I'm not a stage player but I record songs/music at home on my DAW. I wanted to eliminate the typical single coil hum from my recordings so I bought a set of Fender Vintage Noiseless pickups. Didn't work. They were pretty noisless playing thru an amp for live playing but still had an audible hum when recording direct. I took them back and got a set of EMG-SA active pickups. I have a Gibson with active EMG pickups that I could always rely on for noisless recording. I was leary of the EMG Strat pickups because I read a mix of good & bad reviews. I bought the EMG SA set of Strat pickups. They were already pre-wired. I had them installed in about 30 minutes and only had to solder 3 wires to the input jack. They are just what I was looking for. Depending on how to set your tone controls and volume, they can sound clean, bright, warm, and hot. They really do have a broader tone quality than other single coils I've played on. The EMGs can make your Strat sound thin and trebly or thick and warm depending of your amp settings and guitar tone selections - neat harmonics and overtones as well. They can easily reproduce the vintage and modern tones I've heard in so many recordings. I used to spend too much time trying to dial in these tones using an effects processor. The EMGs do it naturally. To me the tone sounds much better than the Fender Noisless PUs I originally bought. I use a Digitech Genesis 3 for amp modeling and record the stereo 24 bit signal direct from the digital output to my DAW. These pickups have even brought new life to my Genesis 3 - sounds better than it ever has. Now I have a highly improved Strat sound that I can record in high quality without the electronic hum. I'm done modifying my Strat.
Has anyone else had a similar experience? I read different opinions about whether the EMG-S or SA set was best (different magnets used). I thought I was at a loss for making my Strat sound better. I almost bought an EMG pre-wired pickguard with double humbuckers. I'm glad I didn't.
I've never liked Fender's Noiseless pickups and have avoided them as much as possible. This is very contentious.
I think you like your EMG SA's because if you have the choice between Alnico V, or harsh Ceramic magnets, I would choose the Alnico, as you did. It seems more natural.
I have one set of of EMG S ceramics. All set up in a guard, built by Warmoth, with adapted & correct electronics, still brand new - I've used it and removed it from a couple of Strats. They just didn't sound right compared to other Strats - my opinion.
I like too many pickups to list, and also have my own virtually noiseless vintage-correct design. Wax potting, cloth tape wrapping and shielding sure helps! But, I also like the very quiet, or non-humming Lace replacements, mainly the Gold ones, which came stock on the Strat Plus and Clapton models, if not Beck's too. They're sweet, glassy and bell like, yet they still have tons of harmonics, and believe it or not, they can still quack like a rubber duck. Some purists want that at times, positions 2 and 4.
Answering your question further, my son built his own Strat, and used this set of SA, SA, 81 http://www.emginc.com/products/index/103 We both like the results, it has a good representation of true Strat sounds to our ears, noiseless, yet very loud and versatile, it plays all styles including very 'heavy' or hard rock, we think. :wink:
Like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
