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Are Fender Noiseless Pickups Under-Rated?

faulknersj

faulknersj

Supporting Member
Apr 4, 2008
5,437
5,897
Scottsdale Az
#1
I think they are!

A lot of boutique pickups get a lot of play here on TB...Nordstrand, Fralin, Seymour Duncan, Delano, EMG, Reed James, Bartolini, etc... and I am sure that these are all great pickups and offer different flavors well suited to different tastes.

My aim is not to knock these pickups at all, but rather to give a shout out to pickups that imho are underestimated, under discussed, and deliver incredible tone.

Fender Noiseless Pups sound quite growly for split coils imo, and as a guy who plays with both split and single coil pups, I think these come about as close to sounding like single coils as I have heard. They are completely silent (unlike the new N3's) and have a really wide and even frequency response in the highs mids and lows. I have one in the bridge of a PJ bass right now and it just KILLS! I had a Norstrand single coil, and a Fender CS 60 Single coil in there before and for a PJ set up....the Noiseless pup was BY FAR the winner. I also have Noiseless pup (stock in a Custom Classic) in my Fender Custom Classic CS Jazz...and other bass players that come sit in and play my bass gush over the tone.

Anyway....does anyone else think these pickups are as good as i do?
 
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#3
I had an MIM Deluxe Jazz with them. They sounded fine, but the output was far less than any of my other basses. I don't know if it is the pickups that were that weak or the preamp in that bass.
 
#8
#9
Nedmundo said:
They're Fender's version of split-coils in a J format. They make them for Strats too.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories/fender-super-55-split-coil-jazz-bass-pickup-set

BTW, I always liked Fender's SCN noiseless J pickups, which perhaps were underrated. I haven't been as impressed with the others, but have yet to try those Super 55's.
Click to expand...

My MIM jazz V had some flavor of Fender "noiseless" pickups. And they really were noiseless too! Excellent in the low noise department. But aweful in the tone department. I hated those things. Yech! Definitely NOT underrated!

I listened to a bunch of boutiques and it was pretty clear that Nordies were what I really wanted to hear. But $$$. Then someone on TB was saying that Fender SCN pups were virtually as good as nordies at a fraction the cost. So I gave it a try.

That bass just came alive in my hands! Positively LOVE it. Of course Fender seems to have this policy that if they sell something and it's too cool, it MUST be discontinued and SCN pups were no exception. I think I managed to buy just about the last pair still for sale on the planet. I can only hope they never go bad!
 
#11
I used the "Noiseless" pickups years ago when they first came out. I remember them sounding decent at home but seemed to be so-so in a mix. They didn't sound anything like single coil J pickups either. I definitely liked the SCN or Suhr versions better but they weren't what I was looking for either.

All of that doesn't make them bad pickups but they weren't my cup of tea.
 
#12
I actually like the tone of the noiseless ( 1st gen) in my MIM Jazz De Luxe. These do seem to need an active pre to give decent output but are extremely quiet.

I have the SCNs (2nd gen-Bill Lawrence designed) in a fretless jazz. (Passive ) and love them.

Haven 't checked out the N3 s at all, so no opinion.
 
#13
I really liked the SCN's, hated the Suhr designed pup. I was told that the MIM noiseless were actually different than the versions used on the US basses. I was also told that the version used for the Custom Classics were different than the US versions and were made specific for the CC's.
 
#14
Blue Blood said:
I really liked the SCN's, hated the Suhr designed pup. I was told that the MIM noiseless were actually different than the versions used on the US basses. I was also told that the version used for the Custom Classics were different than the US versions and were made specific for the CC's.
Click to expand...

The Noiseless pups on My Fender Custom Classic just kill. I tried a pair I'd Nordy Single Coils and some Fender single coils, and the Noiseless pups just went right back on.
 
#16
OK, you lost me when you distinguished between "Noiseless" and N3 pickups. Isn't that what the N3s are?

You also mentioned that the noiseless pickups are split-coil. Fender also makes a split-coil J pickup (as was mentioned earlier) called the Super 55. I have three of those in my bass. (Check out my avatar.) I love them! Crystal clear and utterly without noise.

So in one sense, I agree with you that Fender noiseless pickups are great. In another sense, I don't know what you're talking about.
 
#17
I think there pretty anemic(at least the one that came on the jazz deluxe)...the only split single 8 heard from fender worth a **** came on the victor bailey fretted koa top 22 fret jazz. Those things killed with a tad of mid boost...
 
#18
all fender noiseless versions except the old suhrs with the big single polepieces and the new "super 55" are stacks, not split-coils.

for my money most of them are rated about right :hmm: though i haven't heard the super 55s yet.
 

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