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Post subject: Fender Hot Noiseless Stratocaster Pickups
Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2012 5:31 am
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Hi everyone, I'm considering buying these Jeff Beck designed ceramic pickups for my strat. So I was wondering, if anyone has used or heard them, could they please give me some feedback on their tone and pros/cons. Thanks a lot!

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Post subject: Re: Fender Hot Noiseless Stratocaster Pickups
Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2012 7:27 am
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Stratoblues wrote:
Hi everyone, I'm considering buying these Jeff Beck designed ceramic pickups for my strat. So I was wondering, if anyone has used or heard them, could they please give me some feedback on their tone and pros/cons. Thanks a lot!



Great pickups made by Fender from Jeff Beck's specs.

We just answered your question on the "Stratocaster" forum.
Toppscore :)

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Post subject: Re: Fender Hot Noiseless Stratocaster Pickups
Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2012 12:01 pm
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Stratoblues wrote:
Hi everyone, I'm considering buying these Jeff Beck designed ceramic pickups for my strat. So I was wondering, if anyone has used or heard them, could they please give me some feedback on their tone and pros/cons. Thanks a lot!

Howdy!

Posted this up in the Strat Forum also...

I currently have a set of Fenders Hot Noiseless pickups in my Big Hairy Strat...

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...And like them alot! :D

Your best bet is to go to your Fender Dealer of choice and try out a Jeff Beck Strat, ideally though the same amp you use.

There are a few things I feel you should consider before making a purchase.

The FHN have two coils stacked one on top of the other to help cancel noise, in a similar fashion to a humbucker. The DC resistance should read around 10.4k for the Neck and Middle with the Bridge pickup measuring a tad more. Despite the high resistance they are very much a single coil voiced pickup. Which just goes to show that the DC resistance is not always a reliable indication of a pickups output. Yes, they are hotter than standard pickups but not too much so to my ears.

Although they're not the most "noiseless" pickup on the market, they are noticeably quieter than the C69 pickups in my CP60's Strat but, not a quiet as Lace Sensors (which in my house are pretty much silent)

By design they lack certain dynamic qualities single coil pups have and can sound a wee bit flat at times compared to traditional Strat pups. I also found the ceramic magnets really pull on the strings (bit of a sustain killer) and have set mine much lower than Fenders recommended hight to resolve this issue.

I've read a few less than favourable reports regarding the build quality of both the Vintage & Hot Noiseless pickups. Most common issues were poor hot and ground lead connections or dead pickups probably due to a broken wire in one of the coils. Mine work a treat, but were absolutely covered in excess wax from the potting process.

Possibly the most important point to mention here is the size of the FHN pickups....

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...At 1" deep, they're feck'in huge!

So much so that they didn't fit the 3/4" cavity in my CP60's Strat...

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..No room to lower the pickups once installed...

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Which is why they're in the Big Hairy Strat. Its the only Strat I own with cavities big enough! Best to check your cavity depth before buying. :wink:

Once again I really like the Hot noiseless. They are my current pup of choice.

Hope this helps.

Andy

BTW: Jeff Beck is not using the Hot Noiseless in his own Strat. There's a thread in the "Ask Mike Eldred" Forum regarding this, but the forum's search function hates me and I can find it right now :lol:

... But its in there somewhere if you fancy looking it up.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Hot Noiseless Stratocaster Pickups
Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 10:33 am
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Thanks for the Jeff Beck & Big Hairy info.
Much appreciated.

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