Tele neck pickup suggestions?

Bron_Yr_Aur

Right then, so I'm putting together a Telecaster with the body I got off Jooky and neck/parts I had lying around. I've got a Tonerider Hot Classic to go in the bridge which I loved in the last guitar it was in, but I've never found a neck pickup that I was happy with to go with it.

I've had a few nice vintage spec ones in the past, but because the bridge pup is about 9k and very punchy indeed, they just don't sit well together.

Any suggestions from the wise (and not so wise) forumites? I'd rather not do any routing if possible...

HAL9000

Who, with a Tele, uses the neck pickuop anyway?

frankus

I've a Lollar Charlie Christian in mah tele - but I really love the BK country boy sets

BenSirAmos

HAL9000 said:

Who, with a Tele, uses the neck pickuop anyway?

I do - but it's a strat bridge pickup that I've stuck in that position - i've yet to find a tele neck pickup that works well with the original 70s bridge pickup (although I'm planning on trying an oil city in the new year)

guitarfishbay

I quite liked the Fender Twisted Tele neck pickup in the Baja I used to have.  They're also now found on the US Standard last time I checked too.  

It was designed to sound good with the Broadcaster bridge, which is about 9k IIRC and quite punchy too.

The Twisted Tele neck pickup seemed a bit brighter and clearer than the neck pickups in the other Teles I've tried, though I've never A/B'd it with another pickup in the same instrument to be honest as I never swapped pickups in the Baja.

If you're near any shops with 2012/2013 US standard Teles or Baja Teles you could always go and give one a try to see if it has the right kind of vibe.

Bron_Yr_Aur

HAL9000 said:

Who, with a Tele, uses the neck pickuop anyway?

I do. That's why I started this thread.

guitarfishbay said:

I quite liked the Fender Twisted Tele neck pickup in the Baja I used to have.  They're also now found on the US Standard last time I checked too.  

It was designed to sound good with the Broadcaster bridge, which is about 9k IIRC and quite punchy too.

The Twisted Tele neck pickup seemed a bit brighter and clearer than the neck pickups in the other Teles I've tried, though I've never A/B'd it with another pickup in the same instrument to be honest as I never swapped pickups in the Baja.

If you're near any shops with 2012/2013 US standard Teles or Baja Teles you could always go and give one a try to see if it has the right kind of vibe.

I'll try that next time I'm in London. Have a wisdom.

Adam_MD

HAL9000;97554" said:

Who, with a Tele, uses the neck pickuop anyway?

I do. Though admittedly I went through a lot before I found one I liked. The set I'm using these days was wound by Mojoguitarsandpickups.co.uk

He doesn't list tele pickups on the site but winds them as a special order. I think it was about £90 for the pair. I wanted a tele neck that was as strat like as possible but still looked like a tele pickup with cover. The bridge is wound to Broadcaster specs. Mo's a nice guy and very easy to deal with.

p90fool

I have SD Broadcaster bridge pickups in my Teles, but never found a neck pickup which balances well, so I just use vintage Strat pickups instead.
A good Tele neck pickup is a wondrous thing, but they're rarely at their best when used with the same amp setting as the bridge pickup. A Strat pickup is just easier to work with for me, and I've honestly never heard a studio producer ask for "that classic Tele neck pickup sound".

I have always fancied building a "correct" looking Tele I can work with though, so I'm interested in this thread

OilCityPickups

Whatever you get ... make sure it doesn't have a brass cover ... that's the single biggest factor in f---ing up the sound of a Tele neck unit. Sometimes you might already have a perfectly good Tele neck pickup ... it's just muffled by being in a glorified frankfurter can
Change your cover.
In an extreme case ... you could try this

ICBM

I like Tele neck pickups - for me the whole point is that they're quieter and duller than the bridge pickup, so you can switch from soft clean (neck) through clear just-breaking-up (both) to crunchy overdrive (bridge) just with the guitar.

I always really liked the Duncan Antiquity II set I had in my last Tele.

impmann

Spot on - the Tele neck pickup is a great counterfoil for the brightness of the bridge unit. On my fave Tele I have the SD Broadcaster bridge pickup and the matching Tele 'Rhythm' pickup in the neck - sounds wonderful, IMHO.

stickyfiddle

BKP Brown Sugar and/or Boss. Both are among my favourite pickups ever, never mind just neck pickups.

I'd wager Ash could knock together something just as good for a lot less cash

Richardj

+1 for Ash at Oil City, I got a Thames Delta neck to go in my Parker and it is very nice indeed.  Another big plus for him is if you can catch him when he doesn't have his hands in a bath of wax or winding/soldering stuff he will listen to what you want and advise accordingly and sensibly.

OilCityPickups

ICBM said:

I like Tele neck pickups - for me the whole point is that they're quieter and duller than the bridge pickup, so you can switch from soft clean (neck) through clear just-breaking-up (both) to crunchy overdrive (bridge) just with the guitar.

I always really liked the Duncan Antiquity II set I had in my last Tele.

That's like saying 'I really like distortion so I'll kick my speakers in'
rather than 'I really like distortion sometimes so I'll buy a pedal.'

And no I'm not being particularly serious ... but I have man flu so am full of piss and vinegar

randomhandclaps

HAL9000 said:

Who, with a Tele, uses the neck pickuop anyway?

Anna Calvi.

Bron_Yr_Aur

ICBM said:

I like Tele neck pickups - for me the whole point is that they're quieter and duller than the bridge pickup, so you can switch from soft clean (neck) through clear just-breaking-up (both) to crunchy overdrive (bridge) just with the guitar.

I know what you mean, and I've used that in the past, but that's not going to work for me in a live situation. It wasn't so much the neck pup had less crunch either, it was just flat and weak.

stickyfiddle said:

I'd wager Ash could knock together something just as good for a lot less cash

Richardj said:

+1 for Ash at Oil City, I got a Thames Delta neck to go in my Parker and it is very nice indeed.  Another big plus for him is if you can catch him when he doesn't have his hands in a bath of wax or winding/soldering stuff he will listen to what you want and advise accordingly and sensibly.

I figured this would be the response. I'll drop you a PM @TheGuitarWeasel ...

Bron_Yr_Aur

Random accidental double post. Apologies.

ICBM

TheGuitarWeasel said:

That's like saying 'I really like distortion so I'll kick my speakers in'
rather than 'I really like distortion sometimes so I'll buy a pedal.'

And no I'm not being particularly serious ... but I have man flu so am full of piss and vinegar

You can do both! I like distortion sometimes, I like overdrive sometimes, I like cleans sometimes… with two differently-voiced/output pickups, a volume control, your hands and a bunch of pedals you can really choose what you want at any time - but I still find that classic Tele combination with different pickups about the most useful.

That's also why I like humbucker sets with a PAF-type neck and the bridge a lot hotter.

OilCityPickups

ICBM said:

That's also why I like humbucker sets with a PAF-type neck and the bridge a lot hotter.

But a PAF isn't muffled

ICBM

TheGuitarWeasel said:

But a PAF isn't muffled

Nor is a good Tele neck pickup .

Just slightly softer-sounding.

OilCityPickups

Plenty of bad ones are