Conversation Between Ax and CheshireCat

Something like that, yes.

Fenders do offer more noise than, say, a Gibson. 60 cycle hum may be the wrong term to use but they can get pretty nasty sounding. Of course this is the same snake oil tactics that computer monitor and TV manufacturers use when they talk about dynamic contrast ratios and response rates.

Well, yes and no. The 60 cycle hum goes away when you ground the strings by touching them, i.e., when you play.

I guess I see what you mean, but what started out as poor design has kind of become a feature these days. It's what people expect when they buy a fender. Honestly, I don't own a fender, I just have another REALLY noisy guitar. And I use it when I want extra harsh sounds, and it delivers. A fender would just about serve the same purpose.

"I love my noisy pickups... You say tomato, I say rutabaga."

Well, I'll be the first to tell you that I don't have that much of an issue with 60 cycle hum, from the stand point that it is a rather pleasing sound. After all, it doesn't sound like a chirping smoke detector with a low battery, or an incessantly beeping alarm clock.

Still, nevertheless, I think it's quite a bit of spin doctoring to paint it as a virtue of nostalgic design.

I don't remember exactly what I said but I could have sworn I said that I like my noisy guitar instead of pickups... Either way... I like noisy guitars.

Your pickups aren't noisy . . . your electronics are . . .