It was easy to tell which were the noiseless pickups because of well... the lack of noise. But for some reason the noiseless sounded brighter to me which is the opposite of what I expected. Fender have done a great job of getting single coil sounds from what are essentially humbuckers.
From Leo: I was kind of surprised. I liked the Y samples, which turned out to be the gen4 Noiseless, on every example. The sounds through the Boss overdrive were far less difference than the other tests. Thanks for all the work it took to make this test happen.
I know this is an old comment, but I have to ask, do you chat with Leo ? If so, ask him how a man that couldn´t play guitar made 2 of the most iconic guitars. I think "Leo" stands for "Leo Fender"
Got it right, my favorite has been the “twisted “ in the neck and the “broadcaster” in the bridge with the 4 way switch. The noiseless sound pretty decent. At this time I have a 94 Mexican with Seymour Duncan antiquities, and a Mexican 04 that my friend my friend Mark Bronson in Scottsdale , AZ , put the tele mini JB hum in the bridge and a strat mini JB in the neck position. That one is so sweet.
I guessed right, and I preferred the G4 noiseless ones, the twisted teles are just a little too much for me. I like the subtlety of the noiseless clean, and they have some pretty good overdriven tones too. Plus, having the hum-cancelling is pretty cool too. Gonna drop some into my MIM sometime soon.
It’s funny in every test where the pickups were separated I liked the noiseless more, however in the middle positions I preferred the twisted tele every time. The noiseless pickups sounded like they were scooping way too much out in the middle position.
I also guessed right, but also swapped my Gen 4 N for a set of TT. They really are better. More of a 3D sound, especially on the neck, and way better sounding when you add gain.
About 15 years ago I put noiseless pickups in a strat (Gen 1?). I liked the neck pickup but not the bridge so then I replaced the bridge with something else and I don't know. It was just screwy. The noiseless pickups were very...noiseless. I played in some places and lived in some places that really put them to the test and they stayed quiet. Now I have an obsidian kit in that guitar with a set of Tex Mex pickups. I was going to buy a bunch of pickups and swap them in and out but the pandemic came and I'm not making any money anymore. Like most other people, I suppose. Anyway your noiseless tele pickups sound better than the old noiseless strat pickups did, that's for sure.
Oh nice! My brother was living there for most of his life but we’re from Sudbury and still living here. I was in Ottawa visiting in February of 2019 and there was that huge snowfall over night! That was insane l! Cool to see your doing so well with your videos man! I subscribed and will be watching many more of your vids! Cheers from Sudbury! Stay safe out there
The Twisted sound so much better to my ears - more sonic thickness especially in the mid range. The difference between the Twisted and the G4 is dramatic imo. The G4 by comparison sound alarmingly thin.
I tried a set of Noiseless PU's in a Deluxe Nashville Telecaster and i actually liked em... woulda liked em even more if I coulda switched the bridge & neck pickups together but that wasn't possible with a Strat middle PU and a 5-way switch; I didn't care for the guitar in general but the bridge & neck pickups were pretty impressive.
B. Rod Clark I also have a Deluxe Nashville Telecaster 2005 with the Tex-Mex PUPS. This was my first Tele. Not really a fan of it anymore especially because of the bridge & neck together. I hardly touch it anymore. Maybe if I switch the pups and new 6 way switch 😂
Good god, dude, you just saved me a ton of time and grief. I’m building an HSH gold/black Strat and was about to order a standard 5-way Fender switch, plus, soldering iron and wire (never having done this before). I followed your link to ObsidianWire and they had the exact switch for me. Thank you SO much! You have know idea. Liked and subscribed! Also, that is the nicest looking Tele I’ve ever seen, which is what made me click the video in the first place. Happy New Year!
@@landonbailey - Finally finished the Strat build. Turned out pretty good for my first attempt, I think. Used the 5-way ObsidianWire (well-worth the extra cost), dropped in a couple of Seymour Duncan Zebras, a Fender single coil off my old '85 MIJ Strat, locking tuners, big block saddles, and a Fender licensed neck with the nicest finish I've ever seen. imgur.com/gallery/j0DUXvy
I just bought a Gen4 set to replace my N3 pickups. I am mainly a bass player but I love plying guitar too. I play a lot of r&B funk, soul rhythm.For leadst I like clean tones and mild overdrive on the front pickup.This test tells me that I probably made the right choice
I've got so much 60 cycle hum in my apartment building that noiseless or humbuckers are the only way I like to play. For years I tried to make do with middle positions, but it's so limiting to have only one pickup setting available. The Gen 4 stuff all sounds pretty good to me, especially with dirt. It's definitely not identical to a true single coil (and I did correctly pick the Twisted Tele pickups out), but they're close enough for me to enjoy it.
@@Ottophil yknow I always think the same thing - with my teles I just use a pretty cheap ($30) but very effective noise gate and I never get any hum in any situation but still get all of the tele sound I want and that my guitar has to give without effecting sustain or tone at all. Would you agree?
Your timing is impeccable Landon as I was looking at these for my first ever electric a Tele Frankencaster refurb. I preferred them during the blind test which surprised me so I’m getting them. It’s a special guitar my Dad bought me when I was sick as a teen so I think it deserves them. I loved your out of focus shenanigans- hilarious Cheers - Tom
Having swapped out standard single coil pickups to N4, I could definitely tell that “Y” was the N4. It does lack a little bit of the lower end but they are definitely quiet and brighter on the neck position.
I got this right actually. I do have a Nashville Tele with a completeness noiseless set in it though, so I might have a little head start. I keep looking to replace my noiseless set (hence my being here), but then sit down and play it and remember that they're really fantastic pickups. Especially when you talk about Fenders coming from the factory with em.
I've had the Nashville Tele as well, but these have the Gen3 noiseless pickups, the Gen4 in my Elite are actually a lot better, more output, more twangy bridge and better sounding neck, it's a real upgrade.
I'm a bit of a packaging keeper as well. I even get a twinge of anxiety when I remove the cling plastic from my latest purchase - Like when I saw the plastic on the neck pup on the noiseless you put in I felt a bit of a twinge knowing that you were going to remove it - Ahhh. Bit tragic I know but I've got down to only turning my key three times in the lock when I leave the house. OCD is getting better. Good video Landon but I do like to solder, maybe that's just me. makes me feel like a real man, Ohh brother...
The Noiseless Gen 4's had more clarity than the Twisted Tele. some previous comments say the Noiseless Gen 4's were "thin". The Noiseless are thinNER than the Twisted Tele pickups - but if I heard them outside this comparison I'm not sure if I would immediately think they were "thin" . Does that make sense?
I have an Elite and have not been happy with the neck pup in particular. After this demonstration, I am going to switch them to Twisted Tele. They sound a lot better to me. Thank you!
😢I have fender custom shop Texas Specials single coil pickups and I have the pickup cavities shielded and grounded and the neck pickup cover is grounded so the neck pickup is totally shielded. And the bridge pickup cavity is shielded and grounded and the bridge is grounded. I have a vintage bridge with the traditional ashtray cover which completely shields the pickup. The point I am making is my Telecaster is the quietest guitar I have ever heard. I can put it under a florescent light or next to a huge isolation transformer or a very noisy stage and it amazes players how quiet it is. Shielding and grounding are so important,it has a great tone and when I put it in the 4th position (series) I can't tell any difference in noise just gain. I use copper shield tape and I couldn't be happier with the results
I just saw this video 3 31 21 . I got GEN 4 on my Tele last summer because of their humbucking features n RETAIN pure Fender Telecaster s true sounds n tones . . Plus I ll be back doing session work after Covid mess is over .
I had no basis to be able to judge which are the noiseless so I focused on which do I like better. I preferred Y, so I guess I like the noiseless. Hmmmm.... Thanks for the video Landon, as I will soon attempt my first swap; I bought a set of Tonerider TRT2 pickups for my Mexican (that has the stock ceramics). Do you recommend I swap out my wiring also?
Cool Video, love the neck on your guitar (roasted maple) is beautiful. The noisless pickups sound pretty decent. Thanks for another cool and detailed video, Thanks for all your hard work, it is appreciated!
ok, I was really surprised by this comparison! while I could hear the difference, I actually guessed them wrong! I'm guessing the tele noiseless sound closer to single coils than the strat ones, since it was a lot easier to guess which was which from other strat noiseless videos I've watched!
I think this might be why the Noiseless pickups are standard on the Nashville Teles that have the middle strat pickup. Probably helps em blend better. Never really thought of that like that, but I think your comment/opinion has shed a little light on it.
What are the pot values in your Obsidian Wire kit? I have a Player Telecaster with the same 4-way Obsidian Wire kit with 250k pots and the stock pickups. I could use noiseless pickups due to a lot of computer equipment and lights in my house, but I've been hesitant to put noiseless pickups in the guitar without going to 500k pots. Your guitar sounded great. If you had the 250k pots, you may have convinced me to take the plunge without having to change over my wiring harness.
Landon, revisiting this video with new headphones, and it sounds like the TTs have a bit of noise on all positions. So I need to ask, are the TTs hum cancelling in the "both pickups" positions? Different polarities and all that Jazz? Thank you ;)
Great comparison, as usual! I thought the noiseless were more tidy and nice sounding, and the twisted were just plain rude. Loved both to be honest. The plate under the tele bridge pickup is actually brass coated steel. It's there to shape the magnetic field a bit, and needs to be ferrous. Thanks again!
with heavy gain they both sound good. Your demo makes the Gen4's sound weak with no bass, mine sound nothing like this demo. I use a stock Boss Katana MKII 100w on the 50w setting. I don't know why the tone difference unless NONE of the dials were changed between pickup changes.
I could NOT find information on how to install my noiseless pickups into my obsidian but I think your video helped me do it. I've only been able to "tap test" them so far but they passed.
Thanks for this. I bought a used Baja Tele and the Twisted Tele pickups had been swapped out for Noiseless Gen 4's. I was kinda bummed until I came across this video. The Noiseless don't sound bad at all!
Hi, that was a really helpful vid. I have an N3 bridge PU in my Tele and would like to add a solid brass base plate to the PU. Mine does not have the PCB on it, like your N4. Do you know if it is possible? Cheers. Joe
I enjoy that there are so many people that come down on both sides of this sound off, it shows just how subjective tone is. I personally preferred the twisted tele pickups all the way through. I found the noiseless to still have a muddy quality to them, but I am someone that prefers single coils to humbuckers in almost every situation. This was my first time hearing your custom build blue tele, (I'm sorry I didn't watch any of your build videos because it is absolutely gorgeous and my jealousy took over) and honestly don't know if it could pair any better with your vox ac. Nice to see that obsidian wire kit being used again, there will be one making it's way into at least one of my shred harps soon. Thanks again for a great video!
I did guess right, but that might just be my luck on a 50/50 guess than it is a sign of quality ears, etc. I thought the Twisted Teles sounded great, but I could hear amp noise when there were breaks in playing that I didn't hear when the noiseless were used - so maybe they really are noiseless. Tone wise I think I prefer the twisted but honestly I think I'd only notice in an AB comparison like this.
Great comparison, blind as it should be. Guess it right and prefer the Twisted pickups, sound more organic and natural to me, a touch rawer in a good way. With higher distortion the difference is less noticeable IMO.
Got my Squier CVC and when I'll want to change pickups, these are the two sets I want to choose from. I could tell them apart, the TT neck stood out, and the bridge was a little bit sweeter, which I also like. The gen4s sounded great but they did compress a bit. Now, I can't decide but my thinking is, as long as I have positions 2 and 4 humbucking for some heavier gain, I might as well go for the TTs and also learn the skill of riding the volume pot. The other good thing with these sets is, you can always resell them, even where I am.
@@thatmanonapedal No, I didn't upgrade, nor installed 4 way wiring, yet. I figured, let's learn the stock pickups first. And they are lovely for middle-of-the-road tele sounds. See, I just need three teles to put all the sets 🤣
Hi I just bought a set of twisted tele then your comparison came on I really hope x what's the truth the tele because it sounded so much better than y you know I'm happy
the noiseless have a more clean and polished tone where the custom shops feel more gritty and vintage so it was a slight difference but i could tell them apart
The 60hz buzz in the back of X gave it away… Anyway, I really want to install noiseless pickups in my cheap Squier Bullet tele at some point. They sounded amazing!
I got it right, Fender is using CS twisted tele pu’s in their 75th anniversary commemorative tele and they sound amazing. I’m seriously considering buying one, they’re really unique. Have you seen one? What do you think?
Cool. I had the Vintage Noiseless in a Strat that I bought used. They were good, but I switched them for SSL1 Duncans because I had them I guess. I have Lindy Fralin Hum -canceling P90s in a PRS. Those are great. Very nice video. Thanks!
The Twisted Tele pickups to my ears had a little less clarity and a bit more mid-range and (possibly) a little more output than the noiseless.But I think the Twisted Tele pickups did have enough clarity....if that makes sense? I think they took dirt a little better too. I think the Twisted Tele pickups are more versatile and have more "mojo" than the noiseless. Possibly if you were completely focusing on clean tones - perhaps the noiseless would come into contetion more?
Love the video- thx for all the effort! I did guess correctly, I preferred the twisted tele set, i thought the gen4 sounded slightly anemic- less warm and full
The difference between the two sets wasn't much - but I still got the blind test right. The noiseless pickups seemed to compress a bit more, and had less in the lower mids section when compared to the Twisted Tele. They both sounded great imo.
Well I definitely preferred x every time you played a phrase, as they seemed to have more 'oomph'. However I'm generally not a fan of the Twisted Tele pickups tbh, so I think I'm going to try and listen to the V64's. BTW Landon is that Tele colour Ice Blue Metallic/ Satin?
I am retaking my hobby of playing guitars. I lost it as there weren't many instructors in my city. I used to play an acoustic. But now I'm picking an electric. I'm thinking of buying the Squire Affinity Strat and the Blackstar Core 20 W (of course after the lockdown). What do you say? Any other guitar/amp I should look for in this budget??? I really want a strat.
I have a set of the vintage-voiced noiseless in my Ultra Luxe Telecaster, which is a great guitar. I've been considering a pickup swap, because it's a Tele and you're supposed to mod them (I don't make the rules). But I was surprised how close these pickups sound. I wouldn't hear the difference in a mix at all. I will say the noiseless are a bit more mid scooped, and they're absolutely the least hot pickups I have. It's nice to have a low-output guitar. As far as the mids, it's nothing that turning the mids up on the amp doesn't "fix," but I do prefer a mid-heavy sound, because that's the sound of a guitar.
I prefer the slight bite and overtones generated by the twisted pups...the noiseless still remind me of the old lace sensors...I don't like having to fight the pickup.
Another Nice Vid Landon...well done. For me, I preferred the Twisted Tele Pickup Tones better....to my ear they were slightly fuller and more rounded. The Noiseless were still good but did sound a tad thin to me. Can certainly appreciate that some would have the opposite opinion....because we are all different. EVERYBODY WINS !!!!!
It was easy for me actually because I really hate the Twisted Tele pickups and I guessed correctly that they were X because I liked those pickups less than Y. I am not a pickup snob and usually don't have strong opinions about them but I have a 2015 American Tele that came with the TT pickups and I really don't like them. Replaced them with Fralins. Im not a fan of Fender Noiseless pickups but they sounded better to the TT's in my opinion. Thanks for the review.
Thank you for posting this. To me I preferred the N4 Noiseless. The X was a little dark. The N4 noiseless still had that full Tele sparkle. I have various Les Paul style guitars when I want to go darker. I'm not into yey this and boo that, but rather yey this, and yey that. I've got all basses covered. I am curious how these would work with a 4 way switch in the Tele?
Out of the two I liked the Twisted Tele. Landon, do you like either of these better than the Player series pick-ups? I have a Player and dig the pick-ups, but wonder if there are better ones out there.
Twisted tele's for me, but i like to rock. Plenty of grit and growl on the bridge. The neck sounds fuller and sweeter. The gen 4's sounded a little thin to me in comparison. Hey, Landon next time your in there soldering throw in a 4 way switch.
In my Butterscotch 60 anniversary Telecaster Elite S1 Switching came with Sumarian Cobalt Noiseless Pickups, Don't know if is G2 or G3 and never have I ever played or heard such a clean sounding with outrageous punch when turned up. I installed a hand wound Bubble Bee .222uhf 400Volt capacitor which took the tone and sound to levels beyond my playing ability tp ware I don't deserve to own the axe, NOT! I will never sell!
Hi Landon, quick question. If you have 3 wires coming from each pickup and 2 for the jack, how do you have 9 wires in your control panel? I’m trying to instal the pickups for the first time using the same parts from the video... but having a hard time to find the 9th wire.
That is a beautiful guitar! I have a question. On a maple neck with a maple fretboard is it two pieces of maple glued together, or just one solid piece? I was thinking of building a tele and looking at Warmoth roasted maple necks, and it says that there is no need for lacquer on roasted maple, but yours does appear to have lacquer. The thing that I do not like about lacquered necks is that it will eventually come off, how does this affect the fretboard and the sound? Thank you for the video as always.
Commenting early. I don't know which one is which, but I liked X better. Not by much though. They sound really close, and I'd be happy with either. It seems X has a little more clarity in the high end to me.
Its easy .. you can hear the hum at the x magnet when the y have none .. so the noiseless are y Nice job man 👏 really liked the noiseless at the bridge and the twisted at the neck i think
Ok like 7 out of 8M, so close..... Got them right because I've installed Noiseless on almost all my guitars fender and dimarzio area pick-ups. They sound good, but definitely agree with most that if it's the guitar sound alone, a certain "Snap" and a "Chime" is missing. Great comparison, and how is your right shoulder after those wicked down strums???? LOL 🎸
I got it right because I just purchased an ultra luxe tele, and they are equipped with lifeless, I mean noiseless pickups…I also own a 58 tele loaded with EMG T’s. I know the sound and I hate these noiseless pickups. My EMG T set sounds like the Twisted set tho!
They are better than I thought, the Gen 4, that is ... the TT's sounded good too... That leaves about a dozen other to test.. I guess bottom line is if the single coil noise bugs you, the noiseless might be an option.
Hi , hum in a Tele (with low to medium output pickups and good grounding/shielding) is not as intense as in a Strat (usually positions 1 -3 and 5). I think the bridge Tele pickup is kind of shielded with all that massive bridge a base plate grounded IMHO.
Honestly I think the Twisted Telly pick up sounded better In the comparison I bought some Texas specials to put in my Telly but I haven't gotten them in there yet unfortunately I don't know how to solder but but I actually wouldn't mind looking into that one you have where you just push the wires in that's pretty cool
I have Twisted Tele’s... at first I was wrong but once you added the mild gains and so on, I switched my picks. Twisted’s don’t have that much “twang” in them and I could then hear the difference. Then I guessed right.
I've had both and the noiseless are Bad. A compressed TH-cam video doesn't allow you to hear the real difference and it's a much bigger difference from what you heard hear lady.
It was easy to tell which were the noiseless pickups because of well... the lack of noise. But for some reason the noiseless sounded brighter to me which is the opposite of what I expected. Fender have done a great job of getting single coil sounds from what are essentially humbuckers.
From Leo: I was kind of surprised. I liked the Y samples, which turned out to be the gen4 Noiseless, on every example. The sounds through the Boss overdrive were far less difference than the other tests. Thanks for all the work it took to make this test happen.
thanks Leo!
I know this is an old comment, but I have to ask, do you chat with Leo ? If so, ask him how a man that couldn´t play guitar made 2 of the most iconic guitars. I think "Leo" stands for "Leo Fender"
Hmm, liked the "Twisteds" access all areas, except for A/C crancked o/d with guitar straight in with the neck noiseless, ... Am I bad? ... LOL❤
THANKS for the TEST, MAN ... definitely worth doing ... learnt something, and saved money too! Cheers! And THANKS A GAIN! (See what I did there, lol)😂
Got it right, my favorite has been the “twisted “ in the neck and the “broadcaster” in the bridge with the 4 way switch. The noiseless sound pretty decent. At this time I have a 94 Mexican with Seymour Duncan antiquities, and a Mexican 04 that my friend my friend Mark Bronson in Scottsdale , AZ , put the tele mini JB hum in the bridge and a strat mini JB in the neck position. That one is so sweet.
I guessed right, and I preferred the G4 noiseless ones, the twisted teles are just a little too much for me. I like the subtlety of the noiseless clean, and they have some pretty good overdriven tones too. Plus, having the hum-cancelling is pretty cool too. Gonna drop some into my MIM sometime soon.
I'm leaning that way too, I just bought a new player, Pickups are good but i like the idea of better parts and newer technology.
Noiseless pickups. Bring it on. Thanks Landon. Never tried noiseless. Maybe my next purchase... Have a great rest of the week and be safe!! Peace!
🎸👍
It’s funny in every test where the pickups were separated I liked the noiseless more, however in the middle positions I preferred the twisted tele every time. The noiseless pickups sounded like they were scooping way too much out in the middle position.
I also guessed right, but also swapped my Gen 4 N for a set of TT. They really are better. More of a 3D sound, especially on the neck, and way better sounding when you add gain.
tots agree
About 15 years ago I put noiseless pickups in a strat (Gen 1?). I liked the neck pickup but not the bridge so then I replaced the bridge with something else and I don't know. It was just screwy. The noiseless pickups were very...noiseless. I played in some places and lived in some places that really put them to the test and they stayed quiet. Now I have an obsidian kit in that guitar with a set of Tex Mex pickups. I was going to buy a bunch of pickups and swap them in and out but the pandemic came and I'm not making any money anymore. Like most other people, I suppose. Anyway your noiseless tele pickups sound better than the old noiseless strat pickups did, that's for sure.
I like your sense of humour man. I laughed hard at the start of the video. And awesome comparison video! Cheers
hey if I can make one person laugh, mission something something. :P
Lol right on buddy. Really digging your content I love teles myself. I’m assuming you live in Canada since you ordered from LA music?
yes, in Ottawa
Oh nice! My brother was living there for most of his life but we’re from Sudbury and still living here. I was in Ottawa visiting in February of 2019 and there was that huge snowfall over night! That was insane l!
Cool to see your doing so well with your videos man! I subscribed and will be watching many more of your vids! Cheers from Sudbury! Stay safe out there
The Twisted sound so much better to my ears - more sonic thickness especially in the mid range. The difference between the Twisted and the G4 is dramatic imo. The G4 by comparison sound alarmingly thin.
agreed!
I tried a set of Noiseless PU's in a Deluxe Nashville Telecaster and i actually liked em... woulda liked em even more if I coulda switched the bridge & neck pickups together but that wasn't possible with a Strat middle PU and a 5-way switch; I didn't care for the guitar in general but the bridge & neck pickups were pretty impressive.
B. Rod Clark I also have a Deluxe Nashville Telecaster 2005 with the Tex-Mex PUPS. This was my first Tele. Not really a fan of it anymore especially because of the bridge & neck together. I hardly touch it anymore. Maybe if I switch the pups and new 6 way switch 😂
Good god, dude, you just saved me a ton of time and grief. I’m building an HSH gold/black Strat and was about to order a standard 5-way Fender switch, plus, soldering iron and wire (never having done this before). I followed your link to ObsidianWire and they had the exact switch for me. Thank you SO much! You have know idea. Liked and subscribed! Also, that is the nicest looking Tele I’ve ever seen, which is what made me click the video in the first place. Happy New Year!
cheers!
@@landonbailey - Finally finished the Strat build. Turned out pretty good for my first attempt, I think. Used the 5-way ObsidianWire (well-worth the extra cost), dropped in a couple of Seymour Duncan Zebras, a Fender single coil off my old '85 MIJ Strat, locking tuners, big block saddles, and a Fender licensed neck with the nicest finish I've ever seen.
imgur.com/gallery/j0DUXvy
To be honest I much preferred the Twisted Tele set, they just sound fuller. The bridge and neck in series with SD-1 at 6:30 is glorious! :)
ya no wrong answers!
Personally I preferred the noiseless pickups .
I just bought a Gen4 set to replace my N3 pickups. I am mainly a bass player but I love plying guitar too. I play a lot of r&B funk, soul rhythm.For leadst I like clean tones and mild overdrive on the front pickup.This test tells me that I probably made the right choice
cool!
I've got so much 60 cycle hum in my apartment building that noiseless or humbuckers are the only way I like to play. For years I tried to make do with middle positions, but it's so limiting to have only one pickup setting available. The Gen 4 stuff all sounds pretty good to me, especially with dirt. It's definitely not identical to a true single coil (and I did correctly pick the Twisted Tele pickups out), but they're close enough for me to enjoy it.
Ya need a good gate. I suggest the TC sentry
@@Ottophil yknow I always think the same thing - with my teles I just use a pretty cheap ($30) but very effective noise gate and I never get any hum in any situation but still get all of the tele sound I want and that my guitar has to give without effecting sustain or tone at all. Would you agree?
I got them right. I liked both clean but still prefer the Twisted Tele with gain. Not a fan of Boss distortion personally. Great video 👌
Your timing is impeccable Landon as I was looking at these for my first ever electric a Tele Frankencaster refurb. I preferred them during the blind test which surprised me so I’m getting them. It’s a special guitar my Dad bought me when I was sick as a teen so I think it deserves them. I loved your out of focus shenanigans- hilarious
Cheers - Tom
🎸👍😊
Having swapped out standard single coil pickups to N4, I could definitely tell that “Y” was the N4. It does lack a little bit of the lower end but they are definitely quiet and brighter on the neck position.
I got this right actually. I do have a Nashville Tele with a completeness noiseless set in it though, so I might have a little head start.
I keep looking to replace my noiseless set (hence my being here), but then sit down and play it and remember that they're really fantastic pickups. Especially when you talk about Fenders coming from the factory with em.
I've had the Nashville Tele as well, but these have the Gen3 noiseless pickups, the Gen4 in my Elite are actually a lot better, more output, more twangy bridge and better sounding neck, it's a real upgrade.
Thanks for the video Landon. Think I’ll go w twisted tele or Texas special. Beautiful guitar - what color is it?
this one th-cam.com/video/AxLCUyxSBUs/w-d-xo.html
@@landonbailey awesome! Thanks. I am building a warmoth t style and your video was very helpful. Much appreciated.
I'm a bit of a packaging keeper as well. I even get a twinge of anxiety when I remove the cling plastic from my latest purchase - Like when I saw the plastic on the neck pup on the noiseless you put in I felt a bit of a twinge knowing that you were going to remove it - Ahhh. Bit tragic I know but I've got down to only turning my key three times in the lock when I leave the house. OCD is getting better. Good video Landon but I do like to solder, maybe that's just me. makes me feel like a real man, Ohh brother...
The Noiseless Gen 4's had more clarity than the Twisted Tele. some previous comments say the Noiseless Gen 4's were "thin". The Noiseless are thinNER than the Twisted Tele pickups - but if I heard them outside this comparison I'm not sure if I would immediately think they were "thin" . Does that make sense?
I have an Elite and have not been happy with the neck pup in particular. After this demonstration, I am going to switch them to Twisted Tele. They sound a lot better to me. Thank you!
Perfect! I love the Twisted Tele pickups!
😢I have fender custom shop Texas Specials single coil pickups and I have the pickup cavities shielded and grounded and the neck pickup cover is grounded so the neck pickup is totally shielded. And the bridge pickup cavity is shielded and grounded and the bridge is grounded. I have a vintage bridge with the traditional ashtray cover which completely shields the pickup. The point I am making is my Telecaster is the quietest guitar I have ever heard. I can put it under a florescent light or next to a huge isolation transformer or a very noisy stage and it amazes players how quiet it is. Shielding and grounding are so important,it has a great tone and when I put it in the 4th position (series) I can't tell any difference in noise just gain. I use copper shield tape and I couldn't be happier with the results
nice job!
I just saw this video 3 31 21 . I got GEN 4 on my Tele last summer because of their humbucking features n RETAIN pure Fender Telecaster s true sounds n tones . . Plus I ll be back doing session work after Covid mess is over .
I had no basis to be able to judge which are the noiseless so I focused on which do I like better. I preferred Y, so I guess I like the noiseless. Hmmmm....
Thanks for the video Landon, as I will soon attempt my first swap; I bought a set of Tonerider TRT2 pickups for my Mexican (that has the stock ceramics). Do you recommend I swap out my wiring also?
Hey there! If you don’t need to swap it out, I would keep the Mexican wiring and pots. They are great
Cool Video, love the neck on your guitar (roasted maple) is beautiful. The noisless pickups sound pretty decent. Thanks for another cool and detailed video, Thanks for all your hard work, it is appreciated!
Thanks for watching!
@@landonbailey always a pleasure
ok, I was really surprised by this comparison! while I could hear the difference, I actually guessed them wrong! I'm guessing the tele noiseless sound closer to single coils than the strat ones, since it was a lot easier to guess which was which from other strat noiseless videos I've watched!
I think this might be why the Noiseless pickups are standard on the Nashville Teles that have the middle strat pickup. Probably helps em blend better. Never really thought of that like that, but I think your comment/opinion has shed a little light on it.
What are the pot values in your Obsidian Wire kit? I have a Player Telecaster with the same 4-way Obsidian Wire kit with 250k pots and the stock pickups. I could use noiseless pickups due to a lot of computer equipment and lights in my house, but I've been hesitant to put noiseless pickups in the guitar without going to 500k pots. Your guitar sounded great. If you had the 250k pots, you may have convinced me to take the plunge without having to change over my wiring harness.
these are 250k. check Obsidianwire.com, you can also get 500k
Landon, revisiting this video with new headphones, and it sounds like the TTs have a bit of noise on all positions.
So I need to ask, are the TTs hum cancelling in the "both pickups" positions? Different polarities and all that Jazz?
Thank you ;)
I can’t say, I no longer have that guitar. I’ve moved the twisted tele pickups into my white Tele
@@landonbailey Yes you did!
Are the TTs hum cancelling in the middle position on the White tele, then?
Great comparison, as usual! I thought the noiseless were more tidy and nice sounding, and the twisted were just plain rude. Loved both to be honest. The plate under the tele bridge pickup is actually brass coated steel. It's there to shape the magnetic field a bit, and needs to be ferrous.
Thanks again!
thanks! I'll just keep saying it's gold 👍😄🎸
Hahaha! As long as you don't try to sell it as gold ;)
with heavy gain they both sound good. Your demo makes the Gen4's sound weak with no bass, mine sound nothing like this demo. I use a stock Boss Katana MKII 100w on the 50w setting. I don't know why the tone difference unless NONE of the dials were changed between pickup changes.
Excellent comparison! This is how all pickup comparisons should be done. I’m building a Warmoth Tele and thinking about going with the noiseless.
thanks! ah cool. Warmoth has nice stuff! enjoy
I could NOT find information on how to install my noiseless pickups into my obsidian but I think your video helped me do it. I've only been able to "tap test" them so far but they passed.
glad it helped!
Thanks for this. I bought a used Baja Tele and the Twisted Tele pickups had been swapped out for Noiseless Gen 4's. I was kinda bummed until I came across this video. The Noiseless don't sound bad at all!
Glad I could help!
Get the blind tone challenge right?
Fender Custom Shop Twisted Tele Pickups
Sweetwater imp.i114863.net/xBmM5
Amazon (US) amzn.to/2GMwE7g
Amazon (CA) amzn.to/32pJAIJ
Amazon (UK) amzn.to/3ip3QzD
Thomann bit.ly/3iqz8pQ
Fender Gen4 Noiseless Tele Pickups
Sweetwater imp.i114863.net/KVPbx
Amazon (US) amzn.to/33qZthv
Amazon (CA) amzn.to/2RqSCi9
Amazon (UK) amzn.to/3hprIlp
Thomann bit.ly/3iubybS
Obsidian Wire 4way Telecaster Switch:
obsidianwire.com?aff=3 (Affiliate link)
0:00 - Hello
2:35 - Blind Tone Challenge with an AC15
2:44 - Clean
3:57 - Mild Gain
5:41 - Max Gain
6:25 - Boss SD1 Pedal
8:28 - Blind Tone Challenger Results
8:51 - Pickup Removal and Installation
16:07 - Wrap Up
Hi, that was a really helpful vid. I have an N3 bridge PU in my Tele and would like to add a solid brass base plate to the PU.
Mine does not have the PCB on it, like your N4. Do you know if it is possible? Cheers. Joe
Hi, could you compare these microphones with those of the Godin Stadium HT?
I don't have the Godin anymore
I enjoy that there are so many people that come down on both sides of this sound off, it shows just how subjective tone is.
I personally preferred the twisted tele pickups all the way through. I found the noiseless to still have a muddy quality to them, but I am someone that prefers single coils to humbuckers in almost every situation. This was my first time hearing your custom build blue tele, (I'm sorry I didn't watch any of your build videos because it is absolutely gorgeous and my jealousy took over) and honestly don't know if it could pair any better with your vox ac. Nice to see that obsidian wire kit being used again, there will be one making it's way into at least one of my shred harps soon. Thanks again for a great video!
thanks for watching!
I to preferred the Twisted pups I also have a Tele pro & the twisted tea ultra love em both along with my Strats &LP’s enjoyed ur vid 👍🔥🎸🦅
My vintage noiseless tele pickup still a little bit hum at bridge position and totally silent at neck position
Hi Landon! I hope you are doing well. Would you sell the candy red tele partcaster? Thank you! Best Regards, Federico.
Hi! I sold it a few years ago
@@landonbailey Thank you. How much do you want for the blue tele partcaster? Thank you very much!
I sold it a couple years ago
@@landonbailey Thank you
Got them right. The Twisted Tele set is better
I did guess right, but that might just be my luck on a 50/50 guess than it is a sign of quality ears, etc. I thought the Twisted Teles sounded great, but I could hear amp noise when there were breaks in playing that I didn't hear when the noiseless were used - so maybe they really are noiseless. Tone wise I think I prefer the twisted but honestly I think I'd only notice in an AB comparison like this.
Great comparison, blind as it should be. Guess it right and prefer the Twisted pickups, sound more organic and natural to me, a touch rawer in a good way. With higher distortion the difference is less noticeable IMO.
Got my Squier CVC and when I'll want to change pickups, these are the two sets I want to choose from.
I could tell them apart, the TT neck stood out, and the bridge was a little bit sweeter, which I also like.
The gen4s sounded great but they did compress a bit.
Now, I can't decide but my thinking is, as long as I have positions 2 and 4 humbucking for some heavier gain, I might as well go for the TTs and also learn the skill of riding the volume pot.
The other good thing with these sets is, you can always resell them, even where I am.
Same same same idea here! Did you upgraded them in the end? It's on 550 euro in Italy. Not a bad deal!
@@thatmanonapedal No, I didn't upgrade, nor installed 4 way wiring, yet.
I figured, let's learn the stock pickups first. And they are lovely for middle-of-the-road tele sounds.
See, I just need three teles to put all the sets 🤣
The freaking background video kills me 😂😂😂
Hi I just bought a set of twisted tele then your comparison came on I really hope x what's the truth the tele because it sounded so much better than y you know I'm happy
I liked the twisted tele neck and noiseless bridge.
:)
I love those Twisted Tele pickups! Great video man!
Me too! thanks!
the noiseless have a more clean and polished tone where the custom shops feel more gritty and vintage so it was a slight difference but i could tell them apart
guess them all right?
@@landonbailey yep!
The 60hz buzz in the back of X gave it away…
Anyway, I really want to install noiseless pickups in my cheap Squier Bullet tele at some point. They sounded amazing!
I got it right, Fender is using CS twisted tele pu’s in their 75th anniversary commemorative tele and they sound amazing. I’m seriously considering buying one, they’re really unique. Have you seen one? What do you think?
nice! are those the gold or silver model? I know there's a USA and MIM. great pickups either way
Cool. I had the Vintage Noiseless in a Strat that I bought used. They were good, but I switched them for SSL1 Duncans because I had them I guess. I have Lindy Fralin Hum -canceling P90s in a PRS. Those are great. Very nice video. Thanks!
thanks Rick! 🎸👍
The Twisted Tele pickups to my ears had a little less clarity and a bit more mid-range and (possibly) a little more output than the noiseless.But I think the Twisted Tele pickups did have enough clarity....if that makes sense? I think they took dirt a little better too. I think the Twisted Tele pickups are more versatile and have more "mojo" than the noiseless. Possibly if you were completely focusing on clean tones - perhaps the noiseless would come into contetion more?
I liked the noisless more on clean sounds and twisted pups more on dirty samples ( especially the bridge rocks!)
👍🎸
Love the video- thx for all the effort! I did guess correctly, I preferred the twisted tele set, i thought the gen4 sounded slightly anemic- less warm and full
I got it right! Yessss! 👍 . . . I read about the Twisted set supposed to be strat sounding
hello.... thx for the nice video ......which one best for telecaster thinline ?
Which ever one you like the most!
@@landonbailey is Gen 4 noisless looks like more modern sound than vintage noiseless?
Great comparison and beautiful guitar!
The difference between the two sets wasn't much - but I still got the blind test right. The noiseless pickups seemed to compress a bit more, and had less in the lower mids section when compared to the Twisted Tele. They both sounded great imo.
👍🎸
Because noiseless pickups are technically humbuckers.
Heylandon can you tell me how the neck plays are the edges pretty sharp im thinking about getting so was 🤔 wondering
the edge is not rounded. it's the same as a Player series neck
Ok thanks does it hurt your thumb or hand playing at all
Got em right, but only because I heard some of the hum on a few clips. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to tell.
Well I definitely preferred x every time you played a phrase, as they seemed to have more 'oomph'. However I'm generally not a fan of the Twisted Tele pickups tbh, so I think I'm going to try and listen to the V64's. BTW Landon is that Tele colour Ice Blue Metallic/ Satin?
Lake Placid Blue :). th-cam.com/video/AxLCUyxSBUs/w-d-xo.html
I am retaking my hobby of playing guitars. I lost it as there weren't many instructors in my city. I used to play an acoustic. But now I'm picking an electric. I'm thinking of buying the Squire Affinity Strat and the Blackstar Core 20 W (of course after the lockdown). What do you say? Any other guitar/amp I should look for in this budget??? I really want a strat.
I like Teles, but that's cool! those should be good for getting back into guitar
@@landonbailey I knew you would mention the teles😂. Thanks for the advice mate. Stay safe!
I have a set of the vintage-voiced noiseless in my Ultra Luxe Telecaster, which is a great guitar. I've been considering a pickup swap, because it's a Tele and you're supposed to mod them (I don't make the rules). But I was surprised how close these pickups sound. I wouldn't hear the difference in a mix at all.
I will say the noiseless are a bit more mid scooped, and they're absolutely the least hot pickups I have. It's nice to have a low-output guitar. As far as the mids, it's nothing that turning the mids up on the amp doesn't "fix," but I do prefer a mid-heavy sound, because that's the sound of a guitar.
I prefer the slight bite and overtones generated by the twisted pups...the noiseless still remind me of the old lace sensors...I don't like having to fight the pickup.
I prefer the twisted Teles too :)
Another Nice Vid Landon...well done. For me, I preferred the Twisted Tele Pickup Tones better....to my ear they were slightly fuller and more rounded. The Noiseless were still good but did sound a tad thin to me. Can certainly appreciate that some would have the opposite opinion....because we are all different. EVERYBODY WINS !!!!!
🎸👍
It was easy for me actually because I really hate the Twisted Tele pickups and I guessed correctly that they were X because I liked those pickups less than Y. I am not a pickup snob and usually don't have strong opinions about them but I have a 2015 American Tele that came with the TT pickups and I really don't like them. Replaced them with Fralins. Im not a fan of Fender Noiseless pickups but they sounded better to the TT's in my opinion. Thanks for the review.
I tried noiseless in my tele, but im a nocaster freak and went back shortly.
The Custom Shop Nocaster pickups are as good as Tele pickups can get. IMO........
Thankful for these videos. Great content man!
My pleasure!
Thank you for posting this. To me I preferred the N4 Noiseless. The X was a little dark. The N4 noiseless still had that full Tele sparkle. I have various Les Paul style guitars when I want to go darker. I'm not into yey this and boo that, but rather yey this, and yey that. I've got all basses covered. I am curious how these would work with a 4 way switch in the Tele?
Glad you enjoyed it! the N4 would work fine with a 4way. I can't recall if it needs a mod to it or not.
Out of the two I liked the Twisted Tele. Landon, do you like either of these better than the Player series pick-ups? I have a Player and dig the pick-ups, but wonder if there are better ones out there.
I would say I like the Player Series pickups the most. just a little bit more scratchy grit in them. Reminds me of Texas Specials
I got blind test right. Prefer Twisted, but sonically closer than I would have thought. It would be nice to take the noise without sacrificing tone...
Twisted tele's for me, but i like to rock. Plenty of grit and growl on the bridge. The neck sounds fuller and sweeter. The gen 4's sounded a little thin to me in comparison. Hey, Landon next time your in there soldering throw in a 4 way switch.
In my Butterscotch 60 anniversary Telecaster Elite S1 Switching came with Sumarian Cobalt Noiseless Pickups, Don't know if is G2 or G3 and never have I ever played or heard such a clean sounding with outrageous punch when turned up. I installed a hand wound Bubble Bee .222uhf 400Volt capacitor which took the tone and sound to levels beyond my playing ability tp ware I don't deserve to own the axe, NOT! I will never sell!
Hi Landon, quick question. If you have 3 wires coming from each pickup and 2 for the jack, how do you have 9 wires in your control panel? I’m trying to instal the pickups for the first time using the same parts from the video... but having a hard time to find the 9th wire.
the 9th is likely a body ground I added. 2 from the output jacks. 3 from each pickup, and 1 ground. that would be my guess.
That is a beautiful guitar! I have a question. On a maple neck with a maple fretboard is it two pieces of maple glued together, or just one solid piece? I was thinking of building a tele and looking at Warmoth roasted maple necks, and it says that there is no need for lacquer on roasted maple, but yours does appear to have lacquer. The thing that I do not like about lacquered necks is that it will eventually come off, how does this affect the fretboard and the sound? Thank you for the video as always.
In this case it's a single piece of maple. There are necks that are two pieces, but not this one.
@@landonbailey Thank you.
HI, I am your Korean subscriber. what do you think is the best pickup for a tele when playing midwest emo?
hey there! I'm not familiar with midwest emo. Is it a lot clean or dirty guitar sounds?
@@landonbailey both, like 1:1
Commenting early. I don't know which one is which, but I liked X better. Not by much though. They sound really close, and I'd be happy with either. It seems X has a little more clarity in the high end to me.
Both sound great but I prefer the G4 great Demo thanks very much 👍
Cool, thanks
Its easy .. you can hear the hum at the x magnet when the y have none .. so the noiseless are y
Nice job man 👏 really liked the noiseless at the bridge and the twisted at the neck i think
Ok like 7 out of 8M, so close..... Got them right because I've installed Noiseless on almost all my guitars fender and dimarzio area pick-ups. They sound good, but definitely agree with most that if it's the guitar sound alone, a certain "Snap" and a "Chime" is missing. Great comparison, and how is your right shoulder after those wicked down strums???? LOL 🎸
😄🎸👍
How about doing a tone test with the Gen 5 Ultra Vintage Noiseless pickups?
Pickup X is definitely the Twisted Tele. Hope I'm right with that definitive statement :) Yup, was right. Quite a large difference actually.
X all the way for me love the twisted better string definition clarity yum.
i love the noiseless on american ultra but not so here. i wonder why. i prefer the twisted more for its brighter sound.
ya I think it’s Gen5 noiseless on the Ultras
I got it right because I just purchased an ultra luxe tele, and they are equipped with lifeless, I mean noiseless pickups…I also own a 58 tele loaded with EMG T’s. I know the sound and I hate these noiseless pickups. My EMG T set sounds like the Twisted set tho!
This is funny. Strat players hate Noiseless pickups (no punch, no soul, so sterile etc...), Tele players love them. Great video!
They are better than I thought, the Gen 4, that is ... the TT's sounded good too... That leaves about a dozen other to test.. I guess bottom line is if the single coil noise bugs you, the noiseless might be an option.
Hi , hum in a Tele (with low to medium output pickups and good grounding/shielding) is not as intense as in a Strat (usually positions 1 -3 and 5). I think the bridge Tele pickup is kind of shielded with all that massive bridge a base plate grounded IMHO.
Honestly I think the Twisted Telly pick up sounded better In the comparison I bought some Texas specials to put in my Telly but I haven't gotten them in there yet unfortunately I don't know how to solder but but I actually wouldn't mind looking into that one you have where you just push the wires in that's pretty cool
much preferred the twisted tele, especially the neck pickup
I have Twisted Tele’s... at first I was wrong but once you added the mild gains and so on, I switched my picks. Twisted’s don’t have that much “twang” in them and I could then hear the difference. Then I guessed right.
@ 24AnVRodri - Twisted Tele's all the way! I like them BECAUSE they don't have much twang. I play blues mostly. The neck pickup is "Strat like" too.
@@bigg4454 Yes Sir!!! Have it with a 4 switch mod.
@@24AnVRodri Cool! I got the 4 way with the S1 switch. Probably one of the best things Fender could come out with. Very versatile.
Not that different. To all you saying how huge the difference is, calm down ladies.
I've had both and the noiseless are Bad. A compressed TH-cam video doesn't allow you to hear the real difference and it's a much bigger difference from what you heard hear lady.
I absolutely loathe noiseless pickups. They sound awful and yeah, like you're running a compressor on them at all times. Just zero articulation.
Are the Twisted tele pickups a stacked pickup or how does it Cancel out the hum & noises being Twisted?
Twisted are 100% single coil.
@@humiut2041 But "Twisted" meaning what?
WooHoo! i got it right even while eating bbq chips!!
Me before he switches the pickups 🤦🏻♂️
Me after he switches the pickups 🤷🏻♂️
In each test, Y was brighter. I had no point of reference to compare because I've never heard the twisted Tele pickups.
I guessed em right, I've been watching a lot of Clapton so maybe that gave me the advantage😅