Well, I am about to take the plunge on some Dimarzio VV 61 & 67's. I tried the shielding thing... man did I ever. I even did the pups but it really never amounted to much help. Here is my effort. Please tell me if you actually have had success with this.
Star grounding, claw to cavity shielded, pick-guard shielded, no ground loops, shielded cable from the jack ( shield on one end like our amps )
Been there, I actually think the shielding paint does a better job. The problem is electro-magnetic interference, -goes right thru this stuff. It's a high impedance, unbalanced system, period. The old dummy coil system had
some success, but this new one, in this thread, promises the best yet, and it
looks to be buildable.
Otherwise the Kinman SCN is cheap, and has a fat tone. The other Kinmans
have a more classic tone. All are very quiet.
I've tried the lace pickups, all the colors, and while they are quiet, they just seem too "perfect." No character really of their own. The Gold does sound pretty good in the neck position for a funky rhythm sound, but other than that, they don't do it for me. I have been using the Hot Noiseless in my strat for a few years now and I really like those. Dead quiet and have a nice tone. They don't sound exactly like a spanky strat pup but they don't sound like a humbucker either. I would describe it as a warm, full sound.
They aren't really a hot pickup either. The output on them doesn't seem to be any hotter than any other set of vintage level output pups I have. I think a better name for them would be "Fat Noiseless." They work really well with the Grease Bucket tone circuit. (I wire my strat for a tone on the neck and middle and the other tone for the bridge).
If you're looking for a classic strat spanky sound, these will probably disappoint you but if you want a fat, buttery tone with no noise, they are worth a try.
Just my $.02, adjusted for inflation that is about $.00001!
Structo wrote:I find it hard to find a single coil type bridge pickup that isn't too plunky or ice picky.
I was exactly the same. Always put a humbucker in the bridge of my strats. I played a Duncan Hot rails since the 80's. About 5 years ago I out together a Warmoth Strat. (Sorry Lefty it "Total Vintage Construction"so I can't help with your question).
I hear you guys. This isn't really on-topic with the noise issue, but the best change I made to my strat was moving one wire so that the lower tone knob is for the bridge pickup instead of the middle. Even with the tone knob turned up all the way it takes some of the plinky highs off the bridge pickup, and it gives a little more sparkle and clarity to the 2nd and 4th p/u positions. Of course, I had to drop the middle pickup down and do a little experimenting with height to get the balance right across all the positions. I don't use the middle position on its own ever, really.
LeftyStrat wrote:The EMG-SA's sound best of all the EMG strat pickups to my ears. The EMG-S is bright and thin.
The EMG-DG20 is a full set of SA's with the EXG and SPC tone controls. This is what is in David Gilmour's red strat.
With the Fender Custom Shop pickups, even with the entire cavity of my strat shielded with copper tape, made me feel like I was swinging around a light saber. HUUUUUuuummm...hhHUUMmm
With the EMG-SA's, I can sit in from of my computer with two 22 inch CRT's and not be bothered. Or stand under a CF light bulb.
You also get the advantage that you don't have to ground your strings, so no chance of shocks. The pickups have very weak magnets and can be raised closer to the strings, so the output is a little hotter than standard pups, without losing the treble like hotter winds.
I still prefer passive single coils for recording, but for gigging the EMG's work well.
If you use a fuzz face you may not like them, you lose the interaction and loading of the pickups that a fuzz face does with active electronics.
old post so this may be old news but EMGs into a Fuzz Face might be a good occasion to try this:
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