebbe touch it a bit. But as for "service" (ie: havin' an on-site luthier on the payroll to keeps thangs copasetic), they are strictly toonersville. The only tool I've ever seen in a Gitt City is a box-cutter......for gittin' the cartons open to hang the stuff on the wall.

[Zhangliqun]

Go with Kinman. Pricey but worth it. They sound like the real thing.

[pseudocat]

The only tool I've ever seen in a Gitt City is a box-cutter......for gittin' the cartons open to hang the stuff on the wall.

Oh, they have lots of tools there. <snicker>

[Moody Day]

Are the area 58 & 61 really much better than the Lace Sensors? Just curious, I've never actually changed pickups in a strat.

[Offshore Angler]

I really dig the VN's in my Strat too. They are a tad hotter than traditional pups, but rolling off the volume a bit on the guitar takes care of that. Just remember you need to change the pots when you put in VN's.

[SuperDuperG]

Go to a shop and play a Players Deluxe Strat. It's a Mex Strat from the factory that comes with the pickups you are talking about.
That will give you an accurate reference point to judge from.

G

[boritz]

...upgrade my Mexican Strat pickups with some vintage noiseless ones...

G'day, I have done exactly that to my MIM using Kinman FV-HMS noiseless (and I mean noiseless) but excellent tone
http://www.thefenderforum.com/forum/...ad.php?t=38583

[demioblue]

I was under the impression that the pickups were different for different positions.

The CS 69s are the same for all 3 positions... And the tonal differences are wide...

[refin]

Here is a jam I did with the Vintage Noiseless strat pups in my old '62.
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page...songID=5661203

[Totally bored]

Dude thats a nice Jam.

Tone is in the fingers and I bet you could make "Dog Crap brand pups" sound great.

[refin]

Dude thats a nice Jam.

Tone is in the fingers and I bet you could make "Dog Crap brand pups" sound great.

I appreciate the ears and kind words.........but these pups sound real nice!
I taught today with this very strat and was amazed at the quack and clarity I was getting.Now they may be a little different than single coils,but I have found that I was always boosting singles to sound like these.

[Zoso]

I really like my SCN/S1 setup. I dropped some '54 Custom Shop pickups in my 50th Anniversary Deluxe Strat to replace them and moved the SCNs to a Mexican Strat. My observations:

'54s: More detailed, more chimey, and more of a hollow tone

SCNs: Smoother, sound better than the '54s in higher-gain applications

[Scablander]

Sometimes, I think my V/Ns don't have much chime and sparkle...then I change strings and discover the problem.

[demioblue]

Sometimes, I think my V/Ns don't have much chime and sparkle...then I change strings and discover the problem.

The funny thing is that on the CS69s, even with old strings, the guitar still chimes and sparkles...

Anyways, here's a heads up for the noiseless fans: Be sure to check out the DiMarzio HS-3 and YJM pickups. They're surprisingly nice... And don't sound anything like what you'd expect from Yngwie Malmsteen...

[photoweborama]

I had a set in my Strat for a time. I found them way too trebley.

I even put in 500K and 250K pots, and it just did not sound right to me.

I hear GFS now has a set of noiseless pickups out...

[jholcomb]

I have the stock Vintage Noiseless in my Clapton Strat. At first I didn't like them, but as I have learned to dial them in using the 25 dB boost, TBX, and volume controls, I love them. They sounds especially good through my Fulldrive II.

[refin]

I had a set in my Strat for a time. I found them way too trebley.

I even put in 500K and 250K pots, and it just did not sound right to me.

I hear GFS now has a set of noiseless pickups out...

Yes,and about $90 a set (3)----with a $10 off coupon right now.
I hope someone buys a set and posts a review.........right now I have 2 sets of Vintage Noiseless pups in guitars,and a set of EMG-SAs sitting in a drawer.

[calcio777]

Hi all-wanted to upgrade my Mexican Strat pickups with some vintage noiseless ones. Any thoughts??

Hey inspector, have you decided yet?

I just put the Hot Noiseless set in my 92 MiM Strat over the weekend and I love them! I bought a pre-assembled pickguard so i just had to solder it to the output jack and trem claw ground.

(Although I've never tried anything else other than the standard MiM ones that it came with.)

They are quiet, and some words that come to mind are "muscular", sparkly, and full sounding, and to me they do still sound "like a strat".