Noiseless Pickups?

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

I have a Mexi Strat that actually feels and sounds great. The only problem is the hum I get playing in-phase. For that reason, I rarely use the 1, 3 or 5 positions -- but I'd love to. I just can't stand the noise. Can anyone recommend to me a good set of single-coil noiseless pickups? I've been steered toward Kinmans, which are pricey yet consistently garner raves from the Strat community.

Thoughts?

- Keith

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Noiseless Pickups?

The new Duncan Stack Plus pickups. They're the best I've used. I have the prototypes in two Strats and the production version has just been released.

Wish they'd hurry up and ship me the 12 sets I have on order!

I sent Christian (The Guy Who Invented Fire) one set and he has compared my prototype set to a Kinman set and felt that the Duncans were superior.

To me, the Duncans sound very very close to the pickups in my '63 Strat...only they're NOISELESS.

Lew

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: Noiseless Pickups?

DIZZAM!

How do they compare pricewise?

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Noiseless Pickups?

They'll be going for about $219. a set.

That's about the same price as a set set of Lindy Fralin Vintage Hots (which are not noiseless) and $20 less than a set of Antiquitys.

 

[mind_transplant]

Re: Noiseless Pickups?

I'm sure the Duncans will be a good choice, everything I've heard on this board indicates they pull off a great vintage tone.

I would personally also recommend Dimarzio's VirtuAL 2 series. They do stray a bit from the vintage sound, but they can certainly provide some great tones (keep them backed away from the strings a fair bit, they certainly have a 'sweet spot' in terms of height settings) though I think the Duncans will be a great choice.

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: Noiseless Pickups?

The description of the sound and application is a little vague on the website. How have you (or others) been using them? I suppose I want to do a little of everything with them but my overall preference is to be able to get away with Hendrix and David Gilmour -- when used in conjunction with the proper effects and amp, of course.

- Keith

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: Noiseless Pickups?

Oh, and just to be perfectly clear, are we talking about the "STK-S4 classic stack plus" pickups as shown on SD's website?

http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/stratsdescr.shtml#ClassicStackforStrat

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Noiseless Pickups?

The description of the sound and application is a little vague on the website. How have you (or others) been using them? I suppose I want to do a little of everything with them but my overall preference is to be able to get away with Hendrix and David Gilmour -- when used in conjunction with the proper effects and amp, of course.

- Keith

They'll do that beautifully. Tone wise they are very similar to the stock pickups in my '63 Strat, except that the mids are about 5% thicker in the Stack Plus. Duncan sent me a set of the first prototypes to compare to the pickups in my '63 and I thought they were great but a little less glassy than the originals. So they tweaked them a bit, raised the polepieces slightly and sent me another set. THAT set pretty much nailed the '63 tone. The Stack Plus is actually better in some ways: they're noiseless, plus the bridge pickup is not as thin and ice picky as the bridge pickup in a '63 Strat. That's because all three pickups in a vintage Strat are identical and the bridge pickup sounds better if it's wound a little stronger than the neck and middle. Lew

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: Noiseless Pickups?

When will these pickups be available for the public to purchase? I'm dyin' here.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Noiseless Pickups?

Some dealers already have them. (Wymore Guitars) I should have my stock fairly soon...:fingersx: My Duncan Rep is doing what he can to speed things up. Lew