Trying to find an HH set for a Telecaster

[ShinyChocobo]

Hello SD forum! This is my first post so bear with me.

So I have a 72 Reissue Tele, and the pickups are kinda meh. Somewhat sterile and lifeless sounding. (Yes I messed with the high and tried different amps)

After considering a few options I decided to skip over the aftermarket Wide Range pups and just get a new pickguard cut for regular-sized humbuckers. I also plan to install a coil split (or tap, whichever is the correct term.)


I'm not really sure what to get though. One of the main options I'm considering is PG in the neck and a Custom Custom in the bridge, but I'm not very familiar with all the pickups out there, so I was hoping to get some insight.


The guitar has an alder body, bolt-on, maple neck and fretboard, hard-tail, 2 volume, 2 tone, and a 3-way switch.

I'm looking for a bridge pickup that will get good crunchy rhythms for heavy rock and metal and bright leads, a bit fat but still articulate. The JB is a bit thin for my tastes.

For the neck I'm looking for smoother leads and creamy cleans, as long as it's not too muddy.

Any suggestions? (Thanks in advance!)

[Scott_F]

Re: Trying to find an HH set for a Telecaster

I love pairing up an Alnico 2 Pro neck with a Custom Custom bridge. I've had them in les Pauls and ive got a pair in the PRS semi-hollow. Never tried with a maple neck.


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[GuitarDoc]

Re: Trying to find an HH set for a Telecaster

I'd suggest a P-Rails for the bridge. That way you can get thick humbucker tones, very clean/articulate/spanky/Tele tones, and in-between P-90 tones. How could you ask for more?

It would be a shame to lose all of the Tele quality which you positively WILL with the CC.

For the neck there are several good choices:
Pearly Gates,
Alnico 2 Pro,
Screamin Demon,
Slash,
and even Stag Mag (which will give you some great Stratty tones when split, and "quack" when the split is combined with the Rail coil of the P/Rail).

[jimijames]

Re: Trying to find an HH set for a Telecaster

I have the pearly gates neck - a thousand times yes. It's all sorts of wonderful IMO. Very smooth like you're asking for, especially covered. Another one to consider is the Seth Lover neck. I've had the bridge model (de-wound screw coil and uncovered) in the neck and it's as good as any boutique neck pickup I've tried. I can only imagine the seth lover model designed for the neck is that much better.

As for the bridge - have you considered the 59/custom? That's the pickup that sounds like you're describing. With A2 I think you would really like it. With the right technique you can go from fat and sing-y to articulate (but still warm). For a maple-necked guitar I think it would be especially good. Alternatively I think you'd really like the whole lotta humbucker - though having never tried one I can't give a full recommendation. I have tried a few ~9k vintage-hot bridge humbuckers though and I can say they all are pretty f-ing awesome across the board.

Also, welcome!

[Luke Duke]

Re: Trying to find an HH set for a Telecaster

On the subject of the JB, it was originally wound and tossed into a tele with 250k pots. Have you tried that?

[ShinyChocobo]

Re: Trying to find an HH set for a Telecaster

Thanks for all the replies! I think I'll definitely consider the 59/Custom hybrid in the bridge, (I've also heard the P-Rails in action and love it so I won't discount it entirely) and either a PG or Alnico 2 in the neck.

[jimijames]

Re: Trying to find an HH set for a Telecaster

I have the p-rails bridge in 2 different guitars, and I can say with confidence that it's a great pickup as well. It really depends on what you're looking for. The prails will do a ton of sounds, but none of them are perfectly authentic, though the p90 is the closest imo.

I've only made the 59/custom, so I don't know what coil they use for the slug coil, but if you want a good split sound, using the 7.2k custom coil for the slug works best. Even then the prails has more output. And the rail coil is close but it's no ssl-1 or anything.

The series and parallel sounds i haven't tried on the 59/custom, but on the prails they are very useable. It all depends on what you want - if you want a fatter set of single coil sounds the prails is the ticket. If you want a clear and articulate humbucker sound with some added versatility, them the 59/custom is the better choice imo.

[Securb]

Re: Trying to find an HH set for a Telecaster

I have a P-Rails/Pearly Gates combo in my Strat and couldn't be happier with the tone and the versatility. What really surprised me is how beef the P-Rails is as a humbucker. Sometimes it sounds more Les Paul than my Les Paul. I kept the 250k pots in the Strat and they seem to be working for me just fine.