When it comes to pure Strat tone, it’s hard to beat the sound of original pickups from the Fifties and Sixties, the former for their sweet, enhanced low midrange and the latter for their sparkling treble and fat, assertive bass.
However, the one big problem is that vintage pickups can be very noisy in most studio and gig environments, and of course there isn’t exactly an ample supply to go around, let alone the cost if you do manage to find these coveted pickups.
Fortunately Mojotone has developed a splendid alternative with their new Quiet Coil Strat pickups, available in classic ’58 or ’67 versions either individually, as a set of three, or mounted and prewired to a pickguard along with all of the controls.
FEATURES
We tested a set of three ’58 Quiet Coil pickups mounted in an SRV Strat. According to Mojotone, these pickups are constructed using only the same materials and parts found on original 1958 Strat pickups, such as Alnico magnets, 42 gauge Heavy Formvar coil wire, black fiberboard bobbins and cloth-covered wire. Furthermore, the design does not involve stacked coils, PC boards, batteries or other features typically found on other noise-free pickups. Output measures an average of 5.8k ohms for the neck and middle pickups each and 6.2k ohms for the bridge pickup.
PERFORMANCE
Vintage purists will love how Mojotone’s ’58 Quiet Coil pickups look virtually identical to the real deal minus the years of wear and tear. But more importantly, pretty much every type of Strat enthusiast will love the fat, warm midrange and the overall sweet voice provided by these pickups. Through a clean amp the tone shimmers and sparkles, but when pushed into overdrive an aggressive bite with impressive body emerges. Best of all, these pickups remain dead quiet regardless of which pickup setting is selected.
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LIST PRICES $79.95 (individual); $229.95 (set of three); $299.95 (prewired) MANUFACTURER Mojotone, mojotone.com
THE BOTTOM LINE
Whether you love the elusive tone of genuine vintage Strat pickups, demand absolutely noise-free performance, or all of the above, Mojotone’s ’58 Quiet Coil Strat pickups deliver the goods.
Chris is the co-author of Eruption - Conversations with Eddie Van Halen. He is a 40-year music industry veteran who started at Boardwalk Entertainment (Joan Jett, Night Ranger) and Roland US before becoming a guitar journalist in 1991. He has interviewed more than 600 artists, written more than 1,400 product reviews and contributed to Jeff Beck’s Beck 01: Hot Rods and Rock & Roll and Eric Clapton’s Six String Stories.
