STL-3 Quarter Pound Tele questions

[Supernautilus]

I currently have an STL-2 Hot Tele Lead pickup a guitar with 500K pots and it’s just not working for me. It’s got lots of volume and punch which is what I need, but it’s a bit too dark and mid heavy. I’m looking at the STL-3 as an alternative but my investigations have come up inconsistent at best.

The website output bar graphic shows identical for both pickups. Yet the STL-2 is categorized as “medium” while the STL-3 is “high”. User reviews aren’t much clearer. Some say the STL-3 is muddy while others say it isn’t. Some say it needs 500K pots while others say 250K is fine. Some say the STL-3 is brighter than the STL-2 while others say the opposite.

Can someone set me straight here? I’m
so confused lol.

[ToneFiddler]

the QP also has plenty of mids and compression, but it's ruder than the hot for tele. it's got more of everything and seems therefore less middy to me. with 500k pots i found it bright enough. with 250k vol and tone it was too dark for me.
from what you wrote it's risky. i would look elsewhere

[marcello252]

what about a lil59'? it's warm, clear enough, it has a decent output, ok, it's not a tele but with a 500K it could be interesting

[Mincer]

You might check out the BG1400 as well.

[Supernautilus]

Thanks guys. From what I’m hearing here, it sounds like the QP might not be what I want.

To break it down, this is what I’m looking for, when compared to the STL-2:
- same output/loudness (can compete with a neck HB)
- a little less compression, more open sounding
- more balanced EQ
- works with 500K pots

Would the little 59 or BG1400 be good candidates for that criteria? Anything else I should look at?

[Supernautilus]

Holy smokes I just watched this demo of the BG1400 and it sounds amazing. If this is indicative of how this pickup sounds, I think I’m sold. Any BG1400 owners here that can confirm this demo is accurate sounding and typical of this pickup?

[ToneFiddler]

that indeed does sound promising, but it's hard to judge without a comparison to a different Pickup.
Based on that demo and the fact that it's regular production now i am actually willing to try it myself.
The lower humcanceling coil seems to be the same size as the upper coil, so i guess it's down to two coils of about 15k maybe AWG43 or probably AWG44 or even thinner.
But i have no clue what that will lead to with the tall magnets and the baseplate. I hope split it's way different than the STL-3 hot tele.