Single coil, noiseless or single sized hum...

Rob's suggestion on the Wilde noisefrees is also pretty good. I have an L298-TL as the bridge pickup in the guitar you see to your left there (as well as an L610, which is also pretty quiet). Are they quieter than the Micros? I don't know, possibly, but the Micros are still pretty darn quiet as Derek pointed out. Both are killer designs, not sure you could call either one a bad choice.

Seconding TPMs comment about Rob recommending Bill's pickups. Class act all the way, Rob.

 

Mr. Lawrence is the man. Check out the Wylde offerings for such animals as well designed rails and noiseless singles at a very reasonable price.

Myself, Id put 3 L45S in and let er rip. But you may prefer something with more "color". The L45s are bright and transparent and pretty low output.

 

I have a GFS Lil Puncher Humbucker (15k) in my 62 Tele and this is the best sc sized humbucker i've ever played in a Tele. I wish i bought it sooner.

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/telecaster-discussion-forum/393346-tele-esquire-62-custom-mod.html

Greets

 

Also, consider what kind of sound you use before passing on true single coils. Few would argue they sound best for "that" sound, and the noise is very low or at least very tolerable if you don't use too much drive. In those clean to mildly distorted tones the noise is a non issue. To my ear, noise cancelling pickups are *generally* best used with higher gain and singles for lower gain tones. Thats why i love HSS strats....you have your choice and you have the ability to cop all sorts of great tones.

 

remember - keystones and micro-coils are true single coils and will exhibit some flavor of humbuzz, whereas the L200/L280/L290 lawrence strat pups are true humbuckers in single coil footprint and will be very quiet.

you could also wire in a dummy coil along with a trio of true single coils. the dummy sits in the control cavity, nestled between the switch and the pots. it's controlled via a push/pull pot, to turn it on/off as need be. it will greatly quiet down the bridge and neck pickups in a strat. i typically use a cheap asian strat pickup as a dummy, just pull off the underslung ceramic magnet and leave in the iron polepieces for increased inductance.

i prefer wiring all strats thisaway - standard 5way switch, master 250ka volume, master 250ka no-load tone w/.022uf cap, neck volume no-load blender (this will add in the neck pickup to allow for the bridge and neck pickups to fire at the same time, for a nice tele-like tone). optional: dummy coil, and if so just make the neck volme no-load blender pot also a push/pull pot.

food for thought?

 

yer pickup dilemma is NO different from most folks. people type words and opinions about all this stuff and the rubber will only meet the road when you choose (gamble) on a pup, stick it in yer guitar, play through your modulation and amplification. there is NO other way. it's all a crap shoot of sorts.

listening to sound bytes is NOT a valid way to decide on a pickup. there are ***SO*** many factors involved. yet again, it's all hearsay, conjecture, unvalidated opinions and ... gambling.

the only clear truth is that noiseless dual coils can never fully off the complex tone of a noisy but good single coils.

if you must have quiet tone, go humbucker. if you must have true single coil tone, go single coil (and maybe think about a dummy coil).

lo-z pickups (emg's, etc.) are a totally different ball game, with a sound all to themselves. you'll notice the vast majority of tele and strat players avoid those things. there is a reason for this.

SO, don't feel bad, forge ahead and choose - yer in select company.

 

SSL5 is best Strat bridge I've ever heard. It is NOT a hot pickup--just a tad beefier than traditional so it sounds killer overdriven AND clean.

 

I have the Bill&Becky L200s on my Tele. They are dead silent; they don't have quite the metallic edge that a true single coil would have, but they are very musical and great with overdrive.

 

Good advise. You will be taking a chance, no matter what make/model you choose. You can't really evaluate until the pup is in YOUR guitar played through YOUR rig with YOUR hands.

Don't even bother with online sound clips. They are absolutely meaningless. You have no objectivity with them.

 

Doesn't have to be a gamble. You might pay a little more but I get my pickups from a good guitar shop that installs pickups without cutting the leads letting try them out. If you don't like them try something else. If you buy them he completes the install the way it should be done.


No charge for installs if you buy pickups from him. You may pay a $100 for a pickup that cost $70 online but the install and advice and wisdom of an experienced luthier is worth it.

 

The L200s sound like a single without shorts that make a pickup harsh, edgy or muddy, with less accentuation to the resonance that forms from the interaction of cable capacitance and pickup inductance (which can often make the tone more "metallic" if it falls in an unflattering range), with less distortion of the guitar's tone due to the smaller coil's relationship to the magnetic field. There's no sacrifices for its noiseless performance or a tone character it has because of its noiseless performance, but you're right, it doesn't sound identical to a conventional Fender-style single coil.

 

Mine took about 3 weeks.

 

Some thoughts on the OP's question:

1) Yes, the Surfs are all that. I have a set, love them. Really sound and feel like every vintage Strat I've played.

2) The Dimarzio Areas are all that, too, for noiseless. Personally, I settled on a 61(b)-67(m)-67(n).

3) For live work, I'm in the minority around here, but I love Lace Sensors, especially the Rainbow set, a very versatile set. Personally, the Emerald in the neck position is one of my all time faves.

4) Another option (sorry) is D Allen, his Vintage '54 set is awesome for those chimey '50s tones.

HTH,
Tim

 

D.Allen
And by the way, his sound clips(You-tube) are pretty good. There are even comparisons with stock American and Japanese made strats.
I bought a set and they sound like the clips...but that's just me.