Fresh review/comment:
I got the Ilitch backplate for my Strat 2 months ago and have been using it ever since. I was afraid that it would affect my tone in a bad way, but it really doesn’t. I recorded some samples with the backplate on and off, listened to the samples back to back, and there is hardly any difference in tone, and if there is, it’s very, very small. I sent the samples to a friend of mine, without telling him which sample is which or even what was being compared, just labeling them A and B. He said the differences were very small, but actually preferred sample A, which was the one with the backplate on… As for installation, I did it myself and it was pretty easy, and I don’t have a lot of experience with soldering. If you can swap pickups in a Strat, you can install the backplate. And customer service from Ilitch is excellent – he helped me along every step of the process, from choosing the right backplate for my pickups, to giving me useful tips about installation and making sure I got everything right. The best part – the noise reduction works really well. My bandmates appreciate, how quiet my rig has became. It’s not absolutely dead quiet, but in real life it’s more than good enough for me. I tried some very well regarded noiseless pickups and they were more quiet, but the tone just wasn’t there. I much, much prefer the Ilitch backplate. If you want true single coil tone, with almost no noise, I highly recommend the backplate.
It works wonderfully! Thank you, thank you! What a great piece of engineering.
I also must say that your customer service is outstanding!
Subject: Thank you so much for your help
Ilitch,
About a year an a half ago, I bought one of your back plate noise
cancelling systems after researching and trying several alternatives.
Noise cancelers didn’t truly kill the hum, and “quiet” single coil
pickups never really sounded like real single coils.
After receiving my BPNCS, I started on the install. When I got the to
back plate itself, I did something extremely careless and ended up
pulling on the red wire, which pulled it from the internal coil. I
wrote you an email and within a half hour, we were on the phone, and
you were helping me diagnose the issue and see how it might be
repaired. Long story short, I shipped it out to you for repair, and
had it back, looking and working like new in a week. I installed it
(CAREFULLY!) and have been enjoying it ever since.
About a week ago, I noticed it was no longer working. I (mistakenly)
assumed something was wrong with the system, removed it from my
guitar, and again wrote to you for some help. Again, we spoke on the
phone, and you were patient, generous with your time, and seemed
genuinely invested in helping me get the plate working again. I
followed your advice, re-installed, and presto, I’m back to playing a
quiet Strat! Fwiw, it turns out the problem was (I believe) a pot that
went bad.
I can’t tell you how impressed I am with the level of service you
provide for your products. On two separate occasions, almost a year
and a half apart, you helped me overcome obstacles caused by me or
another component in my guitar. I tell everyone I talk to who plays a
single coil guitar to look into your products. As far as I can tell,
nothing beats it for quality, support, and effectiveness!
Scott
Baltimore, Maryland
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! For my money you’re up there with Thomas Edison and Les Paul!
Sincerely, Dave Morrow
Hello,
I am the one who has called you twice concerning tech info for the backplate. I finally took apart my Strat and installed the it. I had no trouble and it was very easy to setup and adjust. I cannot even begin to tell you how pleased I am with the sound. I ended up using the Standard Noiseless Backplate with my Fender 57/62 pickups. Even though the output on these was 5.6k which was slightly below the specification for the Standard Plate, it worked marvelously. I have tried many many sets of “stacked” and “noiseless” pickups from various companies and while many sounded nice, they just didn’t have the “sparkle” I missed with real single coils. I am so very very happy with my guitar tone now!! When a person considers the cost of a set of new pickups, the price of your product is extremely well worth the money. I will tell all of my Strat playing friends about the Noiseless Backplate and how friendly and helpful you were over the phone. I will most certainly be buying the set for my Tele soon. Thank you so much and good luck with your company and all of your future endeavors.
Donnie S.
Hi Ilitch,
Thank you for all your help. The new lefty BPNCS looks and works wonderfully. I’ve attached pictures. This is just what I needed to get the vintage single coil sound I wanted but without the noticeable hum.
Thanks for your advice and your efficiency and your attention to detail. It’s never been easier to get a custom designed guitar part! It’s been a pleasure dealing with you.
Sincerely,
Matt, Ontario, CANADA
The Ilitch hum canceling system is a pickup noise reduction technology that reveals the true tone and versatility of single coil
pickups. Unlike other attempts to reduce pickup noise which actually modify the tone, our innovative noise reduction technology
has no impact on tone, allowing you to finally hear what your guitar really sounds like.
Customer Reviews:
I’m in Santa Fe now.. I LOVE the guitar!!
Using the single cut Jr now, it is SILENT! more quiet than my Goldtop w humbuckings~ I’m telling everybody.
Brian Ray (http://www.brianray.com/)Noise gates, noiseless pickups, reverse winds, work your volume knob…
All the above was a compromise until I found Ilitch (the creator of Suhr’s backplate system) and his solution for P90 equipped Les Pauls. Works like a charm and doesn’t mess with the tone of the pickups at all. Worth every penny! TD Moyer Dear Ilitch, What a pleasure it is to use your products. I had used your Strat back plate for years. Your elegant solution allowed me to take single coil equipped guitars out for performance that I would never have even thought about trying in the past. With your noise canceling systems, you can keep the tone you have worked hard to achieve, without that bothersome hum.
But what really impressed me was when I brought you a Tele that created a unique set of problems: a high output Charlie Christian pickup in the neck. You asked all the right questions, thoroughly and patiently communicating with me every step of the way with e-mails, phone calls, photos, and measurements.
I am sure you give all your customers the same consideration.The decision to modify a favorite instrument can be a nail biting experience. I have complete confidence and trust working with you. Wishing you continued success,
Joseph LoDuca
If you are asking whether I think the the BPNCS has any effect on Tone I would say yes. I can hear more tone because there is less noise! I have bright pickups and it is every bit as bright as it was before. The tone seems unchanged. In fact its making me think I might want to get slightly darker pickups. Previously I had Bill Lawrence noiseless pickups and while they are completely silent I always thought they lacked some of the tone of real single coils. Your system allows me to use real single coil and keeps the tone intact while reducing the noise significantly. The great thing about this RWRP wiring scheme is that I can instantly check the unaltered tone just by going to the middle pickup. This won’t work for everyone because some people do use the middle position but for me its nice to have a reality check on the noise level and tone without the BPNCS.Thanks for all your help,
Joe Helias
(BPNCS with RWRP Middle pickup) I just wanted to drop you a line and say thanks for developing the noise canceling system. I purchased one through Lindy Fralin and just had my tech install it. Wow, I can’t describe the feeling I got when I heard the hum gone. I have custom wound 69 pickups and they just shine now. For 4 years I used noiseless pickups and there is no comparison. What a great invention. Even my tech was impressed. These will be on all my guitars going forward.Daniel Galanti Hey man,I (finally) installed your BPNCS on my guitar, and wanted to let you know that you have created a wonderful piece of hardware! It has been almost two years since I first conceived of a guitar that could produce both genuine Strat and genuine PAF tones, and with your backplate installed I get no noise either way. In short my axe is now a bag full of awesome, and your hardware was a major contributor. THANK YOU!Cheers,
Chris Harwood-Jones, Vernon BC
Evening Ilitch, Just wanted to reach out to you and tell you I couldn’t be happier with that BPNCS. My Black Strat was my favorite guitar when I was in Japan – the power there was so much cleaner. When I moved here, the Black Strat took a place on the wall – I’ve been chasing Gilmour Pulse/Division Bell tones and with that kind of gain it was god-awful. So I’d been playing with active and other “noiseless” pickups – but lost that chime. Before I found your site I found a blog for a dummy coil and tried that out on the Black Strat – definitely quieted it down some, but something was missing. I noticed it first in the harmonics – I really had to be one it to nail pinch and pick harmonics – they seemed to come easier before. Something was wrong.
Anyway – I found your site and decided to try the BPNCS. Install was a snap – even lined up with the factory trem cover holes. I plugged it in to a boosted custom big muff (my own) which means a ton of gain so she was humming pretty good when I made the adjustments to the pots. I also wire up a push pull switch to the lower tone control (per your instructions) thinking I would deactivate the circuit when I was playing clean and engage it only when I needed it. Making the adjustments took a little time….think I was starting to hear ghost tones, static, etc. in my head – it was hard to settle on the final settings. At first I was a little skeptic because the hum was still very much there (mind you I was dumping more gain into my amp than I had ever before – everything was dimmed, and I certainly don’t play with that much)….however when I got everything tucked away inside and all back together I plugged her into to my normal settings (still with plenty of gain…I was boosting a big muff pedal) and achieved tonal bliss. The cumulative effect of this circuit and good shielding is truly amazing – I can’t believe how good this guitar sounded. Needless to say it is off the wall – and has a new place in a custom stand right next to my desk – it is once again my number one, “go to” guitar and I couldn’t be happier. The push pull is fun to play with and truth be told I really can’t hear any degradation of tone regardless of clean or high gain settings. I’ll end up taking that push-pull out at some point and putting a normal tone pot in there. After almost a week of playing with this – I’m convinced I don’t need it. No point in every canceling the BPNCS. Seriously, seriously want to thank you and congratulate you on your success with this system. This is the absolute @#$@ – finally, you can have your cake and eat it too WRT to true single coil tone. Thanks again, all the best too you.
Daron Mikeal Mizell
I just finished playing for about 2 hours. Wow! I absolutely love these pickups! Really! They are great Ilitch. Perfect for me. Between the coil tap and the 3-way switch I can get a great variety. Most importantly, I’m hearing the tones that have been in my head for a while. This is really going to work out for me. I can’t wait to help promote this! I can’t wait to play this guitar in the Band. It’s going to sound GREAT! Thanks so much.
Chris Conte (set of IP90 pickups and the CVNCS-R)
I HAVE MY GUITAR BACK! It’s as quiet as my Les Paul with humbuckers! You sir, are a genius. Seriously, the room that I play in at home is a nightmare. There are several electrical panels adjacent to this room that make single coil guitars nearly unplayable. Especially with anything but a squeaky clean sound. But today, after I got everything put together, I ran it though both clean and hi-gain settings and it was just amazing. Again, as quiet as my Les Paul. I’m VERY pleased! I know you were concerned with combining the neck and bridge using the mini toggle but even this setting produces very little noise. Again, Thank You very much! Knowing your system works this well has opened up the possibility of playing guitars that I wrote off because of noise issues. MikeYes, I just realized I installed it incorrectly (putting the wires to ground), but spent this morning fixing it.It works now!!!! Beautiful – I can’t believe the difference. I actually think the pickups sound better because I can hear the actual nuances instead of hum.
Thanks for you help and patience!
Ken Chung
OK…..I finally took it to rehearsal last night. All I can say is WOW!P90s are what I have been hearing in my head forever now and I just haven’t had the right tool in my toolbox until now. The one thing keeping me from using P90s or single coils in general was the 60 cycle hum they cause. It’s especially rough at my house due to fluorescent lights, and dimmers etc.
I fixed this issue with my new buddy ilitch https://ilitchelectronics.com/cavityncs.htm and his Noise Cancelling system. This is the guy who invented and makes the “Suhr BPSSC” system for strats. This thing makes the guitar as quiet or quieter than my humbucker guitars and there’s no tone lose or high end roll off like you’d experience with a dummy coil or the like. Simply put, it is awesome.
At rehearsal I kept fiddling around in E at the 12th fret and I was completely floored at how the guitar sings and the thickness of the notes. I even had my gain knob on the rocker just about maxed and it wasn’t a squishy compressed sound at all. The notes were jumping off of the fretboard. It was so cool. I was like a kid on Christmas morning for real.
Brian
Hi Ilitch,I got the BPNCS last week. Tried to install it myself but I think my soldering was a bit sloppy. I got rid of 60-cycle hum but had all sorts of crackling and high frequency noises I didn’t have before. Then I took my guitar to a tech, Matt, from 30th street guitars in NYC, who did a great job. The guitar is dead quiet now, very impressive. I almost went with noiseless pickups and now I am very glad I didn’t. Matt actually said he had installed the backplate in other guitars but that he has never seen it work as well as it is working in my guitar. It’s really like night and day. Thanks for coming up with this system!
Fernando
Hey Ilitch,
I’m loving the backplate strat noise cancelling system I bought and installed. It’s an amazing invention, and so refreshing to hear how my strat sounds without the hum. Amazing…
Avi
Hi Ilitch,
Mission completed!
I adjusted the trimmers and the hum is completely gone! Like you usually don’t hear on a strat!
Fabio
Illitch,I finally finished the Strat with your noise canceling system installed and it works as well as my Suhr Strat. Thanks for the great invention, it’s much appreciated.
John Kelley Brown
Dyna Dist Overdrive pedals
Review submitted at Harmony Central, Price Paid: US $250
Ease of Use: 7
The pedal has a very good tone to start with. Although I had never heard of “Dyna distortion” before, once I spent some time with it, I realized this pedal has a very unique quality. It takes a little bit of time to find just the right tone since the range is very dynamic.
Sound Quality: 10
I use the classic one pedal with a crate mosfet head and a Fender Stratocaster guitar and it seems to add a more dynamic frequency range to my overall sound. It can get noisy at the full, clockwise position, but all that you have to do is roll it back just a bit. When I first tried the Ilitch Classic One, I noticed that my guitar cut through in a way I had never heard before. The highs and lows were both bright, vibrant, and in your face.
Reliability: 10
very rugged, roadworthy design.
Customer Support: 10
The company expresses great interest in customer satisfaction.
Overall Rating: 10
Great tone quality. A very unique pedal. I would recommend it to any guitarist in search of the perfect tone. Submitted by Sado at 01/23/2005 23:32