new tele needs new pickups

[mrfjones]

well the new tele came on thursday and i still don't know which pickups i am going to put into it. I do want a vintage sounding guitar, but i already have antiquites in my other tele. so bring on the suggestions, again, and you do not have to stick to duncans or even mass produced pickups. if there is a really cool custom shop idea i might want to try, feel free to put it out there. I will try and get that vintage twang anyway i can

I am a little bit cautious about higher output pickups with A5 mags since the guitar is ash with a maple neck. It is pretty bright already and i do not want any ice picky sounds. thanks for all your suggestions.

I am already thinking about the fralins pickups and the broadcaster.

[jeremy]

never tried the fralins but the broadcaster is cool. if ya like the antiquitys, i might try an antiquity II set with alnico V mags

[TheOrangeChannel]

I like Little 59's then again I'm pretty biased towards humbuckers anyway.

[mrfjones]

has anyone here tried the antiquity II sets of anything and compared them to the antiquity sets? i am sure they are excellent pickups but i would like to hear some or get some pretty good testimonials first.

[guitar-mod]

Fralins stock tele pups sound simply amazing.

[mrfjones]

well i think i have it narrowed down to a few choices now anybody else have any good suggestions?

I am curious how the stock fralins sound and now the antiquity II set

[xerxes]

rio grande blues


as i told youlol

[mrfjones]

i know, i just have to find some to listen to

[rhmcfarland]

you might want to check these out...

Hamel pickups... supposedly one of the greats out there. This is a post off the tdpri forum:


oh these pickups are UNREAL
Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2004 7:57 pm


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's a copy of a Hamel "test" I did and posted over on the Weber Forum:

First, a pic of Alan's Flatpole Bridge, aged by GVCG:

click image for fullsize view

First the subjects:
#1...7 pound 55 replica, 1" maple boatneck, Custom shop nocaster bridge and neck pups, 7.5 and 7.1k

#2...7 pound 57 replica, 1" maple boatneck, Voodoo bridge and neck pups, 9.3 and 8.5k

#3...7 pound 55 replica, 1" maple boatneck, Hamel early 55 flatpole bridge pup, Hamel neck pup with a nickled brass cover.

All 3 guitars built by me, identical finishes, identical pots, identical .05 Wax Cap, Elixr 10-52's, identical 6105 fretwire, Scicchitano handmade 1/4" steel saddles.

Amplifier is a 65 Princeton Reverb, volume 5, treble 5, bass 7, reverb 3.
Cable is a 10' George L.

I will not go into detail about the #1 and 2 guitars, as the Hamels are the subject of this post, suffice it to say that #1 and #2 Teles sound good, they twang, cut, and speak like a Telecaster should, they behave, they get unruly, they are good sounding instruments.
The Hamels are a little different:
First thing I noticed was the unmistakable "click" one gets while switching to the bridge position on a vintage Telecaster. The bridge pup is somehow a tad microphonic and "alive"! How Alan does this on a new pickup I do not know. I have never heard this quality in a repro pickup, but I love it.
The bridge pickup is instantly to die for, smooth rich overtones, a pleasant thickness, thicker than all of the other pups tested, and the top end of this pickup is the best and most vintage-like I have heard on any repro pickup.The high end sparkle and brilliance is perfect, never an “icepick”, the tone is well beyond that. Chords in the bridge position have a cascading quality. I have spent the last 2 days playing and testing a slew of Telecasters with Jim Campilongo, we spent several hours testing and playing a 100% 1955 Tele # 7197, and this pickup instantly reminded me of that elusive high end and depth of field that I heard hours earlier on #7197 ; same amp, same settings.
The neck pickup is a dead ringer for both the 55 and '52 Teles in my shop, "woody", and not quite dark, yet not emphasized or “EQ’d” on the high end. This is a fat rhythm pickup, and may be too dark for some people’s taste, the cover attenuates some of high end, no doubt, yet also adds a richness that I have only heard on old Teles.
The Hamel neck cover is chromed brass, which no other makers are doing to my knowledge. The cover is also squared off at the top, as per originals, he has these custom made.
The bridge pup when compared visually to a 52 and 55 flatpole in direct sunlight is absolutely 100% dead on.
Large Alnico 3 slugs, lacquered, crudely pressed through the upper flatwork, and dipped in black wax.
I have seen no other pickups this close appearance-wise.
….I had to take a break and hear these again....
The middle position is pretty unreal as well, the character that eack pup has really makes the middle position unique, and there are 3 very distinct sounds at the switch.
These pickups are absolutely outstanding.
None of the other pickups tested have the character, overtones, piano-like chime, warm neck sound, overall robustness and twang that these possess. I knew after talking with AH in length that they were going to be good, but these instantly made my jaw drop, period. I spend everyday testing, listening, building and playing Telecasters, these pickups have me very excited, and they are truly on the “next level”. Contact Ron Ellis or myself if you want a set.

[rhmcfarland]

also of interest....

have a look at this website:

http://www.songsofjonathanwilson.com/greenwichcustoms.htm

[mrfjones]

wow, those guitars were amazing. thanks randy. very good relic job.

well the pickups her was using in vintage correct fashion were Hamel, Voodoo (but those were really hot), fralin and Duncan. so who has experience with hamel pickups? can anyone tell me where i can listen to them?

[mrfjones]

warning, looking at that link that randy posted will give you GAS for a beat up old tele

[Tweed]

I like the Broadcaster. I'm also looking at some of this guy's pups: http://www.harmonicdesign.net/allpages/teles.html#Anchor
I've seen Red Volkaert a bunch of times (Merle Haggard's guitarist). He gets some monster tones and he likes the HD stuff. I'm thinking about a S90 to go with a SD vintage P90 in a tele neck. Certainly not traditional, but a killer blues/alt. country rig. HD has some interesting goodies.

[rhmcfarland]

hamel

yeah, GAS deluxe as a matter of fact.
wonder what he charges for one of those little jewels?
the hamel uses an A3 magnet, if I'm not mistaken.
actually, I can't imagine something sounding lots & lots better than an antiquity. maybe a subtle tweak here or there, but not absolutely better. but, it is interesting to hear of something else of that quality out there.

BTW, have you ever tried using a Fulltone '70 with your Tele? I'm getting a killer tone with it! The Bogner undoubtably helps that a lot, but the '70 is a keeper for sure. Just roll your guitar volume to 8-9, somewhere in there and you get an incredibly warm and dimensional fuzz. The best fuzz, IMHO. I'm thinking about putting together a pedal board. This will be the order:

Fulltone '70 (bright and fruity)
Kendrick Buffalo Pfuz (smooth and transparent)
Voodoo Lab Microvibe (this might be replaced by a Fulltone DejaVibe)
Voodoo Lab Proctavia (maybe... don't use it a lot, but its cool)
Boss DD2 or Chandler Digital Stereo Echo (rack piece)

That would pretty much be it. Simple is better. I'm verging on too much stuff, even with this.

[Hellion]

The best all-around pickup that I've ever heard for Teles is a Duncan QP Tele. You can back off the input and they don't muddy up at all. As a point of contention, Joe Barden also makes some amazing sounding Tele pickups (think "Hot Rod Lincoln" type of tone). And Fralin pickups are nothing to sneeze at, either. But I think QP is the best replacement pickup for the bucks.