• pretty darn good

  
  As reviewed by Howard C on 5/7/2010

  OK, first the good news, and there is plenty. They sound great! I installed them by myself in my G&L Legacy because I wanted a little more 'punch' and also wanted it to be noiseless for recording. The SCN's delivered on the first promise like I hoped they would. The tones, to my ear, are what I imagine Leo would have approved for his Strats: better defined, full-ranged and relatively flat. While the high-end and low-end are enhanced, the enhancements are subtle enough to not make it too obvious. The biggest difference I notice is clarity with a bell-like quality to the tone. I don't play live anymore, but I when I played through my amp, there was much better definition overall. Now, the bad news. The pickups came with a lead wire broken off of one, so it had to be re-soldered. The screw receiver on the pickup wasn't firmly seated, so when I tried to raise them to the desired height, the screw receiver rotated w/ the screw, so I had to superglue them in. I was expecting them to be truly noiseless; they are quieter than stock strats, but there is still a noticeable hum. I even went as far as installing all new Fender pots and switches, which improved things a bit, but there is still some very mild noise (it sounds like 60 Hz buzz going though a high-pass filter). (It could be the elctrical in my house; still haven't nailed down the cause.) I really do appreciate that Fender sent a wiring diagram, which was immensely helpful. They only made one ommision in that they didn't indicate where the lead wire from the input jack should go (it goes to the un-used prong on the volume pot.) All in all, I'm happy, just wanted them to be truly 'noiseless' (i.e. 'silent').

  5 of 5 people found this review helpful.
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• Incredible Pickups

  
  As reviewed by Anthony J. on 12/14/2007

  I had these installed in my 2003 Mexican Stratocaster and they are absolutely incredible! They have ZERO noise and they sound amazing! This is probably the best investment one can make on their Stratocaster. I spent several months researching pickups and these came out on top of my list. I also had the wiring re-done to change the center tone so it works on all three pickups and the bottom tone blends the neck pickup into the others so I get seven combinations. The tone is sweet - much higher output, harmonics, a hot high end and yes - bass. They do sound different than the standards, so be prepared. Play an American Deluxe if you want to see what they're like before you buy them. These pickups can howl, scream or weep depending on how you dial them in. I've read that most people set these low, but I had them placed higher than the stock pickups were so I could get the bass response at its maximum.

  5 of 5 people found this review helpful.
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• Awesome pickups

  
  As reviewed by Mick on 7/24/2008

  If you own a MIM strat and want it to sound close to the American Deluxe then you want to put these in it. You will not believe the difference these make. I really was hesitant in spending this kind of coin on new pickups, but glad I did. I now own a great sounding strat for half the price.

  4 of 4 people found this review helpful.
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