I MADE THE SWAP: What do you guys think?

[robo]

I just swapped my Duncan Jerry Donahue lead tele pickup for a Little 59. Not sure yet if it's better or just different. I love the Donahue in many ways but have been lacking a little meat in the tone. The 59 got more meat, but I lost the brittleness of the Donahue. I guess you're never fully satisfied.
I'll keep this for a month or so. So I'll get accustomed to it. Then I'll decide if the 59 stays or not.

I made a comparison video – what do you guys think? What pickup do you prefer?

[Nagisa]

Re: I MADE THE SWAP: What do you guys think?

By far the Jerry.

[robo]

Re: I MADE THE SWAP: What do you guys think?

By far the Jerry.

Thank's for your input. I have not made up my mind. Gonna stick with the 59 for now. This is the third pickup in this guitar. Started with a Tonerider Alnico 2 Blues for 6 months. Then the Jerry Donahue for two years. And now this 59. Maybe I'm going back to Jerry after all. But for now I'll let the 59 settle.

[Aceman]

Re: I MADE THE SWAP: What do you guys think?

What pots are in that Tele? 500k or 250k???

That might be where you lost the bite.

[GuitarDoc]

Re: I MADE THE SWAP: What do you guys think?

JD.

The 59 lost the high end and bite of the JD. As Bob said, 500k pots are in order if you've got 250k in there now.

[robo]

Re: I MADE THE SWAP: What do you guys think?

What pots are in that Tele? 500k or 250k???

That might be where you lost the bite.

Yes maybe so. I have 250k pots in this guitar. Like how the JD sounds with them. Maybe Ill swap back sooner or later. You gotta try though, right

[Mincer]

Re: I MADE THE SWAP: What do you guys think?

The Jerry by just a little. I could easily be happy with the Little 59. I think the Jerry is closer to the sound I'd associate with that music. *My* sound, that I go for, is closer to the Little 59.

[jeremy]

Re: I MADE THE SWAP: What do you guys think?

i think the lil 59 did just what you wanted it to do. i noticed you have your tone down at least a little with the lil 59, same with the jd? i like both of those pups so id be happy with either

[pskorz]

Re: I MADE THE SWAP: What do you guys think?

Perspective, of course, is key in this kind of situation.

If you want that tele to be pure, unadulterated telecaster goodness, IMO the Donahue is the way to go. However, that '59 still has that tele-ish vibe, but darker and a bit hotter. And certainly the higher value pot would add some brightness back into the equation if that's what you're going for. I think the current pickup in there still has a good telecaster quality for sure, so in any event, not a bad swap, and still a good sound.

If you have another guitar with a Humbucker, my vote would be to put the JD back in and let the tele be a tele, and let the other guitar cover the 'bucker territory. But if you don't have a huge arsenal, with that '59 in there you do have, probably, a more versatile guitar. My guess is that the current pickup on dirtier amp settings will always give you a little more juice and oomph than the Donahue would. And as it is, it still sounds pretty traditional.

[dr.barlo]

Re: I MADE THE SWAP: What do you guys think?

The JD.

B

[Dave Locher]

Re: I MADE THE SWAP: What do you guys think?

The '59. Fuller sound and slower note decay.
Both sound good, though.

[Ascension]

Re: I MADE THE SWAP: What do you guys think?

Like the bigger smoother tone of the 59 for the kind of stuff you were playing.

[robo]

Re: I MADE THE SWAP: What do you guys think?

i think the lil 59 did just what you wanted it to do. i noticed you have your tone down at least a little with the lil 59, same with the jd? i like both of those pups so id be happy with either

Yes tele are so extreme treble friendly. I always keep the tone down to at least 50% to keep the ice pick at bay. The 59 needed a little more, maybe 60% to get in the sweet spot. I use the tone knob a lot when I play.

[robo]

Re: I MADE THE SWAP: What do you guys think?

Perspective, of course, is key in this kind of situation.

If you want that tele to be pure, unadulterated telecaster goodness, IMO the Donahue is the way to go. However, that '59 still has that tele-ish vibe, but darker and a bit hotter. And certainly the higher value pot would add some brightness back into the equation if that's what you're going for. I think the current pickup in there still has a good telecaster quality for sure, so in any event, not a bad swap, and still a good sound.

If you have another guitar with a Humbucker, my vote would be to put the JD back in and let the tele be a tele, and let the other guitar cover the 'bucker territory. But if you don't have a huge arsenal, with that '59 in there you do have, probably, a more versatile guitar. My guess is that the current pickup on dirtier amp settings will always give you a little more juice and oomph than the Donahue would. And as it is, it still sounds pretty traditional.

Yes this is all true. I have two Les Pauls (one Gibson and one old Ibanez) and I also have a Hagström Viking (their take on 335). So I've got several real humbucker guitars. But I do also have another Telecaster. Maybe I'll ride the 59 in that guitar, and pop the Donahue back into this red one. This is my main guitar nowadays, so this is what I play 90% of the time.

That's wierd! I don't really think of myself as having a lot of guitars, but when you list them all like this… plus I also have a 1987 Fender Stratocaster. And a couple of acoustics. And a Resonator.

[d2718]

Re: I MADE THE SWAP: What do you guys think?

I do think the 59 sounds sweet, but in the Telecaster, I think I prefer the Jerry Donahue; the trebly bite just makes it sound more like a Telecaster.