Pickup mods for Japanese Fender 69' RI Mustang

[Andrew H]

I bought it from Ishibashi Music in Tokyo and got it delivered here on 31st Dec last year,
It's pre-owned but in unplayed condition, lightweight, good action, and in candy red finish with matching headstock and I love it to death

But the thing that bugs me is the loud hissing coming out from all the switches settings, except when both pickups are on and in phase, which I don't really like.

The setting I use is normally the bridge pickup only with the phase switch on (sometimes off), while ignoring the annoying loud hissing.

My amp is a tube Laney VC15-110 Old English white, with the plug already grounded,
so I guessed it must be the pickups,

Some replacements I heard of were Seymour Duncan Antiquity II and the Lindy Fralin,
but I'm totally not sure If I can find these so easily and at a good price,

Can anyone suggest other good direct replacement pickups besides Seymour Duncan and Lindy Fralin, in case cannot find in S'pore?

 

[templar03]

EMG single coil active pickups? They're pretty darn quiet i've heard.

 

[Andrew H]

I read about the EMGs you mentioned, a lot of promising features, I might consider it if I find it and the price is good.

 

[Ratboy]

EMG's at high gain / High volume also have a "electronic" hiss which i find annoying.
Pickups are small .. just order online and test.
If no like .. can easy resell on soft.

 

[lemonade93]

You could go for Lace Sensor? Or if you wanna be abit of a purist, stick to Fenders CS Noiseless Pickups?

 

[faekildare]

You can try the YJM's. Since they are stacked single coils, they are kinda quiet. Only problem is you need to play really loud to get the dynamics of the pick up going if your doing high gain stuff.

On a side note, is that a mu-tang?

 

[Andrew H]

You can try the YJM's. Since they are stacked single coils, they are kinda quiet. Only problem is you need to play really loud to get the dynamics of the pick up going if your doing high gain stuff.

On a side note, is that a mu-tang?

Good suggestion, i didn't think of Malmsteen pickups,

My preference now is high output and hum-cancelling types, and most importantly,
not having to drill or make extra cavities on my guitar.

YES!!, it is Mu-tang, I have my Giita (Gibson LP Traditional) too, and also Elizabeth (Fender 62' RI Jazz bass)

 

[faekildare]

If you want high output single coils, just get those single coil humbuckers (seymour duncan george lynch screaming demon or Dimarzio fast track/Tone zone single)

 

[Andrew H]

I saw a demo of Dimarzios on mustang, only the annoying hum is reduced but the overall sound is still much the same for me, but with a lot of tone change with Seymour Duncan SJBJ-1 and EMGs

but, in case I can't find SD for a good price in S'pore, I will opt for EMG instead,

 

[XenoJin]

Hello! Glad too see someone on the same boat as me! haha.
I have a mustang too and it's pretty noisy, the thing is it is not very noticable at home, but when I bring it to jams or gigs, the noise tends to be overwhelming.
I've did some research on guitar shielding and what not, I think that's that causing the problems, the guitar isn't shielded very well. Maybe you could bring it to a guitar technician and ask for shielding or do it yourself.

I've tried changing my picks to Lindy Fralin ones, but the noise is still the same...

 

[Andrew H]

Thanks for the tip, I visited Beez last week, and he insisted that shielding can reduce a bit of the noise, not really entirely.

I emailed the sales agent from Tokyo who sold me the Mustang, and she said:

"it can be a small complicated flaw in the wiring design of the guitars' electronics, and replacing the pickups may not always to fix this problem, since most brands of pickups may respond similarly with nearby electrical power sources, causing the noisy hum"

But she mentioned that this can probably be eliminated by using the BOSS NS-2 noise suppressor pedal, which will cancel out the hum even when using high gain and distortion, I'd definitely give the pedal a try first, before I choose which new pickups to buy,

currently my choices are Red Lace Sensors or EMG-HZ's, or something else that can give me more sustain and output,

 

[dodgethis]

Don't bother with the NS-2. The Beta Aivin Noise Gate does a good enough, or even better, job as the NS-2 for less than half the price, brand new.

 

[Andrew H]

I think I saw the Beta Aivin pedal in the Yamaha shop in Plaza Singapura once, I'll go back and visit this weekend with my Mustang and try it out,

In case it's not there anymore, where did you buy your Beta Aivin?

 

[bluelime]

Standard Value has them too
So do i. But i'm selling 4 toogether.

 

[Andrew H]

Thanks, I'll keep a look out for it, I'll try out and compare the NS-2 and see which one works the best,

below picture is when both pickups are on and in phase, not really my favourite setting

 

[faekildare]

The main difference between the ns-2 and the beta aivin noise gate is that the ns-2 has a looper function where it allows u to separate all your gain pedals into a separate part of the chain where the beta aivin one only allows you to cut the noise from your high gain pedals/whatever. It's just a matter of your needs. If you need to get rid only of the hum from your pick up, then the beta aivin one is good enough. If you have a long chain of effects and insist on maximum gain in your play style, the boss one probably will suit you better.
When you were at beez, did you actually try your guitar with his amp? If you did, any noise?