stringster
New member
Hi all!
Briefly, my main question is: what SD humbucker would be a good match in the neck position to a Quarter Pound in the rear output-wise and would any of the rather vintage-voiced 7-8K Alincio II Pro, Pearly Gates, Jazz and '59 balance well?
The longer story is I am currently having a custom tele built, which, however, is not intended to sound too much like a classic tele, as my music ranges from alternative rock to heavy metal. The essence of my tone quest for this guitar is, to the extent possible, having a good hint of the tele sparkle, ringing cleans and resonant crunch (I may not be a blues guy, but I am fan of Keith Richards' sound on this end) with enough power on the bottom-end and in the low mids to produce convincing and meaty distorted tones for power chords and muted riffing, yet with retained clarity and keeping the overall sound in vintage-modern rather than shred territory.
For some reasons I have decided that this time (unlike past upgrades I have made on other axes) I want my pickups to be all alncio and I don't want a full-sized HB, neither a single-sized rail HB in the bridge. I am also favouring a HB in the neck, though not without room for compromise. What I know for certain, however, is that I've had enough of muddy, hollow and bassy neck pickups - this time I am looking for something that sounds good, has the right proportion of mids and highs and lends itself to overdrive enough to produce focused soloing and musical crunch and chordings.
So, you can see why I have currently ended up with the QP lead and a PAF-voiced HB for the neck as a possible solution. However, I am still concerned about whether the QP wouldn't take me even beyond the degree of fattening I desire (and I still wonder whether, with a resonant peak of 3.-something, it would actually retain any tele character, as well as whether the string pull is going to end up killing some of the resonance and sustain I seek) and, I don't know how to compare on paper output levels between singles and HBs, but from what I've read so far, I really don't know whether a PAF wouldn't be outshined next to this monster single coil... so, any alternative suggestions are welcome.
For what it's worht mentioning (and I guess it is), the guitar is going to be an alder body / maple neck combo.
Briefly, my main question is: what SD humbucker would be a good match in the neck position to a Quarter Pound in the rear output-wise and would any of the rather vintage-voiced 7-8K Alincio II Pro, Pearly Gates, Jazz and '59 balance well?
The longer story is I am currently having a custom tele built, which, however, is not intended to sound too much like a classic tele, as my music ranges from alternative rock to heavy metal. The essence of my tone quest for this guitar is, to the extent possible, having a good hint of the tele sparkle, ringing cleans and resonant crunch (I may not be a blues guy, but I am fan of Keith Richards' sound on this end) with enough power on the bottom-end and in the low mids to produce convincing and meaty distorted tones for power chords and muted riffing, yet with retained clarity and keeping the overall sound in vintage-modern rather than shred territory.
For some reasons I have decided that this time (unlike past upgrades I have made on other axes) I want my pickups to be all alncio and I don't want a full-sized HB, neither a single-sized rail HB in the bridge. I am also favouring a HB in the neck, though not without room for compromise. What I know for certain, however, is that I've had enough of muddy, hollow and bassy neck pickups - this time I am looking for something that sounds good, has the right proportion of mids and highs and lends itself to overdrive enough to produce focused soloing and musical crunch and chordings.
So, you can see why I have currently ended up with the QP lead and a PAF-voiced HB for the neck as a possible solution. However, I am still concerned about whether the QP wouldn't take me even beyond the degree of fattening I desire (and I still wonder whether, with a resonant peak of 3.-something, it would actually retain any tele character, as well as whether the string pull is going to end up killing some of the resonance and sustain I seek) and, I don't know how to compare on paper output levels between singles and HBs, but from what I've read so far, I really don't know whether a PAF wouldn't be outshined next to this monster single coil... so, any alternative suggestions are welcome.
For what it's worht mentioning (and I guess it is), the guitar is going to be an alder body / maple neck combo.
Last edited:
