Fender Original '57/'62 Strat Pickups

I bought these to replace the stock pickups in my Levinson Blade guitar (a Strat copy with higher quality). The original pickups had extremely bad 60 cycle hum. It was so bad that I couldn't even use the high gain on my Mesa/Boogie Mark IV amp. I was skeptical of the Hot Noiseless (Jeff Beck) pickups, but gave them a shot after reading the reviews. They exceeded my expectations. Not only is the noise gone (95% of it), but the tone is very authentic. I cannot imagine anyone being disappointed with these if you are genuinely seeking the Strat tone. The bridge pickup actually gets pretty heavy and stays tight, making it good for hard rock. No, these are not the best choice for metal, but that's not what these were designed for. There are some Strat purists out there that complain that noiseless pickups don't give as authentic of a tone as the original Strat pickups. While they are right, you're still going to get 95% of the real Strat tone with these pickups, and you'll be able to use them with any amount of gain. You can't really use the originals in high gain situations because of the 60 cycle noise. The bottom line is, these sound fantastic and are a huge upgrade from the stock Levinson pickups I had. I was even able to keep the same pickup covers on these to keep the original look of my guitar. Just be aware -- the pickup ribbon wires are very delicate, so do NOT take off the tape that they include with them. You have to be very careful with how you handle the pickups.

I really love these pickups. I installed them in a 1993 strat with a rosewood fretboard and it sounds just like how I've always wanted this guitar to sound, but without the noise. At first I wasn't confident it would sound good because I wasn't up to changing the pots and installing the 1m and 500k pots that Fender sends with the set. I kept the 250k pots that came in the Emerson custom prewired kit that I have in this guitar. But the pickups have plenty of brightness with 250k pots. Even with the 250k pots I still find myself rolling off about the same top end as before with other pickups. These pickups seem to have a little less 'body' than the Pure Vintage 65 pickups I had, but I actually prefer the sound of the Vintage Noiseless. I'm not sure what accounts for this change in sound - it could be that the old pickups were Alnico 5 and these are Alnico 2 but I'm not an expert on those specs. Either way, the best joy is how clear and articulate these pickups are. They are very balanced sounding and every note just rings even with a lot of overdrive. And of course, they are totally noiseless, unlike the Lace Sensor Golds I have in a different strat with a maple neck. Those pickups are quiet but not totally noiseless like the Fender Vintage Noiseless are. I still like the Lace Sensor Golds for certain mood or applications, but I definitely prefer the traditional sound of these Vintage Noiseless pickups. Wonderful pickups.

A few years so I bought a Fender Starcaster used and got into the blues. This was the Costco and Walmart line of fenders- seriously entry level. Anyway after wanting to upgrade but not wanting to spend $2000 in the Fender Eric Clapton “Blackie” Stratocaster, I started looking at good bang for the Buck mods I could make to an honestly very good workable guitar chassis.I settled on 3: new strings, new Fender bridge, and upgrading my pickups. Turns out the same pickups in Claptons blackie can be bought for about $200, and I got even more of a discount because i bought a set from the Amazon warehouse.So for $170 I had my gear!Installing was fun too but here is what I wanted to say:The 2 pickups came with white and black wires; these are the neck and middle. Doesn’t matter which. The black and yellow is the bridge.The box included a very helpful graphic showing how to to the install, and that made it clear too.I got 3 potentiometers with the kit, and I didn’t pay close attention when installing them, nor did the graphic say which to put where, so I just went ahead and installed them. Then when i figured where they should have gone and why, so had to go back later and switch them up.Here’s the deal: I received 2 CTS 1 meg split shaft potentiometer, and 1 CTS 500k potentiometer.I discovered that due to the bright sound coming off the bridge, usually that gets a less powerful pot so it doesn’t overpower the other pickups, so I should have put the 500k pot there. Turns out it doesn’t matter which 1meg pot you use for volume or neck tone.The other big mistake I made was, once it was all soldered and I put the pickguard back on, I pushed the knobs down too hard and separated the potentiometers inside. I had to go back later and, while changing them, retighten them so the contacts were all flush again.Anyhow that’s it. The sound is incredible and I’m very happy with these purchases!

I replaced a set of Texas Specials in my Strat with these. I love the TS pickups, but I couldn't handle noise on stage. (The 2 and 4 positions with TSs are quiet, but I like to use the neck and bridge pickups too.) The Hot Noiseless pickups don't have that great "bell-tone," especially in the neck position that the TSs have, but they still sounds like a Strat. The 2 and 4 position (quack sound) sound pretty good on the Hot Noiseless pickups, but again, they don't have the tone that the TSs have. I'm definitely sacrificing a bit of tone for the lack of noise, but they are dead quiet, which I love.I don't dislike these pickups at all. They are just very different. The Hot Noiseless pickups are much better with heavier sounds. Now that I am playing in a Top 40 style band, I need versatility. The quiet on stage and the ability to sound like a Strat but also work with heavier sounding patches on my pedalboard make them very versatile.I went into Guitar Center and played a number of their Strats through a similar amp to what I use with different varieties of the Noiseless pickups. I liked the Hot version the best, obviously. :)These do a decent job of sounding like single coil pickups and well worth a shot.