Hum Question (bit of a story)

[Alleric]

6 years ago I purchased a used Mexican Strat, stock pickups. The hum from those pickups was beyond tolerable and within a few months I swapped them for Dimarzio "Area" neck/mid and ToneZone S bridge on recommendation. I have that setup to this day and it was fine, until...

About a year ago I bought a shell of an Epiphone LP off of someone in town, stripped it of everything but the nut and rebuilt it. For pickups I decided on the Jazz/JB combo. After that guitar was done, I was floored. It sounded so very good. Clean or gain, it's stellar. So good, in fact, that a few months ago I purchased the vintage tele set for my Telecaster. That guitar didn't hum anywhere near as loud as my Strat did originally, but it had a bit. After the swap? Dead quiet. I can throw my setup into the highest gain/clip I have available and it's still almost silent. And, of course, it sounds gorgeous.

So now I'm looking at my Strat. It's fine, but it's dark. It's dark, but it's quiet. No hum. Hate hum. But the single coils I put in the Tele are dead quiet. Is that common to other SD offerings? Are they quietER, even in true single coil config? I'm looking at the SSL-1, SSL-1, SSL5 setup, but I don't want to go through the bother if it's just going to be hum city again.

Any input is appreciated.

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Hum Question (bit of a story)

The noiseless version of that set is STK-S4n/STK-S4m/STL-S6b.

 

[Alleric]

Re: Hum Question (bit of a story)

Yep, but my question is about going back to pure singles based on the success of the ones in my Tele.

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Hum Question (bit of a story)

If you want pure singles, go for the SSL-1/1/5 combo, but eith the quality of SD's stack design, you won't be losing anything by going noiseless.

And yes, SD's non-noise cancelling pickups will be considerably quieter than some other brands, especially stock MIM pickups.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Hum Question (bit of a story)

You might consider the flat pole versions, the SSL-2 and SSL-6 if you have a more modern radius and use a plain 3rd string.

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: Hum Question (bit of a story)

I recommend ensuring your Strat is very well shielded in any case.

 

[Alleric]

Re: Hum Question (bit of a story)

Thanks to everyone for their comments, and yeah... I have a box of copper foil tape sitting here.