Members MacFangus Posted May 11, 2017 Members Share Posted May 11, 2017 I damaged the Vintage Noiseless bridge pickup on my American Standard Tele last night, so decided to go with the Fender CS '51 Nocaster set. Does anyone have any experience with these pickups? What do you think, and do you think I should get an alternate set? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gardo Posted May 11, 2017 Members Share Posted May 11, 2017 If noiseless is important Fender has Gen 4 Noiseless pickups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MacFangus Posted May 11, 2017 Author Members Share Posted May 11, 2017 If noiseless is important Fender has Gen 4 Noiseless pickups. Not really... I actually dig the sound of single-coil pups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted May 11, 2017 Moderators Share Posted May 11, 2017 how did you damage it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MacFangus Posted May 11, 2017 Author Members Share Posted May 11, 2017 how did you damage it? I was trying to trim the edge of the base of the pickup so that it would fit with an improperly designed Glendale bridge-plate. I was using a Dremel to trim it, and the cylinder bit the winding! I wanted to change the pups, but I could have sold the Noiseless set. A needless mistake that didn't need to happen. Stupid! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted May 11, 2017 Moderators Share Posted May 11, 2017 Ouch...as much as I like Dremels, when you mess up with one, it is usually irreversible... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MacFangus Posted May 11, 2017 Author Members Share Posted May 11, 2017 Ouch...as much as I like Dremels' date=' when you mess up with one, it is usually irreversible...[/quote'] Yeah... I knew I need to be careful, but no matter how much I took off, it wouldn't fit. I didn't realize that the entire pickup base from end-to-end was hitting the route. I didn't know the Noiseless are stacked humbuckers? I thought they used Lace technology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted May 11, 2017 Moderators Share Posted May 11, 2017 Yeah... I knew I need to be careful, but no matter how much I took off, it wouldn't fit. I didn't realize that the entire pickup base from end-to-end was hitting the route. I didn't know the Noiseless are stacked humbuckers? I thought they used Lace technology. had it been me, I would probably have opted to open the aperture on the bridge plate, rather than trimming the p-up, but it is too late to offer that advice, eh? I'm not a fan of noiseless...I'm very old school about my single coils [in spite of the inevitable 60Hz hum]...I am debating changing the p-ups on my Tele copy, but they just sound 'authentic enough' for me to hesitate. I just did the Bill Kirchen control plate flip on that axe,too, so I'm gonna wait on any more changes...I'm also contemplating a bigsby-style trem for it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MacFangus Posted May 11, 2017 Author Members Share Posted May 11, 2017 had it been me, I would probably have opted to open the aperture on the bridge plate, rather than trimming the p-up, but it is too late to offer that advice, eh? I'm not a fan of noiseless...I'm very old school about my single coils [in spite of the inevitable 60Hz hum]...I am debating changing the p-ups on my Tele copy, but they just sound 'authentic enough' for me to hesitate. I just did the Bill Kirchen control plate flip on that axe,too, so I'm gonna wait on any more changes...I'm also contemplating a bigsby-style trem for it... A Bigsby would be cool! I considered flipping my plate as well, but I flip the pup selector quite a bit. I also purchased some RC Authentic '64 Firebird pickups for my '02 Firebird. Can't believe I waited so long to get a Firebird... I always wanted one, but for some reason I never got one? I absolutely LOVE playing it, even with the hotter pickups. My '02 pickups don't sound bad at all. I've read a lot of comments about how awful the stock pups are, but not mine. I've had the RC pups for over two months, along with 500k CTS pots. I'm wondering if the stock Gibson pots are 300k? If they are, I'm not sure if I want to use 500k. I'm going to put 300k pots back into my '96 LP Custom as well. The 500k (with Wolfetone pups) seem to be a bit too bright. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted May 11, 2017 Moderators Share Posted May 11, 2017 The negative comments I've heard on Firebird p-ups was on the post-2010 models; I'm not sure what value the pots are, but all my Gibsons have had 500k Ohm..from 1962 to 2002...if you like how the stock ones sound, why change them out?I rarely run my tone controls all the way up on the bridge p-ups, because they are indeed a bit brighter than I like, and I find I am using the neck pick-ups more often for a darker but smoother tone, alone or 'blended', plus it contrasts me from another guitarist [if there is one]. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MacFangus Posted May 11, 2017 Author Members Share Posted May 11, 2017 I didn't know there was a cutoff date for the FB pups? Maybe the later ones use alnico V? If I recall correctly, most of Gibson's early pups used alnico IV, not II or V. I spoke with Tom Holmes, and did confirm this. I actually purchased the RC pickups for another guitar (SG) that I ended up selling. As a mint '02, I'm thinking I may just leave it stock. It's not vintage, but does have the ABR-1 bridge and one piece rosewood board. Remember when "vintage" meant that there was something special about the instrument for that era or year? I've heard that one of the problems with the 300k pots, was that Gibson was using linear vs. audio. Don't know if that true? I do know that I seem to prefer the 300k's that were in my Custom. I have the new push-pull CTS pots in it now. The CTS tone pots that I put in don't seem to do anything until I turned them down to around 4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrbrown49 Posted May 11, 2017 Members Share Posted May 11, 2017 I didn't know there was a cutoff date for the FB pups? Maybe the later ones use alnico V? If I recall correctly, most of Gibson's early pups used alnico IV, not II or V. I spoke with Tom Holmes, and did confirm this. I actually purchased the RC pickups for another guitar (SG) that I ended up selling. As a mint '02, I'm thinking I may just leave it stock. It's not vintage, but does have the ABR-1 bridge and one piece rosewood board. Remember when "vintage" meant that there was something special about the instrument for that era or year? I've heard that one of the problems with the 300k pots, was that Gibson was using linear vs. audio. Don't know if that true? I do know that I seem to prefer the 300k's that were in my Custom. I have the new push-pull CTS pots in it now. The CTS tone pots that I put in don't seem to do anything until I turned them down to around 4. Weird. What taper did you get for those? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MacFangus Posted May 11, 2017 Author Members Share Posted May 11, 2017 Weird. What taper did you get for those? I don't recall? I purchased the pots as a kit from a guy on eBay. I should have wired the pups as single-coil / humbucker also. Instead, I wired the coils as series / parallel. i.e. 1/2 power. They sound cool, but not as much bite as single-coil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrbrown49 Posted May 12, 2017 Members Share Posted May 12, 2017 I don't recall? I purchased the pots as a kit from a guy on eBay. I should have wired the pups as single-coil / humbucker also. Instead, I wired the coils as series / parallel. i.e. 1/2 power. They sound cool, but not as much bite as single-coil. You could always do the "jimmy page" wiring. That'll give you just about every option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MacFangus Posted May 12, 2017 Author Members Share Posted May 12, 2017 You could always do the "jimmy page" wiring. That'll give you just about every option. I know it! I'm going to order the entire kit today. I wish I could get the kit with p/p 300k volume pots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrbrown49 Posted May 12, 2017 Members Share Posted May 12, 2017 I know it! I'm going to order the entire kit today. I wish I could get the kit with p/p 300k volume pots. Are 250K pots close enough? They are readily available in DPDT push pulls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MacFangus Posted May 12, 2017 Author Members Share Posted May 12, 2017 Are 250K pots close enough? They are readily available in DPDT push pulls. I never considered it. I've never tried a HB pickup with 250k pots... Interesting idea. Will research... Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted May 12, 2017 Share Posted May 12, 2017 250k pots will often make a humbucker sound too dull. I'd definitely recommend sticking with 300k or even 500k pots unless you're trying to tame an unusually bright sounding humbucker... when in doubt, always check to see what the pickup manufacturer recommends for that particular model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MacFangus Posted May 12, 2017 Author Members Share Posted May 12, 2017 250k pots will often make a humbucker sound too dull. I'd definitely recommend sticking with 300k or even 500k pots unless you're trying to tame an unusually bright sounding humbucker... when in doubt, always check to see what the pickup manufacturer recommends for that particular model. I think you're right. The brass saddles seem to be accentuating the highs a bit, which should calm down once I notch the saddles. I'll stick with 500k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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