Fender Noiseless PUPs

  • Thread starter Thread starter Tulago
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Tulago

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Hey Light:

You said in another post that you don't like the Fender noiseless pickups. Is that because they are stacked humbuckers and not a real single coil (Fender) sound, or because they are not hot enough for your liking?

I have an American Deluxe Strat with the noiseless pups and I notice that I have to dial in the right amount of volume to get that clean strat treble I like. Obviously, same as I would on any humbuckers.

I liked the other comment that said, "if you want a Fender sound, you've got to have Fender pickups". Is there are real or perceived difference in the various pickup manufacturers out there, both in quality and tone....?

Just curious what you think as I've found your comments to be insightful and professional.

Regards,

Tulago
 
To my ear, they sound very flat and one dimensional. I find that Bardens, Fralins, and Duncans (depending on the model) all sound a little (maybe a lot) more complex, and they have more versatility (again, to my ear). I certainly would never try to tell anyone they are wrong to use them, same as I would not tell anyone not to use Lace Sensors or EMGs. I just don't like the sound, personally. If they give you what you need, then you should use them.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
I know what I'm about to say has been overly discussed and argued about in many guitar forums across the internet but I feel compelled to post it anyway so here it goes. You are looking for a noiseless (absolutely no 60 cycle hum) single-coil sized pickup that sounds like a traditional Fender single-coil pickup. While many companies advertise just that, and I've tried several, the best one I have found is the Bill Lawrence L-280S and they cost just $40 each. The only place you can get the L-280S is from Bill himself. This link will take you to Bill's L-280 page http://www.billlawrence.com/Pages/Pickup_Window/280.htm All I can say is to try them and see for yourself. Bill has been making pickups since around '65 and has been employed by Gibson and Fender over his career designing pickups and guitars. He just recently worked closely with Fender to design their new Samarium Cobalt Noiseless (SCN) pickup. I have some mp3's available on my website of the L-280's in action. The mp3 titled 33 Blues is the L-280's with the selector switch in the neck + middle position for that quack sound with my amp set on a clean setting. For overdriven SRV'ish neck pickup tone check out my mp3 of DaBlues Shuffle. (Keep in mind with my mp3's that you can get an idea of how the pickups sound but of course don't forget to take into consideration how the amp and guitar itself affects the tone.) These pickups are amazingly versatile. Do yourself a favor and try them out! I'm not an employee of Bill's and he does not pay me or give me free stuff to endorse his pickups. I just know how frustrating it is searching for pickups so get some L-280's, quit searching, and get back to playing.

Best Wishes,
-dabluesman

http://www.dabluesman.com
 
I haven't heard the new Fender Noiseless that Bill Lawrence helped design, but I've heard the original Fender noiseless pups, and the only good thing I have to say about them is they're quiet. In all other aspects they suck.
I know a lot of people enjoy tweaking on their guitars and swapping out pups, but I realy feel the plain old Fender Amercian stock singles are a great pup. There's been many times I've wanted to swap them out of my US Strat just because it seems so "wrong" to stick w/ stock pups these days, but every time I pick up that axe I just can't find anything wrong with the way it sounds except for the noise. The Fralins I've heard have been very good as well. I'd really like to try some Fender Fat 50's some day too. All these pups are true singles though, and you're still getting the hum.
I've heard lots of noiseless singles, from Lace to Fender to Virtual Vintage to EBMM "Silent Circuit", etc etc. I have yet to hear any noiseless scheme that still has the snap and sing of an actual single coil. I haven't heard Kinmans or Bardens, but there's no way I'd drop that much money unless it was a sure thing. I haven't heard the Bill Lawrences either, but $40 isn't too much to pay on a gamble. I guess I'll have to give those a try someday. He sure has a loyal following, I can say that much.
A
www.aaroncheney.com
 
another L-280 user here....

and i concur, my search for a single coil-sounding pickup ended with the L-280s.

It ultimately boils down to a subjective opinion......
but i can say that i've played just about every version of a single coil out there, including the actives (i had the EMG-SA assembly)....

and i just like the bill lawrence better.

They're cheap, but since they're made to order, you'll have to wait a little while for them....

but in the big scheme of things, a few weeks is worth it.
 
Thanks for the replys....

I've got an American Strat with the standard single coils.
I've got a Les Paul with that classic 'bucker sound.

What I am looking for is that great strat vibe without all that 60 Hz hum for home recording. Playing live through my Boogie is not the issue. So I got the deluxe strat with the stacked humbuckers....but it doesn't sound quite right to me. I can tweak a pretty good blues vibe out of it but that's about all.

I am recording direct through a Sansamp PSA-1 or a POD Pro to a hard disk recorder and want a quieter PUP. I will have a look at the Bill Lawrence L-280S.

Thanks.
 
My L-280's replaced the delta tone pickups in my '99 American Standard Strat. I got them for same reason as you, I record direct also. I really the L-280's will work perfectly for you.
 
In my opinion, the Fender noiseless pickups have no soul and there is absolutely no complexity to their sound. You're ALMOST better off with hum!

If in my search for great noiseless single coils I'd come across the Bill Lawrence L-280S for $40, I definitely would have tried them. I did try the Seymour Duncan Classic Stacks for a while, but wasn't that crazy about them, as they didn't have the Strat-vibe.

I now use Kinman pickups and LOVE them. I got a set of Kinman Blues, as they most closely fit my playing style, but Kinman also makes a vintage pickup that's less hot. These pickups are dead quiet, NO hum whatsoever, yet without any compromise to the Strat sound. They are expensive, but I feel I definitely got what I paid for.
 
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