Best "hum-free" pick-up-set for Fender Custom Shop-strat?

Loved my Kinman Woodstocks. Sold that guitar, and I've missed it ever since.....

Not my video, but here's a good You Tube Demo of the sound of the Woodstocks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNtM3b7_HcQ

These statements may remind you of other pieces of gear:

Kinmans have dedicated fans, as do Duncans, as do the Fender pickups. Unfortunately, many opinions are pretty one-sided, based on brand preference.

BTW - The Fishman Fluence are the newest possibility.

A forum like Strat Talk might be your best bet for a consensus of opinion on which pickup will sound the most like the one in your strat.

You are right - the Fishman pickups are active.

Is the Fat 50s set tonally somewhere in between the Woodstock and the 54?

Any set you want and this amazing pick guard.

http://www.ilitchelectronics.com/pgncs-s/

This is the link, Truly amazing, perhaps not Kemper amazing but for single coil lovers this is a must have.

I really like the Dimarzio Area noiseless pickups in strats. Plenty of positive reviews about these online over the years.
Completely hum free with a very authentic vintage strat sound. Choose between the area models 58, 61, 67.

a comparison video (not mine). For full info see the video added text on youtube.
DiMarzio Areas (with sunburst strat) vs Van Zandts (real single coils)
[YOUTUBE]

Quote from Elcap420

Any set you want and this amazing pick guard.

http://www.ilitchelectronics.com/pgncs-s/

This is the link, Truly amazing, perhaps not Kemper amazing but for single coil lovers this is a must have.

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^ ^ ^ ^THIS^ ^ ^ ^

With this pick guard, you can use what ever pickups sound the best to you. All of the noiseless pickups are a compromise, IMHO.

I agree with the Duncan "Area" series as being pretty nice...but still somewhat of a compromise.

And, for the record, I've had Kinman's, and to me they sound sterile. You will spend way more auditioning noiseless pickups that what the pick guard costs.

I'm a big fan of the Area and Virtual Vintage pickups (have them in my personal guitars), but I wouldn't recommend them to someone who's keen on dead-accurate vintage tone. I agree that the Ilitch backplate is probably the way to go.

I have 2 strats. One with Lindy Fralin's, the other with Kinman's. To me, the Fralins (which are not noiseless) sound better. The Kinmans are just too brittle for me and lack warmth. I have silenced my rig with shielding (copper tape), and while it isn't totally silent on a high gain rig and using only a single coil (especially the back plated bridge pickup), it isn't bad at all..... even in my basement with all lights on a dimmer (about 30 of them).

At practice and most gigs, even my bridge pickup has negligible noise. I would take a shot at shielding first since I agree with some of the others here that you just give up too much when you go to a "noiseless" pickup on a strat.

The best I've tried were the old Di Marzio Virtual Vintages, with the VV "Solo" in the bridge.
The old Seymour Duncan Classic Stacks were awesome.
And, the Fender HOT Noiseless do a great job, not the Vintage Noiseless, must be the HOT Noiseless.

Or you can keep the original pickups in your guitar and install the Suhr Hum free backplate system.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiYNaC7LQtg

I have two strat's with lace sensors - an '89 and '93 and I think both sound really awesome and they are quite noiseless. As I recall Clapton swore by these until Fender stopped using them due to some rift between the companies.

I really love Bill Lawrence pickups, they are freaking fantastic, I think you should give them a shot. It's a lot cheaper than the big manufacturers too, but he's the guy who taught Larry Dimarzio and I think Seymour Duncan too how to wind pickups.

http://www.wildepickups.com/Wilde_Bill_s_NF_Singles.html

$44 to $52 for various options. I don't think you will go wrong. I have a pair of his L500 humbuckers and prefer them to the EMGs in my main axe. Just need to find out how to make the switch!

Also check out his twin blade single coil designs. Imitated by both Seymour Duncan and Bareknuckle pickups.

http://www.wildepickups.com/Wilde_Bill_s_Twin_Blades.html

Here's a couple of clips I did with a L500R humbucker neck and a L500XL bridge pickup. Pre-Kemper. I think his single coils will really suit you.

https://soundcloud.com/arvind-…/bill-lawrence-l500r-demo

https://soundcloud.com/arvind-…ilde-bill-lawrence-l500xl

And no, I don't work for the company or anything, I just remember having a conversation and getting a beautifully voiced set of humbuckers in the mail.

I agree about Bill Lawrence's pickups being great options.
Sadly Bill died (last year I think).
So I don't know if his business exists any longer.

Hi Guenter,
try this:
Video Demo

+1 for Kinmans. My Strat loves it. And me too.