Need help finding quiet passive humbuckers

[wagz]

Hello. I'm not a pickup builder quite yet. But, I am considering it. I'm trying to find out is there are any quiet, passive, full size, humbuckers that are as quiet as stacked pickups like the Duncan STK-4 or maybe DiMarzio Area pickups?

I keep buying pickups, but haven't been able to know which full size buckers are actually super-quiet (concerning noise). I've gotten so annoyed with this thing that I'm considering trying to build my own. But, before I go that far, are there any (noiseless) stack pickups that sound like full size buckers? And, are there any full size humbuckers that are as quiet as the DiMarzio Areas, for instance? Almost all of the manufacturers call their humbuckers "quiet" or "humbucking", but I still hear distracting amounts noise in most guitars with full sized humbuckers- even shielded ones.

My coworker said that he will sell me his pickup machine. It's pretty much brand new, according to what he tells me. I think (not sure, though) that he got it from Mojotone.I'm considering getting into building - because , at this rate, it would have been cheaper. I don't know why signal to noise ratios are listed in the specs of most (if any) pickups.

How hard is it to build a stacked pickup? I'm wondering about the number of man hours and what are the requirements necessary to to go down this road (that I'd rather avoid going down).

Thanks in advance for your answers!

[kmensik]

Ceramic magnet HBs are quieter than AlNiCo.
Kramer Quadrail is very quiet. Low DCR pickups are quieter than high DCR. Symetrical coils.
Check other components in the chain for noise pickup. Wiring, cable, preamp...

[wagz]

Ceramic magnet HBs are quieter than AlNiCo.
Kramer Quadrail is very quiet. Low DCR pickups are quieter than high DCR. Symetrical coils.
Check other components in the chain for noise pickup. Wiring, cable, preamp...

Thank you very much, kmensik!

I knew that symmetrical coils are supposed to help. But, my understanding was that many people do not prefer ceramics or symmetrical coils, with regards to tone. I know that I like AlNiCo. But, I'll check into ceramics and this low DCR thing. My typically chain is guitar --- cable ---amp. But, maybe I can improve it.

[big_teee]

Alnico's are noisier, because of the eddie currents.
That's why ceramics are quieter. Less eddie currents.
Covers can help a humbucker with noise.
I've buuilt stacked pickups, never cared for them.
Top coil is usually louder, & more efficient that the bottom coil.
My experience, they are super bright, unless overwound with small wire.
Also, I've found insulated shielded pair to be quieter than push back braided single.
Make some pickups if you want to? Can be fun, but not necessarily a money saver!
T

[mozz]

Could be a noisy electrical area you are in. Also, a good quality shielded guitar cable does help.

[wagz]

Alnico's are noisier, because of the eddie currents.
That's why ceramics are quieter. Less eddie currents.
Covers can help a humbucker with noise.
I've buuilt stacked pickups, never cared for them.
Top coil is usually louder, & more efficient that the bottom coil.
My experience, they are super bright, unless overwound with small wire.
Also, I've found insulated shielded pair to be quieter than push back braided single.
Make some pickups if you want to? Can be fun, but not necessarily a money saver!
T

I was auditioning a bunch of guitars to day at work. I like the stacks. Of course, I do like the fatness of a full size humbucking pair, too. I'm going to try to identify the specs of the current Fender HSS Bullet's humbucker. It's like $150.00 and has a sound that is as quiet as a stacker pair of buckers, but with the fatter full size bucker tone. It sounds okay. But, what boggles my mind is that I've been paying Lollar, Duncan, and boutique pickup guys a lot of money, but haven't been able to get a very quiet full size humbucker like this.

I talked to my coworker. He sold his expensive pickup winder. So, I missed out on that. If I start building, that means less time to just play guitar. And, as you know, it will be expensive road to go down - just to attempt to build a few pickups for myself.

Could be a noisy electrical area you are in. Also, a good quality shielded guitar cable does help.

Yeah. I don't have the best environment. But, some of the pickups still manage to be super-quiet. Others, not so much.

[kmensik]

You might be more satisfied with a medium otput ceramic humbucker, cheap one, than a boutique one. No problem. I hated that alnico noise too. If maybe later you learn to like the character of a noisier pickup so thet you sacrifice the quietness, you will switch back. No problem.

[wagz]

kmensik, you may be on to something. It's possible that some of the quieter pickups that I tried were ceramic types. I guess I'll check around to see if there are any ceramic pickups known to have a decent tone. This search would be easier if companies listed the s/n ratio of their pickups, I think.

[big_teee]

There is a lot of varibles that go into a quiet guitar.
Some amps and some rooms are noisier than others.
guitar wiring and shielding is also important.
I had the same humbucker noise issue in a import LP you're talking about.
The fix was ripping everything out and rewiring and grounding it.
It now is quiet with 2- alnico-2, double screw bobbin humbuckers.
T

[wagz]

I understand what you mean. But, I am trying multiple well-shielded guitars in more than one environment. Many of these guitars are Tom Anderson, Collings, Gibson, Ernie Ball, Fender, and many other brands. (I work in a guitar shop.)

In my personal well-shielded guitars, I have only been able to get guitars as quiet as I want with stacked pickups, D.Allen Johnny Blades (but only the neck and middle), Bill Lawrence L-200, and Zexcoil Juicy/Throaty buckers (I also have a SFM, but it doesn't reject noise as well, in my experience). I've taken my Strat apart so many times, starting from scratch and testing for continuity. But, I've never been able to have a full-size humbucker in it that was as quiet as I want.

Interesting thing, though: We have a brand new Squier Bullet HSS with a humbucker that is DEAD QUIET. It's as quiet as the quietest stack pickups I have tried. Except, it sounds like a full size humbucker. I would like to figure out why that is. I literally just paid a boutique company almost $300 to build me a PAF style bucker. But, it doesn't reject noise as much as I'd like. When I ordered it, I just figured that it would, since it is a humbucker. But, as is consistent with my experience, many people call these pickups humbuckers even if they just reject some percentage of hum. I want to be able to consistently know what specs factor into getting a very low noise floor so that I can build what I want or know how to better ask the expert technicians for what I want.

The last time I took my guitar a part to completely test and rebuild it was last week, BTW. Installed stack pickups and a full size boutique humbucker. The stacks are DEAD QUIET, no matter what. The full size humbucker is hummy, despite being shielded. I'll probably try again with a Duncan pickup that I have. But, I have put it in the guitar before. It was noisy. It would be one thing if I had wired all of these guitars that I am testing. But, I haven't. Experts have wired these guitars from top brands using quality gear. And, the guitars are still hummy. The Squier isn't.

There is a lot of varibles that go into a quiet guitar.
Some amps and some rooms are noisier than others.
guitar wiring and shielding is also important.
I had the same humbucker noise issue in a import LP you're talking about.
The fix was ripping everything out and rewiring and grounding it.
It now is quiet with 2- alnico-2, double screw bobbin humbuckers.
T

[big_teee]

Thanks, for your bio, that helps a lot.
I like the idea of digging into the noise issue here.
Disecting the bullet humbucker would help. What is the DCR of this pickup?
I suspect it will have a shielded pair cable, with a ceramic magnet.
IMO no humbucker is worth $300.
I like Duncan pickups, and they use great internal parts.
Because of being unfriendly to winders, and wanting to sue everyone, we try to shy away from the D. brand here.

When you say a stacked pickup is dead quiet?
Are we talking about a stacked Strat type pickup.
Pictures would help.

I will try to do some experimenting with some humbuckers I have in my pickup shop, and see what the noise and hum is.
T

[wagz]

I am referring to Strat pickups when I say "stacked". But, even then, I am not finding all stacks dead quiet, across the board - the Fenders are often quieter than singles, but not dead quiet. Yesterday, I played some Fender N3's at the shop. Dead quiet. Of the brands that I have tried, the DiMarzio Areas, Anderson SC1, BL L-200, and my new (very awesome) MAMA Pure Stacks are dead quiet. I installed those last week w/ my new boutique PAF from a smaller builder. It's noisy. I have owned Lollars and many other full size buckers, too. Typically, I find them noisy. I don't want to cast shade, though. I can list the brands and boutique builds I've used in private, if necessary. But, I don't want to do any damage to their reps - because they built what I asked for, I think. I think that I just didn't know what to ask for, maybe. Maybe I can try to get he skinny on that Squier today.

Thanks, for your bio, that helps a lot.
I like the idea of us digging into the noise issue here.
Disecting the bullet humbucker would help. What is the DCR of this pickup?
I suspect it will have a shielded pair cable, with a ceramic magnet.
IMO no humbucker is worth $300.
I like Duncan pickups, and they use great internal parts.
Because of being unfriendly to winders, and wanting to sue everyone, we try to shy away from the D. brand here.

When you say a stacked pickup is dead quiet?
Are we talking about a stacked Strat type pickup.
Pictures would help.

I will try to do some experimenting with some humbuckers I have in my pickup shop, and see what the noise and hum is.
T

[big_teee]

Here is my personal lefty LP import.
I made these pickups 5 years ago, or so.
I consider these to be dead quiet.
Here's the exception.
If you turn up the gain way up and turn on the boost to the point that it will start feeding back unless you have your hand on the strings.
Under normal gain conditions, they are quiet.
I don't sell this color combo, I made them for my own personal use.
They are A2, double screw, sound great, and exhibit great pick harmonics.
** This guitar was very noisy until I totally rewired it.
T

[wagz]

Cool guitars. I'd like to hear how quiet they are and at what settings.

I found out that the Bullet's humbucker is ceramic, according to Fender. And, it measured 9.59k when I tested it a while ago.
I recorded a brief noise demo w/ a few guitars. I don't know how well the noise will translate to video, but I certainly notice it in person. In the vid, you can hear that the Squier Bullet HSS and the Fender Deluxe Plus are like dead quiet. The other guitars with buckers still hum. The gain on this amp model was 7 or so. I don't always play with that much gain. And, the volume was on about 3 for this 150 watt solid state amp. I didn't have my guitar with my new pickup with me at the shop, so you didn't get to hear it in the vid. But, I assure you, it's noisier than the Gibson or the Charvel in this video.

Alnico's are noisier, because of the eddie currents.
That's why ceramics are quieter. Less eddie currents.
Covers can help a humbucker with noise.
I've buuilt stacked pickups, never cared for them.
Top coil is usually louder, & more efficient that the bottom coil.
My experience, they are super bright, unless overwound with small wire.
Also, I've found insulated shielded pair to be quieter than push back braided single.
Make some pickups if you want to? Can be fun, but not necessarily a money saver!
T

Could be a noisy electrical area you are in. Also, a good quality shielded guitar cable does help.

Here is my personal lefty LP import.
I made these pickups 5 years ago, or so.
I consider these to be dead quiet.
Here's the exception.
If you turn up the gain way up and turn on the boost to the point that it will start feeding back unless you have your hand on the strings.
Under normal gain conditions, they are quiet.
I don't sell this color combo, I made them for my own personal use.
They are A2, double screw, sound great, and exhibit great pick harmonics.
** This guitar was very noisy until I totally rewired it.
T

[rjb]

<snark>
For less than you've payed for a boutique pickup, you could buy the Squire, keep the HB, and throw out the guitar.
Then, if the pickup is noisy in your Strat, you'll know you have a wiring/shielding problem.
</snark>