What Is Your Favorite Tele Pickups

**Tim C.** · 12-06-2002, 10:12 AM

I bought a MIM Tele Thinline reissue and was considering changing the bridge pickup. What pickups are you guys using? Or does the MIM pickup sound about the same as a MIA Tele? It looks like the bridge pup may not be potted.

Tim C.

**Butch Snyder** · 12-06-2002, 02:08 PM

Here's what I have used.

1. I have used Tex-Mex pickups - Didn't like'em. Too muddy and no tone.

2. Duncan Nashville Studios, now called 5-2's - Nice, but not quite sparkly enough for me.

3. Duncan Vintage Stacks - Very nice. A bit too nice. They didn't sound rude enough when I wanted them to.

4. Rio Grande Tallboy Neck. Supposed to be Stratty. Not to my ears.

5. Rio Grande Tallboy Bridge - People says it's really chimy. It just sounded thin to me.

6. Duncan APTL-3JD (Jerry Donahue model) - My favorite!! Very smooth yet punchy and sparkly on the highend. Great sustain and they do Blues fantastically.

8. Duncan Quarter-Pounder - I liked them. They were very ballsy; kind of like a Tele pickup that wanted to be a P-90. with the right touch, they would clean up well.

9. EMG-TC Set - These were the EMG's with ceramic magnets. I hated them. Very hi-fi, but absolutely no twang whatsoever.

10. Fender American Standard Tele pickups - These came stock in my Tele. They're alright; but there's much better out there.

11. DiMarzio Virtual T set - Okay, but just that...
Cheers,

pc · 12-06-2002, 04:05 PM

Great info Butch...

Tim, in my AmSe Ash/Maple Tele, I've used:

1) Standard AmSe Tele bridge: Sounded great in general, a little too ice-picky at times, and not wax potted so it squealed with overdrive at higher volumes.

2) Barden Tele bridge: Loud like crazy and in yo' face, seemed like it would be the bomb for chickin' pickin', but a bit too bright for me.

3) EMG active Tele bridge: Actually quite nice. Very reminicscent of the original AmSe, but louder and no noise. They didn't belong to me or I might have kept them in. Good for Rock IMO, but probably not country/chickin' pickin'.

4) SD Tele Hot Rails: great snarling tone with overdrive, but I didn't like it clean in any way, nor mixed with the neck pup.

5) BL L280: Very nice, noiseless, slightly lacking in the pizzazz department. I'd describe it as 90% of the original AmSe pup tone.

6) Kinman AVN-60: I'd describe it as roughly 98% of the tone of the original AmSe pup with no noise and no squeal. It's what I went with and I've never regretted it on that Tele.

**Marcondo** · 12-06-2002, 05:19 PM

Here is what I tried in the bridge position.

I was loking for a very specific tone the Roy Buchanan sound.

Started with a Duncan Broadcaster

Excellent pup but wasnt quite the right tone

Then a Duncan Antiquity

Closer to what I was after a little more distorted than the Broadcaster but still not quite right.

Peter Florance Voodoo Broadcaster

This was great as close as your gonna get on a new pickup but it still didnt completly nail the tone I was after.

Then I tried the pup from my 1953 Fender Champion Lap Steel.

This gave me the exact sound I was after. Roy used a 53 Tele once I had the old 53 pickup in there I could nail that tone.

Fralins and Van Zandts are also really good as friends of mine tell me I never got around to trying those cause the old 53 pickup did exactly what I wanted.

**Tim C.** · 12-06-2002, 06:29 PM

Thanks for the run down on pickups guys. I am kind of curious as to what quality level the MIM Tele pickups are. The ones in the Thinline don't really sound that bad, I am just a stickler for wanting to know that I have quality parts in my guitars.

I am really surprised at the quality of fit and finish on this Tele. I am usually only a top of the line made in America kind of guy. Not that I am stuck up but just that it is easier to get your money back on higher end guitars. I played this one though and couldn't believe how easy it played. The frets are perfectly dressed on the edges. Better than some of my MIA Strats of the past.

Now if I could just play like Butch I would have it made. :lol

Tim C.

**Butch Snyder** · 12-06-2002, 08:07 PM

I'll tell ya what, the pickups in the MIM 69 RI Thinline as well as the MIM 50's RI Tele are very nice. The bridge model even has the white cloth yarn protecting the copper windings. They modeled after the 52 pickups.

**Teleologist** · 12-07-2002, 09:28 AM

I played one of the first MIM '69s right out of the box at the local dealer(an ash/maple burst). Much nicer than the MIJ version IMO - I was almost tempted - I even had a set of Texas Tele PUPs & a 4-way switch for it at home, so you know what I would have done. But I really didn't need another Tele. I remember it being resonant and bright acoustically with nice piano like sounds out of the wound strings and a little too 'Strat-like' bright on the top end for my tastes thru an amp.

My fav Tele bridge PUP for the last 8 years is a SD JD but that came in a Donahue Tele with an upsidasium ash body/maple neck. It can nail all those Brent Mason, Jimmie Olander / 'modern' Nashville sounds with a BF fender. Some people love this PUP, others besides Butch feel it's too dark and I suspect a lot depends on the individual guitar. Probably work great if your '69 is anything like the one I played and you're looking for that sound. It also prefers BF/SF amps and needs fresh strings to sound it's best.

I'd agree with the description of a Vintage Stack as polite. I have one in a Glaser Tele(ash/maple) along with an SD '59 neck 'bucker. It needed a little tweaking of the pots and tone cap to get the top end sounding more Tele-like(helped the 'bucker too), but the main reason it's in there is because it's quiet.

About 10 years ago I went thru a bunch of PUPs trying to get a '66 Tele Custom(alder body/rosewood board neck) to sound like what I was hearing in my head and never quite got there - that whole experience made me a believer in ash/maple Teles. The best I did on that one was a Fralin. At the time Lindy suggested starting with an moderate overwind which could be 'un-wound' to be brighter. I don't remember where we started, but the PUP ended up at 6.8K. If you're good with a soldering iron and patient enough to deal with tiny wires, unwinding isn't that difficult to do yourself. Along similar lines one real nice thing about Duncan is their PUP exchange program.

FWIW, I wouldn't swap out or dismiss current Fender(or Gibson) PUPs just for the sake of doing it - although I don't know what's in the MIMs. This isn't the CBS-70s and many of the Fender PUPs sound really great. If you like what you hear leave it unless there's some specific thing you want to change(less highs, more mids, less mids, more output, quiet). I also think there's a limit as I found with the '66. If you've been thru a bunch of PUPs and it's still not doing what you want, maybe the guitar is to blame. My Donahue Tele had the sound I heard in my head the very first time I plugged it in! What amps you use also makes a big difference - for example tweeds have more mids and less top-end than the BF/SF amps. Then there's picks, strings, technique....

**Phil Jacoby** · 12-07-2002, 11:27 AM

A solid recommendation for the Jerry Donahue SD. I like it a lot.

I've tried the Nashville 5/2 and the D is funny, and the whole thing a little thin.

Bardens - too firm for me

SD Vintage Stack - anemic

Tried some Fralin rewinds and didn't get exactly what I wanted.

I heard some Rolphs once that were fantastic, but I bet thge guitar had a lot to do with it.

Jes my personal opinion. Good luck finding your fav!

**Tonebender** · 12-07-2002, 11:32 AM

I'm surprised no one recommended the Fender Nocaster pup......

**Marcondo** · 12-07-2002, 02:08 PM

There are alot of people that dont look at the higher priced MIM series. I have found they are actually better than most of the USA made Fenders. The fit and finish is way better. The electronics are the same CTS pots and switches they use in the CS models so the MIM;s are really just painted and assembled in Mexico the wood itself is cut in the USA.

My last 4 Fender purchases were all MIM's

50's Classic Tele 60's Classic Tele Jimmie Vaughan Strat and 60's Classic Jazz BASS all MIM's and all flawless workmanship.

**Tim C.** · 12-07-2002, 02:37 PM

Originally posted by Tonebender
I'm surprised no one recommended the Fender Nocaster pup......

I wonder how it sounds? I haven't heard one.

Tim C.

**Teleologist** · 12-07-2002, 03:50 PM

Don't know about the new version, but a 10K flat-pole version is what originally came in my bender Tele. It's a little ruder and distorts nicer than the JD and may be a better choice for blues or rock IMO. If you change the tone cap to a .022uF it'll still twang pretty good too. Some of them tend to be a little microphonic, but some of the best old Tele bridge PUPs were too. It would be in my '58 'garage sale' Esquire but that one has an original Red Rhoades Velvet Hammer I picked up at a vintage show - BIG Marty Stewart sounds out of that PUP ;)

**SteveB334** · 12-07-2002, 09:23 PM

What about the regular vintage RI 52 pup? I love mine and they are pretty cheap. Try one b4 you spend a whole bunch of cash on boutiques, unless u want to spend a whole lot of cash. Good luck

**EarlE** · 12-08-2002, 10:38 PM

I like the stock ones in my '52RI and the
Bill Lawrence L280N/L290TL in a '62
Custom MIJ RI. Both sound different but
I like that. There are still quite a few other
brands I would like to hear and try though
for another Tele down the road.

**SteveK** · 12-09-2002, 01:07 AM

Another vote for the SD JS pickup. I have one in the bridge of my MIJ 50's Tele and it's a very nice old-school Tele tone with a bit of a rude edge to it. In the same guitar I use a Fender '52 vintage neck pickup, which I can't speak too highly of.

My other T-type is a Yamaha Pacifica Mike Stern model, whihc has a SD Tele hot rails in at the bridge. It still retains that Tele top-end but is very, very hot. The Yamaha also has a SD '59 humbucker at the neck position. A great hot-rodded Tele straight out of the box.

Cheers - Steve

**James Tonguet** · 12-09-2002, 05:49 AM

Just wired up my no f-hole Thinline with Texas specials .

They work very well for my style. They have spank , the neck is warm without being muddy. And when driven they retain clarity. I played a friends 57 Tele for a few months and the bridge is much more edgy on it, but the neck is worthless. When driven they lose clarity. I am using a brass nut so that probably adds a bit of sparkle.

I have Fralin vintage Hots on my Strat , they are a bit better clean , but a little more muddy when driven.

**Butch Snyder** · 12-09-2002, 07:30 AM

Originally posted by bluesgtr20
What about the regular vintage RI 52 pup? I love mine and they are pretty cheap. Try one b4 you spend a whole bunch of cash on boutiques, unless u want to spend a whole lot of cash. Good luck

Yes, I think the 52RI pickup, which Fender sells by itself as the "Original Vintage Tele pickup" is a very nice one. I have just never owned one.

**mountain blues** · 12-10-2002, 01:12 AM

Originally posted by bluesgtr20
What about the regular vintage RI 52 pup? I love mine and they are pretty cheap. Try one b4 you spend a whole bunch of cash on boutiques, unless u want to spend a whole lot of cash. Good luck

I have an '02 '52 RI Tele, and I agree that the pickups really have a great vintage feel and tone, and that is why I will not mod this guitar at all. The problem I have with them is the weaker neck output.

I have three other Teles, with Harmonic Designs and Kinman pickups in them, and the balanced output in these pickups creates a much better-playing guitar, for me.

Ultimately, I would go with Kinmans as my desert-island Tele set, though the HD '54 Specials come real close.

**Butch Snyder** · 12-10-2002, 05:39 AM

Hey Mountain Blues,

Does your 52 RI have the old style wiring config? If so, that would explain the weak neck tone.

**Dale** · 12-10-2002, 08:04 AM

I have the new Nocaster clean in my fat tele. It does a nice tele bridge tone to me. I have a lead I played in a country gospel instrumental if you want to hear it drop me a note and I can email an MP3 or something.

Dale

**Butch Snyder** · 12-10-2002, 08:15 AM

Send it...

**Dale** · 12-10-2002, 12:48 PM

It is on the way. Check your email.

Country Gospel: Amazing Grace
Guitar: US Fat Tele (Ash) Nocaster Clean (7.3K) Bridge

Dale

**Butch Snyder** · 12-10-2002, 01:20 PM

Man that pickup has got some really honkin' twang!:bigal

**Bob Craver** · 12-10-2002, 01:47 PM

If yer looking for the Buchanan sound try a Barden with the height adjustment set fairly low. Danny specifically asked Joe to try and capture that sound when Joe was developing his pickups. Don't forget that Roy could get his sound out of any of his guitars (his Les Paul included) and had quit using Nancy for several years before his death.

**Dale** · 12-10-2002, 02:00 PM

Originally posted by Butch Snyder
Man that pickup has got some really honkin' twang!:bigal

So, is that good? I like the tone.

Dale

**Butch Snyder** · 12-10-2002, 02:03 PM

Sounds good to me.

**Dale** · 12-10-2002, 02:10 PM

I was actually pretty surprised by it. It had more the tele vibe than I had expected given it was not the 10K version. I also figured the output would be too low to deal with the Fender bucker in the neck, but it has been pretty decent (The rhythm parts of that tune are acoustic; D-15; and the neck pup of the same guitar). I figured I would try it and go with a Tex. Special, SD of some flavor, or a Harmonic Design. But, I liked it so well I have never considered changing it out. It works for me.

Dale

**Butch Snyder** · 12-10-2002, 02:15 PM

Originally posted by Dale
I was actually pretty surprised by it. It had more the tele vibe than I had expected given it was not the 10K version. I also figured the output would be too low to deal with the Fender bucker in the neck, but it has been pretty decent. I figured I would try it and go with a Tex. Special, SD of some flavor, or a Harmonic Design. But, I liked it so well I have never considered changing it out. It works for me.

Dale

That's really great to hear. I'm pretty jazzed by the pickup itself.

People keep telling me that my Tele sounds great and that they don't know why I need new pickups. I guess I'm looking for my own niche. I don't want to be a Brent Mason, Albert Lee, Jerry Donahue, Jerry Reed, Brad Paisley, etc. clone. I'm working on that. I actually had the idea of taking the modern Tele tone and mixing with a little Blues grit and snarl and, while keeping it clean, presenting that as my ideal tone. Brad Paisley beat me to it.

**Dale** · 12-10-2002, 02:23 PM

Originally posted by Butch Snyder

That's really great to hear. I'm pretty jazzed by the pickup itself.

People keep telling me that my Tele sounds great and that they don't know why I need new pickups. I guess I'm looking for my own niche. I don't want to be a Brent Mason, Albert Lee, Jerry Donahue, Jerry Reed, Brad Paisley, etc. clone. I'm working on that. I actually had the idea of taking the modern Tele tone and mixing with a little Blues grit and snarl and, while keeping it clean, presenting that as my ideal tone. Brad Paisley beat me to it.

Yes, Brad has a nice tele tone.

Dale

**mountain blues** · 12-11-2002, 09:06 PM

Originally posted by Butch Snyder
Hey Mountain Blues,

Does your 52 RI have the old style wiring config? If so, that would explain the weak neck tone.

Hi Butch,
No, the very first thing I did was convert the neck wiring to the modern setup.

**Butch Snyder** · 12-12-2002, 05:50 AM

Interesting....

I always thought the neck pickup on the 52RI was pretty decent. Now, IMO, the neck pickup on those guitars is kind of mellow. At least to my ears.

**Dale** · 12-12-2002, 08:20 AM

Need a bucker in the neck.

Dale

**Butch Snyder** · 12-12-2002, 08:32 AM

Mini-bucker!:bigal :bigal

**Teleologist** · 12-12-2002, 09:33 AM

FWIW Fender changed to a nickel silver cover on the '52RI neck PUP not long ago to improve the tone. I believe the Texas Tele version always had one. My 3 have a Strat PUP, a full-sized bucker, and none so you can probably guess where I stand ;)

**Dale** · 12-12-2002, 01:01 PM

This weeks perfect combo ... to me ...

Neck: SD Alnico Pro II (splittable and potted) or 4 conductor SD 59.
Bridge: Nocaster (7.3K version).

Dale

**mountain blues** · 12-12-2002, 04:59 PM

Originally posted by Butch Snyder
Interesting....

I always thought the neck pickup on the 52RI was pretty decent. Now, IMO, the neck pickup on those guitars is kind of mellow. At least to my ears.

The neck pickup in the '52 RI is excellent. It is just that the output isn't balanced between the neck and bridge, so switching back and forth you get a pretty big change in volume. Even with the neck pickup raised up...

I just prefer the pickups that are made to have even output between the two.

**Plankspanker** · 12-24-2002, 10:02 PM

I followed Marcondo's post and used a pickup from a '50 Fender Lapsteel measuring 9.1K. It took some work to put new leads on it and mount it on a piece of bakelite then glue it onto a metal
Tele Bridge pickup baseplate, then onto a Fender 3 saddle Vintage Bridge. It has the absolute best Broadcaster cutting twang, moreso that any of the other leading contenders.

I've got a Christian Neck pickup on the way.

**rdavis81** · 01-08-2003, 04:48 PM

I am a big fan of Harmonic Designs 54 Strat PUP's as I have them in my Parker Nite Fly. They are easily my fave pickups. Harmonic Designs also makes a 54 Strat pickup that will fit in the tele neck position without any mod's to the bod ! They also have another neck pickup they call their vintage plus which I expect to be a bit darker/hotter. This is a sure fire way to mix strat tone in the neck with the bark of the tele pickups in the bridge to come up
with something very unique. I have ordered a 54 HD neck PUP for my masterbuilt tele because I have never really like any of the tele neck pickups because they lack the bottom I get from my strats. If you are interested here is the web address www.harmonicdesign.net

**mountain blues** · 01-08-2003, 05:31 PM

Originally posted by rdavis81
I am a big fan of Harmonic Designs 54 Strat PUP's as I have them in my Parker Nite Fly. They are easily my fave pickups. Harmonic Designs also makes a 54 Strat pickup that will fit in the tele neck position without any mod's to the bod ! They also have another neck pickup they call their vintage plus which I expect to be a bit darker/hotter. This is a sure fire way to mix strat tone in the neck with the bark of the tele pickups in the bridge to come up
with something very unique. I have ordered a 54 HD neck PUP for my masterbuilt tele because I have never really like any of the tele neck pickups because they lack the bottom I get from my strats. If you are interested here is the web address www.harmonicdesign.net

HD's are great pickups. I have both the '54 Specials and the V+. Yes the V+ set is richer, "hotter" and less twangy.

**Jammin'John** · 01-20-2003, 10:11 AM

I have a custom tele w/ash body & SD alnicoII pups. They are not HOT pups so you can put them pretty close to the strings. The neck pup is VERY warm and WOODY sounding,the bridge really CUTS in a good kind of way.The two in parallel jangle nicely and in series they kick my old Deluxe over the top. :ths

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