Your favorite tele pups

[95strat]

I'm looking at getting a tele sometime in the future (just waiting on the funds). In the meantime I was wondering what the best pups (in your opinion) are for the standar tele.

I would probably try to find a good used AmStd and upgrade the pups is what I'm getting at.

I have TxSps in my strat and have heard good things about them in teles, but was wondering what else is out there.

[frank thomson]

personally, i dont like TS in my teles.....

i do, however, like putting an amer stand neck pup in every fender tele i have. ......yep, thats my rule

and the only non-fender pup i install into fenders is a g&l neck pup.....its pretty damn hot.

i also really like my *orig 52's* in my pseudo52

don't like NOISELESS, or SC's either

imnsho ;)

[telecast]

Conversely, I love TS in my Tele. Please see my signature line.

And, you should NEVER listen to Frank. He's always wrong.

Seriously.

Never.

[dez]

Bardens. They're in my Gatton Tele and are the best pickups I've ever used.

[Don]

This is a loaded question.

The 5% overwound Fralins in my swamp ash USACG T-Style sound fantastic. Very twangy. Very country, but really good for all music.

The original bridge pickup in my alder bodied '96 Am. Std. sounds great. It's very smooth and warm. It's very evenly eq'd. Less country than the USACG T-Style. The neck pickup is muddy tough. These pickups are a little hotter than the 5% overwound Fralins.
The guitar is a little darker and smoother with any pickups than the USACG T-Style and the pickups match it well.

Neither guitar sounds as good to me if I swap pickups between them though!

So my answer would have to be that it depends on the guitar.

[95strat]

Thanks for the responces guys. Since I have that TS neck pup sound in my strat maybe I should go with something really hot...something that really likes overdrive.

I've found that my strat TS pups can get muddy with to much overdrive (moded TS-9). I play through a tweed amp as well (wish I had something more "British" for the overdrive side...I need a Rivera).

Any more suggestions?

[sabby]

Those who know say that the TS Strat pups and CS Texas Tele Specials are really different animals.

You like overdrive? Hmm. The traditional tones are maple/ash/brass (rockabilly sound) or alder/rosewood/steel (country sound)? Actually the neck probably has less to do with things than body and saddles. Maybe go with brass saddles and and ash body? That doesn't mean you need to be traditional, though.

Research Fender Nocasters too. And search the TDPRI, as it has gads of info on Tele pups

[cooltone]

Another vote for Texas Specials. I have them in both of my teles. In all fairness, I have not tried any other pups (besides the stock ones I replaced) due to $$ restrictions. The TS are an inexpensive upgrade.

[95strat]

Thanks Sabby. I'm all for a maple neck...that's what I'm use to and seems to be the most popular on a tele anyway. I was wondering what wood to go with. I haven't play many ash bodies.

I just need to find a tele with TS pups in it and play it. The best judge is the ear anyway. However, it's nice to get input from you experienced dudes.

[SteveB334]

I am thinking about getting either Fred Stuarts Blackguard pups or maybe even OC Duffs nancy replica for my esquire. But for right now I really like the 52 RI tele pups. I think they are highly underestimated

[Tele-Bob]

Fender '52s. It's as Tele as it gets.

Kinmans are great too if you dig noiseless p'ups.

[Offshore Angler]

Bardens are the best for me. SD Antiquities are a close second. The SD's have that nice breakup.

[Falstaff]

The Voodoo 60's are my favorite pickup.

[Fendercrazy]

Another vote for the 52 RI. Also the Dimarzio Twang Kings...

[Wallace]

52ri for me too.

[ragtweed]

I put the TS p'ups in my beatercaster (Muddy Waters wannabe/$200 flea-bay special) and it transformed it into a pretty decent axe. I also shielded everything with Stew-Mac paint and installed a set of Callaham stainless compensated saddles. I used this Tele for the JamZone stuff.

[BigMikeD]

I still can't find a reason to try anything else in my '52 RI. The stock AV pups that are in the guitar are perfect.

[Kelsey]

SD Antiquity I flatpole set, Fender Nocaster set, SD Jerry Donahue or STL-2 Hot lead with a PAF-style HB or Phat Cat/P90. I also like a good vintage output lead like the Antiquity with a Firebird-style mini-HB at the neck. I am using all of these in otherwise stock American Series Teles for blues-based music.

[Cottage]

I've got a Texas Tele and its got "hot vintage" p/ups in it. I like these a lot. Anyone know anything about these pickups? They don't seem to be available from Fender as replacements.

[xStonr]

I went from stock to Nocasters, to SD Antiquitys. And the Antiquitys are awesome sounding pickups. I'm done with pickups for this guitar.

[DoobieK]

I've tried a bunch and my favs are Kinman AVN Broadcasters, with his other model Tele pups coming in second.

Among the others trieduncan Vintage Stack, Duncan Broadcaster, Dimarzio Virtual T, Rio Grande (not sure which model, bought them used) Stock Amer. Std.

[refin]

Haven't tried too many other than stock,but Lawrence sure sound good.My current favs are a set from a MIM '60s tele.....they have alot of character,especially the bridge.

[pc]

Custom Shop Texas Tele pickups are my current favorites, but my Fralin Blues set has now arrived and is awaiting me having just a few friggin' moments to myself to warm up the iron. So... I'll reserve judgment.

For noiseless, I have to say (with real amazement) that I'm blown away by Duncan vintage stack pickups. Still prefer "normal" to noiseless, but having one of my Teles with hum-free pickups is nice for a couple of the electrical code disaster clubs we play in. I've used and enjoyed Fender VNs and Kinman AVN-60s, but nothing sounds more like the real thing (for my tastes, my ears, etc.) than the Vintage Stacks--esp. the bridge pickup. I imagine the big, honkin' metal baseplate on it has something to do with that. :)

[95strat]

Well, I borrowed a friends Am Tele and he has TxSps in it...so I'm testing them out. I think I like them, but don't have anything else to compare them to!

[trahx]

I have these 3:
MIM Tele - Fralin Blues Specials
MIM Tele - Fender CS Texas Specials
Am Std Tele - Stock pups

And the winner is...........

Am Std with stock pups (especially the neck). Although the Fralins and TS's sound very nice, I gotta go with the stockers - great Tele tone!
:nicholas

[jim in texas]

Most of ya'll already know this but maybe some don't...........

a big part of a tele's tone is in the setup and pickup height.

The setup can make an average sounding pickup sound great and a killer pickup sound average.

[fezz parka]

My advice is to get the guitar first, set it up properly, and see how it sounds. Jim's post above is right on.:yay

My favorite Tele pickups are the Custom Shop Texas Special Teles.

[semaj2000]

I'm usin a Jerry Donahue bridge and a Duncun AlnicoII neck in my Tele clone ,love it..

[pc]

Okay, finally got a few minutes to myself on Monday and installed my Fralin Blues Deluxe (into an alder/maple Tele). Haven't gigged it yet, so the full report is yet to come, but the initial impressions are highly favorable.

As warm, full and dark as the Texas Tele pickups, but the neck pickup has a clarity that really surprises. We can discuss all day the fact that the absence of the nickel cover on the neck pickup really moves it over to Strat-land, but that aside, it's really damn impressive.

The Fralin bridge pickup is kind of the same--more clarity, thus lacking a bit of the rude snarl of the Texas Tele. I kind of like the snarl though. The real test will be seeing how it all fits in with the band(s), so I'll follow up later.

The only weird thing was that this is my 3-pickup Tele, and even though the Fralin schematic on their 'site says to wire the black to ground and white (well, yellowish) to the switch--exactly like the Texas Teles--doing so caused the middle pickup to drop out of phase. The '2' and '4' positions were nearly non-existant and lacked all midrange tone.

I switched the wires on the middle, putting black to the switch and yellow to ground, and all was well. Weird, but whatever.

The Fralins are RWRP unto themselves, so I have noise cancellation in the '4' and '3' positions on the switch. Normally I'd say the bridge is the actual RWRP pickup (instead of the neck as on the Texas Teles), but that effect could be simply because I had to swap the leads on the middle pickup.

Anyway... I really love them so far. I'll use it on a jam soon so you can hear them in action if you'd like. :)

[chuckocaster]

okay, didn't read thru the posts but here's mine (i play old skool rock), in no particular order:

duncan broadcaster, fender custom shop 10k nocaster, duncan antiquities (i don't play this pup but i listen to it every time i play in my band :yay), rio grande muy grande.

those are my votes. remember though that it's "somewhat cheap", "still pretty cheap", "kinda expensive", "same as the first 2". price doesn't always matter with pups. you gotta find what works for you. like jim and fezz said, a big part of a tele's sound (or any guitar for that matter to me) is the set up. you have to get it set up so it feels comfortable to you. if you need more top end lower the action and straighten the neck. you need more "meat and fat", loosen everything up.

[RocketMan]

SD antiquities (I) and brass saddles in the 3-saddle bridge. Nails that Roy B. blowtorch tone. (Hint: for mucho fun don't forget the Tone Pot mod to take it out of circuit at full tilt! Let that bridge pup scream.)