I've given up on Fender single coils with distortion.

[charveldan]

I've got two Strats, one has EMG's and is awesome, no issues, the other has Tex-Mex and are noisey on all positions, especially 1, 3, & 5, it's just a drag to play with dirty gain, noisey as f*ck, guess i'll have to get EMG's for it too.

Thank God for Les Pauls. [commence shitstorm.]

 

[yngzaklynch]

I love the DiMarzio Tone Zone S in the bridge and the Virtual Vintage Blues in the neck.

 

[rupe]

IDK, they work for me? The noise is only an issue when not playing. That's what the volume knob is for.

 

[MrDan666]

If the singlecoil buzz/hum is a problem, then get yourself the Suhr Silent Singlecoil Backplate. That way you can use true Singlecoils without any buzz/hum at all

However, if you're not all that fussed about the tone of those Fender Singlecoils, then look into the Dimarzio Hum-Canceling Singlecoils (stacked singlecoils). They sound fantastic and don't have any of the usual noise/hum that you normally get with Singlecoils!

 

[glpg80]

IDK, they work for me? The noise is only an issue when not playing. That's what the volume knob is for.

have to agree with this 100%. you wont get volume knob dynamics out of EMG's. i love single coil noise - makes you want to grit your teeth and when you dig in hard the whine you get is like nothing else.

 

[Audioholic]

I switched my strat over to Wilde noisless pups. The bridge position one also is almost a mix between a single coil sound and a humbucker. Its perfect really for me, and sounds pretty great on distortion. Not overly bright, and noisless. not expensive either, but works super for me

 

[IndyWS6]

I would have to agree with the OP, but it's not just the noise issue I'm dealing with. I bought a MIM Robert Cray signature strat and the single coil pickups sound wonderful for clean passages, even though there is a noticeable amount of noise in the typical 1, 3 and 5 positions. Although there are times when it is not practical, I use the volume knob to eliminate as much noise as possible. What is really upsetting is how poorly the pickups sound (aside from the single coil noise) when there is any distortion in the mix. The tone is akin to the guitar being smothered in a wet blanket, in a mud puddle - under a steaming pile of shit

 

[Mudder]

Mr Blacksugar seems to do alright with singles and gain. His clips here are solid.

 

[charveldan]

This is a MIJ Photo-flame i put mexican made Tex-Mex pups in, they sound like shite.

This is a MIM Deluxe players Strat, Swamp ash body, came with the Tex-Mex pups, i put EMG SA's in it, prolly gonna do that to the one above.

 

[IndyWS6]

This is a MIM Deluxe players Strat, Swamp ash body, came with the Tex-Mex pups, i put EMG SA's in it, prolly gonna do that to the one above.

What did that set of EMG's run you? Do they retain the single coil tone in the 5 position, albeit without the noise?

 

[racerevlon]

I've found that I'm more of an H-S-S strat player. That said, I usually go for the Air Norton S in the bridge (something about the "S" form factor sounds WAY better than when it's a full-sized humbucker), either a VV '54 Pro or an RWRP True Velvet in the middle, and either a VV Heavy Blues 2, Cruiser, or Red Velvet neck depending on the particular look/sound I'm after.

I have two Squier guitars with Dimarzio pickups & custom electronics and they both sound great! I had an MIM that I foolishly sold, so I'm "in the hunt" again.

Cheers,

 

[steve@russo]

tone zone in my bridge, little 59 in neck, no mid, and no tone pots, love it

 

[CaseyCor]

Dimarzio Paul Gilbert Injectors.

/end thread.

 

[Random Hero]

Single coils > humbuckers. That is all.

 

[troublehead]

Indy.....your first problem are those Cray Sig pickups. They are not designed to run with much gain. Have you ever listened to Cray? Stick a set of Fat 50's or 69's in there. They bring the goods at medium gain. Single coils are awesome at what they do. The noise, whine, howl is what makes them so cool. Stick a single coil size bucker in there if you want to use the guitar for something it wasn't designed to do.

 

[Ayrton]

Dimarzio Paul Gilbert Injectors.

/end thread.

I am going to order a set of these for no other reason than I am a total Gilbert fanboy.

I don't even know what strat I am going to put them in yet.

 

[HerbieBoogie]

God Bless Single Coils.

 

[charveldan]

This is a MIM Deluxe players Strat, Swamp ash body, came with the Tex-Mex pups, i put EMG SA's in it, prolly gonna do that to the one above.

What did that set of EMG's run you? Do they retain the single coil tone in the 5 position, albeit without the noise?

They were about $200, yes they sound good clean or dirty, but especially clean.

 

[IndyWS6]

Indy.....your first problem are those Cray Sig pickups. They are not designed to run with much gain. Have you ever listened to Cray? Stick a set of Fat 50's or 69's in there. They bring the goods at medium gain. Single coils are awesome at what they do. The noise, whine, howl is what makes them so cool. Stick a single coil size bucker in there if you want to use the guitar for something it wasn't designed to do.

Thanks for the response
I don't know that I am trying to use the guitar for something it wasn't designed to do - it is a Strat after all - but the stock pickups make it extremely one-dimensional. The cleans on the neck and middle positions are great (if not stellar...), but the bridge position isn't very good clean and is terrible with any gain. Since I mostly use the middle and neck for anything that needs to sound clean (and I can deal with the noise) it looks like my best bet would be to swap the bridge pickup with a stacked humbucker of some sort.

 

[IndyWS6]

This is a MIM Deluxe players Strat, Swamp ash body, came with the Tex-Mex pups, i put EMG SA's in it, prolly gonna do that to the one above.

What did that set of EMG's run you? Do they retain the single coil tone in the 5 position, albeit without the noise?

They were about $200, yes they sound good clean or dirty, but especially clean.

Thank you, sir