In my opinion I did not like the SCN'S they were allright
but to me lacked clarity and string to string definition
the middle was pretty good but the neck was too muddy for my
tastes the N3's are an imrovement (once again in my opinion )
over the Scn's they are a step in the right direction however i feel
some of the ways that pickup designers try to elminate the hum
they inadvertently eliminate other frequencies (as hum itself is a
a frequency ) so to my ears the aren't as good as straight up
single coil designs that said I do like the idea of differing magnets
for different positions as I don't think one pickup will be great for
all positions thats how fixed my pickup woes
but I have tried both and a/bd them through three different amps
including a super reverb (one of the kings of clean )
and they were not for me

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1956 Gibson CS Lemon Les Paul
1957 Fender CS Aged Cherry Strat
1958 Gibson CS Pg 85 Les Paul
1960 Fender CS 3tsb Strat
1961 Gibson SG Wildwood Pelham blue
1966 Fender CS Firemist Metallic Silver Strat

I've heard a couple of clips of American Deluxe Strats and Teles with SCNs on YouTube and disliked their tone a lot.

The N3 bass pickups are also a nice improvement, though I never listened a sound sample of the new American Deluxe Jazz Basses to form my own personal opinion.

Having heard some clips of American Deluxe Jazzes with SCN pickups and was not satisfied with. Their tone was too "futuristic" and suffered a lot of the familiar growl I was expecting for. Same issue for the dual-coil Ceramic Jazz Bass pickups and the Suhr "single-pole" stack humbuckers.

Sound clips are perhaps the worst method of judging the nuances of something as complex as the tone of a guitar. Find a guitar with SCNs and play it through an amp rig you are familiar with -- that's only way to truly ascertain how they sound.

My impressions are......they do indeed sound a bit "darker" than a true single-coil design, but my JBL speakers can compensate (somewhat) for that since they are brighter than most contemporary drivers. The "mushiness" that some complain about (especially with the neck pickup) is usually the result of setting the pickup height too close to the strings. Around 2.5 millimeters is optimum for the neck -- a bit closer for the bridge and middle.

I've yet to hear the new N3s but I'm looking forward to them. The multiple magnet types is an intriguing concept.

Arjay

Fender can offer the 2010 Deluxe pickup, hardware and electronic scheme as a kit to upgrade a pre-2010 US Deluxe guitar or bass? It's also possible to have a N3 Jazz pickup in a double-coil humbucking configuration for both 4 and 5-string Ps as well a compound radius neck built to the pre-2010 specs (abalone dots, copper foil spaghetti decals, 22 frets for bass guitars) with a "strong arm" stealth string retainer bar?

AFAIK, Carvin offers a similar kit.

Could you provide some quotes by the "purists" to support your statment? the way I see it, there are no greater purists than the guys who designed those pickups and the guys at Fender who approved their use in the American Deluxes.

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60th Anniversary AD Strat, Deluxe Nashville Tele, Player's P Bass. Mesa/Boogie Mk IV combo, Marshall JCM800, 1960A cab, Genz Benz El Diablo 60, Genz 2x12" cab, too many neat little practice amps and kit projects!

I thought the same and I still do- I guess the way they describe the tone is too generalised. I love the sound but I dont think its an entirely 50's sound. In fact I wouldnt even go as far as putting an 'era' on the sound- it would probably be 50% 'the best of' the last 55 years combined with the generic 90's. But I still love them

I do think they sound crisp and they have a lot of pure bell like tone and quack over some other models. They sound great with slight phase or chorus and reverb together

For me, its a perfect sound when im in the mood to play clean- but each to their own though eh, and that will change...

Which by the way folks is really what its all about- everyone has their own tone, and its all different like our fingerprints. No two are the same. I havent played an N3- hell they have only just arrived in NZ I think, but (not to be cheeky) from the youtube clips Ive seen I do like the sound they produce. Untill I get my filthy mitts on a new '10 deluxe, Im not going to critique them, but so far I like 'em from what I have heard.

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Hey guys,

This is my summer project to upgrade my bass pickup. Can you tell me if these SCN jazz bass pickup work with a passive bass guitar and do I need to change the pots or any thing else to make it work? My bass is squire J bass affinity series. Thanks.

I own a 2009 Deluxe, with the SCN pickups, and have recently tried out the 2010 version with the N3 pickups.

I have to say that although both are good, I much prefer the SCN pickups, such variety and don't sounds 'dead' or 'bland' at all! I can't see how people even thought it!

I would always choose the 2009 over the 2010 as:

* I prefer the SCN pickups quite dramatically actually. But this is subjective obviously.
* Cosmetically, the 2009 is nicer in my opinion. This is because the scratchplate is pearloid, rather than plain (or that horrible mint green). The fret dots are abalone, rather than just plain black (on a maple neck). And I also think the polyurethane coat appears more vibrant over the select ash of the 2009 over the select alder of the 2010. But again this is just my opinion.

Very interested about what others think though.

I've recently been trying the new american deluxe, and i came to one conclusion: try this at home!!!!! I wanted to compare it with an american standard, but both guitars in the shop were set up terribly and the guy in the shop didn't allow me to use my pocketknive on his showroom models. after a lot of complaining he finaly let me ajust the pickup height and ajust the bridgesaddles. did't touch the bridge... which of the deluxe was quite ok, but the standard was floating allmost half an inch above the body.
I tried both guitars over a fender hotrod deluxe amp, about the same i use at home. I loved the great classic sound of the standard. real fender. but the deluxe blew me away. Why the **** is everybody looking for that classic old fender sound when they make pickups now that sound this much better. Warm, full, clear tones, no humm. not classic fender, but much better imho. sorry i can't compare to the older scn's, but these sound absolutely terrific... when set up right! Please dont try to compare the guitar you have at home and set up completely to your likings to something you try for the first time in a shop right out of the box.