pickup for telecaster bridge with less 'harshness'? SORTED

markblack

sorry if that's the wrong term, I'm building a project guitar and I just bought a cheap and cheerful pickup off ebay

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121433852158?var=420373142439

As I was pretty sure that I'd mess something up and it would end up as fire lighters

But to my shock it actually worked and I have a playable guitar - the pick is I guess your classic tele - cutting, harsh etc. (sorry don't know the terms)

Could you recommend me a tele bridge pick up that's a little warmer? I know it won't ever be a neck pick up and I could also be trying to change the unchangeable... but worth an ask.

I made the guitar body out of an old piece of Oak if that makes any difference?

And suggestions much appreciated.  

Cheers

Mark

Funkfingers

Try something with a different alnico polepiece magnet formulation. 2, 3 or a 5/2 hybrid. (Alnico 5 magnets for EAD, Alnico 2 for GBE.) 

Use rubber tube spacers on the height adjustment screws rather than steel springs.

A250k pots rather than 500k.

guitars4you

My fav Tele bridge pick up is Oil City Honky Tonk Angel - early 50's black guard model - guts bite and body - snarls without the ice pick harsh attack

Funkfingers

By the most amazing coincidence, I have a pair of the "2012" special edition HTA pickups going spare. 

stimpsonslostson

I've got an oil city alligator 90 in my Tele. 
It's got Tele twang and clarity when the volume is down, but thickens up as you roll on. It's great with gain too.  

munckee

My favourite tele bridge is the bare knuckle country boys which is I think Alnico 3 from memory, still has the tele bite with no harshness.

chris78

Anything broadcaster based should get you there- the very early ones don’t have the ice pick that comes later. A3 magnets, overwound

Zoolooter

munckee said:

My favourite tele bridge is the bare knuckle country boys which is I think Alnico 3 from memory, still has the tele bite with no harshness.

I’ve tried most, lollars, mojo, Klein, etc, and the Country Boy bridge is best. Married with a Fender Nocaster 51 is perfection.

theatreanchor

I’ve just put some Lollar vintage ts in mine. I think they sound stunning. Anything overwound will help. 

Svartmetall

The old Kent Armstron 'Cool Rails' pickup was great for a less harsh Tele bridge position; I don't know if he still does them, though.

roberty

Oil City 49er. Bloody lovely

Edit: it is one of these

chris78 said:

Anything broadcaster based should get you there- the very early ones don’t have the ice pick that comes later. A3 magnets, overwound

Johnnyseven

Mojo Broadcaster or Esquire.

p90fool

chris78 said:

Anything broadcaster based should get you there- the very early ones don’t have the ice pick that comes later. A3 magnets, overwound

This.

BahHumbug

+1 for Oil City 49er.  I’m just about to but a second one for my new Thinline.

OilCityPickups

BahHumbug said:

+1 for Oil City 49er.  I’m just about to but a second one for my new Thinline.

That's another way of saying any proper Broadcaster pickup - which is basically what my FortyNiner is: Wound like all the early Tele pickups with 43 gauge wire not 42 and having alnico 3 magnets not alnico 5 ... so smoother, not scratchy or harsh.
More rock and less country.  . 

Dominic

Those tone knob things are pretty handy too

Alexlotl

I have a Nocaster, which is warmer than most. But before spending any money, if you haven’t already, try using the tone knob. The just-leave-it-on-10 doesn’t really apply to Tele bridge pick ups.

I’ve heard some people remove the neck pup from the tone circuit, so they can tone down the bridge without making the neck too dark. 

DannyP

My old tele custom came with a Seymour Duncan APTL-1 in the bridge that a previous owner had installed.

It certainly has a less harsh top end than most and makes for a good pairing with the wide-range humbucker in the neck.

I don't hear the APTL-1 (Alnico Pro II Tele) mentioned very much, but it's a good option.

ICBM

OilCityPickups said:

That's another way of saying any proper Broadcaster pickup - which is basically what my FortyNiner is: Wound like all the early Tele pickups with 43 gauge wire not 42 and having alnico 3 magnets not alnico 5 ... so smoother, not scratchy or harsh.

More rock and less country.  . 

Although oddly, in ‘49 the Broadcaster must have been designed for country (and Western ) and not rock, since rock’n’roll was still about five years away.

OilCityPickups

ICBM said:

OilCityPickups said:

That's another way of saying any proper Broadcaster pickup - which is basically what my FortyNiner is: Wound like all the early Tele pickups with 43 gauge wire not 42 and having alnico 3 magnets not alnico 5 ... so smoother, not scratchy or harsh.

More rock and less country.  . 

Although oddly, in ‘49 the Broadcaster must have been designed for country (and Western ) and not rock, since rock’n’roll was still about five years away.

It;s odd I know, but I think perhaps customer feedback (not literally) probably caused them to shift to 42awg and alnico 5. - also brought it in line with the new guitar on the drawing board at the time ... the Strat ... which was always designed for 42awg wire and alnico 5. 

markblack

@all thanks for all the replies... i shall hit Google.

It's only to go into a cheap and cheerful project I've just done turning an old piece of oak work top into this.
It's a bit rough round the edges... weighs a tonne... but I wanted to learn a bit more about building a guitar body.

Plays nice enough (to my surprise) and the pick up ain't bad - I've used @OilCityPickups in the past so that will be the way I go I think...