Think I will ruin it?

[big joe]

I have a MB 65 RI Strat. It is the best feeling strat I have ever played, and acoustically it is amazing. However once plugged in the SC PUP noise takes over. Granted during a gig with the rest of the band, not an issue, except when we slow it down and go more mellow.

So I looked and looked and found noiseless SNC PUP's. I have been told that with these the tone will not change, but the noise will be gone!!!:love:

However, I am afraid I will loose the mojo that came with this MB.

Am I right or completely off base in my thoughts and feeling?

JP

[AaeCee]

Noiseless Strat pickups are very polarizing. Some say they sound too sterile and are devoid of character, others swear by them for their lack of hum and contend that with just a bit of knob tweaking they can sound as strat as you need. I'm a big fan and agree with the later perspective, and find them especially useful with boost where hum can become even more obvious.

That said, I'd take a look at all of the noiseless offerings (Kinman, DiMarzio, Fender, Armstrong, etc.) before deciding on one, and think very carefully whether you want to tamper with a masterbuilt guitar in the first place.

[Mark C]

Look into the Suhr BPSC.

[LReese]

Look into the Suhr BPSC.

I'll 2nd that. There's no change in tone I notice and your Strat retains quack. Noiseless Pickups in my experience are quieter, but there's something missing.

Haven't tried the latest generation of Stacks but I'm fairly satisfied with Duncan Vintage Rails (which is a side by side arrangement).

[beNsteR]

+3
you get to use your original pickups (if they are all the same polarity. the BPSC doesn't work if your pickup set has a RW/RP middle pickup)

http://www.suhrguitars.com/pickups.aspx#bpssc

good stuff!

[Drak]

If it's not already, why don't you try buying some copper shielding tape, graphite shielding paint, or both, and just properly and completely shield the instrument?

Cost maybe $20.00 and an hour or two, and makes a world of difference unless someone already did a complete, thorough job on it.

Sometimes, just because you see some evidence of shielding, it doesn't mean it was done thoroughly or properly or completely, and it really makes a world of difference.

Changing pickups to me seems to be a more radical move where the whole voice of the instrument can change, whereas conducting a thorough shielding job is more like a well-engineered, intelligent maintenance operation for better performance of the existing voice.

[GAD]

SCN pickups are, in fact, noiseless. It's the lifeless part that I didn't like.

[JTC]

There are a lot of "noiseless" strat pickups out there, my current favorite are the Dimarzio Area 67's, totally quiet (even at home, front of a laptop and huge TV) and exactly the sound I want. Dimarzio has a huge variety, I have the HS series in one guitar, they do well. I have Bardens and Tom Andersons in other guitars but still get some minor buzz from beer lights in bars (all my guitars are shielded and grounded). The Dimarzios are dead quiet. 20 years ago I went for EMGs and Lace, quiet but "sterile" sounding. They've probably improved since then.

[LReese]

+3
you get to use your original pickups (if they are all the same polarity. the BPSC doesn't work if your pickup set has a RW/RP middle pickup)

http://www.suhrguitars.com/pickups.aspx#bpssc

good stuff!

Actually, you can use RWRP with the BPSSC - the trick is to use a 4 pole switch (which I recommend anyway due to my troubles with the 2 pole switch - and you can disable tone control loading in the combo positions) and disable the BPSSC in the #2, #3 and #4 positions.

But then, in my opinion what's the use? Better to get a like polarity/wind pickup for the middle.

You "Could" send it to Suhr for a real deal SSC and shielding - but that's a radical move. It will be the best solution "cost no object" performance wise. Its something I would not do to any of my Fenders. BPSSC is just wired between the volume pot and the ground wires of the pickups - so its easy.

On shielding - look for the Bruce Bennett posts in the tech forum. His method works better for me. You don't have to follow to a T - just make the shield part of the grounding so that he guitar won't work unless the pickguard is screwed down. FWIW - save your fingers and get the CuNi shielding cloth at lessemf.com and some copper tape (just enough to solder your grounds to).

You can also play some tricks splitting stacked pickups if RWRP doesn't bother you. Some people (myself included) think there's a difference. Stacked PU's can sound good, but seem to come up short in the combo positions.