Are Fender Noiseless Pickups Under-Rated?

[walterw]

i think some of that is the fender preamp, which is sort of voiced to go with those quieter, mellower pickups; i'd expect "better" replacements to sound kind of hot and bright through that pre.

 

[faulknersj]

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.

Well having owned a Fender Am Deluxe Jazz with the N3's...I know that they are not Noiseless. They were buzzing and after doing some research here on TB, everyone else was having the same issue. I got the bass shielded and that did the trick. They dont buzz as much as single coils, but they are not Noiseless.

 

[faulknersj]

i think some of that is the fender preamp, which is sort of voiced to go with those quieter, mellower pickups; i'd expect "better" replacements to sound kind of hot and bright through that pre.

That is a good point. I have a J-Retro in my Custom Classic....and the Noiseless pups sounded great with both pre's. They likely are better with an active Pre...althought the one in the bridge of my Passive PJ sounds incredible.

 

[LaBassGuy]

I have a Fender Deluxe QMT Jazz with SCN pups, and I love them. They do not sound single-coil. So if that's what you're after, SCNs are not for you. But they have their own modern sound which works great

 

[BlueTalon]

Well having owned a Fender Am Deluxe Jazz with the N3's...I know that they are not Noiseless. They were buzzing and after doing some research here on TB, everyone else was having the same issue. I got the bass shielded and that did the trick. They dont buzz as much as single coils, but they are not Noiseless.

I'm not doubting you for a minute. I just thought "N3" and "Noiseless" were two different names for the same pickup. So are "Noiseless" actually split coils? And "N3"s are what? (Besides noisy.)

 

[faulknersj]

I believe they are both stacked...

 

[TN WOODMAN]

To clarify:
Fender's 1st generation noiseless had the word noiseless in gold script printed on the pickup cover.

2nd generation noiseless were the Samarium Cobalt Noiseless designed by Bill Lawrence with raised SCN on the pickup covers.

3rd generation noiseless are the N3, which have N3 on the covers.

 

[Hawkeye]

Well having owned a Fender Am Deluxe Jazz with the N3's...I know that they are not Noiseless. They were buzzing and after doing some research here on TB, everyone else was having the same issue. I got the bass shielded and that did the trick. They dont buzz as much as single coils, but they are not Noiseless.

A local shop had a lovely Jazz V Custom Classic for sale a couple of years ago (ice blue metallic & maple fretboard, one of the "good" Fenders) and it had the "noiseless" pick ups which were actually very noisy for a supposed hum-cancelling design.

I really loved that bass and wanted to buy it but as a matter of principal I couldn't bring myself to buy a $2000 bass ($3000 list) knowing that I also had to spend a few hundred more changing out the pickups too.

If you're a "set and forget" player who never varies the blend of the neck and bridge pickups I guess that wouldn't be a problem. I like to solo the neck pickup every once in a while so it was a problem for me.

 

[Cyborg]

To clarify:
Fender's 1st generation noiseless had the word noiseless in gold script printed on the pickup cover.

2nd generation noiseless were the Samarium Cobalt Noiseless designed by Bill Lawrence with raised SCN on the pickup covers.

3rd generation noiseless are the N3, which have N3 on the covers.

The Suhr's were the first generation Fender built inhouse (big single pole piece per string), unless you want to throw in the Laces as a generation.

 

[Bassamatic]

I have the SCNs in my MIM Jazz. Coupled with TI Flats - the sound is just WOW! The output seems a little lower than the single coils, but they just sound terrific.

 

[joelb79]

and the new "super 55" are stacks, not split-coils.

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

The super 55's are split coil. they even have an S silk screened in the cover to show where the split is, right in the middle. Fender probably is not wrong when they describe the product as a split coil pickup. It is a true side to side split coil, you can tell on the bottom of the pickup as well.

Invalid Link Removed

Just wanted to correct bad information.

I have the SCNs in my MIM Jazz. Coupled with TI Flats - the sound is just WOW! The output seems a little lower than the single coils, but they just sound terrific.

Funny I've always liked flats with noiseless pickups as well. Maybe the flatwound strings tonally balance better with split/stack designs and subconsciously i'm picking that up and going with it myself.

 

[leroy diamond]

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?

I have just taken delivery of a used, but immaculate Fender Custom Shop Classic CS jazz with noiseless pickups but have yet to gig it in anger. Any advice on EQ settings on the onboard preamp?

 

[faulknersj]

I have just taken delivery of a used, but immaculate Fender Custom Shop Classic CS jazz with noiseless pickups but have yet to gig it in anger. Any advice on EQ settings on the onboard preamp?

My advice is to just start flat...and then play with cutting and boosting lows, mids and highs so you can hear where the frequencies are centered. I leave my pre's pretty flat most of the time. I actually put a J-Retro pre-amp in mine...mainly because it has a passive/active switch...and it is really a whole different thing entirely...but the stock pre sounded really good (maybe better) and is really easy to get around on. These basses are the creme de la creme of Fender jazz's imo! I hope you love yours as much as I love mine!!!

 

[dex]

I have a beautiful trans-charcoal Fender Custom Shop Classic 5 that originally had a set of first generation Fender noiseless. I did end up replacing them with a set of Aero Type I simply because I had a spare set and I love Aeros. It would be totally fine with the original noiseless pups as well. Great pickups for sure.

 

[leroy diamond]

My advice is to just start flat...and then play with cutting and boosting lows, mids and highs so you can hear where the frequencies are centered. I leave my pre's pretty flat most of the time. I actually put a J-Retro pre-amp in mine...mainly because it has a passive/active switch...and it is really a whole different thing entirely...but the stock pre sounded really good (maybe better) and is really easy to get around on. These basses are the creme de la creme of Fender jazz's imo! I hope you love yours as much as I love mine!!!

Thanks for the reply. I cannot wait to gig it this weekend. The craftsmanship and finish on this baby is top class and on a par with my Sadowsky NYC. Also very light at just a little over 8lbs. The non passive option is a slight concern. Would love to get a mod for passive switch installation but its a minor quibble. Could be the start of a love story all right.

 

[faulknersj]

Thanks for the reply. I cannot wait to gig it this weekend. The craftsmanship and finish on this baby is top class and on a par with my Sadowsky NYC. Also very light at just a little over 8lbs. The non passive option is a slight concern. Would love to get a mod for passive switch installation but its a minor quibble. Could be the start of a love story all right.

Mine is my number one....if i had to audition for something big....that's the one i would take. Post some pics of yours if u can...i'd love to see it....and chime back in after your gig!!

 

[faulknersj]

I have a beautiful trans-charcoal Fender Custom Shop Classic 5 that originally had a set of first generation Fender noiseless. I did end up replacing them with a set of Aero Type I simply because I had a spare set and I love Aeros. It would be totally fine with the original noiseless pups as well. Great pickups for sure.

I've seen the trans charcoal.....those are gorgeous!!

 

[Munjibunga]

I think they're fine.

 

[BlueTalon]

The super 55's are split coil. they even have an S silk screened in the cover to show where the split is, right in the middle. Fender probably is not wrong when they describe the product as a split coil pickup. It is a true side to side split coil, you can tell on the bottom of the pickup as well.

Just wanted to correct bad information.

Good catch. I missed it or I would have said something.

I have three of these pickups on the bass in my avatar. They are split coils, not stacked. One peak under the hood leaves no doubt.

I believe this is a picture of a Nordstrand pickup, but this is exactly what the Fender Super 55 looks like inside.

 

[stickynotes]

I have them in my mim precision deluxe. I think they sound good. I run them eq'd flat and lean on the p more than the j but blended pretty close to equal. I get a very deep,smooth, rich fender tone through my SVT CL with this bass and the noiseless pickups. I have a Modulus VJ4 with emg's and a Precision Lyte to compare to and neither one gets the deep rich tone of the precision deluxe. In general I'm very impressed with this guitar. I've played American Standards in the music store and these bases at around $500 used, play and sound just as good imo.