Figuring Out What to Get

J

Jaidon2412

New member
How do you guys figure out what you need if you can’t always try before you buy? A local company has begun endorsing me and the owner/luthier is going to build my dream guitar. The only thing I’m unclear on is pickups.

here’s what I know:
I want a Tele style guitar that has the ability to sound like a Tele, but more closely resembles the tones of a Strat. I’ve decided I want a single coil in the bridge, single in the middle, and a mini humbucker in the neck.

I really just don’t know about magnet types and all the other things that go into choosing pickups. I’m also afraid of getting pickups that are out of phase with one another. Can I beat the learning curve, or should I just speak with a Duncan sales rep to try and pinpoint what I want?
 
Welcome to the forum! You can certainly ask a lot of questions here. Is the pickup in the bridge going to be a Tele or Strat pickup? With just a Strat pickup in the middle, it won't be easy to get classic Strat tones. In the end, you don't always need to know about things like magnet types to choose a good pickup. Figure out the power level you want (vintage or high output), an the EQ you want (treble mid bass). Compare it to pickups you already love and ones you hate. Most pickups are bought without trying them in a specific guitar first. We get a general idea, and narrow it down. Everyone here is super helpful, and they know their stuff, so ask away.
 
If they are going to build your dream guitar, and cost is less of an issue, I would certainly think that the Custom Shop could come up with something that would fit your bill without having to worry about phasing issues etc. if you tried to do so with mix and match.
 
I could be wrong, but I think the location of the tele bridge pickup vs the strat will have more of an effect on the sound than the pickup. The tele has a bassier bass side because it's farther away from the bridge. I would say you could just use a tele pickup for that with a strat pickup in the middle. Anything vintage output for the mini in the neck will be fine. Just choose the power level you want and decide between a true single coil or noiseless in the middle and bridge and you should be fine.
 
What woods will the guitar be made of? Will it be standard Tele shaped with standard Tele scale neck, or some other design? Will it be solid, or semi-hollow/thinline? PIckup recommendations need to be adjusted based on what exact guitar it's going in.

If it were me, I'd put a Tele/Broadcaster pickup in the bridge and a Strat pickup in the neck. The most defining Strat tone is the neck to me. The bridge difference between a Tele and Strat isn't that great, but Strats are a bit anemic in comparison while a Tele can sound humbucker-ish when needed.
 
Trial and error. Or tried-and-true pickup sets.

Probably good to decide which Tele tones and which Strat tones you want the most. For me, positions 2 & 4 are the most quintessential Strat. Beau right above me thinks differently. That's okay, but it'll help you choose pickups if you can narrow that down. For example if the neck Strat position is the most important Strat sound for you, you could do a Twisted Telecaster set - that's a Fender set where the neck pickup is voiced like a Strat and the bridge pickup is voiced like a fatter Tele/Broadcaster pickup. Sounds awesome. If your favorite Strat tones are the notch tones, that'll change things and I'm not sure what to suggest.
 
It’s going to have an alder body with a flamed maple top, a maple neck, and a rosewood fretboard. The tone I’m after is similar to John Mayer (think "Gravity" for cleans and John Mayer Trio’s "Who Did You Think I Was" for slightly over-driven blues tone)
 
Jaidon2412 said:
It’s going to have an alder body with a flamed maple top, a maple neck, and a rosewood fretboard. The tone I’m after is similar to John Mayer (think "Gravity" for cleans and John Mayer Trio’s "Who Did You Think I Was" for slightly over-driven blues tone)
Click to expand...

John Mayer uses the in-between positions and neck a lot. I think you're leaning towards the wrong pickups for what you said you wanted in the first post.

Strat Neck - Strat Mid - Tele Bridge

Then you can wire it up to a superswitch to give you:
Strat - Strat neck
Strat - Strat neck/mid
Tele - Strat neck/Tele bridge
Strat - Strat mid/Tele bridge or just strat middle pickup depending on what sound you like better
Tele - Tele bridge

That covers most of the best sounds from a strat and can sound like a tele.


If you don't want to use a superswitch, you can use a regular switch to do pretty much the same thing just in a different order:
- Strat mid
- Strat mid + neck
- Strat neck
- Strat neck + tele bridge
- tele bridge
 
...It wouldn't be much of a stretch from GuitarStv's wiring suggestions to add a Gilmour mod to have all 5 "strat" wiring options and tele style neck & bridge option available.
 
i agree about the sst setup. ssl1 neck and middle with jd tele bridge pup would be a great setup though maybe not as glassy as some of mayers tones, though very much in the ballpark. your amp will make a huge difference in getting those tones. my strat with antiquity ii jaguar pups into an old pro reverb can nail those super glassy strat tones but it has a lot to do with the amp
 
It's not as random or mysterious to get stuff you'll like without trying it first. If you're going after a sound similar to John Mayer's, start out with something similar to what he uses. Vintage voiced pickups in a Fender style guitar plugged into a Tubescreamer style pedal into a loud old Fender amp will get you pretty close.
 
Yeah, at least Strat mid and neck. I'd pick the Antiquity Surfers for a JM tone. The bridge pickup is less important for that tone.
 
It helps if you have a similar set (or individual for each position) of identified pickups that you do or don't like for comparison. That gives you a reference point.
I've never bought custom shop, but if you're going to speak to them and have a reference point, I'm sure they'll be able to direct you enough to get what you're after.

Otherwise I reckon it takes more trial and error.
:D Good luck.
 
As much as I like Firebird minis in the neck position of different guitars, they won't really do the Mayer thing.
 
I appreciate all of you so much for your feedback! This is my first post here and I didn’t know the reaction I’d get would be this good, so I’m very thankful.

I’ve come to the conclusion that since I’m after a Strat tone, though I like the feel of a Tele, it would probably be better to ask my luthier to build a Strat for me (probably drop some Antiquity IIs in it), and then modify or to "feel" more comfortable to me rather than having him build a Tele and then trying to match the tone.
 
Reading forum members experiences, and by personal experience. You can't go by sound clips, as it's highly unlikely they're using the same guitar model as you along with different string gauge, amp, speakers, etc.

Best starting point is the guitars & pickups your favorites use. However in your guitar & gear those pickups may sound different, and that's where this forum is invaluable for learning what to do at that point. Things like adjusting pickup/polepiece height, then looking at different pot values and magnets, & adding resistors. Often that can get the tones you're after, much cheaper than buying more pickups that may or may not have the tones you want.

I've seen players choose pickups that are really questionable for the type of music they play, so the first step is important. You want to get in the ballpark.
 
Jaidon2412 said:
I appreciate all of you so much for your feedback! This is my first post here and I didn’t know the reaction I’d get would be this good, so I’m very thankful.

I’ve come to the conclusion that since I’m after a Strat tone, though I like the feel of a Tele, it would probably be better to ask my luthier to build a Strat for me (probably drop some Antiquity IIs in it), and then modify or to "feel" more comfortable to me rather than having him build a Tele and then trying to match the tone.
Click to expand...

A Tele can be built with a Strat tone. Just use Strat pickups and a 6 saddle trem bridge. Those are the major differences.
 
Mincer said:
A Tele can be built with a Strat tone. Just use Strat pickups and a saddle trem bridge. Those are the major differences.
Click to expand...

Exactly. It's almost entirely pickup differences and location and the tele's metal bridge plate. Rout a telly body as a strat, put in Strat hardware and you're going to have a strat.
 
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