Shawbucker / Gen 4 Noiseless HSS Pre-wired Stratocaster Pickguard - Black 3-ply Review

I should have left it alone.

First - Thank you SWEETWATER for being the best! Second - My opinion is relative to my taste... NO ONE likes noise. Done. BUT... I love the tone of the original humbucker that came with my Fender Player HSS Floyd Rose Strat. I find it unique, and only needing a gain boost for shred. Fender's Noiseless' is just a-typical; not similar, nor unique. And the other pickups/positions… read more are the same - common, just without noise. I consider this a Fender Fail. For the money, they should offer "for Standard Trem," or "for Floyd Rose." The necessary pick guard swap out turns 20 minutes into 1 to 2 hours depending on your skill level. I remodel guitars all of the time, and have several kit builds, so it's not my first rodeo. And then, where is the neck pick-up Blues sound? MIA. My Charvel San Dimas S2's SD '59 SH-1N... Now that's the Blues (to me). Even a Tele Squire has more Blues. Then again, it's all relative.

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Great service.

Great service and great attention to detail. I was even provided help help installing my new pickguard.

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Pickup Upgrade

The loaded pickguard was delivered in a nice protected packaging. I converted my 1996 American Standard Stratocaster for the second time. I did hot rails in a single space for the bridge but needed a little more tone. The installation was a bit of a challenge because the noiseless g4 pickups were touching the inside of the body and the volume pot is larger as well. I had to carve… read more out space for it to fit. After all was said and done, the guitar looks and sounds amazing.

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Great pickups

Worked out perfectly for me. Sounds great. I just had to hook up a few wires and it went right in my Squire classic vibe 70's guitar. Transformed that good guitar into a great guitar. Definitely the sound I was looking for. Arrived quickly as usual too. Thanks again Sweetwater

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Great Upgrade/Modification for a Noisy Strat

I modified a recently purchased Fender American Professional 2 HSS with V-Mod II single coils to this pickguard in order to have Fender's latest noiseless single coils in the middle and neck positions. The installation was straightforward, even for a novice, with a little patience and caution with the soldering iron. While I lost the Double Tap Humbucker functionality of the stock… read more American Professional setup, I purchased the HSS in the first place to have a humbucker in the bridge, so no loss there. The noiseless pickups made a world of difference in reducing 60 cycle hum and sound great. This guitar became a bit of a project for me. I replaced the stamped metal bridge with the modern block saddle bridge, added Fender's locking tuners, and with the addition of Fender's latest noiseless single coils in this pre-wired pickguard, I now have an incredible guitar that sits somewhere between the American Professional II and the American Ultra in the beautiful dark night finish. Sweetwater and Sales Engineer Zach Richards' customer service is always top notch.

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