Best Noiseless Strat Pickups for Hum-free Sound

The best noiseless strat pickups have a lot of benefits, but they are not for everyone. In this article, we will review some of the pros and cons to help you make an informed decision on whether or not these pickups are right for you.

Best Noiseless Strat Pickups
Reviewed and Compared

1 - Fender Strat Hot Noiseless Pickups

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Pros
  • The pick up is almost inaudible when played at an average volume without effects
  • It can be boosted with a very low signal amp to control feedback
  • Constructed with noiseless circuitry
  • It dampens the sound of your guitar for vocals or stage performance
  • It has a unique non-soapy distorted crunch
Cons
  • It has a metal-ballast design
  • It increases weight
  • It dampens sustain

Fender Strat Hot Noiseless Pickups are a set of humbucking pickups for guitars, invented in the 1990s and initially marketed by Larry DiMarzio. They lacked a coil design typical of a conventional single-coil pickup, so they ran at full power all the time. They also provided lower output than standard single-coils because the magnets were smaller and closer together.

In 2007 when Steve Blucher from Single Coil Pickups LLC was developing his new line of Stratocaster pickguards, he contacted Fender with an offer to collaborate on work that would be nearly identical to the "hot noiseless" pickups but providing near vintage level tone.

2 - Seymour Duncan SSL1 Vintage Staggered Single Coil Pickup

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Pros
  • It brings the iconic sound of vintage-era pickups to contemporary instruments
  • Eliminates noise, squealing, and hum
  • It preserves dynamics, brightness, punch, and clarity
  • It reduced muddiness
  • It classically inspired tone without the headaches typically associated with single-coil installations
Cons
  • It has a minimal hum
  • It has a reverse magnet polarity from other brands
  • It is in white color

These pickups have been designed from the ground up to deliver vintage tone with a noiseless design. Seymour Duncan SSL-1 Vintage Single Coil Pickups are an excellent choice for any player who's looking for a detailed but not overly bright, warm but not too dark vintage tone with perfect string definition and clarity in chords and leads.

These pickups use alnico five magnets, heavy Formvar magnet wire, 18% Nickel Silver Cover Lead Wire, Maple Spacer Shielding between coils for hum-canceling operation, Reverse Wound/Reverse Polarity middle pickup to eliminate second-string buzz when combined with the bridge pickup.

3 - EMG JH James Hetfield Signature Guitar Pickup Set

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Pros
  • It is designed to match up with all positions on an EQ spectrum
  • It gives sound a balanced tone
  • It helps the sound to be broad
  • It provides a powerful technique to the sound
  • It has excellent sustain characteristics
Cons
  • It's relatively expensive
  • Some have horrible hum
  • Not as clean sounding as it should

The EMG JH James Hetfield Signature Guitar Pickup Set is a noiseless set of 4 pickups designed for the most discriminating player with low output needs. James partnered with EMG to create the ultimate high-output humbucker replacement pickup.

Low-output needs usually require less driving power (volts) to produce an adequate audio signal. So, compromise pickups are sometimes used by players who need less drive than standard noiseless sets. Still, they sacrifice clarity due to their softer tone, resulting in more overtones and feedback issues. Humbuckers typically have lower outputs than single coils.

4 - Fender Ultra Noiseless Vintage Telecaster Pickups

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Pros
  • It boasts a transparent and organic tone quality
  • It has excellent string definition and bell-like high end
  • Provide even more control over dynamics
  • Perfect for vintage rock, country, or blues playing
  • Gives one more level of versatility
Cons
  • It is not as noticeable as opposed to another pickup
  • Most people accustomed to the vintage sound of a Fender Strat will find that their guitar sounds more like an electrical click when using these pickups
  • Very difficult for guitarists who have been playing for decades who are used to the specific sound of older strings and humbucker pickups

The Fender company put everything they had into making these puppies the best noiseless strat pickups you can buy (while still staying true to their roots). They shortened the magnet height towards strings near the bridge to make sure all contact points were close enough for less string movement and more intense vibrations—this way when you pick up that silver cherry again, your tone is more evident with loads of colorful harmonic overtones.

5 - Tonerider TRS2 City Limits Strat pickup

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Pros
  • One of the best sounding noiseless strat pickup
  • It offers remarkable clarity, tone, and sustain
  • It has cloth-covered wires
  • It has clearly labeled
  • Easy installation
Cons
  • You will not be able to get a substantial volume boost with these pickups, and thus it can lead to an LED or valve amp overdriving
  • It gives the sound an initial attack but softens eventually
  • Expensive

The TRS2 City Limits Strat pickups are the best noiseless strat pickups. They have an exceptionally full-range sound paired with a low noise floor. The City Limits pickup has a high output, meaning it's able to pick up even the subtlest sounds of your playing style.

This pickup is appropriate for artists who want to deliver authentic guitar tones while still being heard in any live setting without distortion or feedback issues. All of this can be attributed to EMG's years of electronics research and development, which gave the TRS2 City Limits Strat pickups their reliability and durability over time, so you can feel confident they will not let you down on stage or off!

6 - Fender Ultra Noiseless Vintage Stratocaster Pickups

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Pros
  • It does not rely on heavy shielding like most other vintage strat pickups
  • It gives you more of the original guitar sound
  • It makes your guitar quieter overall
  • Release simplistic tune
  • Nice sound quality
Cons
  • They are not true humbuckers, which have two coils of opposite polarity, each wound with the opposite winding direction around a magnet
  • Since there's no humbucker under the bridge pickup position, you have some squealing noise when your strings hit the amp at high volumes
  • It gives deeper tone than normal

With their two high-output Custom Shop Texas Special pickups, these original Vintage Stratocaster guitar pickups provide the traditional vintage-style Fender "quack" without any 60 cycle hum, single note grind, or other noises associated with single-coil pickups. They meet all the vintage specs, including 42 dB of Nickel steel pole pieces for increased output and 12% more magnet wire than standard issue pickups to capture more energy.

With accurate, authentic vintage-type tones and the best noiseless strat tuners available, it is without question one of the best upgrades you can make to your beloved Stratocaster, now giving you better details in your tone than ever before.

7 - Wilkinson Lic Cream ST Strat Vintage Voice Single Coil Pickups Fits Stratocaster

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Pros
  • It uses genuine single-coils with an unshielded wire
  • It also cuts off electronic interference
  • It removes the scratchy tone
  • Offer great range from warm jazz tones to heavy overdriven rock sounds
  • It does not have background noise
Cons
  • Only available as a single coil
  • Their performance can't match that of standard humbucker pickups at high volume levels
  • They ideally require a valve amp and should be played with less gain than other single coils

Wilkinson's WCVP1 pickups are called "noiseless" because they do not pick up any hum, noise, or interference. They are constructed with Alnico magnets and coils wound with 43 gauge wire for the best frequency response and lowest end distortion - also known as power.

Wilkinson is the world's leading manufacturer of noiseless guitar pickups (humbuckers, single-coils). Their products offer unsurpassed performance standards for both electric guitars and bass guitars. If you're looking for an authentic 1960s Fender experience from your amplifier, it doesn't get better than a hand-wired pure vintage Telecaster neck pickup!

8 - Fender Custom Shop Strat Texas Special Pickup Set

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Pros
  • It offers the standard strat sound
  • Increased brightness and clarity
  • It has a "noiseless" performance
  • One of the best noiseless strat pickups
  • They would yield a more traditionally “Strat-like” sound
Cons
  • The screws and screw hole does not match
  • Product box may deteriorate when ordered online
  • Some find the bridge position pickup is not working

The Texas Special Neck pickup is a variation of the original Custom Shop Fat Strat pickup designed for players who use 10-gauge strings. Whereas the neck position in the stock Fender pickups is too "hot" with 10's, this neck pickup compensates with higher output and more dynamic range.

The Texas Special (TS) Neck Pickup is built to be quieter than other standard USA Strat neck pickups. The Custom Shop lineup has slightly less punch or high-end response than different neck positions. Still, it compensates by expanding its territory towards medium frequencies.

We know that you want to get the best sound possible out of your guitar. That’s why we recommend these noiseless pickups as an excellent option for those looking to dial in their tone and eliminate unwanted noise from their signal chain. If you have any questions, leave us a comment below!


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