Hey guys, hoping to get some recommendations on a replacement pickup for a Dimarzio Twang King neck pickup.
I purchased a Richie Kotzen Telecaster a few months ago and love it. Almost everything I want in a tele.
One of the things that's been a bit of a battle is the Twang King in the neck position. Unfortunately, I just can't get the thing to balance, tonally, with the Chopper T at the bridge-- the Twang King is just too bright and scooped sounding-- very different from the thick, muscular sound of the Chopper T. I've tried adjusting pickup height to no avail. I don't mind the slight volume imbalance between the two current pickups, it's the difference in EQ that's really getting me.
I think the TK neck works well for Richie because he uses heavy strings (11-49), which makes the neck pickup much fuller and less bright/thin sounding, which helps balance it with the bridge pickup. Unfortunately I'm a 9-42 or 9-46 kinda guy.
So I need some recommendations for a warmer/fuller sounding tele neck pickup. It needs to be available with a gold cover though, so it matches with the rest of the hardware. I've narrowed it down to the following:
Duncan APTR-1 Alnico II tele neck pickup
Duncan STR-1 Vintage Tele neck pickup
Duncan STK-T1n Vintage Tele Stack neck pickup
Duncan STR-2 Hot Tele neck pickup - a little leary about this one, as a louder true single coil usually means louder hum
I tried the Dimarzio True Velvet neck in another guitar, and while less bright than the Twang King neck, it was still too bright for my liking. I've not tried the Dimarzio Area T noiseless, but years ago, I did try their Area T bridge pickup and it sounded and felt kinda synthetic and not like a genuine tele pickup, so I've decided to avoid the neck counterpart.
So what say ye, fellow SDUGF brothers?
I purchased a Richie Kotzen Telecaster a few months ago and love it. Almost everything I want in a tele.
One of the things that's been a bit of a battle is the Twang King in the neck position. Unfortunately, I just can't get the thing to balance, tonally, with the Chopper T at the bridge-- the Twang King is just too bright and scooped sounding-- very different from the thick, muscular sound of the Chopper T. I've tried adjusting pickup height to no avail. I don't mind the slight volume imbalance between the two current pickups, it's the difference in EQ that's really getting me.
I think the TK neck works well for Richie because he uses heavy strings (11-49), which makes the neck pickup much fuller and less bright/thin sounding, which helps balance it with the bridge pickup. Unfortunately I'm a 9-42 or 9-46 kinda guy.
So I need some recommendations for a warmer/fuller sounding tele neck pickup. It needs to be available with a gold cover though, so it matches with the rest of the hardware. I've narrowed it down to the following:
Duncan APTR-1 Alnico II tele neck pickup
Duncan STR-1 Vintage Tele neck pickup
Duncan STK-T1n Vintage Tele Stack neck pickup
Duncan STR-2 Hot Tele neck pickup - a little leary about this one, as a louder true single coil usually means louder hum
I tried the Dimarzio True Velvet neck in another guitar, and while less bright than the Twang King neck, it was still too bright for my liking. I've not tried the Dimarzio Area T noiseless, but years ago, I did try their Area T bridge pickup and it sounded and felt kinda synthetic and not like a genuine tele pickup, so I've decided to avoid the neck counterpart.
So what say ye, fellow SDUGF brothers?
