Assistance With Choice of SD's for Telecaster Nashville

[Alastair]

Hi.

I have a Telecaster Delux Power Nashville. It has 4 pups… Fishman Piezo, Tex Mex Tele bridge and neck and a Tex Mex Strat in the middle position. The Piezo is great but I would like to replace the magnetic pups with Seymour Duncans. What I am looking for is different tones/textures from the mag pups. Of course there is a difference at the present but not distinctive enough for my purposes. It is my own material I work with and there are times I use different textures in one song. I have an effects board but I would like to have more ‘in house’! Of equal importance is, if possible, to have similar output to avoid needing to adjust volume mid song which is difficult as different tones/textures have a different presence…

What I am thinking at the moment is a single coil-sized Humbucker at the bridge (Little ’59 Tele or a Hot Rails Tele). In the middle a Custom Standard/Flat Strat or a Hot Strat and in the neck a Quarter Pound Tele.

I appreciate this is a very involved question and highly subjective, but I would be very grateful if anybody had some informed opinions on my thinking! I should add the Fishman Piezo has a beautiful clean/acoustic-like sound so I already have that in my pallet

Thanks

Alastair

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Assistance With Choice of SD's for Telecaster Nashville

First off, what sounds are you going for? If you want sheer versatility, you will IMO have to make some compromises. And how will it be wired? Standard Nashville Tele wiring or more of an HSS wiring? These are probably the two most important questions.

If you have the funds, I would go Lil' Pearly Gates in the bridge, STK-S4 (a noiseless version of the SSL-1), and I have a whole myriad of options for the neck, depending on what you want. A Lollar Charlie Christian for jazzy tones, a STK-S7 for a Stratish tone with a bit of a rounded high end, a Seth Lover could also sound pretty good in the neck.

So in short:

1-What music you play? Your amplifier choice will also shed more light on your musical background.
2-What do you want from it? Maybe list some bands or genres
3-How will it be wired?

 

[Mincer]

Re: Assistance With Choice of SD's for Telecaster Nashville

Welcome to the forum!

The problem here is that as you change to different types of pickups, the inherent EQ and output changes, too. A clear, bright single coil Tele sounds are great, but combine them with a humbucker, and the humbucker will generally overpower it. So there are some decisions to be made...first- is noiseless important? And how important is it that you get a traditional Tele sound out of the neck or bridge?

 

[Alastair]

Re: Assistance With Choice of SD's for Telecaster Nashville

Thanks Christopher V much for the reply. Good questions! Highly subjective Something that isn't... If you have the time could you explain a wee bit about the wiring issue? What is HSS wiring and what difference does this make? I know a lot about music but am NOT a Tech. Someone will do it for me.

1-What music you play? - It's my own styles and textures vary a lot. Picking, strumming, big chords, percussive, ambient. I play through a very good, neutral PA.
2-What do you want from it? - Not Country and not Folk The Piezo untreated is a beautiful clear sound. What I want from the mag pups is a fairly distinct difference between them. I'll look at your suggestions!
3-How will it be wired? - I await your informed explanation

Much appreciated and thanks

Alastair.

 

[Alastair]

Re: Assistance With Choice of SD's for Telecaster Nashville

Thanks for the reply... noiseless is fairly important. Trad tele sound is not!

Alastair

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Assistance With Choice of SD's for Telecaster Nashville

Okay, so an HSS wiring is short for humbucker/single coil/single coil. They are usually wired like a traditional Strat, but with the bridge pickup split in the bridge and middle position. You have a Tele too, so it is also common to have the neck and bridge in the middle switch position instead of the middle pickup alone, like on a Strat. You can also choose to have the bridge split in this position.