The new Fender Brad Paisley ESQUIRE w/Duncan Secret Agent neck pickup

[Lewguitar]

Check it out...

[Lewguitar]

I have the Secret Agent in my '54 Esquire, which is a real '54. It's original but it's been refinished and refretted several times. I had it refinished and restored and it looks "right" again.

In my old Esquire the Secret Agent sounds very much like Brad's does in this demo. Bright and strong.

However, my bridge pickup doesn't sound like the bridge pickup in Brad's Esquire. It's weaker and not as snarly and aggressive.

It's the original '54 flat pole and measures around 6.1K. Doesn't sound as bright and aggressive as Brad's. I wish it sounded more like the pickup in Roy Buchanan's '53 Tele Nancy. But it doesn't.

With the Secret Agent the balance is very good.

I've had a few neck pickups in my Esquire.

A Tele ala Strat from the Duncan Custom Shop.

A Fralin Blues Special.

An old Duncan STR-1 Vintage Tele neck.

I liked them all.

But the Blues Special was a little too smooth and Secret Agent is a little more crisp and twangy than I'm used to.

It's going to stay in there though.

No more searching for the perfect neck pickup.

I'm done!

[Mincer]

I have the Secret Agent in my '54 Esquire, which is a real '54. It's original but it's been refinished and refretted several times. I had it refinished and restored and it looks "right" again.

In my old Esquire the Secret Agent sounds very much like Brad's does in this demo. Bright and strong.

However, my bridge pickup doesn't sound like the bridge pickup in Brad's Esquire. It's weaker and not as snarly and aggressive.

It's the original '54 flat pole and measures around 6.1K. Doesn't sound as bright and aggressive as Brad's. I wish it sounded more like the pickup in Roy Buchanan's '53 Tele Nancy. But it doesn't.

With the Secret Agent the balance is very good.

I've had a few neck pickups in my Esquire.

A Tele ala Strat from the Duncan Custom Shop.

A Fralin Blues Special.

An old Duncan STR-1 Vintage Tele neck.

I liked them all.

But the Blues Special was a little too smooth and Secret Agent is a little more crisp and twangy than I'm used to.

It's going to stay in there though.

No more searching for the perfect neck pickup.

I'm done!

So what do you think would get you closer to his bridge pickup sound? Is that a sound you are going for, anyway?

[Erlend_G]

I think the JD tele pickup sounded awesome!! best of all- from the SD sound clips .

[Lewguitar]

So what do you think would get you closer to his bridge pickup sound? Is that a sound you are going for, anyway?

1. Be Brad paisley
2. Play through a Fender Vibro King. I had one. Got tired of it's grindy groinky tone. It's a Bruce Zinky design I think.
3. Use a hotter bridge pickup in my Esquire. Mine is the original from 1954 and it measures 6.1K and I believe is alnico 5. If Brad is using the Duncan La Brea pickup, that one is Alnico 4 and wound to over 7K. Really, I do prefer a hotter bridge pickup than the 6.1K original in my '54 Esquire.

[Mincer]

It might be worth saving that pickup in a drawer, and going for either a La Brea or a Jerry Donahue pickup. I think any Fender amp can approximate that sound, though.

[Lewguitar]

Actually, my favorite Tele bridge pickup is the one MJ wound for me that's in my Tele now. It's A2 and tapped. I guess it's the Custom Shop version of the Hot For Tele Tapped. I think Seymour might use the same pickup in his Esquire.

[Lewguitar]

I think the JD tele pickup sounded awesome!! best of all- from the SD sound clips .

I like it too. I have the Custom Shop version of the JD in my Tele Custom, with an Antiquity Strat pickup for the neck pickup.

[jeremy]

i think that esquire is a special fender pup, not a duncan. the neck pup sounds really good in the clip

[Mincer]

So if the other pickup is a Fender, is the new Secret Agent pickup in phase with current Fenders, or is that Fender Tele pickup flipped the phase to the Duncan?

[jeremy]

dunno. it just says "custom-wound '64 Tele® bridge pickup"

[Lewguitar]

The Secret Agent is not reverse polarity with the 66 year old bridge pickup in my '54 Esquire. So when the neck and bridge pickups are combined they are not humcancelling.

I have a Custom Shop Hot For Tele and a Custom Shop Jerry Donahue also. The Secret Agent is reverse polarity with those two.

[Lewguitar]

i think that esquire is a special fender pup, not a duncan. the neck pup sounds really good in the clip

It does. And that's pretty much what it sounds like in my Esquire. It sounds really good and I'm done with searching for a better neck pickup for that guitar.

[ArtieToo]

I have the Custom Shop version of the JD in my Tele Custom . . .

Hey Lew. What's the difference between the CS JD and the production model?

[Mincer]

The Secret Agent is not reverse polarity with the 66 year old bridge pickup in my '54 Esquire. So when the neck and bridge pickups are combined they are not humcancelling.

I have a Custom Shop Hot For Tele and a Custom Shop Jerry Donahue also. The Secret Agent is reverse polarity with those two.

I wonder if this BP Tele has the pickups in phase and hum-cancelling.