Fender Noiseless Pickups

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Single coil and humbucker pickups Schema kytaryzt.jpg
Single coil and humbucker pickups

The Fender Noiseless series is a line of electric guitar pickups made by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation designed to cancel 60 cycle (Hz) hum noise while retaining the characteristic sound of single coil pickups. Introduced in 1998, these pickups consist of a pair of single coils stacked one on top of the other, compacted so as to match the shape and width space as a traditional Fender single coil guitar pickup, while being only slightly taller. The upper coil is actually the sound source, while the lower coil is responsible for the mains hum attenuation. Alnico V magnetic bars span from one coil to the other, crossing a soft ferrous steel spacer plate that isolates them, without touching it. The spacer plate has mainly two functions: to isolate the lower coil from the vibrations of the string, making sure that the sound is picked up only from the upper one, and to increase the magnetic flux that passed through both coils, increasing the output of the pickup. This is to be contrasted with the original noise canceling pickup, the humbucker, which is a double-wide, horizontally adjacent pair of single coil pickups with opposing phase. [1]

Contents

The series includes models for electric guitars and bass guitars.

Pre-Fender Noiseless

Fender Lace Sensor pickups with a Dually Fender Strat Ultra pickguard (cropped).jpg
Fender Lace Sensor pickups with a Dually

From 1987 to 1998 Fender used Lace Sensor pickups on its Strat Plus model Stratocaster. Lace Sensors are an innovative design of pickups using a unique radiant field barrier system that surrounds both the coil and magnets, eliminating annoying 60 cycle hum. The patented Lace Micro Matrix Combs replace traditional bobbins, yielding a wider tonal range and better string balance than traditional pickups. [2] Lace Sensors were also configured on some Fender models as Dually pickups (two adjacent single coils operating as a quasi-humbucking pickup). Lace Sensor pickups are still available from Lace Music Products [3] with many more variations than offered on Fender guitars. The pickups installed on Strat Plus guitars display “Fender Lace Sensor” on the cover. Later “post-Fender” versions sold by the Lace Music Co. have "Lace Sensor" embossed on the cover. The Gold Lace Sensor model was the pickup of choice for years by Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, and Buddy Guy on their Signature Series Stratocasters. The Strat Plus Standard uses three Gold Lace pickups, but other varieties of Lace Sensor pickups were used by Fender on different models of the Strat Plus. [4]

Vintage Noiseless

Vintage Noiseless Pickups Stpickups.JPG
Vintage Noiseless Pickups

The Noiseless pickups now referred to as Vintage Noiseless [5] were original equipment on the Fender American Deluxe Series Stratocasters made between 1998 and 2003. They are now widely used on many Fender guitars made in their Ensenada, Mexico facility (so-called "Made in Mexico", or "MIM" guitars [6] ) and Fender Custom Shop guitars, and have been the stock pickups on the Eric Clapton Stratocaster signature model since 2001. Vintage Noiseless pickups and are still sold by Fender. Vintage Noiseless pickups use alnico II magnets. [7] These pickups were the result of three years of research aimed at combining the advantages of single coils with those of humbuckers: the characteristic sound of the former and the silence of the latter. Fender's intent was to develop a pickup that could evoke the vintage Stratocaster sound and the silence of Lace Sensor pickups. [8] The Stratocaster version is identified by the word "Noiseless" in gold cursive on the aged white or black pickup covers and the use of staggered pole pieces. [9] The Stratocaster set of Vintage Noiseless pickups comes packaged with two 1 MΩ potentiometers ("pots") and a 0.022 µF capacitor for tone controls, [10] one 500 kΩ pot for volume control, a 680 pF capacitor and a 220 kΩ resistor for a treble bleed circuit, [11] and a wiring diagram. [12] Vintage Noiseless pickup sets are also available for the Telecaster and Jazz Bass. Features include:

Samarium Cobalt Noiseless (SCN)

The Samarium Cobalt Noiseless (SCN) series was a subsequent line of stacked electric guitar and bass pickups; these were designed by Bill Lawrence with the goal of further reducing noise while improving the "single coil" tone of the pickup [15] and were fine tuned by Fender. [16] Introduced in 2004, they were similar to the Vintage Noiseless pickups, but Lawrence's research into controlling magnetic eddy currents led him to employ miniaturized samarium cobalt alloy magnets instead of Alnico V. Samarium cobalt is a rare earth magnet that is more powerful than the Alnico V magnets traditionally used in pickup design. The SCN pickups were a standard equipment feature on the American Deluxe series Stratocaster from 2004 to 2010, and were available for the Telecaster and Jazz Bass, but are no longer manufactured by Fender. The earliest Stratocaster SCN pickups had no external marking; later models had the SCN logo lightly stamped on the bottom right corner of the pickup covers, but the letters were not colored, making them hard to discern. [17] The covers were available in white, black, aged white and parchment, but the Tele sets were offered in black and chrome only.

SCN features include:

Hot SCN

Hot SCN pickups were used only on the HSS (Humbucker/Single/Single) [18] American Deluxe Stratocaster from 2004 to 2010. Hot SCN pickups claim a hotter output than a standard SCN Strat pickup and were designed for proper balance with a hot humbucker in the bridge position. A hot pickup will push an amplifier harder, resulting in more gain and volume. [19] The American Deluxe Series HSS Strat was designed with one single coil SCN pickup in the neck position, one single coil Hot SCN pickup in the middle, and one DH-1 ("Atomic") humbucking pickup [20] at the bridge.

Hot Noiseless (Ceramic Noiseless)

Fender Hot Noiseless Fender Hot Noiseless.jpg
Fender Hot Noiseless

The Fender Hot Noiseless (Ceramic Noiseless) Strat Pickups [21] are an overwound [22] version of the original Fender Noiseless pickups with ceramic magnets. Ceramic magnets are quite strong and as such are normally hotter. The hotter (higher DC resistance) a pickup is the more it is going to push an amp and typically the more it is going to overdrive/distort. [23] They produce pronounced mids and a quick bass response. The strong magnets allows the pickup to retain articulation and clarity, even when introduced to extreme gain. [24] These pickups are identified by the word "Noiseless" in silver cursive on the aged white pickup cover, just like the Vintage Noiseless. However, they can be distinguished by the fact that all pole pieces are flat (non-staggered). Hot Noiseless Strat pickups have been standard on the Jeff Beck signature model since 2001, [25] but were never available on the American Deluxe. They are still available from the Fender Custom Shop. [21] Features include:

N3 Noiseless

Fender N3 Noiseless pickups Fender N3 Noiseless pickups.jpg
Fender N3 Noiseless pickups

N3 Noiseless pickups were available on American Deluxe Stratocasters from 2010 until 2016, at which time the American Deluxe was superseded by the Elite Series Stratocaster. The N3 Noiseless set was designed with different types of magnets at the three pickup positions: Alnico III at the neck for a rounder sound, Alnico II at the middle for a sweeter sound, and Alnico V at the bridge for a hotter sound. [8] N3 Noiseless pickups were manufactured by Fender for the Stratocaster, Telecaster, and Jazz Bass but are no longer available from Fender. They are identified by the cursive Fender logo and "N3" in silver cursive on the white pickup cover.

N3 features included:

Gen 4 Noiseless

Gen 4 Noiseless [27] pickups were installed on the Fender Elite Stratocaster from 2016 to 2019. They are identified by the cursive Fender logo [28] and the word "NOISELESS" in silver, upper case, block letters on the aged white or black pickup covers, the underside of the pickups are inscribed with "N4 MVT". Gen 4 Noiseless pickups for the Stratocaster, Telecaster, and Jazz Bass are still available from Fender.

N4 features include:

Ultra Noiseless

Ultra Noiseless pickups were introduced on the Fender Ultra Stratocaster, [29] Ultra Jazzmaster, [30] Ultra Telecaster, [31] and Ultra Precision Bass [32] in 2019. The Ultra Noiseless pickups are a complete redesign over the Gen 4 Noiseless pickups, including different magnets and staggered, unbeveled pole pieces. Ultra Noiseless pickups come in two versions. The Ultra Noiseless Vintage pickups come standard on the Ultra Telecaster and Ultra Stratocaster SSS, and are said to deliver "authentic Fender single coil sound without hum." Two Ultra Noiseless Hot pickups are standard on the Ultra Stratocaster HSS, and are said to offer modern performance and classic tone so the user can launch their amp into overdrive. They are paired with a Shawbucker Double Tap humbucking pickup in the bridge position, which can be used either as a single coil or as a full humbucker. Visually, they are identical to Gen 4 Noiseless, with the cursive Fender logo and the word "NOISELESS" in silver upper case block letters on the aged white or black pickup covers. The hot version uses gold lettering. The underside of the vintage pickups are inscribed "ULTRA STRAT VINTAGE", while the hot version pickups bottoms are blue with the inscription "ULTRA STRAT MODERN". Each pickup has three leads. All black and green wires are grounds; the “hot” leads are red (bridge), blue (middle), white (neck). Both versions are currently sold by Fender as retail packages.

Ultra Noiseless Hot pickup set features include:

Player Plus Noiseless

Player Plus Noiseless pickups were introduced on the Fender Player Plus Stratocaster and the Player Plus Telecaster [33] in 2021. Some consider these pickups to be a modern version of the original Vintage Noiseless pickups. [34] They are identified by the word "Noiseless" in gold cursive on the aged white pickup cover, similar to the Vintage Noiseless. The Player Plus noiseless pickups use Alnico V magnets and are hotter than the Vintage Noiseless Alnico II pickups. Fender installs them with 1MΩ pots for both tone and volume controls in the Player Plus guitars. Technical details for these pickups:

Fender Guitar Models Configured with Fender Noiseless Pickups

Jeff Beck Jeff Beck EnmoreTheatre.jpg
Jeff Beck
Eric Clapton Eric Clapton - Royal Albert Hall - Wednesday 24th May 2017 EricClaptonRAH240517-30 (34987232355) (cropped).jpg
Eric Clapton
Tom Morello Montreux Jazz Festival 2005 Tom Morello Montreux Jazz Festival 2005.jpg
Tom Morello Montreux Jazz Festival 2005

The Jackson Guitars Adrian Smith USA Signature San Dimas guitar models also come fitted with the Fender SCN neck and middle pickups. [47]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humbucker</span> Electric guitar pickup

A humbucker, humbucking pickup, or double coil, is a guitar pickup that uses two wire coils to cancel out noisy interference from coil pickups. Humbucking coils are also used in dynamic microphones to cancel electromagnetic hum. Humbuckers are one of two main types of guitar pickups. The other is single coil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fender Stratocaster</span> Solid body electric guitar

The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of electric guitar designed between 1952 and 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has continuously manufactured the Stratocaster since 1954. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top "horn" shape for balance. Along with the Gibson Les Paul, Gibson SG, and Fender Telecaster, it is one of the most-often emulated electric guitar shapes. "Stratocaster" and "Strat" are trademark terms belonging to Fender. Guitars that duplicate the Stratocaster by other manufacturers are sometimes called S-Type or ST-type guitars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Single coil guitar pickup</span>

A single coil pickup is a type of magnetic transducer, or pickup, for the electric guitar and the electric bass. It electromagnetically converts the vibration of the strings to an electric signal. Single coil pickups are one of the two most popular designs, along with dual-coil or "humbucking" pickups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fender Precision Bass</span> Model of electric bass

The Fender Precision Bass is a model of electric bass guitar manufactured by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. In its standard, post-1957 configuration, the Precision Bass is a solid body, four-stringed instrument usually equipped with a single split-coil humbucking pickup and a one-piece, 20-fret maple neck with rosewood or maple fingerboard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fender Jazz Bass</span> Fender model of bass guitar

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fender Eric Clapton Stratocaster</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lace Sensor</span> Guitar pickup

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The Fender Bullet was an electric guitar originally designed by John Page and manufactured and marketed by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. It was first introduced as a line of "student" guitars to replace the outgoing Mustang and Musicmaster models.

Fender California Series electric guitars were produced by Fender in 1997 and 1998. The guitars were carved in California, shipped to Baja California Norte, Ensenada, Mexico for painting, then assembled in California.

The James Burton Telecaster is a Signature/Artist Series electric guitar made by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. The guitar is available in two models, Upgrade and Standard, and both were designed by American country-rock guitarist James Burton along with Dan Smith at Fender. Both models are patterned after mid-century Fender Telecaster guitars played by Burton during his long career with Ricky Nelson, Elvis Presley, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, John Denver and many other well-known artists.

The Fender American Deluxe Series was a line of electric guitars and basses introduced by Fender in 1995 and discontinued in 2016. It was upgraded in 2004 and 2010 before being replaced by the American Elite series in 2016.

The Fender Nashville B-Bender Telecaster is an American Standard series electric guitar made by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. This guitar is a Fender Telecaster with the addition of a factory-installed B-string bender device. The device raises the pitch of the second (B) string by one whole step to C-sharp. The bend is activated by a one-inch downward pull on the guitar neck, allowing the player to emulate pedal steel sounds and play complex country bends. The Nashville B-Bender Telecaster was introduced in 1996 with major design changes in 1998 and 2000.

The Jeff Beck Stratocaster is an electric solid body guitar made by Fender Musical Instruments for British guitarist Jeff Beck. This Artist Signature guitar was introduced in 1991 and upgraded ten years later. The Custom Shop version, introduced in 2004, is available in Olympic White and Surf Green finishes.

The Fender Elite Stratocaster is an electric solid body guitar that was manufactured by Fender in 1983 and 1984. The name was revived from 2016 to 2019 with the Fender American Elite Stratocaster Series.

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References

  1. ↑ Mareo Lopez. "What Are Noiseless Electric Guitar Pickups?". Proaudioland.com.
  2. ↑ Xhefri. "The Fender Stratocaster "Strat" Plus Series". Xhefri's Guitars.
  3. ↑ "Electric Guitar Pickups". Lacemusic.com.
  4. ↑ Xhefri. "The Electronics - Lace Sensors - History & Wiring". Xhefri's Guitars.
  5. ↑ Bruce Gombrelli. "Vintage Noiseless (Version 1) (1998-2003)". stratocasterdesign.com.
  6. ↑ Beginner Guitar HQ Staff (13 June 2020). "Fender Mexican Stratocaster Review – A Popular Mid-Level Electric Guitar". beginnerguitarhq.com.
  7. ↑ Doug Green (21 August 2020). "Alnico vs. Ceramic Pickups, What's the Difference?". guitarriver.com.
  8. 1 2 Antonio Calvosa. "American Deluxe Series and Noiseless pickups". Fuzzfaced.net.
  9. ↑ Gerry Hayes. "Pickup Pole-Piece Stagger—What's the Deal?".
  10. ↑ Christoper Horton (21 April 2022). "Your Guitar's Tone Knob Explained: What It Is, And How To Use It Like A Pro!".
  11. ↑ Dirk Wacker. "Mod Garage: Deep Diving into Treble-Bleed Networks". premierguitar.com.
  12. ↑ "Stratocaster Vintage Noiseless Pickups Wiring Diagram" (PDF). Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  13. ↑ "Custom Fotmulated Plastisol Products". Polysolpolymers.com. Retrieved 3 Jan 2023.
  14. ↑ Dave Hunter. "The Bobbin of a Guitar Pickup". Dummies.com. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  15. ↑ "Bill Lawrence Website". Billlawrence.com. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  16. ↑ "Bill Lawrence Website". Billlawrence.com. Retrieved 2019-12-04.
  17. ↑ Bruce Gombrelli. "Fender Noiseless (Gen 2) SCN Samarium Cobalt – (2004 to 2009)". stratocasterdesign.com.
  18. ↑ "Pickup Configuration 101: Which Combination is Best?". prosoundhq.com. 31 December 2019.
  19. ↑ George Ellison. "Pickups: Hot or Not?". Premierguitar.com.
  20. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2019-08-11. Retrieved 2019-08-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  21. 1 2 "Fender Noiseless Pickups: HOT NOISELESS". stratocasterdesign.com. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  22. ↑ Tyler Delsack. "WHAT DOES OVERWINDING AND UNDERWINDING A PICKUP DO?". fralinpuckups.com.
  23. ↑ Jake Langston. "Guitar Pickup Guide". humbuckermusic.com. Retrieved 9 Jan 2023.
  24. ↑ Zac Buras (5 July 2016). "Alnico vs. Ceramic Pickup Magnets". Wiredguitarist.com.
  25. ↑ "Fender Jeff Beck Signature Version 2". axebition.com. 20 November 2016.
  26. ↑ "The Bobbin of a Guitar Pickup".
  27. ↑ "Noiseless Generation 4 (2016 to 2019ish) "GEN 4 or N4"". stratocasterdesign.com.
  28. ↑ Graham Smith. "Fender Logo Design Evolution By The Unknown Logo Designer". imjustcreative.com.
  29. ↑ "Fender American Ultra Stratocaster review". 14 November 2019.
  30. ↑ "Review: American Ultra Jazzmaster".
  31. ↑ "Fender American Ultra Telecaster review". musicradar.com. 19 November 2020.
  32. ↑ "Review: American Ultra Precision Bass®". thatguitarlover.com. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  33. 1 2 Chris Vinnicombe. "The Big Review: Fender Player Plus Stratocaster, Stratocaster HSS and Nashville Telecaster". guitar.com.
  34. ↑ "Fender Noiseless Pickups".
  35. ↑ Chris Gill (23 January 2017). "Review: Fender Deluxe Roadhouse Stratocaster". Guitarworld. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  36. ↑ "Fender: American Elite Series Review". guitar.com.
  37. ↑ "American Ultra Stratocaster review". musicradar.com. 14 November 2019.
  38. ↑ "Fender American Ultra Luxe Stratocaster Review & Prices". findmyguitar.com.
  39. ↑ Mike McKernan (21 September 2020). "Fender H.E.R. Signature Stratocaster Guitar Review". americansongwriter.com.
  40. ↑ "Fender Tom Morello Stratocaster Review & Prices".
  41. ↑ "Fender Super Stratocaster". Reverb.com.
  42. ↑ "Fender Deluxe Player's Stratocaster". Reverb.com.
  43. ↑ "THE BIG REVIEW: FENDER PLAYER PLUS STRATOCASTER, STRATOCASTER HSS AND NASHVILLE TELECASTER".
  44. ↑ "Fender American Ultra Telecaster Review – Is It Worth It?". myguitarlair.com. 28 June 2022.
  45. ↑ "Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster Review & Prices". findmyguitar.com.
  46. ↑ "Fender American Ultra Jazzmaster Review". premierguitar.com.
  47. ↑ https://www.jacksonguitars.com/en/guitars/artist-signature/usa-signature-adrian-smith-san-dimas-sdm/2805052876.html
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