best pups to get that 52 sound?

[seanw1010]

ive got a deluxe ash tele which i love, but i want some good pups, other than the noiseless ones. what pups(including boutique) best replicate that classic 52 sound? thanks!

[tugboat]

Before I took a break from the guitar I had a Tele with a Voodoo TE50's pickup in the bridge. I really liked it. Despite the ohm reading (9.1k) it had plenty of bite and twang with the tone on the guitar dimed. It kinda had a Roy Buchannanish vibe to it. I think it sounded kinda steel guitarish. Somewhere inbetween a super bright, snappy bakersfield twang pickup and a P90. The Nocaster pickups I've tried in the CS Nocasters have all sounded really good too.

Here's a list of some of the more popular flatpole pickups from here and the TDPRI (in no particular order):

Voodoo TE50's (he also has a broadcaster pickup clone)
O.C. Duff
Duncan Antiquity
Fred Stuart Blackguard
Lindy Fralin (stock for a brighter twangier sound, blues special for a rounder sound)
Don Mare
Jason Lollar
Fender CS Nocaster
GFS has a great reputation for pickups for the money
Alan Hamel (be prepared for a super-long wait for pickups and absolutely zero customer service with Alan Hamel though)

You really can't go wrong with any of them. People have their favorites and you'll get a different answer from everyone as to what they prefer, but they all wind outstanding pickups and are all safe bets. If you contact the small shop winders (Voodoo, O.C. Duff, Fralin, Mare, Lollar) they'll talk to you and wind you exactly what you want based on guitar, amp, and style; if you don't like the end result they have great return policies and will tweak the pickup according to what you didn't like about it.

[Marcondo]

Start with OV 52's from Fender.

Ditto those or the Nocasters will do the trick no need for expensive ones here.

[Tonedog]

Yep...
Fender Original Vintage 52 are good, Custom Shop Nocaster pickups are good, and I also like the Fralin Tele Pickups.

Any of those would be a good choice.