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Your favourite Tele pickups?

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  • OilCityPickupsOilCityPickups Frets: 9978
    edited December 2018 tFB Trader
    munckee said:
    What's the countriest of country twang for a tele?
    Pick a low wind of about 67/68 style ... around 6.5k, alnico 5 and 42awg wire. Machine wound (as the Fenders were of that era) ... that's country heaven. 
    Strat54 said:
    Ignoring all the hype, 2 year wait lists and over inflated resellers I love my Ron Ellis' pickups, as favoured by David Grissom, Kirk Fletcher, Rick Holmstrom, Julian Lage and countless others. Just great vintage authentic Tele tones with clarity and great note-string seperation. They seems to maintain that acoustic like quality that allows the guitars true character to shine through.....TWANG.
    Dear god, has any pickup winder really got two year waiting lists? Most you'll wait for a bog standard Tele pickup from me is a month ... and that's if I'm busy!
    Professional pickup winder, horse-testpilot and recovering Chocolate Hobnob addict.
    Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups  ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message  

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  • @TheGuitarWeasel so what's the bridge pickup of choice if we are looking at the classic vintage tone without the shrill when fully open?
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  • I love the Dimarzio Twang King in the neck of mine. I find it similar to the Twisted Tele, but still retains a bit more Tele character rather than leaning towards the strat style that the Twisted has.

    I also love the Texas Special in the bridge, some might find it a bit to loud but I love it. Rude, in your face but still ultimately Tele. Cleans up really nicely with the volume too.
    Twang King neck is a great pickup, shame about the bridge version
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  • Zoolooter said:
    Dominic said:
    what is the best single coil for bridge that isn't shrill and spiky.......I sometimes wince when I flick that selector
    what is nice and smooth/mellow but still a bit twangy for country tones
    BKP Country Boy or Monty Retro Wind bridge. Both low output A3. Settled on these two after trying many. No harshness, shrill or ice pick, but still sounds like a tele bridge should sound when you dig in.
    I have a set of Country Boys in mine and I don't even look at other pickups now
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  • OilCityPickupsOilCityPickups Frets: 9978
    tFB Trader
    @TheGuitarWeasel so what's the bridge pickup of choice if we are looking at the classic vintage tone without the shrill when fully open?
    That's a bit like how long's a bit of string, as one person's 'shrill' is another person's 'cutting'. It will depend very much on your amplification, playing style etc. 
    The telecaster's pickup history is one of a few distinct changes over the years:
    The original 'Tele' bridge pickup fitted to the earliest prototypes ... and carried forward in it's evolution from Esquire, through Broadcaster was alnico 3, and wound with 43awg wire to about 9.5k. This thinner wire, coupled with low power magnets gave a slightly more compressed and mid-pushed growl. Still with twang, but very suited to rock and roll and rockabilly. 

    Around the time Fender had to take the Broadcaster name off of the 'Tele' after threats from Gretsch who had a drum kit of that name, they swapped to thicker, 42awg wire ... still keeping the alnico 3 magnets (keeping the turn count in winding the same but producing a lower DCR) ... this is the classic 'Nocaster' configuration. This is a little less mid centred, and for many is the ideal, all round Tele pickup.

    A while later in the fifties they swapped for alnico 5 magnets, boosting the bass and treble a bit more ... and by the sixties they had dropped the turn count, thus lowering the output and making the pickup even more biting.
    Professional pickup winder, horse-testpilot and recovering Chocolate Hobnob addict.
    Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups  ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message  

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  • @TheGuitarWeasel so what's the bridge pickup of choice if we are looking at the classic vintage tone without the shrill when fully open?
    That's a bit like how long's a bit of string, as one person's 'shrill' is another person's 'cutting'. It will depend very much on your amplification, playing style etc. 
    The telecaster's pickup history is one of a few distinct changes over the years:
    The original 'Tele' bridge pickup fitted to the earliest prototypes ... and carried forward in it's evolution from Esquire, through Broadcaster was alnico 3, and wound with 43awg wire to about 9.5k. This thinner wire, coupled with low power magnets gave a slightly more compressed and mid-pushed growl. Still with twang, but very suited to rock and roll and rockabilly. 

    Around the time Fender had to take the Broadcaster name off of the 'Tele' after threats from Gretsch who had a drum kit of that name, they swapped to thicker, 42awg wire ... still keeping the alnico 3 magnets (keeping the turn count in winding the same but producing a lower DCR) ... this is the classic 'Nocaster' configuration. This is a little less mid centred, and for many is the ideal, all round Tele pickup.

    A while later in the fifties they swapped for alnico 5 magnets, boosting the bass and treble a bit more ... and by the sixties they had dropped the turn count, thus lowering the output and making the pickup even more biting.
    Interesting stuff! Thanks :+1: 

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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14320
    TheGuitarWeasel said:
    one person's 'shrill' is another person's 'cutting'.
    In short, Albert Collins versus Roy Buchanan. (Decide for yourselves who of them fits which adjective.) 
    Be seeing you.
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  • OilCityPickupsOilCityPickups Frets: 9978
    edited December 2018 tFB Trader
    TheGuitarWeasel said:
    one person's 'shrill' is another person's 'cutting'.
    In short, Albert Collins versus Roy Buchanan. (Decide for yourselves who of them fits which adjective.) 
    Albert Collins' tone was a mixture of the bridge pickup and his neck Widerange ... added to that of course his somewhat odd tuning, his use of a capo, playing with is fingers,and not being able to palm mute due to using an 'ashtray' cover :-)
    Actually Albert's tone is one of my favorite Tele 'screams', totally distinctive, and it really couldn't be anyone else playing (try replicating it ... the licks may be simple, but getting 'that' sound is really tough).
    Professional pickup winder, horse-testpilot and recovering Chocolate Hobnob addict.
    Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups  ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message  

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  • crunchmancrunchman Frets: 11411
    Several years ago, I had a set of Fralin Blues Specials that were very, very nice.  There were a lot less options back then, and the pound was stronger against the dollar.  These days I'd probably look at one of the small British pickup makers like Oil City.
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  • I recently put a set of Fender Pure Vintage '64 pickups in a Tele I have, and I really like them. They have twang and clarity clean, but also great overdriven bite, without that "overwound" flavor that gives up some range in favor of fat "Texas" tone (which is also very desirable in some contexts). I like them a lot clear or with a Voxy overdrive that causes more run of the mill Tele pickups (especially in the bridge) to sound a bit strident to my ears.

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  • longjawlongjaw Frets: 420
    Seymour Duncan ALNICO II Pros are my favourite.
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  • LewyLewy Frets: 4123
    For neck I like the Don Mare “Big Box” which aims to get you into fat hollow body territory. Obviously nothing is going to give you that sound in a tele but it does sound really fat and “bloopy”. 

    For bridge, generally variations on the Nocaster theme, so either Fender CS Nocaster, or Oil City Fortyniner or Bareknuckle Flat 50.


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  • Jimbro66Jimbro66 Frets: 2418
    longjaw said:
    Seymour Duncan ALNICO II Pros are my favourite.
    I had them in a blackguard Tele made for me by Tom Mates nearly twenty years ago and they did sound really nice. A friend now owns that guitar and when I go to his gigs it sounds just amazing. Perhaps a little too bright when played alone but in a band it cuts through perfectly.
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  • Joe Barden's Danny Gatton set.

    They do NOT sound like a vintage Tele, but they certainly DO sound great.
    Not much of the gear, even less idea.
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  • LewyLewy Frets: 4123
    Jimbro66 said:
    longjaw said:
    Seymour Duncan ALNICO II Pros are my favourite.
    I had them in a blackguard Tele made for me by Tom Mates nearly twenty years ago and they did sound really nice. A friend now owns that guitar and when I go to his gigs it sounds just amazing. Perhaps a little too bright when played alone but in a band it cuts through perfectly.
    Is the friend who now owns that Mates tele called Ian by any chance? If so, I know that guitar (I’m assuming he didn’t make a lot of them...)
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  • Jimbro66Jimbro66 Frets: 2418
    Lewy said:
    Jimbro66 said:
    longjaw said:
    Seymour Duncan ALNICO II Pros are my favourite.
    I had them in a blackguard Tele made for me by Tom Mates nearly twenty years ago and they did sound really nice. A friend now owns that guitar and when I go to his gigs it sounds just amazing. Perhaps a little too bright when played alone but in a band it cuts through perfectly.
    Is the friend who now owns that Mates tele called Ian by any chance? If so, I know that guitar (I’m assuming he didn’t make a lot of them...)
    It could well be ;)
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  • longjaw said:
    Seymour Duncan ALNICO II Pros are my favourite.
    Yes
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