Fender Noiseless vs Single Coil Pickups - Do Noiseless Pickups Totally Suck?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ค. 2024
- This is a comparison between the new Fender Stratocaster Noiseless Pickups and standard Fender Stratocaster Single-Coil pickups. Do Fender Noiseless pickups suck? Let's find out.
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0:00 - About
0:20 - Jam Track (Noiseless vs Single Coil)
3:32 - Clean Comparisons
6:48 - Overdrive Comparisons
7:53 - Final Thoughts
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Both sound fantastic, maybe it has something to do with the guitarist :)
I chose the Ultra because I use it in a band context. Any sound differences between noiseless and traditional pickups are completely lost in the mix, and no audience on earth will ever know (or care) about a difference. It either sounds good or it doesn't, and these Ultras sound very, very good! For live playing I get all the great strat tones and none of the hiss.
Yep, I’ve had a stacked dimarzio in the bridge of my Tele for years never tempted to put the original back in. Gonna switch the neck soon too. Playing with distortion already hums enough even with buckers there’s nothing worse than stopping playing for a sec and having this annoying ass hum
I actually prefer the noiseless over the single coils. Great review as always. 👍🎸
I have noiseless in my Strat. Perfect. They don’t suck at all. Great to be free of the noise.
noiseless usually suck. its the execution that matters and somehow fender does it right. i have the ultra vintage and gen4 noiseless.. both are phenomenal.
To me, the benefits of noiseless single coils (i.e.; humbuckers in drag) outweigh any supposed loss of high end sparkle or other minor (IMO) compromise in tone. Now if you just want all that single coil goodness, then do your thing. But the ability to capture better than 90% of the classic single coil tone without noise is worth it.
I dont know - Whilst I certainly do agree with your statement with regard to 90% of “Noiseless” Pick-Ups - I have to say my Stratocaster Plus with Gold Lace Sensors Sounds DEAD quite in comparison to the Fender “Noiseless” Pick-Up’s demonstrated here & they have an absolutely brilliantly sublime “chime” I have found almost impossible to duplicate on any pick-up noiseless or not
Noiseless hides your crappy technique. I like it but at the same time I don’t because there are things in the tone of a strat I don’t want it to hide.
I wish you could turn the feature off on top of an a switch
@@Dannys.channel What’s wonderful particularly about the “Lace Sensor” PIck-Ups is that they are not designed anything at all like “Noiseless” or any other Single-Coil - Noise Reducing PUP - They are VERY uniquely designed- Check Out their website
@@Dannys.channel Hide our crappy technique? More like hide an annoying noise for the sake of the audience.
@@Enigma9Sigma yea but I’m gonna be honest, I think that stacked single coils sound better than regular single coils. Their tone is nice and bright but also fat with plenty of body. Got a dimarzio in the bridge of my Tele and I’m switching the neck out soon. Had the beige for years and I’ve never been tempted to put the original back in.
I prefer the noiseless for most of my playing (yes, I have a set). They are a little rounder, slightly less toppy, and that suits me.
Thought experiment. Imagine that when the Stratocaster (and Telecaster) was first produced the pickups were hum free but then years (decades) later someone came up with an identical looking pickup boasting that they sounded superior BUT. . . they buzzed, would anyone prefer them? I doubt anyone would want them.
I watch all your videos. Super on point and informative.
You info has influenced at least one recent purchase.
Thanks for the commitment and hard work.
dam bro, came here for a comparison but ended up just loving your playing. that is some good shit homie
I was listening with my eyes closed, and every time I’d hear a note or run that I thought particularly sounded great I’d open my eyes and it was the white guitar each time. But I think they both sounded pretty good.
That's why 66% of my guitars are white 😂🤣
@@888jimm 😁😁😁
Wayne’s world guitar is also white 😂
I think the ultra sounds pretty awesome. Single coils are still my favorite but I've got a 50s vintera with v3 noiseless with an s1 switch in the volume knob (just so ya know which I mean) and it absolutely kills. Great job as usual
I have wanted a real Strat all my life and finally purchased an Elite with N4 pups. I could not get the real Strat tone I was hoping for and I play mainly clean. However I love all the modern appointments of the Elite. Compound neck and fingerboard, cut away heel, locking tuners, great look in general. So I removed the whole pickguard and made a new one up using Custom 69s. Now it sounds fantastic and has all those other goodies to boot. I even put stainless steel frets in as Shane has often commented on and they are smooth as. Now very happy with my one and only Strat.
Playing next to a popcorn machine, under fluorescent lights, in a venue with dodgy wiring - then Noiseless. Otherwise a set of Abigail Ybarra or Josefina Campos pickups cannot be beat (you can always turn the volume down between numbers if noise is a real issue). That said the noiseless pickups on the Ultra are the best iteration of the concept yet.
Heh, that first sentence literally describes half of the places I play in...so, noiseless is a necessity.
Top 'o' the mornin', Shane....Jimbo here from the Great (snowy) State of Washington.
Happy Holidays to You & Your's!!
Another great demo, as usual!
I totally agree with Your final thoughts on these 2...not much difference, sonically...the noiseless pickups just lack that full Top end sparkle of the single coils. A little trick I learned from another video was to install a short piece of surgical tubing inside each, or 1 or 2, of the tremelo springs, which also seems cut the hum/buzzing native to the single coils. Works pretty good for pennies cost.
Merry Christmas....!!
Nice comparison man. Been waiting for this. Went with the ultra in the end as the difference wasn’t that much for me and I like the modern appointments.
Nice video Shane! I have 2 mod shop strats, 1 with Texas and the other noiseless. Very happy with both!
Great comparison Shane. 👍
I'm thinking that whatever tonal differences there were it was marginal. So much so, unless there are some sort of drawbacks to the noiseless you didn't mention, then noiseless for me if the option was there from the outset. Conversely, I'm not gonna go out and switch out my single coils for noiseless.
Cheers. 😎✌️
Lovely playing Shane. Well done. Both sound great, I prefer the brighter typically Strat sparkle of the single coils.
This popped up on my suggested, and great comparison, glad I watched. The noiseless are missing that little bit to my ear (though I am partial, my 1966 Stratocaster has such a beautiful sound). Was thinking of trying noiseless in my 80s Strat, but think I will stick with the regular singles after watching. Thanks again for the side by side
Now that, my friend, is some fantastic playing! Wow. Brilliant. Cheers!
I agree completely. The biggest difference is the top end sparkle. Noting that, the Ultra Noiseless have come a LONG way and I really like them. Btw, your playing in this video was absolutely inspired! I don't think I've ever heard you play with that kind of fire in any other video! Maybe you were jamming to "Old Love" before shooting? lol
I like your comparison. Very interesting sounds. Thanks.
I got both types. I don't regret my vintage noiseless. I love their tone.
My Vintage Noiseless came with 1Meg Pots. I think that's the secret sauce.
I'm impressed how far Fender has gotten with the noiseless project. The only spot I thought there was a big diff was the middle pickup response.
This was a long overdue comparison, thanks from British. Columbia , great job.
unbelievable: 40 years of strats playing, and i think I prefer the noiseless pickups! Didn't see that one coming.😋
Great review. I can't hear much that couldn't be dialled in with eq either way. Just ordered a player plus HSS with noiseless for gigging, so I'll see how it compares to my single coils.
Both sounded really great. I have a Fender Original 50s Strat, and had to swap out the original pick-ups out of necessity, as the guy who set up my strat damaged one of them. I had a new set of custom 69s lying around (unused), and was really surprised on how much better they sound to my ears than the original 59 single coils, with a stronger mid range.
I have a set as well and they are just right.....
It's good to have the option - standard single coil Strat pickups sound a lot better to me as they have more top end sparkle. Noiseless pickups also sound a little nasally and compressed - not quite as open. That being said I would still use the Noiseless pickups without hesitation if I had a guitar with them.
Really, depends on the PUPs - The Fender “Noiseless” however sound precisely as you described
I tested both when i was looking for a new Strat. The noiseless surprised me as they sounded so good but in the end i bought the American Pro II with the Single Coils. I still preferred these slightly although the noiseless have come a long way!
Both guitars sound amazing and have that classic Stratocaster single coil tone. The Ultra noiseless pickups are slightly less clear and bright than the 50s Original but it's a small difference. Man I want that Ultra!!!
Really cool video, two lovely guitars and those noiseless ones are pretty clever. However, it's hard to match that sound Malmsteen had on his first few albums when he just stuck a Strat through an analogue tube screamer or whatever it was he used. Both for rhythm and leads, that pure sound is amazing if you can bear the hum (I can't!)
From Leo: GREAT riffs man, I enjoyed your work so much, it did not matter what you were playing
I really wish I had stumbled across this video 3 weeks ago! It could have possibly (not likely) saved me ending up with 2 new Strats instead of 1, an Ultra in the same Texas Tea finish and a Sunburst 50's Vintera Modified which has "Hot ‘50s Strat" pickups that sound really nice apart from the noise!
Great video all the same as always, thanks
In this comparison the noiseless pups impressed me.
I've used Kinman noiseless pups live for several years and whilst great they lacked the straight single reactivity - slightly difficult to induce feedback. Put my texas specials back in my main Strat.
Shane, you play the blues so well. I enjoy listening to you play! 👌
Good video Shane. A little P.S.A. to all who might consider buying aftermarket Fender Noiseless pups…
I bought a set of Gen 4 Fender Noisless pickups and they sound great, but …they don’t fit in the standard Strat single coil pickup rout.
They’re too tall, and the pickup rout isn’t deep enough. You’ll have to rout out the bottom of the cavity to get them to fit properly.
There was a “ heads up” warning about this on the site I bought them from so it wasn’t a surprise.
Amazing playing Shane! Good on you!
I was sold (noiseless) after the first note! Sounds perfect for a bit of Ritchie Blackmore 🤘 Love the colour scheme too.
Can't beat the spank of normal single coil pickups. The noiseless one do sound nice just lack a tiny bit top end. But I don't like strats as I always seem to hit the middle pickup as I've played only tele and single cut style guitars. Would I have one? Hell yeah your white one sound beautiful just as the amp starts to break up. Very nice playing Shane and all the best for 2022!
I have an "elite" strat. Love it! About the same a the"Ultra". I hope you keep it. Chocolate and bronze is beautiful.
So glad i got the same AO 50s Strat before shortage hits, waiting for the 50s Tele now.
Even on a lowly phone speaker there's a subtle difference, on the clean head to head at least. The white had a smidge more top end sparkle and initial bite. The texas was like listening outside an open door.
If the ultra was all you'd ever had, I think you'd be happy. They've improved a lot. But there's still just that last few percent of the original character thats not quite there (yet), if you want to be a slave to tradition.
I used to own an ultra that was made in 1990 if I recall correctly. It had Lace Sensors in S/S/H configuration. They always sounded kind of cold and clinical to my ears so I sold the guitar. Pretty sure it is rare and collectable with a blue maple flame top and ebony fretboard but it just didn't have that pep I was hoping for. These new noiseless pickups sound a whole lot better to the ear. If I had one of these new ultras I'd stick with the stock pups for sure.
Both have their pluses and minuses, but I still enjoy each of these pickups. Great playing and comparison, Shane.
I think there is too much unconscious bias in this type of shootout. The tests need to be blind. I'd also like to see the output on a spectrum analyzer to see if the differences are real or imagined. Even assuming that there is a slight noticeable difference, that doesn't make either better or worse. They are both great.
I was reading comments while listening and I thought he was playing all the time the same guitar in the jam, so I did not notice a difference in blind test. But in the second part I noticed slight loss in high frequencies for one of the guitars.
This was so useful! I'm looking for that magical bright, sparkling clean sound - and the single coils had that every time, much warmer than the tinnier noiseless. Makes a difference for sure.
Then get a set of Lace Sensor “Gold” Stratocaster PUP’s
Perfect approach to comparaison!!!
Very nice. I think based on my experience that if you put bent steel vintage saddles in the Ultra it would be even less noticiable the difference.
I have the same noiseless in my Ultra Luxe and, personally, I wouldn’t dream of swapping them out for regular single coils. There are definitely things the single coils do slightly better but, overall, I think the noiseless are more versatile.
yeah....
Also what's good with noiseless pickup is that you remember that you have a "premium" feature every time you plug in
For example I've antiquity surfer 2 on my main strat
I like them very much, but I'm still wondering 7 years later if maybe the Texas would have been better? ?? Or maybe this or that and etc etc
While when you have a premium noiseless, you do have tangible feature to compare when playing
As long as they have good High end spectrum ofc
I agree. I have a Fender with Vintage Noiseless. And I have a 2018 Squier Bullet. My Squier bullet blows it out the water in comparison to tone.
I've used those noiseless pickups recently. The Seymour Duncan stacked STK4S pickups sound much much better and a hell of a lot closer to the true single coils - I guess for obvious reasons
Like I said, ‘personally’. I have CS Texas Specials in my other strat and they are better for certain sounds but overall I prefer the noiseless. As for others, make your own choices.
Shane's drive tone on the Ultra bridge, alone, makes me want to buy it. Supreme, lush viscosity, imo. Nice one.
They both sound wonderful. I guess it depends what the artists wants.
Merry Christmas
EQ pedal may fix the missing sparkle
I think the Ultra noiseless pickups are the best Fender have ever made. Some of the previous generations like the SCN and N3 I really didn't like at all. The Ultras genuinely sound great even if they don't sound exactly like single coils.
I have a Fender Deluxe with N3, they suck! I'm looking to change for a brighter pickup
I've been totally in love with Texas tea since you reviewed it. There is a little difference on the clean chanel more on the bridge but I still prefer the noiseless for my taste and my needs. Love the solo you've done ❤️
I've tried old noiseless pickups, so maybe I'm still scarred by that, but they still sound more like a generic loud single coilish thing than they do a strat. It's particularly noticeable in the mixed positions.
Your playing makes the differences very apparent and serves the comparison. The way a lot of channels do these comps using nothing but OD or distortion drives me insane.
Good Job, Man! Thanks!
I took the dive and sold my Texas Special Deluxe and built a scratch plate with Vintage Noiseless. The pickups came with caps, treble bucket, and three pots. Save $100 wiring it up myself.
Great demo, awesome playing.
The noiseless in this demo performed sweetly, with just a bit less specular highs . . . the Single Coils got spiky, overloading my speakers or your mic.
great comparison, as usual! what are the pickups in the white 50s please? I prefer them tbh. I have a 60s strat with a 12" radius, and they put 69 custom shops in them, and the staggering just doesn't work, the 69s are designed for a 7.25 radius. looking for something with a bit more mid too
They all sound fine to me. The quality of the player far outweighs any tiny differences between them. Thankfully the quality of playing on this channel is always top notch! So of course they all sound great.
It just depends on what tone you are after. I used to think I was more of a humbucker kind of guy until I got a Fender Tele Deluxe Nashville with noiseless pickups. I found the Fender noiseless PUPs gave me the warmth I was looking for without the muddiness of humbuckers. They are kind of the best of both worlds. If I wanted more sparkle, I would probably stick with the traditional Fender single coils.
I put the the Ultra Vintage pickups in my Strat. I can hear the difference, it clearly doesn't sound the same but this (Ultra) generation are the first Fender noiseless pickups that I like.
Maybe I am getting old and I really want to like them... or maybe they really are better than previous types of Fender noiseless Strat pickups.
I have both a 1990's Fender Lonestar Strat loaded with Texas Special in the neck and middle as well as a Reverend GPS, which is their version of a classic S style guitar loaded with Fishman Fluence single coils....I will say the Texas specials do have a more treble leaning sound, but the Fishman's get pretty close and can be eq'd to hit the sweet spot for me (and they are dead quiet). Would love for you to try swap Fishman Fluence's in a strat and compare them to the Fender pickups in this video (as I believe the Reverend does not current come in a lefty).
They are so very similar! VERY awesome chops!
What was the 'fart' sound @2:57 ?
I have a Fender Ultra Jazzmaster with the noiseless Jazzmaster pickups . . . and I have a Fender Parallel Universe II Jazzcaster with the AVRI 65 Jazzmaster Pickups. Night and day, but the noiseless definitely have their place depending on the style and amp setup. I used to have an American Deluxe Tele and I could not stand the noiseless pickups in that (just a bit dead to me) and had Fender noiseless strat pickups that someone had put on a Warmoth Bass VI I picked up--swapped those out for more vintage correct and better sounding jag pickups. I think the noiseless have improved over time, and, like any pickup, will depend on what style and situation they are being used in.
Great job and playing.
I am wondering how the guitar with the s1 switching compared to the 50th anniversary strat you used to own. If you can remember what the guitar sounded like, it was a long time ago. thanks for all you do!
I find the biggest difference is in the "vibe" the player gets while playing. The playback or the difference to the audience is probably very slight at best. Great job and thanks for doing this!!!
The vibe makes you play differently. That’s what the tone is all about.
I own an Ultra. Very nice guitar to play. I do love the neck, but I agree the pickups are not quite a sparkly as regular single coils. But, a little EQ adjustment can usually compensate that. I found on my Ultra that the pickup output wasn't as high as the regular single coils. But, I don't miss the hum of regular single coils. All that being said. I'd like to have one of each. Noiseless and regular single coils.
Hi Shane,
To be honest, the noiseless pickups faired much better then I expected. I'm thinking that with just a slight tweak in the treble frequencies, you might be able to get them to sound virtually identical. I would be very interested in a video with you doing that. Merry Christmas 🎄 Shane. :-)
On my Elite, a quick little boost with a clean EQ is all it really needs to shine just like non-noiseless pickups. However I do find the N4’s to be pretty dark overall in most positions for some reason.
That’s true, you can make them sound very similar. You can bring the regular pickups down to the voicing of the noiseless, but you can’t raise the noiseless to the clarity of the regular ones. It’s the laws of physics.
IMO, you either like the regular pickups for what they are or you don’t.
Thanks for the vid. Purely from the two example guitars, to my uninformed ears the traditional standard singles sound "woollier" and "warmer", and the noiseless more "glassy" and "bell-like". Toanz are subjective, but to said ears the more complex tone of trads generally lent itself noticeably better to single-note licks (especially on the B and high E strings), but I think the more glassy and transparent noiseless provide a definition, smoothness and consistency to chords and rhythm playing that I think work slightly better for jangly clean... and slightly more better for punchy distorted rhythm playing. I definitely think I liked the middle position more on the Ultra.
In spite of what I've just said, I'm not sure I preferred the noiseless examples overall, I did like the rounder bottom on the trads, but I can't help but think that could be fixed with eq/ amp settings. Same thing with the trads being a little too bright and sharp in places. It's a tough call... but at least I know if I ever want to buy a strat to wank blues licks ad nauseam on, or a strat to just to chug power chords on, I'd know which pickups to use respectively in either case. Great! Most of the big strat players are known for only doing only one or the other, right? Oh wait...
A lot of great comments I guess at the end of the day it's down to our own personal choice I have an Eric Clapton with vintage noiseless pickups and a 1955 dual mag 1 alder 1 ash body each guitar has its own persona but both sound fantastic
same. love both.
The noiseless pickups sound darker to me - lose some of that chime and sparkle. The whole idea of the strat is to get that classic strat tone - shows you still need the single coils to get that. I DO hear the improvement Fender has made in the noiseless pickups when gain is applied.
I've got an American Ultra Telecaster. I quite like the pickups. Not only do I think they not suck, I bought Ultra Noiseless pickups for my Strat. As I always say, if it sounds good it is good.
I think the noiseless pickups sound just fine in the context of a mix. Of course, one can just use a gate, but that brings its own set of issues.
People may not think hum is a big deal, but some clubs have wiring/AC issues that magnify noise problems.
Even my apartment and other venues.
@@ricmel8008 I lived in an apartment in Brooklyn that had outdated wiring (it literally didn't have actual 3-prong grounding until a decade or so earlier!). It made everything hum, including my humbucker equipped Les Paul.
@@Andyanddiana467 I feel your pain. My apartment buzz like crazy. Whenever I am trying new equipment I have to take it to my friends house. I gig every week also. And the building I gig in also buzz.
The single coils seemed to react to the attack of your picking a lot more. I bet it’s a lot funner to play the white one. Mine are noiseless vintage in a MIM strat. I’m not sure if there is much a difference in the American ones.
Non-noiseless pick-ups sound better to my liking, but I'd think twice before choosing them over the noiseless ones -- is it worth the buzz?
Buena comparación! Aunque coincido con que debería ser un blind test!
Btw, Cómo se llama la música que comienza a sonar en el min 7:59?
Noiseless or Original Single Coils? Please let me know in the comments which one and why. 😎
Seymour Duncan STK-S4 👍
Room for both I think. The Ultra would be a great live guitar. If only owning one then I would probably keep things traditional.
Side question: what overdrive are you using? Sounds killer! 😎
@@Shawn-Whitfield VS Audio Royal Flush Dual Overdrive pedal
Never really been a ‘strat person.’ (Tele) Nice comparison, I was wondering what noiseless pick ups were like? I love that Texas Tea colour, but the white one sounded better. Deal with the hum. 👍🏻
For me they are Very close on clean sound.
But in overdrive there are more differences i think. But all sounds are amazing.
I think everyone needs to play on both before buing. Thanks for the video 🙏
The issue with the question posed by the title is that of the half dozen sets of noiseless singlecoils I've played, Fenders are at the bottom of the list in sound. Mojotone Quiet Coils or even DiMarzio Area pickups sound much closer to singlecoil, fender I find to sound bland.
I'm putting a set of these pickups in my MIM Telecasters and the Eric Johnson pickups into my Stratocaster.
I like them both? Both sound great in their own way. I’ve got a tele with gen 4 noiseless and I’ve been happy with them.
I prefer the traditional. It makes me wrinkle my nose listening or playing…
Your playing is phenomenal in this video. Could you make a tutorial for old love? Would appreciate it a lot!
Excellent demo. Things like set-up Pup height, blah blah blah can change things, not to mention pots and caps. Wanting to get my '80 USA strat to stop yelling at me, but I love the tones she gives. Gonne have to do some hard thinking on this.
Those noiseless are pretty good, but those singles do take it for me. Just sparkle a bit more, more character, more edge. But it’s got very close. Nice comparison there.
Man, I love my ultra and how it sounds. I might order an AVII 1961 or AO50 strat in a year or so. I really hope that doesn't ruin my love for the Ultra
Nice playing Shane
Your final thoughts are spot on……
I know it is a tough question and there are multiple factors but as a lefty I need your help fast please, I would like to upgrade from my PRS entry level SE to maybe a Fender Pro II or Fender Ultra or Gibson Les Paul or SG. What is the best upgrade out of these. Want to buy once instead of multiple guitars. Not going to gig with it just for my own music at home. Thank You!!
Great playing and tone. Super gritty but smooth. Like a sandy cappuccino
Wondering about whether or not to get the Player Plus Nashville Tele with the latest Noiseless. 3 Strat pups is the best test though and they sound close enough for me to pass.
I was just wondering what number noiseless pickups you were using 3's or 4's? Both straps souned great either way to me different sounds make different creations.
Hey what's the pickup hight on the noiseless pickups I swapped my pickguard to a Hendrix reverse bridge setup on my roadhouse delux and forgot to measure them.
The noiseless sound fine . Much better than what the old ones sounded like . I like the plastic coverings . Maybe thats the trick to their great sound ? lol : ) Seriously fine sounding . Better than the Lace sensors I had tried back in the 90's . Cool topic .
Thanks much for the video. However, the "noiseless guitar" (brown) in the video still has the factory plastic cover stickers over the three pickups. The plastic covers need to be removed as they alter the tone being picked up by the pickups. So one cannot really tell where the difference comes from unfortunately (pickups or the plastic covering them).
The plastic doesn't go over the pole pieces, it makes no difference.
Hi there Shane the noiseless pickups came out with a better tone on my Bose Mini Bluetooth speaker wondering are they generation 5 pickups or generation 4
What version of Noiseless were these? I had some a few years ago in a AD Tele and they were horrible. These sound really good.
I have 2 USA strats one is an ultra ,I find the ultra doesn’t quite stand up to the classic strat sound the ultra pickups sound a little weak in comparison to the ultra strat ,but like you said there isn’t a great deal of difference.
On the video, not in the room (just couldn't get to Australia in time), I hear a warmer sound on the N4s and the highs seem less sharp. The growl is a bit muted on the N4s compared to that classic Strat Single Coil when you lean into it. Cheers.