Apex Classic

I bought these before some of the video reviews went up, and WOW! I’m blown away!

Most noiseless offerings (including Kinmans and DiMarzio, which I’ve tried before) lose a little top end sparkle. Not so these Apex pickups which retain every bit of top end sparkle - and that’s using my original 250K pots.

The 'out-of-phase' sounds in the in-between positions really stands out - that classic Dire Straits Strat 'quack’ is there in spades. I am stunned.

Finally they hum-cancel more effectively than some full-size humbuckers I own…dead silence!

I'm usually nit-picking to find something that can be improved - but here I’m impressed, very impressed.

At the risk of using hackneyed 'tone words', I'd say these pickups are magnificent. I have the Surfaris, the City Limits, and the A2 blues pickups as well.

Tonerider pickups are always top of the heap in build quality, and these are no exception. Opening the box and seeing the spotlessness of each pickup, I got a touch emotional. Holding something so nice, and knowing that I would get to use it for my music, was a special moment.

The output: They seem to be slightly quieter than a traditional strat pickup, which is expected from a noiseless design. But not as quiet as my Dimarzio HS-3 set, those are borderline unusable without a boost.

The Tone: Way different than the Surfaris and the HS-3 set. There isn't any 'honkiness' or 'woodiness', aka there's not much mids or upper mids. This is a great thing, as the 'sparkle' of the treble and 'richness' of the low end makes these pickups sound 'hi-fi'. If you were going for 'that 50's sound' which is honky bordering on boxy, these pickups are not for you. If you want 'spanky', 'bell like', 'slinky', 'warm and bright', 'articulate', that's where these live.

The 'noiseless' element: I will continue to test this, it seems like a well shielded and grounded traditional single coil is just as quiet as these pickups, but my studio is RF free and well wired. I'll try to simulate an old saloon with fluorescents/dirty power and see how they do.

The Verdict: I haven't tried Fender or Duncan Noiseless, but these are fantastic strat pickups, better than the HS-3, different than the Surfaris, and the build quality is unsurpassed.

Fun Fact: You can also use them in true single coil mode by adding a wire, which is awesome! That'll be another test one day. So much to do, let's get rockin!

I recently fitted a set of these pickups into my Vintera 2 Strat.
The pickups arrived quickly, and were well packaged.
The install was easy as the Apex set are exactly the right size to use the original Fender pickup covers.
Once everything was soldered in place (thanks to the very clear instructions), it was time to test.
I was amazed at how clear my Strat sounded.
The lows were full, plenty of mids, with lots if presence at the top end.
They are also far quieter than the stock Fender pickups (the reason I bought them).
I was able to compare my 'Apex' Strat with a friend's stock US Strat - and we were both amazed at how much bigger, and clearer the Apex set was.
These pickups are a game-changer.
I came for the low noise, I stayed for the tone.
Thank you Tonerider!