Sound:
These things are beautiful, all the definition and crisp clarity you expect from your vintage 50's single coil with a little extra punch in its belt. Like the ad says, they are actually single coils, not stacks. They work well for most varieties of rock and are ideal for clean settings but freaking sing with nuances with the drive up. The neck pickup is smooth but very punctual and tight, still putting out a solid low end, the middle is great for the traditional throaty cut and quack of a classic single coil. The bridge is nice, clear and has a very sparkling, open, tone. You can roll back the tone of each to get a more rounded sound for liquid smooth cascading when overdriven. put them in the between positions for a more full and saturated tone. I play a lot of blues and hard rock and these pups fit the bill, everything you do comes in clean as a bell and works great with any kind of effects you can throw at. If you're more heavy metal oriented then the package with the hot bridge is more your direction, though I haven't tried that pickup myself. And the icing on the cake is that they're noiseless, my ears were killing me whenever I switched to the single coils whenever I had the drive up or a boost on, but not anymore. I got an american standard maple neck and fretboard alder body 2003 Stratocaster which I upgraded with a callaham bridge block for optimum resonance with tremolo use and a tusq nut. I use the night train head and cab.
Feature:
A Noiseless alternative to your usual sexy vintage single coil. Although there have been some complaints floating around about them not sounding EXACTLY like the vintage single coils and I notice it too, but they still retain the key tonal aspects, and the subtle tonal differences other than the 60cycle hum canceling still sound fantastic if not identical. I don't think of it as worse, just very slightly different. If you're looking for full on identical period correct sounding models then these might not suit you. All three pups with the exception of the hot bridge read 6.0k resistance so in general they are relatively low output (at least compared to the output measures of single coils on Seymour Duncan's website).
Ease of Use:
These adapt well to almost every setup I've ever tried, usage is pretty much self explanatory. Very playable
Quality:
They haven't caused me any troubles, yet but I've heard horror stories about the trouble caused by the hair-thin copper windings so be careful, especially when installing.
Value:
I got a fair deal I think, they're pretty expensive to make I guess and are worth the money in my opinion.
Manufacturer Support:
Haven't needed service yet, The guys I got them from got them relatively quickly and easily, the place is in Huntington Beach CA, and I assume they handle things well since I got them rather quickly with no difficulties, but I honestly don't know first hand.
The Wow Factor:
These look cool to me but its all preference, my white pickups complement the black pickguard very nicely. As you can see the top has no polepieces, I don't mind it, I think it looks pretty cool, but most traditionalists would be turned off I assume. They come in the standard white, cream, and black as far as I know.
Overall:
Love them to death. Would definitely replace them if stolen, but might try out the hot bridge instead in the next set.
zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us.
Sound:
Crystal clear without a hint of muddiness. This is THE pup for a Strat. I put these in the neck and middle spots on my HSS Strat. Kept the Diamondback hummer. Works perfectly for my style playing. Would have put a Red in the bridge position, but was unsure how to wore it with the S1 switch. Still get plenty of the Strat 'quack'.
Feature:
It's a pickup. What features could it have ? It works. Enough said.
Ease of Use:
Easy to install. Clip wiers on current pups, solder these in their place. Didn't even have to take the strings off to install. It's as if Leo Fender knew his creations would be modified and wanted to make it as simple as possible.
Quality:
Perfect fit. The only word of caution is to be careful with leads as they are very small guage wire and could be broken if handled carelessly. But no problem if you use a little common sense.
Value:
They are a little pricy, but it is a quality product.
Manufacturer Support:
Have not needed support as yet, so this is only a guess.
The Wow Factor:
Looks as good as any pup, actually, I like the covers not showing the pole pieces; makes for a cleaner looking setup.
Overall:
Will keep these as is in my main axe. I am planning on putting blue, silver, and red in an old Jap Strat just to get a different sound. If I could get a prewired pickguard in black, I would be happy. If not, guess I'll just plumb them in myself. You never know for certain what a new pickup will sound like until you try it your own guitar, but based on experience with the Hot Golds, I'm confident it will be a pleasant experience.
Thank you. Your vote has been counted. Could you briefly tell us why the review was or was not helpful?
Questions? Our gear experts can help!
800-zZoundsOpen_Monday!
Mention Reference
Number
MFV-9DCY When You Call.
Toll Free En Español: 800-460-7976 m-f 9AM to
5PM EST
Follow zZounds on:
Customize Search Results for Your Location
A temporary customer reference number is assigned to each customer only while they are shopping on zZounds.com. If you call our customer service department for assistance, this number makes it easier for us to answer any questions you have about products, services or purchases.
A temporary customer reference number is assigned to each customer only while they are shopping on zZounds.com. If you call our customer service department for assistance, this number makes it easier for us to answer any questions you have about products, services or purchases.
enlarge