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Thread: Why do so many people hate the Tele neck pickup?

  1. #41
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    Re: Why do so many people hate the Tele neck pickup?

    I reckon that a lot of people set up their sound, drive, pedals, eq etc. based on the one or other pickup (I'd hazard a guess at mostly the bridge), which based on tone, output level, when playing live doesn't lend itself to just flicking the switch, as much as with other guitars.

  2. #42
    Forum Member Kap'n's Avatar
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    Re: Why do so many people hate the Tele neck pickup?

    Quote Originally Posted by fatdog View Post
    I reckon that a lot of people set up their sound, drive, pedals, eq etc. based on the one or other pickup (I'd hazard a guess at mostly the bridge), which based on tone, output level, when playing live doesn't lend itself to just flicking the switch, as much as with other guitars.

    That's it in a nutshell, as Wilko and others have said - most aren't well balanced with the bridge pickup - which is where many if not most, Telecaster Signature Sounds® live. They can be great by themselves, but not as part of a matched pair, unless you explore some options.

    I like the CS Texas Tele and the Twisted Tele, which are at the very least neighbors if not roommates.
    Several guitars in different colors
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  3. #43
    Forum Member buckaroo's Avatar
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    Re: Why do so many people hate the Tele neck pickup?

    Quote Originally Posted by Kap'n View Post
    I think it has a lot to do with the contrast between it and the bridge pickup.

    what he said

  4. #44
    Forum Member ronworld's Avatar
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    Re: Why do so many people hate the Tele neck pickup?

    The Tele neck pickup on some guitars in the past have been a bit 'iffy' On my oldest Tele I replaced it long time ago with a Kent Armstrong vintage Tele,. Its a blues monster! I love the Tele neck sound. The amp your using will make the difference though. Mostly I use a Marshall combo which is naturally brighter than a Fat Fender. I use a Blues Junior though and wow! All my Tele's sound great through it.
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  5. #45
    ZoneFiend photoweborama's Avatar
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    Re: Why do so many people hate the Tele neck pickup?

    Some say it tends to sound muddy. I think that is due to the metal cover on it. It does not have that snap that a Strat has because of the cover. you can get Tele pickups without the cover, but I find that I like it just the way it is.

    The N+B combo on a Tele is really sweet. I can get that combo on my strat, but it in no way sound anything like the Tele.

  6. #46
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    Re: Why do so many people hate the Tele neck pickup?

    Ok. I'm new to Teles. I've always been a Strat guy or a 335 guy, the worst kind of split personality. I'm considering replacing stock pickups in my Mexican Nashville Tele, just the bridge and neck. I looked at the current Fender vintagy offerings. Kinda hard to tell much from that when the range of stats and parameters of the specs aren't consistent from one style to the next. The Seymour Duncan web site is superior and much more logical in the set up to be able to compare pickups with very consistently recorded sound demos of each. I spent hours listening and comparing pickups. I was trying to really split hairs. But you'd have to have incredibly well trained hearing to hear any significant differences.
    In any case I find it curious that the general complaint about Tele neck pickups is that they are weak relative to the bridge, that the in between setting suffers. I've found with many Gibson humbucker equipped guitars that the neck pickup is too loud and needs to be backed way down to get a closer match in volume with the bridge. To me most humbucker pickup sets don't have enough spread in output to match the relative volumes when set to similar heights.
    I've also noticed that many vintagy neck Tele pickups have a higher DC resistance (output?) rating than the bridge pickups. I assume that's in an attempt deal with the relative volume issues. Yes?

  7. #47
    Forum Member Fried Okra's Avatar
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    Re: Why do so many people hate the Tele neck pickup?

    IDK. I play the neck pickup more than the bridge.
    My other love is a TELECASTER. But don't tell my Les Paul.

  8. #48
    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: Why do so many people hate the Tele neck pickup?

    Quote Originally Posted by Fried Okra View Post
    IDK. I play the neck pickup more than the bridge.
    I don't have the issue with my 2013 AmStd Tele. It was well balanced with the stock pickups, same with the Nocasters I put in it.

    I play a lot on the neck pickup too.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

  9. #49
    Forum Member DanTheBluesMan's Avatar
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    Re: Why do so many people hate the Tele neck pickup?

    I find myself on the neck pickup a lot and the middle position, too.
    "Live and learn and flip the burns"

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