Has there been a final recommendation from the great tele pickup
debate?
Which pups win?
Butch, I want you in on this.
Has there been a final recommendation from the great tele pickup
debate?
Which pups win?
Butch, I want you in on this.
You can never have too
much music in your life.
Shit, there are so many good ones out there, and so many different needs of tele players that I couldn't pick just one. Best for rosewood f/b on a alder body AMS bridge playing rock? Playing country? Jazz? Ash maple combo vintage bridge?
Last edited by Fendercrazy; 03-10-2003 at 12:55 PM.
My point exactly..............
You can never have too
much music in your life.
Pretty sure Butch ended up where he started - with(my fav for country) an SD JD bridge PUP. Not sure what happened with the neck PUP though.
My fav 'Tele' neck PUP is 'D: - none of the above';) My Donahue Tele has a Strat neck PUP, the Glaser Bender Tele has a SD '59 SH1 Zebra, and my Esquire really does have none. :)
Last edited by Teleologist; 03-11-2003 at 07:41 AM.
Hey guys,
I just happened on this thread. Teleologist is right. I ended up back where I started; with a Duncan APTL-3JD (Jerry Donahue model) in the bridge. I ordered a new pickguard from Warmoth that was routed for a Strat pickup in the middle as well as the neck. I installed a Texas Special Strat pickup in the neck. There was already one in the middle.
For me, it wasn't that I couldn't find really nice pickups out there, and ended up where I started. It was that the JD is the best Tele bridge pickup for me. I can only imagine how great it would sound in an ash-bodied Tele. Mine's poplar.
Stroker Ace is also right. There are so may variables concerning this choice. I would start off weighing these factors:
1. What type of tone am I looking for?
2. If I have a Tele with a mohogany neck and body and a rosewood fretboard, what do I need if I want it to snap and pop like ash?
3. What type of material is my Tele's body, neck, and fretboard made of?
4. What type of hardware do I have?
5. What is my amp setup?
6. What is my effects setup?
7. What's my right-hand technique like?
Answer these questions and you can be on your way. I tried out a bunch of pickups. Not one was bad; but none floored me either. That's why I reevaluated the JD model.
Cheers,
I am always hesitant to recommed any pups.... personal taste, the particular player, and each guitar amp gear combo make it a crap shoot at best.
The key is to match the pup with your needs, your guitar, your playing and equipment.
I found a Nocaster clean 10.5k bridge and a Vintage neck to put me in Tele sonic nirvana with my ash body, maple neck franken Tele, for others this may not work.
The best sounding Tele I ever owned was my old '51. My current Tele is a '54.
The Fralin Blues Specials with Lindy's almost flat hybrid stagger are the ones I feel get the best '51 type tone, and those are what I now have in my '54. The original '54 pickups stay in the case.
The neck Blues Special pickup is the richest, best sounding neck pickup I've ever heard and the bridge pickup is the equal to anything I've ever used...new or vintage.
I prefer the tone of those hotter bridge pickups made from '53 and before, with the '51 being my favorite.
That's the tone I get from the Fralin Blues Special brdge pickup...and like I said, the neck pickup is even better.
The Fralin neck Blues Special does not use a metal cover tho...and that, IMO, is partly responsible for the much improved tone. I think the metal cover all but ruins the tone of a Tele neck pickup and contributes to the microphonic squeeling many of those have...and I feel the same way about covers on humbuckers. I leave the covers off.
If you're looking for the brighter, thinner, twangier tone of those Tele's made after '54 (like Don Rich's or James Burton's Tele tone)then I'd take a look at Lindy's Tele Stocks.
Those are to bright and clear for me tho...not enough snarl.
Lew
I still like my 1st batch Bardens the best...I keep threatening to sell that guitar(Vintique retrofitted 52 RI)but every time I play it after I get over the scale/fingering issues-I change my mind again
I guess I'm a nut case:rolleyes:
Hey, Jim. I know you like everything BIG down in Texas, but the number of "Which pickups do you like" threads doesn't need to be one of them. I don't mean this a major ream or anything, just a light-hearted jab, but what were you hoping for in your initial question?...Someone to say, "Yes...and the answer is _____ "?
I have replaced the Texas Special Strat pickups in the neck and middle positions of my Telecaster. I have replaced them with a pair of Duncan SSL-6's (Custom Flat pole). I also put a metal baseplate underneath the neck pickup. I really like the results.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote