Fender Vintage Noiseless Strat

Pickup features: Passive single coil
Impedence or other specs: ????

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Strat 70's replica
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Why should replace this??? well maybe the bridge pu...
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: Hendrix, Vaughan...
You musical style(s): Blues, funk
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level: Well vintage, what can I say? nice warm, pretty low but nice output
Tone: Bassy and I like it, lotsof mid 2
Sonic evaluation: I use a vox pathfinder and a crybaby wah!
sounds great with the neck pu and some slight overdrive

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: This pu ROX MY SOX

Comments: If this pickup would be stolen I would problably get a new one BUT only for the neck position, I would buy hotrails for bridge and middle pos

Pickup features: Passive single coil sounding pickup with stacked humbucking design
Impedence or other specs: 9.8K measured for all 3

Model of guitar or bass: Previous review was with a 1992 Strat Plus Deluxe. This review is with a Eric Clapton Strat.
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Fender Lace Pickups - 3 Golds
Other pickups on guitar: None
Artists using this pickup: Eric Clapton and Ritchie Sambora
You musical style(s): Everything from early rock top present day rock.
Reason for pickup change: As stated on my previous review, these pickups failed in a big way with my '92 Strat Plus Deluxe. I thought I'd try them in my Clapton Strat before I sold them as refrigerator magnets.

Perceived output level: Very clean, low output.
Tone: Clear and clean but too trebly, not bassy at all. No mids whatsoever.
Sonic evaluation: Eric Clapton Strat into a Boss GX700 preamp/ processor into a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe (great amp) and Traynor Bassmaster (1970).

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play everything from the Beatles, Stones to SRV to Van Halen and Collective Soul.

Comments: I have a love/ hate relationship with these pickups. These pu's failed in every possible way in my '92 Strat Plus Deluxe.
Well as it turns out, these pickups need the mid-boost like both Clapton and Ritchie Sombora have built in their Strats. I guess thats why they use them.
With the boost, they really came alive and nailed all the Strat tones and some Gibson tones as well. Even with the boost on zero, the pickups had more punch than my '92 Strat. I have no problems with the Lace Sensors pu's that originally came with the EC Strat, but if I had one complaint, it would be the in-between sounds or position 2 and 4 that sounded a bit muddy with the lace sensors. The VN's cured that problem.
I hate to say it, but now these pickups aren't bad at all. I just had them in the wrong guitar. By the way, I left the tone and volume controls in the EC Strat completely intact.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I give this pickup a: 3

Pickup features: Stacked Single Coil
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Custom Shop Custom Player Strat
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: These come standard on Custom Shop Custom Players.
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s):
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level: VERY low output...my cheapo Mexican Fat Strat is much louder than these!
Tone: Read on...
Sonic evaluation: These anemic pickups are a big mystery to me. For the life of me I can't see how anyone can hear any good in them. They are devoid of any soul or identity whatsoever. They are brittle-sounding with a thin, metallic ring that leaves me cold. I played them through NINE different vintage and modern tube amps and couldn't coax a good tone out of any of them. I'm also bummed by the guys here who say they are "totally" noiseless. That's a lot of crap. Yes, they are noticeably quieter than other single coils, but there is still some hum there (and I used both Monster Cable and George L's). Oh well, at least the decision to change pickups is an easy one. I'll be looking at Lindy Fralins, Seymour Duncan Antiquities...maybe those new Kinmans. If tin tone is the price you pay for a little less noise, well, it's too steep for me.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable:

Comments:

Pickup features: Stacked Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: Volume Pot - 500K; Tone Pots - 1 meg

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Deluxe Super Strat
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: "Super Fat - Super Strat" Pickups
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Rock, Punk, Classic Rock
Reason for pickup change: Wanted to be rid of the hum.

Perceived output level: Pretty Hot
Tone: Bassy and Trebly, depending on what coil you select...
Sonic evaluation: Using a practice amp most of the time that doesn't have a brand name, but for performances, I use a Crate G600 head and two 4x12 cabs that hail all sorts of brand names :)
I use a DOD Grind Overdrive Pedal, a Boss Distortion, a DOD Flanger, and an old Ibanez Chorus Pedal.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable:

Comments: These pickups are pretty good, but they lack that midrange "bite" with distortion. This may be due to the fact that my practice amp has no midrange knob, but even with my old pickups, there was a good amount of midrange through the amp. On my performance amp, however, there is a midrange selector, and I can increase it to get that midrange that is lacking. I would say that if you're looking for a midrangy sound, don't get these unless your amp is big on midrange.
These pickups are EXCELLENT played clean. I think that they're built more for clean sound than anything else.
The installation is pretty easy. Getting started is the hard part. As the other reviewers say, the resistor and the capacitor have to be put in parallel on the volume pot. My set of pickups came with a sheet correcting the mistake made previously, and it is exactly the same as the American Deluxe Strat. I would recommend that you download the wiring for that from Fender's Mr. Gearhead site to have the most easy to read installation instructions. The new instructions look like someone just sat down and drew it.
They also come with a 500k pot and two 1 meg pots, which corrects the problem the other reviewers were experiencing with not having the right pots. I accidentally broke my 500k pot when I was installing it because I smashed it in too hard or something, so I installed a previous 250K pot. It sounds alright, but it won't turn all the way down. If I put on the overdrive and turn it up real loud, I can still hear it when I hit a string. I plan on getting anoter 500k pot and replacing the 250k pot.
If you are installing these pickups in a Deluxe Super Strat, which of course has the "Super Switching" Feature, you can wire the pickups the same way as the old pickups were, but you still have to put those resistors in parallel on the volume pot, and make sure you have the .022mf capacitor on both of your tone pots, or it won't work. I didn't have a .022mf capacitor to put on my bridge tone pot, so I can't adjust the tone. I'll have to buy another one and put it on there so it will work.
Well, I hope this is informational enough for anyone considering these pickups. Good luck on your search for the perfect tone!

Pickup features: Stacked humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Standard (Mexican) Stratocaster
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Fender Mexican Standard OEM
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: E.C.
You musical style(s): Rock, Blues, Country
Reason for pickup change: I wanted to hear more definition between pickup positions, and some Fender in-between quack.

Perceived output level: Slightly lower than normal output level
Tone: Great balanced tone thru the right amp (Peavey Bandit 65); trebly thru Line 6 Spider 210
Sonic evaluation: Sounds great with my old Peavey Bandit 65 in my Fender Mexican Standard strat. Too trebly thru my Line 6 Spider 210.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Sounds great for blues, classic rock, jazz, country. Don't know for other styles.

Comments: I was tired of my Fender Mexican Standard pickups not having as much differentiation in different positions as on the expensive strats. I tried various expensive strats and like the Noiseless pickup equipped strats best. I had them put in by a pro technician, but discovered the much (on this site) ballyhooed problem of volume rollof. Basically, there was no useable volume until you got near 8. I didn't like this annoyance, and was very disappointed with my purchase. However, after referring to some mods suggested in these reviews, my tech put in a 500k ohm volume pot (instead of the 1 meg pot included), with a 680pu cap in parallel with a 220k ohm resistor. That mod made all the volume increase at the lower half of the settings, and was also undesireable. Then he removed the 680pu cap, leaving in the 500k ohm pot with the 220k resistor. Now it works like a volume knob should. The tone is great vintage sounding, and I love it. I did'nt know what the in-between (pickup settings 2 & 4) quack was till I heard them with this new setup. Cool! One thing, they didn't sound that powerful and were trebly thru my Line 6 Spider 210, but thru my old Peavey Bandit 65, they sound awesome.... a worthy change to an inexpensive Mex strat. Now it sounds as good as a new Deluxe Strat (w/ Noiseless Pickups) as less than half the price. Also my tech solved a static problem that I was getting strumming chords, that's probably worth repeating. Wipe the pickguard area with Cling Free (a kind of anti-static cloth that you put in the laundry dryer), and spray some Static Guard on the carpet where you play guitar. I couldn't believe it but it works. I rate Fender Noiseless Pickups an 8, because they're not completely noiseless at high amp settings, and because Fender sends you the wrong volume pot and resistor with the pickups, although they sound great for that vintage sound. Detractors who say they are powerless probably set them up the Fender recommends in their instructions.

Pickup features: stacked humbucking
Impedence or other specs: came with 1 meg pots and resistor

Model of guitar or bass: Guitar
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: mexican standard pups
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and others
You musical style(s): Punk/Grunge
Reason for pickup change: Hated the loud abrasive hum of the stock pups, they also lacked any sparkle.

Perceived output level: They sound like the American Delta standard but a bit fatter and noiseless
Tone: balanced when setup correctly.
Sonic evaluation: Line 6 Preamp through a 100 watt 1x12

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Punk, some blues and rock

Comments: First of all these pickups sound horrible if you install them with the 1 Meg pots that they come with in the set (way to brittle and bright). Don't be fooled, they don't sound anything like the American deluxe standard guitar if you set it up with the kit specs. I was so dissapointed at the tone at first, but then I heard about switching the pots to American 250k pots and then re-inntonated the guitar and adjusted the pickups height and got a satisfied tone. Now they sound like I'd hoped for. Basically a american standard tone that are noiseless and fatter sounding. Very satisifed with the results after playing/recording. The pickups are a 1 if you use the factory specs but a 9 if done this way. So just try to keep an open mind that these pickups can sound good with some tweaking. There are still some downfalls with any stacked humbucker designs, but if setup correctly not very noticeable. I knew that I was there when I plugged it into a 15 watt crate amp and got a huge sweet fat tone out of this strat using the solid state distortion. That blew my mind. So anyway these are good. Can get good cutting distortion on the bridge and a sweet blues at the neck. The tonal qualities are very clear and bigger sounding then the stock mexican ones.

Pickup features: Single coil
Impedence or other specs: don't know

Model of guitar or bass: USA Fender Strat (Texas Fat Strat Special)
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates and Texas Specials
Other pickups on guitar: n/a
Artists using this pickup: n/a
You musical style(s): Classic Rock and mostly clean tones
Reason for pickup change: In search of the perfect tone

Perceived output level: I have read in other reviews coments saying these are not hot enough, but they are. Just mild enough to stay noiseless
Tone: Tone.. That is what these are. Perfectly balanced and that sweet sweet tone. I have never heard such a natural ear soothing tone
Sonic evaluation: USA Strat and a Fender Twin Combo amp "The Evil Twin" is the combo I'm using. After going through $500.00 in trying other pickups, I am officially finished. I have found the sound I have searched for. These pickups are not super HOT but the tone and the fact that they are truly noiseless is enough for me. 100% satisfied

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: . The best way to describe the tone is by listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd ?Sweet Home Alabama?. I can match that sound perfectly. And only with these p/u?s.

Comments: If it were stolen I would kill. Ive been playing on and off for 10 years and I'm no expert. However, I do no a good tone when I hear one and these pick are the best tone I have heard yet. I will not be in search mode any more. Now I can finaly sleep.

Pickup features: Stacked humbucker (sounds like a vintage single coil)
Impedence or other specs: Don't know...

Model of guitar or bass: Fender US Deluxe Stratocaster (1999)
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: None
Other pickups on guitar: None
Artists using this pickup: Eric Clapton, Richie Sambora...what better recommendation do you want!!
You musical style(s): Rock, Blues...a bit of everything really
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level: Vintage sounding...much less than humbuckers on my Les Paul...not quite so hot as standard strat pickups...very much a single coil sound, but with a bit more bass
Tone: Fantastic...all round tone is amazing...you hear every note...neck pickup has an almost Telecaster quality to it, bridge biting (a little lacking in bass), middle position my favourite...plenty of mids, just enough bass, the right amount of treble...
Sonic evaluation: FANTASTIC!! What more can I say? I use a 80W Marshall solidstate amp through a Guv'nor O/D pedal...I replaced the speaker on the amp with a second-hand Celestion from a friends amp which got fried!! I also play a Les Paul when 'that' tone is required, or for a bit more bite, but with a bit of tweaking of the tone and volume on my strat, I can get a very passable humbucker sound.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play mainly blues and rock...and these pickups are very well suited, that can be shown by the 2 artists who have started to use them already!!

Comments: If my Strat was stolen, I would definately replace it with the same guitar again. I have been playing for about 4 years now and gig regularly, as I said, I use this guitar and a Les Paul. The only criticism I have about these pickups (and it's only a small one) is the lack of output...a bit more and they would be absolutely perfect..
Anyone who wants to get a wide range of vintage sounds from their strat should definately look (or rather listen!) to these...if you want a more specific sound, they might not be for you...I can get everything from Hendrix to Clapton to Sambora from these...

Pickup features: Passive single coil sounding pickup with stacked humbucking design
Impedence or other specs: 9.8K measured for all 3

Model of guitar or bass: 1992 Strat Plus Deluxe
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Fender Lace Sensors. 1 blue (neck), 1 silver, 1 red (bridge)
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: Can't be too many
You musical style(s): everything from early rock top present day rock.
Reason for pickup change: Wanted to try Fenders great new pickups after hearing every music store in Toronto rave about them.

Perceived output level: Very low in output. My Mexican Standard Strat has more output !! Its true.
Tone: Clear and clean but too trebly, not bassy at all. No mids whatsoever.
Sonic evaluation: Fender Strat Deluxe Plus into a Boss GX700 preamp/ processor into a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe (great amp).

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play everything from the Beatles, Stones to SRV to Van Halen and Collective Soul.

Comments: I have a love/ hate relationship with these pickups. I still can't believe that I have to raise the volume when I change from my Mexican Standard Strat to my Strat Plus Deluxe. These Noiseless pickups have no output!! I really like the sound of a sigle coil pickup and prefer it over the in-between positions and thats why I wanted a noiseless pickup. They are quiet, they don't feedback (which is good), but the overall sound is weak, lacks definition and soul. I was told the they copied the design from Dimarzio's Virtual Vintage and they would sound the same, well, I hope Dimarzio's sound better than this.
I was really surprised when I purchased these pickups (as a set) to find that not all the resistors are in the kit (why Fender)? Read this carefully. The volume pot is a 1Meg pot but you have to solder a 1Meg resistor to it, thus the resistor value changes to a 500K value. Why did Fender do this?, and why didn't Fender just use a 500K volume pot. Therefore I installed a 500K pot and it sounded better. Also, there is no treble bleed circuit and therefore when your volume is on anything but 10, theres no treble at all. Are you still with me, it gets worse. The diagram within the kit is inaccurate. Heres another one. Theres 2 small screws holding the bottom base plate of the pickup to the upper half the stack pickup. This is how these pickups are attached to eachother. My bridge pickup was missing a screw, and was held together by someone at Fender who wrapped scotch tape around it. How did this pickup make it past Fenders Quality Control people. I'm still using these pickups because I know how to fix these problems myself including adding a treble bleed circuit. Overall this has to be a nightmare for Fender's Customer Service department. The bottom line is Fender makes great single coil pickups (as a upgrade or option) but maybe they should get out of the noiseless pickup business. For the noiseless aspect....3.

Pickup features: Stacked twin-coil, humbucking, in a standard single-coil size.
Impedence or other specs: Individual staggered pole-piece magnets, don't know resistance. Bridge has brass plate underneath, neck/mid don't.

Model of guitar or bass: 1988 Fender Stratocaster, maple fretboard if it matters to ya
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Stock Fender single-coils
Other pickups on guitar: none (replaced whole set)
Artists using this pickup: Ask Fender, I don't know.
You musical style(s): Classic rock/blues, country, standards
Reason for pickup change: BUZZZZZZZ .... couldn't get a decent overdrive sound because of it.
I'm not looking for metal, just classic dirt. Also, stock pups were a bit 'mushy' or 'muddy' to my ear. I was hoping
to get a clearer, more defined classic bell-tone, without the noise.

Perceived output level: Rather quiet - they're a bit louder than stock SCs, but have such a strong mag field that I have to keep them very low in the pickguard to avoid Strat-itis, so it's a wash.
Tone: Crystal-clear, kinda trebly with precise but somewhat thin bass. VERY 'clean' flat and even response, but little dynamic range.
Sonic evaluation: I tested through the clean channel of a Fender blackface head w/4x12 cab, volume at just over 2, a typical smallish-gig setting. I have used a neighbor's American Standard Strat for reference.
These pups delivered as-advertised on the 'noiseless' part, even though the 2 pickup lead wires are unshielded(!). Why anyone would make a humbucking pickup and then not shield the wiring is baffling to me, but it seems to work OK.
The 'vintage' part is debatable. I found them to sound very much like a good *recording* of a vintage strat. The basic tone's unmistakeably there, but there's some sort of compression effect eating the dynamics. The snaps and thumps that make the single-coils 'talk' just aren't there, and harmonics disappear almost entirely. Some of that may be the vintage-spec, but I've played plenty of old Fenders and I don't recall any of them being that 'dead.'
On a positive note, the notch-positions sound very authentic. Then again, they were humbucking before, so net gain zero. I briefly wired the Strat so I could get the neck/bridge combo like a Tele; it sounded reasonable enough but lacked any real outstanding characteristics.
The pups seem balanced relative to each other, and they make a nice matched set. I wasn't looking for great distortion, and these weren't designed for it, but a little tube overdrive does give these things a lot of help if you don't overdo it.
I wouldn't go so far as to call these 'Vintage Toneless,' but I do have to say they're rather one-dimensional. They have some country value, and new-age/modern players might like the clarity, because it stands up to mountains of chorus or whatever effects you might use. I can, however, think of other pickups that would accomplish this, and also provide other great tones that these don't, without de-clawing your Strat in the process.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: These pups are OK for standards, maybe some new-age/psychedelic strumming, but that's about it.

Comments: I've been playing for about 20 years (and wow are my hands tired, heh!), generally use my Strat as my primary axe and fall back on my Les Paul when I need that thick bottom or a heavy distortion sound.
These pups were gone inside of a week. I thought about keeping the middle one (the nobody's hero position, of all, was the only possible improvement, as it was nearly useless before), but I didn't. Instead, I took all the pickups out and installed a matched set of 3 Duncan STK-S2's, properly shielded and star-grounded the control cavity while I was at it, and have been much happier since. The only thing from the Vintage Noiseless set that I kept was the 1-Meg potentiometers, as (properly wired) they seem to yield a much greater tonal range than the stock 250K ones. Not enough to overcome the shortcomings of the pickups they accompany, though.
The middle-position Fender Noiseless wasn't too bad; maybe Nashville Tele players might consider it if they have hum problems... but there are more versatile choices.
Unless you're dead-set on keeping your guitar 100% Fender, I can't think of a good reason to use these. Why Fender insists on putting them in its high-end models is beyond me.