I'm looking at an AM Deluxe. My initial impression of the N3's is good. But, reading through a lot of the negative comments about the N3 noiseless pickups, I'm concerned that I won't like them over time.

Does anyone out there love the N3's?

Welcome.

Keeping my opinion out of this be it good, bad or anything in between, ONLY YOU have to like them, not anyone else. I've used and use pickup combinations which of course, work(ed) tremendously for me where others wouldn't touch these combos with a ten foot pole and vice-versa. Akin to this, there's the fact that one person may sound great with a given pickup set while the next person with the same set may sound like unadulterated fecal matter. If you think you may like this set, give it a shot for in the final analysis (and at the risk of being redundant), it is ONLY and ALL YOUR satisfaction which matters and no one else's.

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You dig?

Martian makes a valid point. The only one who will be able to tell you if you like them or not is you and our opinions shouldn't matter.

that being said, I love them,personally.

The haters are typically looking for more of a vintage sound. At the same time, while they don't sound like vintage single coils (they are stacked humbuckers), they still give sounds expected of strat. They're just a bit hotter and in my opinion more versatile (if you play with anything other than a clean tone, they are still silent, unlike a real single coil).

Go try em for yourself and see what you think. For me they are great because I play around with a lot of tones ranging from very clean to high gain and I've always hated the hum and noise of traditional single coils. The trade offs for me are worth it, but some people prefer other pickup options.

If you like the guitar go with it. If after some time you want to try different pickups in it you can. It is a fairly easy modification that a lot of members here do and can help you with.

I have noticed that my tastes change over time. I think if you pay attention you will see taste changes in many peoples posts. Seems like quite a few people go through phases from single coils, to noiseless, to humbuckers, to P90s, etc and back again. Round and round we all go chasing tone. Some people cycle in a couple of months others it seems take years but it is very common to see someone post..."I just picked up the ____ again and those ____ pickups sounded amazing. I can't believe it has been so long since i played it."

Here is how I looked at it; lets say you go for an Am standard for the "true single coil sound" but later on you wish you had the contoured heel or the compound radius. These modifications are much more difficult and costly than a pickup switch. Of course you can always use you changing tastes as an excuse to buy another guitar. It all depends on how you look at it.

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'09 Am Deluxe Ash Strat
'09 Mex Standard Strat
'10 Mex Standard Tele
Champ 600
Blues jr.
'65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue

This is why I have a strat, les paul, sg, and a Gretsch hollowbody.

I typically try to keep all my instruments as close to original hardware and electronics as possible - any mods I do make I prefer to make them fully reversable (ie: no routing of bodies or drilling extra holes and I keep all original parts that I swap out).

currently my strat has a pearloid pickguard and white knobs that are not original, that's the only mods to my current guitars. Since the Strat is something I don't ever plan to sell, being a gift from my wife, I have less fears of making changes to make it my own.

My SG and Gretsch are not high end models so there's no fear of devalueing them with mods, I'm just completely satisfied with the stock setup for the moment. In the near future there may be some kluson style locking tuners for the SG and maybe a set of 57 Classics or something.

My Les Paul is a limited run (the Les Paul Premium Push Tone), that comes with 2 pairs of pickups (Burstbucker 3's and P-94's...basically a P-90 in a humbucker housing) that can be pushed out the back of the guitar, disconnected from a pair of connectors on the wires and swapped for the other pickup. If I could find a source for the connectors some place I would consider buying some and then getting a few other pickup options for it but it's basically the only mods that guitar would get - totally reversable.

I love my Am Dlx HSS, with the N3's. My favorite settings are 2 and 4 with the S1 switch engaged. I can get some great sounds out of my Strat, it probably gets played more than my LP or Tele, though I do go through phases.

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'10 American Deluxe HSS Sunset Metallic
'10 JA-90 Thinline Telecaster
'15 Music Man JP-15 Blueberry Burst
'07 Les Paul Standard Faded LCPG #82
'14 Carvin ST300
'12 Carvin CS424S
'66 Guild Starfire IV w/Bigsby
'14 Warmouth Partscaster Daphne Blue

I actually posted on this forum about not liking the N3s and looking for pickups to change them out with.

After playing with them more, they don't sound bad that bad.

I have them on my AM Deluxe. They sound fine but.... Do they sound like my '80s Am Standard (or whatever they called it then) No. I like multiple guitars with different good sounds. When I buy my next Strat, it will not sound like the ones I have.

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Am Deluxe Stratocaster HSS
Am Standard Stratocaster
Am Standard Telecaster
Blacktop Telecaster
Gretsch 6120

Pignose
Super Champ XD
60'sTwin Reverb

my favorite setting with tends to be the position 5 with the S1 off, but I do use the same position with the S1 for a great lead tone. it sounds horrible clean but with a tube screamer or similar pedal set just right, you get a great nasally tone that just sings and will cut through any mix. I think it's the neck and bridge pickups in series if I remember correctly.

Disclaimer: I don't own an American Deluxe Strat (yet). But based on the time I've spend demoing one, I'll say this about the N3's. They don't sound like a typical Strat single-coil, so if that is the sound that you are after, you will be disappointed. But having said that, I still think they sound great and they seem to have the potential to do well in a lband setting. Granted that I have not spent the time with them compared to some of you who do own an Amer. Dlx., I think that these are player's instruments designed to perform well and deliver a nice variation of the Stratocaster sound.

You hit it right on the nose 93greenstrat. The N3's are not the typical single coil strat sound. To me they still sound like a strat, but if the sound you want is the vintage 50's and 60's sounds, don't waste your time. Look elsewhere. If you want a versatile pickup that will still give you a single coil sound but without the hum and can hold it's own in both clean, blues or pop settings and also produce dirty punk or metal sounds, give it a try and see what you think.

The American Deluxe can be pretty well summed up like you said - a players instrument that is designed for performance and to offer a little different flavor with an update on a classic design.

if you were to compare strats to cars - the vintage style strats are like classic cars that have been faithfully restored to original specs, while the American Deluxe would be like the modern day version of a high performance sports car. Both are a thing of beauty, but one is based on nostalgia and the other is based on performance.