Question Cutlass SSS Post Pickup Swap Question

[quuxbyte]

Question First: Do the stock pickups have anything "extra" or "special" about them with regard to how they interact with the Silent Circuit and noise cancelaltion?

Overview: I own a 2019 Cutlass SSS. I love the way it plays. I play through an FM9 (Fractal). I wanted a bit more oomph from the pickups, so I swapped in a "Gilmour" configuration (2 Fender Custom 69s and a Seymour Duncan SSL-5 in the bridge).

I'm 99% sure I wired everything correctly, all positions sound good to my ears. However...

The guitar picks up a lot of noise when held in particular directions. E.g., held perpendicular to my desk, nearly silent, but facing the desk (with laptops, and screens), I get lots of noise. Same thing at my practice venue, and one time on stage...

Re-asking the question: Would the Custom 69s and SSL-5 naturally pick up more noise vs. the stock pickups? And if so, do you know why that is?

Thank you for any help you can provide. This board was a great help to me in planning and working on my Cutlass.

 

[beej]

Hi- there's nothing special about the stock single coils. They're ~6k Alnico V.

From the factory, the Silent Circuit is adjusted for maximum noise cancellation from them, but you can adjust that for anything else you swap in there via the little trimpots on the board. If you haven't adjusted them already, I would hold the pickguard in playing position and make the adjustments to your liking. At the least, that would help confirm that this is working correctly.

You're always going to get more interference near electronic devices or anything that generates a large EM field around it (amp transformer, etc.), however the stock pickups are shielded, whereas I don't believe the Custom 69s and SSL-5 are, so that could make them more susceptible to interference.

You could always shield the exposed part of the pickguard with aluminum foil or copper tape, or replace the pickup wires with shielding wiring; that might help.

Hope that helps.