I recently bought a fender Tele FMT HH. It is a beautiful guitar with bright responsive sound. I am surprised I liked it so much being a korean. It has pearly gates in the bridge, sounds great, and a 59 in the neck. Both of them are set up for splitting with a push/pull, a great feature. My problem is, the 59 in the neck is very bright. it is painfully shrill when strummed with any enthusiasm. I am considering another pearly gates in the neck or maybe an Anico Pro II. The 59 in the neck is reverse wound to reduce hum when in single coil mode. I am not expecting to find a reverse wound anything without custom ordering. Also is the pole spacing consistent between fenders and gibsons? I read somewhere that fenders pearly gates and spaced differently than standard. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Telecaster HH FMT problems
- Thread starter garytlove
- Start date
Empty Pockets
BadHairDayologist
Re: Telecaster HH FMT problems
The only question in your original post is, are Fender humbuckers a different size from Gibsons?
The answer is 'sometimes' and that's why Seymour Duncan offers "trembuckers" which are slightly wider to better fit Fenders. DiMarzio calls this feature "F-Spaced."
That's only for bridge position tho -- the neck position is generally the same.
It's actually forum policy to drop a huge 'WELCOME TO THE FORUM' in the first response to a newb's first post...you probly would've gotten that if you had asked a question that wasn't easily answered on the FAQ pages of both major pickup manufacturers' websites...
That's interesting that you think the 59 is too shrill, most people I know who've tried that pickup (myself included) thought it was too BASSY with just enough highs to get through. I would just try adjusting the tone knob if a little extra highend is the problem -- new pickups would be overkill i think.
Hope that helped. This is a really great forum, but you can't expect very detailed informative responses to such vague posts y'know what i mean?
The only question in your original post is, are Fender humbuckers a different size from Gibsons?
The answer is 'sometimes' and that's why Seymour Duncan offers "trembuckers" which are slightly wider to better fit Fenders. DiMarzio calls this feature "F-Spaced."
That's only for bridge position tho -- the neck position is generally the same.
It's actually forum policy to drop a huge 'WELCOME TO THE FORUM' in the first response to a newb's first post...you probly would've gotten that if you had asked a question that wasn't easily answered on the FAQ pages of both major pickup manufacturers' websites...
That's interesting that you think the 59 is too shrill, most people I know who've tried that pickup (myself included) thought it was too BASSY with just enough highs to get through. I would just try adjusting the tone knob if a little extra highend is the problem -- new pickups would be overkill i think.
Hope that helped. This is a really great forum, but you can't expect very detailed informative responses to such vague posts y'know what i mean?
Robert Delahunt
Showmasterologist
Re: Telecaster HH FMT problems
I have a Showmaster FAT HH with the same pickup combination. I don't understand why you or anyone else has a problem, or thinks there would be a problem, with South Korean instruments. I lived there for a year and I loved their country and culture. They do not run sweat shops, that I am aware: they're just used to a simpler, less spoiled-brat lifestyle than we are.
Anyways, it's a Pearly Gates Plus in the bridge.
If the '59 is bright, lower the pole screws. Still, the Alnico II Pro Humbucker would be closer in output or less. The Pearly Gates neck (not to be confused with the Pearly Gates Plus) is PAF-ish, true, but I would think it's bright, or even brighter. As for the '59, it's reverse polarity, and you can easily get your new pickup and flip the magnet (there should be a Vault post describing how to do that).
Pole spacing between Fenders and Gibsons? Why do you ask? The Pearly Gates Plus in my Showmaster is trembucker spaced (last time I checked), but I'll probably never be totally sure since others have claimed that it is not. Maybe Fender asked for two different spacings, maybe not.
Anyways, my opinion is that if you do not like brightness, maybe your guitar is bright, so try an Alnico II Pro. I think the Pearly Gates is brighter based on the fact that the Tone Chart says the treble for the '59 and Alnico II Pro is 8 (but the alnico II magnets are probably going to make the highs of the Alnico II Pro less harsh than the '59), but the treble for the Pearly Gates is 9.
That's just my opinion. I've never tried the Alnico II Pro nor the Pearly Gates Plus, but I have tried the '59, and I have essentially the same pickup combination in my Showmaster.
A lot of this depends on the amp, too. My Twin Reverb makes my Showmaster sound pretty balanced to my ears, but the church's Peavey Delta Blues makes it sound harsh and shrill, so I have to do a bit of EQ with it to make it sound acceptable. Your amp may be causing some of this, but I don't know what amp you use.
It also matters what guitars you are used to playing. I love my Lite Ash Strat (3 x alnico ii pro staggered pickups) but other strats (with alnico V magnet pickups) sound more shrill than mine. I played a friend's Les Paul recently, and it definitely sounded more warm (on the Peavey Delta Blues) than my Showmaster did (but the LP sounds super muddy on my Twin Reverb amp, etc). Anyways, hope this helps!
I have a Showmaster FAT HH with the same pickup combination. I don't understand why you or anyone else has a problem, or thinks there would be a problem, with South Korean instruments. I lived there for a year and I loved their country and culture. They do not run sweat shops, that I am aware: they're just used to a simpler, less spoiled-brat lifestyle than we are.
Anyways, it's a Pearly Gates Plus in the bridge.If the '59 is bright, lower the pole screws. Still, the Alnico II Pro Humbucker would be closer in output or less. The Pearly Gates neck (not to be confused with the Pearly Gates Plus) is PAF-ish, true, but I would think it's bright, or even brighter. As for the '59, it's reverse polarity, and you can easily get your new pickup and flip the magnet (there should be a Vault post describing how to do that).
Pole spacing between Fenders and Gibsons? Why do you ask? The Pearly Gates Plus in my Showmaster is trembucker spaced (last time I checked), but I'll probably never be totally sure since others have claimed that it is not. Maybe Fender asked for two different spacings, maybe not.
Anyways, my opinion is that if you do not like brightness, maybe your guitar is bright, so try an Alnico II Pro. I think the Pearly Gates is brighter based on the fact that the Tone Chart says the treble for the '59 and Alnico II Pro is 8 (but the alnico II magnets are probably going to make the highs of the Alnico II Pro less harsh than the '59), but the treble for the Pearly Gates is 9.
That's just my opinion. I've never tried the Alnico II Pro nor the Pearly Gates Plus, but I have tried the '59, and I have essentially the same pickup combination in my Showmaster.
A lot of this depends on the amp, too. My Twin Reverb makes my Showmaster sound pretty balanced to my ears, but the church's Peavey Delta Blues makes it sound harsh and shrill, so I have to do a bit of EQ with it to make it sound acceptable. Your amp may be causing some of this, but I don't know what amp you use.
It also matters what guitars you are used to playing. I love my Lite Ash Strat (3 x alnico ii pro staggered pickups) but other strats (with alnico V magnet pickups) sound more shrill than mine. I played a friend's Les Paul recently, and it definitely sounded more warm (on the Peavey Delta Blues) than my Showmaster did (but the LP sounds super muddy on my Twin Reverb amp, etc). Anyways, hope this helps!
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JumpMarine
18 watts of Mayhemologist
Re: Telecaster HH FMT problems
Yakima huh, I'm in Harrah........and welcome to the forum! BTW, I had the same guitar a few years ago and had a similar issue with brightness, which is inherent in the that particular guitar. My final solution was a hybrid pup of '59/Custom Custom in the neck and it was perfect. What amp are you using?
Yakima huh, I'm in Harrah........and welcome to the forum! BTW, I had the same guitar a few years ago and had a similar issue with brightness, which is inherent in the that particular guitar. My final solution was a hybrid pup of '59/Custom Custom in the neck and it was perfect. What amp are you using?
