Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I got on Fender's e-mail list when I entered on of their contest give-a-ways. Anyway, I just got an e-mail from them about their newest contest: 50th Anniversary Stratocaster.

In the write up, it states:

"...this is a limited edition 2004 American Deluxe 50th Anniversary Stratocaster guitar complete with our revolutionary Samarium Cobalt Noiseless™ pickups..."

HA! How long have the Samarium Cobalt RIC humbuckers been around??? Revolutionary, my eye!

I was planning to be reticent on this one, wondering if anyone else had picked up on it. I first saw this a few weeks ago in Guitar Player (I think). Ahem...

It made me love my 650 all the more. Noel

Same for me and my 220, 260, and 650.

I wonder how the Samarium Cobalt Toasters sound? As found on the that one-off (or few-off?) 350V59 that was done for Elliot Easton...

Maybe John Hall was being the Good Samarium and just gave the idea to Fender?
(Top that one, Peter!)

They're claiming that the pickups are revolutionary, not that they are the first to use SC magnets in a pickup. A common complaint about the old Noiseless series was low output by comparison to original design Strat pickups, and my guess is that the SC magnets help remedy that.