Help with Tele pickups

Elrond39

Elrond39

New member
Hello there! (first post)

I'm looking at getting a Telecaster to replace my Epi Les Paul Custom. I love my LP, don't get me wrong, but it is VERY heavy.
Now, I'd love to switch to a Tele, but I know that the stock pickups aren't for me. I like the twang, but there's just not enough power for my style. (Think varying from Death Cab for Cutie [indie] to Jimmy Eat World [contemporary rock]. I also dabble a bit in a more south-western flavor, Reubens Accomplice, The Format... a bit of Jets to Brazil as well).
My question is, naturally, which pickups should I consider in order to retain the Tele twang on clean, while also giving me good, full (especially mid-range) distortion capabilities? I want to occasionally throw in some sweet solos as well, of course. I've been looking around, and I'd like to maintain the look of a tele while sounding more like an LP (with the added twang).
Should I go for hot-rails in the bridge with a (hot)vintage stack in the neck? Should I go for quarter-pounders all around? Should I consider new wiring schematics as well? Should I look to add more tonal variation through an additional tone-knob?
Oh, before I forget, I intend to buy the new pickups and have them professionally installed, because I'm not so great with do-it-yourself kinds of things.
Suggest anything, really. If you need more info from me, I can give... I think this is pretty much the basics for now.

Thanks a lot, in advance,
cheers,
Ron
 
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Re: Help with Tele pickups

Lew has suggested the following for my Mex tele a Quarter pounder for the neck and hot for tele tapped and a 5 way switch. So this will give me the options of twang and if I something a little hotter.

1. Hot bridge only
2. Hot bridge and neck combined
3. neck only
4. Vintage output bridge and neck combined
5. Vintage output bridge only

"The thing about the Tapped Tele Hot is that in the tapped mode it sounds just like a Broadcaster lead pickup...but at full output it's hotter and ballsier than a vintage Broadcaster. So you get the best of both worlds: traditional '51 Tele tone and more modern hotter tone for pushing your amp harder"

Haven't got them installed yet so I don't know what they sound like
 
Re: Help with Tele pickups

Sounds like a good setup, once you get them in, let me know what they sound like.
 
Re: Help with Tele pickups

I'd consider both the tapped tele hot and the tapped quarter pounder. The Tele hot has a more vintage flavor than the quarter pounder, especially when tapped. The QP retains a lot of the tele twang but has a lot more girth (especially in the mid section). The QP is fatter, warmer, and is much closer to a humbucker type tone than the hot. Tapped, it's got a single coil flavor, but not as "trademark tele" as the hot. Both are great pickups. Either way, I'd want the tapped version for versatility.

There are several ways to wire tapped pickups. The 5 way switch is one variation and works only when one pickup is being tapped (in the above case it's the bridge). Another alternative is to use tapped versions in both positions. This, IMO, is best accomplished with two push/pull pots (one for each pickup) and a three way switch. That scheme gives you the following 8 options (numbers represent 3-way switch position. Variations accomplished with push/pulls):

1. Full bridge
1. Tapped bridge
2. Full bridge, full neck
2. Tapped bridge, tapped neck
2. Full bridge, tapped neck
2. Tapped bridge, full neck
3. Full neck
3. Tapped neck

A simpler version would use one push/pull and have 6 options, difference being in the middle position would have the ability to do both pickups full or both pickups tapped.

BTW, welcome to the forums.
 
Re: Help with Tele pickups

Thanks for the welcome :)
A friend of mine has that push/pull pot setup on his LP with EMGs. Sounds like a great and versatile option, so I think that is a keeper. Thanks!
Tapped seems like it would fit my 'requirements', definitely. An additional question to that, though, is whether to stick with Tele Hot in both positions, Quarter-pounders in both [which is what I'm leaning toward at the moment], or mix and match?
Another quick question: this tapped pickup setup would imply the need for a second tone knob. How easy is it to add a second tone-knob in the Tele-plate? Is it really just a matter of drilling a hole in the plate? (There would be three knobs in total, yes? two tone, one volume)
 
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Re: Help with Tele pickups

Nope, you can keep 1 master volume and 1 master tone if you like. There are a couple ways you could wire it, but the setup I use right now is that the volume and tone pots are both push/pulls. The volume is used to tap the bridge and the tone is used to tap the neck.

I've never tried to put a third pot in a tele, but I can't imagine that it would be very easy. There's not much room in the control cavity as it is. Adding another pot would require a custom control plate and a bottle of aspirin for the headache it'll cause. ;) I'm not even sure there'd be enough space to get three knobs on the three pots...

I've only had limited experiences with the Hot for Tele, while I own the tapped quarter pounders, so my knowledge of the QPs is better than the hots. I will say that the Hot for Tele, especially when tapped, is far truer to the vintage telecaster tone than the QPs. The hots also have a little more twang than the QPs. However, the fatness and warmth in the QPs is closer to a humbucker tone than the Hot for Tele. That's the best info I can give you... I can't make the choice for you ;)
 
Re: Help with Tele pickups

One last question; could you/ do you have a wiring schematic for the push-pull setup you have? It's sounding more and more like your setup (QP in bridge and neck) would be what I'm looking for :D Did you have the wiring done, or did you do it yourself? (just out of curiosity... I'm pretty sure I'll get it done for me :D)

And a shameful question. Because I like things simple, I could wire the push/pull for the neck pickup to the "top" knob (directly next to the switch) and the bridge to the second knob, eh? (Although I think that's what you have... [ashamed]I've forgotten which is the volume and which is the tone knob[/ashamed])
 
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Re: Help with Tele pickups

You need to send a PM to Zhangliqun.He recently made me some tele pickups that absolutely rock! I'm still blown away by them and how nice my cheezy squire sounds.It will save you some $ too.
 
Re: Help with Tele pickups

Lu_B said:
Lew has suggested the following for my Mex tele a Quarter pounder for the neck and hot for tele tapped and a 5 way switch. So this will give me the options of twang and if I something a little hotter.

1. Hot bridge only
2. Hot bridge and neck combined
3. neck only
4. Vintage output bridge and neck combined
5. Vintage output bridge only

"The thing about the Tapped Tele Hot is that in the tapped mode it sounds just like a Broadcaster lead pickup...but at full output it's hotter and ballsier than a vintage Broadcaster. So you get the best of both worlds: traditional '51 Tele tone and more modern hotter tone for pushing your amp harder"
Haven't got them installed yet so I don't know what they sound like
Click to expand...

I use my Tapped Tele Hot in my Strat....with some Antiquity Surfers for the neck and middle. If your new Tele is routed for a larger than stock Tele neck pickup, then a Strat neck pickup would be a very good choice. Lew
 
Re: Help with Tele pickups

Starting to get really into this now :)
I'm definitely going for double-tapped. If I were to go for a 1 and 1 setup, which pickup "should" be the QP and which the Tele Hot? I figure that going this way will allow me to keep the twang on tapped and non-tapped clean, while giving me the quality humbucker distortion I love. If this is my aim, should I get the lead (bridge) as a Tele Hot, or the rhytm (neck)?

And for a much simpler question, which color do you all prefer out of these two (the ones I am considering): Electron Blue, and Midnight Wine. A Pearloid pickguard is an additional little thing to add, I'd say.
 
Re: Help with Tele pickups

I've gone Quarter Pounder Neck and Hot for Tele Tapped in the Bridge

As for the question I'm more qualified to answer I like Midnight Wine!
 
Re: Help with Tele pickups

the lil 59 on a splitter switch got around the twang bush and back on the Les pauly really well,
and it's worked for lots of folks I know.
 
Re: Help with Tele pickups

Lu_B,
Can I ask you for a favor? (or anyone else who has the QP Tapped in Neck and Hot for Tele Tapped Bridge) Could you post some sound samples? Preferably a short riff or whatever of both pickups clean (tapped and non-tapped) and dirty (tapped and non-tapped), and of both at the same time (tapped and non-tapped , dirty and clean).

Thanks a lot, in advance!
 
Re: Help with Tele pickups

Finally got the settings I like on my Flamecaster....

2 tapped Tele Quarter Pounders on a 5-way Super Switch:

1) neck tapped
2) neck full
3) neck tapped/bridge full
4) neck & bridge full
5) bridge full

After tapping things here & there, I like this setup alot. The 3 & 4 positions are bada$$ & let me say, a full on Quarter Pounder bridge is THE SH!T !!!
 
Re: Help with Tele pickups

Elrond39 said:
Lu_B,
Can I ask you for a favor? (or anyone else who has the QP Tapped in Neck and Hot for Tele Tapped Bridge) Could you post some sound samples? Preferably a short riff or whatever of both pickups clean (tapped and non-tapped) and dirty (tapped and non-tapped), and of both at the same time (tapped and non-tapped , dirty and clean).

Thanks a lot, in advance!
Click to expand...

Bump, out of personal interest.

That's right, I've pulled the trigger and traded for a Tele. MIM Black. Just wondering what kind of cosmetics would go well with the upgraded pickups... I figure while I'm at it... :D Tortoise-shell pickguard, maybe? :bigok: Definitely looking at the smaller Jazz-bass knobs, I've always loved the look and feel of those.

Also, it's possible to wire the push-pulls so that the "normal" (not-pulled) state is the "tapped" option, yes? That way, the standard tone would be "tapped" and I'd have to pull for the hotter output. Seems more logical, I guess.
 
Re: Help with Tele pickups

Elrond39 said:
Also, it's possible to wire the push-pulls so that the "normal" (not-pulled) state is the "tapped" option, yes? That way, the standard tone would be "tapped" and I'd have to pull for the hotter output. Seems more logical, I guess.
Click to expand...

Yup, just switch the tapped lead and the hot lead on the switch.

Here's the first diagram I drew up for my tele that did that very thing. I ended up with a DPDT for each pickup and switching the red and white leads so that "up" on the push/pull was tapped.
wiringdiagram.jpg
 
Re: Help with Tele pickups

Hi Elrond

I don't have the the facilities to record any clips but suffice to say I use my tele generally in positions 1, 2, 3 but mostly 2

As for pickguard I'd go black/grey pearloid or tortoiseshell
 
Re: Help with Tele pickups

I'm finding it difficult to locate a left-handed Tele pickguard in styles other than white, "parchment", mint green or black... Not easy when you also live in the Netherlands. Anyone have any preferred places they look for 'guards? (hopefully with a reasonable [international] shipping price... otherwise I might have to just go through Warmoth)

It's a shame, too, I saw this gorgeous gold-pearloid pickguard on the 'Bay :D (GFS. A Shame they don't manufacture them left-handed)

Edit: Speaking of the 'Bay...
Abalone
Black Pearl
 
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