Phil O'Keefe Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 Hey guys... what's the current consensus on the best choice for a hum-free / noiseless Strat pickup that can fit into a standard single coil route? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gardo Posted November 12, 2015 Members Share Posted November 12, 2015 It's funny you would ask that. I bought a cheap Tele and went noiseless right away. Then last year I bought a new FSR Strat and found it to be much quiter than I expected.so I left the pickups alone.. This is odd because I'm usually very anal about hum.but it just sounds too good to mess with.. I'd be interested in finding out what everyone else thinks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted November 12, 2015 Members Share Posted November 12, 2015 Consensus! Ha - good one Phil. I like Kinmans for noiseless, but I suspect a great set of great SC pups (eg: Fralins) with the Ilitch back plate is the best option and the one that tone hounds prefer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted November 12, 2015 Members Share Posted November 12, 2015 Minus one great... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted November 12, 2015 Members Share Posted November 12, 2015 Funny, I have a set of SCN just charring the shelf it's on. Oops bad metaphor! (purchased quite legally at MF) I have 4 strat types they could go in but I can't make up my mind. As far as single coil hum, I raised the coils to the recommended max and DUH, THE SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO BECOMES OPTIMIZED Ok I'm a drummer so you tend to stumble through progress. Anyway, now I can crank the gain, use all the splits on the bridge, and no need for a gate. The hum is still there so recording would present different issues but for playing, the volume knob will do all the necessary noise reduction.The SCNs will get installed once I've cracked the corksniffer maze. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted November 12, 2015 Members Share Posted November 12, 2015 I'd go with rails, maybe SD's. Not sure if you want a SC sound but humbuckers would qualify otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members onelife Posted November 12, 2015 Members Share Posted November 12, 2015 I got one of the original JV strats in 1982 and there were some rooms where I couldn't use it because of the noise. I put some Lace Sensors in it which were a compromise in tone but worth it because they were quiet and I could play the guitar anywhere. Chris Kinman claimed he had figured out how to get rid of the noise without the losses in tone. He claimed his pickups sounded so good the fact that they are noiseless is actually a bonus so I decided to try them. It was like getting the original pickups back but without the noise or the stratitus. The Kinmans are expensive but I think they are worth the premium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billybilly Posted November 12, 2015 Members Share Posted November 12, 2015 Well, there's Kinman and then there is the rest. Soem ones to consider that can be overlooked are Fishman Fluence and Zexcoils, both reviewed highly but haven't tried them. http://www.fishman.com/products/view...-width-pickupshttp://lawingmusicalproducts.com/strat/ I like what Dimarzio has to offer in their area and virtual series and recently, tried the N3s from fender which are way better than the SCN's which, IMO, just weren't good enough. In fact, I like the N3's better than the area's, they could just suit the guitar they are in too. I believe every guitar requires a particular pickup based on its core sound and what you want to achieve. PS I have always found positions 2 and 4 lacking with noiseless, all brands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zoobiedood Posted November 12, 2015 Members Share Posted November 12, 2015 I use Duncan Classic Stack Plus for Strat, which are really really close to a very quacky, classic Strat tone. If you want to go with rails, there is the Vintage Rails, but the Stacks do it better to my ears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mikeo Posted November 12, 2015 Members Share Posted November 12, 2015 All my starts have regular vintage pups, but one of them had Lace Sensors. They are pretty good, but have a slightly different tone than the regular start pick ups. I didn't put the Lace Pick up in, that what it came with. To me it was a a nice cheaper American made start to gig with at bars and clubs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted November 12, 2015 Moderators Share Posted November 12, 2015 Not heard anything that can do noiseless as well as Kinmans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Karma1 Posted November 12, 2015 Members Share Posted November 12, 2015 I've had good experiences with Lace Sensors. I've experimented with a number of them in my Strat and have settled on Silver/neck, Gold/middle, and Blue/bridge. I also have a Gold in the neck of my Tele Thinline (w/ a Duncan Little 59/bridge). The Lace Sensors are quiet and to me, are not a compromise in tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pine Apple Slim Posted November 13, 2015 Members Share Posted November 13, 2015 Wylde (Lawrence) I have the L45S. But all the noiseless designs are good. Great prices excellent product. Usually a wait time tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted November 13, 2015 Moderators Share Posted November 13, 2015 I had forgotten the original Bill's pickups, yes, I think I would put these up against Kinman's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Minning Around Posted November 13, 2015 Members Share Posted November 13, 2015 I have Kinmans in my Strat and Tele. Way, way better than SC - I thought the stock tone sucked. Kinmans are stacked coil humbuckers though. They don't sound 100% single coil. But they are close enough. I hate hum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AJ6stringsting Posted November 16, 2015 Members Share Posted November 16, 2015 I love the late 1970's thru 1983 Bill Lawrence L-250's,even though some are rated between 11k ohms to 13k ohms, those pickups had great noise canceling properties , they always maintained the great SC " Quack" tone while delivering greater bass and beautiful upper mids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted November 16, 2015 Author Share Posted November 16, 2015 Wylde (Lawrence) I have the L45S. But all the noiseless designs are good. Great prices excellent product. Usually a wait time tho. Didn't Bill Lawrence also do the design of the SCN's for Fender? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted November 16, 2015 Author Share Posted November 16, 2015 The Kinmans ARE on the expensive side, aren't they? Over three hundred for a set of three? Are they really worth that much? BTW, thanks for all the great suggestions guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members onelife Posted November 16, 2015 Members Share Posted November 16, 2015 In a word, yes. I also have Kinmans in one of my teles. What I have discovered is the way a guitar responds to the way I play it is more important than having an "authentic" reproduction of someone else's tone. Kinman pickups have a magnet stagger that is set for even volume and tone rather than trying to duplicate pickups from the fifties that were designed for a different type of guitar strings. I really like the Kinmans because they allow me to get very expressive sounds out of my guitars and they don't reproduce that annoying buzz that is floating around in the air these days. When I consider how important that is to me, three hundred dollars is not too steep a price to pay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members onelife Posted November 16, 2015 Members Share Posted November 16, 2015 Didn't Bill Lawrence also do the design of the SCN's for Fender? Indeed he did. I also have a strat with SCNs. They seem to get a bit of a bad rap but I like them. I generally find strats to be somewhat anaemic and they benefit from having a bit of a boost before entering the signal chain. The SCNs give me a very useful range of tones and, while they are a little hotter than traditional strat pickups, the sound is close enough for rock 'n' roll for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted November 17, 2015 Members Share Posted November 17, 2015 SCNs maybe lack in glassiness. Relevant but not a deal breaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wankdeplank Posted November 17, 2015 Members Share Posted November 17, 2015 I wasn't going to respond to this thread because all the noiseless pickups I've ever used SUCKED BIG TIME. Admittedly it was a small sample size but still I run the risk of trampling on someone's feelings. A couple years ago someone on this board (no longer active) was talking up the lace sensors - the only Strat pickup he would ever use etc., etc. I had an old MIM with ceramics in it that I was refurbishing and took the suggestion to heart. I read up on the specs and expected amazing when I learned they lessoned string pull and concentrated the magnetic field - which sounded great in theory. What I got was a somewhat sterile sounding instrument with a surfeit of chime and low end response. Switched those out in a hurry for some 60's repros from GFS. What a huge difference in tone. Later I acquired an 89 American Strat that was outfitted with one boutique (not noiseless) in the neck and a pair of Dimarzio noiseless (hs2 and 3)in the middle and bridge positions. Again, the neck sounded so much more organic and alive than the other two. But this time, I did something different about it. Rather than buying more vintage pickups to replace them I decided to do the Eric Johnson mod and make the Dimarzio's true single coil. It was like taking a blanket off that had been muffling the sound. Not only did I get a very chimey vintage tone, but the pickups are a little quieter still than most vintage Strat pickups. I really like the Dimarzio hs2 and 3 in true single coil mode. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted November 17, 2015 Members Share Posted November 17, 2015 This is way cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted November 17, 2015 Members Share Posted November 17, 2015 This is way cool: Isn't that a Suhr product? Anyway I think 60hz noise is a constant. A Bose canceller should nuke it completely. (?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billybilly Posted November 17, 2015 Members Share Posted November 17, 2015 I wasn't going to respond to this thread because all the noiseless pickups I've ever used SUCKED BIG TIME. Admittedly it was a small sample size but still I run the risk of trampling on someone's feelings. . I play noiseless now but do feel there is always a compromise, it's just whether or not having hum is worth it. And to offend a little, lol, I think there is even a compromise with Kinman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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