ToneFiddler
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- Thread starter ToneFiddler
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Lewguitar
New member
Players without the experience of having owned a real 50's Tele often assume the bridge pickup is hotter than it is.
Roy Buchanan's sound came from a '53 Tele with a defective pickup and a Vibrolux Reverb Amp turned way up. He sometimes turned it around backwards onstage so the audience heard the sound coming from the back of the amp's speakers. Don Mare knows more about Roy's Tele "Nancy" than anyone and he does make a copy of that defective bridge pickup. He says that if you only own one Tele it might not be the pickup for you, but you might want to try it in your #2 Tele.
Do a search over on the Telecaster Discussion Page. There's a wealth of info on "Nancy", Roy Buchanan and Don Mare.
Don's the only guy who's opened "Nancy" up and taken readings. He says the pickup had NO READING with a multi meter. But it still worked.
Danny Gatton also played through a cranked Vibrolux Reverb. Danny's '53 Tele had Joe Barden pickups in it by the time he made his most well known recordings.
I used those for a while. A bit too bright and steely clean for me but they worked for Danny and they sound good through an old Fender Amp cranked way up.
Doc Barlo doesn't post much here anymore but when he did 10 or 15 years ago he suggested I try an alnico 2 Tele bridge pickup, and when I did I heard the sound my '51 Tele had.
So I ordered an A2 '53 Tapped and an A2 Jerry Donahue from the Duncan Custom Shop.
The Jerry Donahue still resides in my Tele Custom and the '53 Tapped is in one of my Strats.
They do distorted tones more smoothly than the real '53 pickup in my '54 Esquire.
Early '54 Teles and Esquires still used the flat poled version of the Tele bridge pickup and that's what's in mine.
Later '54 Teles and Esquires used the raised polepiece version...or so I've read.
Roy Buchanan's sound came from a '53 Tele with a defective pickup and a Vibrolux Reverb Amp turned way up. He sometimes turned it around backwards onstage so the audience heard the sound coming from the back of the amp's speakers. Don Mare knows more about Roy's Tele "Nancy" than anyone and he does make a copy of that defective bridge pickup. He says that if you only own one Tele it might not be the pickup for you, but you might want to try it in your #2 Tele.
Do a search over on the Telecaster Discussion Page. There's a wealth of info on "Nancy", Roy Buchanan and Don Mare.
Don's the only guy who's opened "Nancy" up and taken readings. He says the pickup had NO READING with a multi meter. But it still worked.
Danny Gatton also played through a cranked Vibrolux Reverb. Danny's '53 Tele had Joe Barden pickups in it by the time he made his most well known recordings.
I used those for a while. A bit too bright and steely clean for me but they worked for Danny and they sound good through an old Fender Amp cranked way up.
Doc Barlo doesn't post much here anymore but when he did 10 or 15 years ago he suggested I try an alnico 2 Tele bridge pickup, and when I did I heard the sound my '51 Tele had.
So I ordered an A2 '53 Tapped and an A2 Jerry Donahue from the Duncan Custom Shop.
The Jerry Donahue still resides in my Tele Custom and the '53 Tapped is in one of my Strats.
They do distorted tones more smoothly than the real '53 pickup in my '54 Esquire.
Early '54 Teles and Esquires still used the flat poled version of the Tele bridge pickup and that's what's in mine.
Later '54 Teles and Esquires used the raised polepiece version...or so I've read.
Lewguitar
New member
The Custom Shop version is even better. A little more transparent. Both are terrific.
Lewguitar
New member
I dunno! I've had mine a long time. Mj wound it.
