Fender Vintage Noiseless Strat

Pickup features: Single Coil
Impedence or other specs: 1 meg vol pot, 2 ea 1 meg tone pots

Model of guitar or bass: 99 Am Std Strat
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar: Delta Tones
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Variety
Reason for pickup change: Deltas, highs too needle-tip like not even w/the bass on the amp would help , to brittle for what I needed. Not much punchpower. Neck posi kinda OK.

Perceived output level: Make my Maverick 1-12 overdrive in the rythmn/clean channel like my LP does.
Tone: A little on the mid to treble side but, trebles resdponds nicely to a little amp tweaking
Sonic evaluation: Mesa/Maverick 1-12 sometimes w/ext 12, bought it and 112 ext cab new in 89. I switch w/a 50 Cal I think a 85-6 used. Am Std Strat 99, as mentioned above. This Strat is the 1st guit I ever bought out of a catalog. Sight unseen. Real happy w/it. Ready to play rite out of the box. 97 LP Std, goes well w/Mav.
Effects: loop/BCB-3w/RV-3, CH-1, NS-2. front:CS-3, Vox wah, E/B vol ped.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Weekend warrior, variety: Hawn, Jah-waiian, Reggae,Cntry Rck, Oldies, Blues,XMas,

Comments: If this guit and set-up were stolen I'd buy again. I'd opt for the Am Std Deluxe, I ended up paying almost the same after upgrades. I've been playing electric for 37 yrs. Started w/ukulele. My 1st Strat is a Nippon Strat 1986-7 w/, I got a used Mesa 50 Cal the next year. LP Std Blk 97, Squier ProTone, my pawn shop special. I hear they stopped manfg them, super tone. I compared it w/new ones at local store, it's noticebly lighter. I'm real happy with Fenders Vintage Noiseless. It fits in with the variety I need.

Pickup features: noisless? singlecoil
Impedence or other specs: bit more than normal

Model of guitar or bass: fender'83 am std
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: std pickups
Other pickups on guitar: kinman
Artists using this pickup: ???
You musical style(s): funk, rock, jazz
Reason for pickup change: terrible noise of std coils

Perceived output level: bit more than normal
Tone: trebly, no defined tone
Sonic evaluation: fender am std, lanny (all tubes, 30 watts), marshall jcm 800

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

Comments: i had the chance to test a couple of pickups in the same guitar ( all kinman sets, fender std single coils and fender noiseless ). the noisless were the worst sounding of theese. they produce a lot of undefineable noise, sound very trebly and produce bad sound. so they get an overall rating of 0 because you're better of with the std single coils for which you don't have to pay extra cost.
i've bought the kinman av62 set an that's a really big deal!

Pickup features: Single
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Deluxe Strat
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Blues
Reason for pickup change: Trial.

Perceived output level: Mid-loud
Tone: Warm, smooth, balanced
Sonic evaluation: Here's the deal: I had Fralins on my old Strat Ultra (the stock Gold Sensors totally reeked!) and it was nice. These are like them, balanced, sophisticated, quiet BUT--in a comparo with my new Mex '70's strat they have no glassy jangle. If you want that sparkly high end killer strat bell-thing--these ain't it! They have sacrificed some of the sonic thrill of the Strat highs for smooth mellowness. Not for me. Too much mids, too fusion jazzy overall. Kids today don't realize what's lost in adding output power--subtlety and complexity of the top end. But if you're playing speed metal or Alternative grunge--who cares? For blues--I'm going with the relatively low-output '54 Customs for my '70's. They have a whole world of expressive, glassy jangle that the Noiseless's have sacrificed for quitetude and volume.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Blues--these p/ups are for the whole Robben Ford, Mr. Smoothy high-speed fusion runs all over the neck thing. If you want p/ups that can talk, tell a story, these ain't them.

Comments: You can have 'em, ain't my style. Played 35 years--the Custom '54's say it all, these say--"I'm a Larry Carlton/Robben Ford slick rock/blues/jazz/fusion dude". If that shoe fits, go for it!

Pickup features: Passive stacked coil, single coil, hun-cancelling
Impedence or other specs: 9k or smmoers 'round there

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Standard Strat
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Stock pickups
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: Thats a very good question....
You musical style(s): Funk to Rock to Blues
Reason for pickup change: Trying to get a fuller sound out of my strat...

Perceived output level: Hot..except for the middle pickup...can't get the amount of sound I like when I select it as an "only"
Tone: Balanced, kinda trebly...
Sonic evaluation: I am running my strat thru a Crate 20 watt amp presently (and a Gorrilla amp when I travel). I am not sure why Fender packed a resistor in with the install kit...I am wondering if that is the reason why I cannot get the amount of tone out of the center pickup when I select it; the bridge and neck both PUMP OUT THE TONE when they are selected as the only pickup. If anyone out there has any suggestions, please let me know (fyi- I did follow the wiring diagram that came from Fender). Other than that, they seem to do the trick! The "traditional" 2nd and 4th switch positions are THICK AND RICH and sound sweet!! I did like these pickups enough to purchase some used Noiseless Tele pickups.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: These pickups are good for Texas blues/rock...maybe even some Funk...For the hard stuff tho ya can't be Gibson '57's!

Comments: I am gonna give these an 8 'cause of the middle pickup issue. I do think that they are better than the stock pickups (altho on my strat, the stocks didnt sound half bad) and for the price I paid for 'em new, they are hard to beat. Please feel free to contact me if you have any suggestions of WHY the middle pickup just isnt as loud as the others (the stock pickup was). Overall, I recommend 'em!

Pickup features: Passive stacked coil (hum-cancelling) single coil
Impedence or other specs: I believe somewhere around 9K

Model of guitar or bass: '96 Fender American Standard Strat
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Lace Sensors (blue neck, gold mid, red bridge)
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: ??
You musical style(s): classic rock, clean blues, to more hard-edged stuff
Reason for pickup change: I had the Lace Sensors in my Strat for over two years as replacements for the cane-to-the-kneecaps-lame stock pickups. They were very clear and sounded excellent with overdrive/distortion (lots of sustain), but the clean sound was always lacking. In a big way. The transducers sounded like, well, transducers. Let's put it this way - they sounded a lot like a Fishman Powerbridge with less treble. Anyway, I was sick of them because they really didn't do much for me anymore (although the Gold still sounded fairly good).

Perceived output level: They are supposed to be vintage, but the output seems to be much higher than real vintage Strat pickups.
Tone: The bridge is very trebly. I mean really trebly. As a matter of fact, so are the neck & mid pickups, but they have some low-end boom to them that evens things out nicely. They seem to be akin to a high-output vintage sounding pickup.
Sonic evaluation: I play through a Fender Blues Junior - the best 15W amp of all time :)
Bridge: Very trebly, but not Texas Special-type midrangy treble. Bright and cutting best describes the tone. This pickup is wound differently than the mid/neck.
Bridge/Mid: You could use this as a duck call. Absolutely wonderful inbetween sound; a little more muted than the bridge b/c of the mix with the more bassy mid pickup. But still a very nice and clear, pretty sounding position.
Mid: The "nobody's hero" position gets you a good gnarly tone if you lean into it, and if you back off it can get mellow. The high end is still there, but it is offset by a nice (NO mud) low end, so you can go twangy or mellow if you want. Very clear sound.
Mid/Neck: Until recently an unusable position (have you ever *heard* the Blue and Gold Lace Sensors mixed together??), this was the best surprise of all. Plenty of quacky goodness, but a bit richer than position 2 (or 4 depending on your orientation).
Neck: Sweet. I am biased towards the neck position in general, but this sounds great. Not too much; just enough to let the Strat be the Strat and do what it does best. Again, there is a nice glassy high even on this pickup. It sounds a bit like a Tele neck to be honest.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: This is a great match for what I play, which is mostly clean stuff. Therefore tone is essential, and these have most decidedly delivered. Warning: these will not make you happy if you want hard rock/metal. Go buy a Gibson for that.

Comments: Words cannot express my happiness with these pickups. I had gotten tired of the Lace Sensors and was resigning myself to the 60 cycle hum I knew I'd get with more traditional pickups. Until I played these. I picked up a Am. Deluxe Strat with these in, plugged it into a Peavey Classic 30, played for about three minutes, unplugged, walked over to the counter, and said "how much for the Vintage Noiseless pickups?" I was sold. These pickups really showcase the classic Strat sound (the Fender folks apparently used a '63 Strat for sonic evaluation when constructing these), and I for one am happy to let my Strat be a Strat again (after unsuccessfully trying to make it an "everything" guitar with the Lace Sensors). On top of that, they came with aged white covers, so now my yellowy-pearl pickguard no longer looks hideous but beautiful. (Now to get aged white knobs.)
I was considering Fralins at one point, and I'm sure they sound wonderful, but I get sweet humless sound for $140, so I think I've got the better deal.
I'm sure someone will find something wrong with these, and after all no pickup can be everything, but you owe it to yourself to try these out if you're looking for great vintage-y single coils (and without the hum, which compared to the other great aspects of these pickups doesn't really even matter that much). They really blew me away. There is nothing boring or flat about these - they have a lot of character and have really resurrected my Strat. The "10" rating is because they have made *me* very very happy, but of course YMMV. Go to a guitar store. Play a Strat with these. If you're looking for "hot vintage", these just might do the trick.

Pickup features: Stacked single coils with a hum cancelling dummy coil
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Stratocaster
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Stock on guitar
Other pickups on guitar: All Noiseless
Artists using this pickup: Richie Sambora uses the hot noiseless pickups, wait till some other artists discover these pickups, both the hot and vintage versions
You musical style(s): Blues, hard rock
Reason for pickup change: Not changed on this guitar, I'm building my own mongrel strat, and I played the noiselesses I heard first on an American Deluxe Strat

Perceived output level: Hotter than stock, in fact, way hotter, around 9 K. You can really notice the difference from playing stocks then plugging in noiseless
Tone: Balanced, very. They are a little bit trebly, but I didn't tweak the amp too much. They won't really be too bassy, not boomy like humbuckers, just nice and balanced. Not too midrange-y either, really clear, but the mids accentuate and balance out the pickup. Just be careful and don't with the treble, or it'll be grating your ear drums
Sonic evaluation: I used them through a peavy delta blues black tweed the first time. And they were what they say, noiseless. If you are looking for more mids in the pickups, buy this amp in conjunction with these pickups. I also used these through a fender hot rod deluxe that I just bought yesterday. You get SRV off the bat, with NO HUM. Classic and newer Clapton are there with the drive too, and again, NO NOISE. I've read people saying these are wimpy pickups that don't live up to their moniker, well they're not lace sensors, they're not fat 50's, they're not Texas Specials. If you want those pickups, BUY THOSE PICKUPS. If you want a vintage (but capable of modern), way beyond stock, humless, tone, these are your pickups. In my opinion, the best fender has made. If you don't like the sound off the bat, tweek the amp, DUH. Every pickup reacts differently with different amps. So if your used to having your treble on 8, and you get these, turn down your treble, or you might not be able to have children at high volume. I'm picky about tone, but these are in no way wimpy, bad sounding pickups.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play blues, all rock, and I'm in a country rock band (country pays the bills, even though I don't personally have it as a favorite music). This will do all those styles. If your a metal head, and you are too cheap to buy a stomp box and rely on only amp distortion, you better have a triple rectifer (a.k.a. triple rectum fryer) or a jcm 800 cranked. If your careful, these pickups can be everything to everyone. If your lazy, then these aren't for you, you have to work to find your sound sometimes. Great tone makes it all worth while.

Comments: I'm putting these in my mongrel strat, and I have to have these. I've played for 6 years, not a great long time, but I've played all the gear imaginable seeing what's out there. I own a Peavy classic 30 in addition to the Hot Rod, the Hot Rod has retired the Peavy to back up status. I play a deluxe strat (the noiseless pickups might find their home there in my main guitar), through a tube screamer, cool cat, and dunlop wah wah. These pickups will make a nice compliment to it. The only thing I don't like about these pickups are the sometmimes too jangly treble, but hey, tweak your amp and you'll easily get over it. For no noise, it's worth it.

Pickup features: Passive humbucking stack
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Strat
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Blues, Rock, Pop, Funk,
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level: Slightly hot
Tone:
Sonic evaluation: My sonic requirements from a strat are simple.
I test them on non-master volume valve amps, so as to check response to dynamics; ie. I start to drive the power amp with harder picking. I only use standard output units. (for strat, 5.6- 6 kOhm)
The low strings should deliver a full but transparent (slightly hollow in the low mid area) with high presence but no harshness, (like a shimmering low tuned triangle) but taking body sound into consideration.
Chord notes should retain definition, and higher solo notes should reveal all finger technique nuances, and sing.
As mainly a recording musician, EM noise reduction is not as high a priority as sound. So I've been trying out most of the 'noiseless' units extensively, but at leisure just to see if anyone has 'cracked it'. (I'm interested in physics and design BTW so sorry if this is jargonistic...)
The 'stack' suffered phase interaction and dynamic response problems, killing certain highs, lows and clarity.
Some of the newer 'mini dual coil' units were better, but the dynamics problem remained, and there were different inherent phase interactions, especially when two units were combined.
The 'Actives' seem to have a fair tone, but have a synthetic bland quality and many say a 'weird' response.
The 'Sensors' suffer at the top end, somehow like a 'piezo-esque' type of sound. Again the response is lacking, but not as much as many of the above.
People are becoming aware of a modified stack design, which is effectively a single coil with an integral 'dummy' coil which is supposed to cancel the hum, but not interact with the tonal clarity of its 'host' coil, apparently experimented with for years by an Australian guitar builder (Chris Kinman).
I tried the Dimarzio's, Kinman's, and now these fender's (which sound like they have this design).
I'm not a vintage 'freak', and most of the classic tones I like on records wern't recorded with 'aged' pickups.
ie. Hendrix and most used contemporary strats, not 30 year old ones.
The fenders just seemed ok, better than the other design types above, but a bit bland, taking this into account, they seemed to work ok in the 2&4 positions better than most. both these and the Dimarzio's lacked most of the wirey chime associated with single coils; The Dimarzio's were harsher.
These units work better in distortion situations, where the shortcomings in clarity are masked somewhat.

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

Comments: IMO these units do not fullfil their design targets.
I have to say, I opted and permanently installed Kinman's offering in a guitar.
The Kinmans are 'vintage', and the tone is a tiny bit 'softer' than I like best (I think vintage sound guys will generally really like these, (except for the hum advocates)).but, they do have that single coil wiriness and transparency, markedly better than the rest. Even Fender are using them on one custom shop model.
But I just heard he's making a brighter version.
NOW I'm exited.

Pickup features:
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Mutt Strat custom neck ,
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Two Tex-Mex and (1) American Standred
Other pickups on guitar: None
Artists using this pickup: ?
You musical style(s): Blues, classic Rock, Rockabilly
Reason for pickup change: My Middle pickup went south (it died) so I decided to buy a new set

Perceived output level: very Ballsy Slight more as you go twords the bridge
Tone: Well Balanced in all positions
Sonic evaluation: I play the Sunburst Strat with a Jap body and Warmoth neck through a Matchless Cheifton 2x10. Personally although its hard to improve on the sound of this amp the new pickup make it smoke.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I have always not been able to get te best range out of pickups but these you get a diff. sound with every click

Comments: Overall its great especually for the price I paid,(or maybe its the Matchless)

Pickup features: Passive Single Coil
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: '99 Strat Deluxe
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): A little of everything
Reason for pickup change: no change

Perceived output level:
Tone: Trebly, thin and loud
Sonic evaluation:
For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable:

Comments: Just tried out in a store. Compared them to a Strat Plus with Lace pickups. The Lace pickups were much better. Fuller, better balanced, and just plain sounded better. I was excited to see the Noiseless, now I am disappointed. Lace pickups are still the best for all-around sound.

Pickup features: Stacked-coil humbucker
Impedence or other specs: I wish I could tell you...

Model of guitar or bass: Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: stock on this model
Other pickups on guitar: All Fender Vintage-Noiseless
Artists using this pickup: no one yet
You musical style(s): rock, country, jazz, blues, classical, glorious noise
Reason for pickup change: I just wanted to check these pickups out: I've seen the guitars advertised and knew about the pickups, but I had not heard from too many people who had actually tried them out for an opinion. Besides, only I know what sounds good to my ears, so I decided to take it upon myself.

Perceived output level: These seemed to have an output level somewhere inbetween an American Standard Strat pickup and the Tex-Mex pickups on the Fender California Series.
Tone: The tone had a pleasantly aggressive treble - not too shrill, not too weak. The bass was comparable to a Tex-Mex pickup, definitely not as much as a Texas Special. Mids were not absent, just nice and low in the mix, like the American Standard pickups. Overall, the tone was very musical and balanced.
Sonic evaluation: I plugged the American Deluxe into a Fender Stage 112SE solid-state combo. I started on the clean channel, just checking out each position for its unique qualities (bridge for twang, neck for jazzy blues, inbetween positions for the fabled "cluck", etc.). The pickups performed fantastically, and I was very impressed with the inbetween positions. I'm a big fan of Mark Knopfler and Richard Thompson, and these pickups were making me very excited. Each position was TRANSPARENT (to me, at least), and unlike my experiences with Lace Sensors, these are not lacking in character - I got some seriously snarling, ill-mannered twang and clang going with them! Next, over to the overdrive channel. Since this was a solid-state amp, I was looking more at how much noise the pickups generated as opposed to the driven tone. Well, I cranked the gain up to 10, and these pickups were quiet. VERY quiet. I'm not sure if they were "Noiseless", but I couldn't hear anything in any position, even with the gain jacked up. It was bizarre to play a heavily distorted chord in the bridge position and hear the notes ring out into very near silence. Wow! In addition, the pickups sounded really good overdriven - nice, tight and snarly.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I could use these for anything that I would usually use single coils for - yes, even the fabled "Wind Cries Mary" tone. I don't consider myself to be a tone fanatic, but man, did these sound good. Don't use these for metal; you will be disappointed in the pickup, and the pickup won't like you anymore.

Comments: I HAVE GOT TO GET SOME OF THESE PICKUPS!!!! If I had some and they were stolen, yes, I would replace them, because I finally found some quiet pickups that sound convincingly strat-like. They even look cool - a normal single coil with staggered magnets, and a `50s-look script spelling out "Noiseless". I've heard DiMarzio Virtual Vintage pickups, Duncan Duckbuckers & Vintage Rails, Lace Sensors, Lace Transensors, and DiMarzio Cruisers - these Fenders BLOW THEM AWAY. I'll be satisfied when I have a trio of these resting happily in my ESP strat. Two questions to anyone reading this: Does Fender plan to sell these pickups separately? Is this just Fender marketing the newest Don Lace strat pickups, much like they did with the original lace sensors? Please share any info you can. I'm tempted to go into Guitar Center and bust some Jedi mind-tricks so that I can steal the pickups out of one of the Strats.