Curly
Moe's Bluesman
Sometimes we overlook the simple things.
I put together an ash strat a while back. It was more or less vintage style, and I used a Broadcaster/ Vintage Rhythm combo. I found these a bit bright, and replaced them with a set of Antiquities - a great set, by the way.
Meanwhile, I had a regular alder body/ rosewood neck US tele. I thought it sounded fine stock, but I thought it could be even better with some SDs. I went with a JD bridge and a Hot neck for a little more beef.
This set sounded great with a little OD for playing slide, but I found the clean tone of the neck pickup a little dark when paired with the JD.
Some of Donzo's posts made me reconsider my Broadcaster. I dug mine out and put a meter on it - 8.26K!!!! "Darn, I gotta try this again!"
So yesterday, I put the Broadcaster/ Vintage Rhythm set in my US tele.
What a great set!
I still think the Broadcaster is bright, but what I've learned in the meantime is that is the nature of teles!
Also, I usually play strats, and you simply have to tweak your amp settings when switching to a tele. I've found that, depending on the amp, I have to increase my amp volume and add some treble in order to get enough oomph and brightness on the (usually) weak tele neck pickup, then just use your tone knob when you switch positions, rolling off highs on the bridge to suit.
Once I did this, I got a great tone in all three positions. The Vintage Rhythm sounded warm and smooth, and got a good Blues tone, and a good Jazz tone with a little of the highs rolled off. The Broadcaster had punch and clarity, a great sounding bottom, and once I found the sweet spot on the tone control, it had that vocal quality I love about SD pickups. The mid position had a great chimy tone that Lew often refers to as a great rhythm tone.
I played this guitar for a couple hours yesterday, mostly through my Blues Jr, but also through my DRRI, my Victoria Double Deluxe, and my old '56 Deluxe.
I'm very pleased with the balance of this set - something that's often discussed on the forum in regard to tele sets.
Some of this is probably old news to the tele players, but I usually find myself fighting teles. I'm no chicken picker, and as much as I try Country licks, they usually come out bluesy.
Having a great balanced tele tone though is a great starting place to revisit my whole approach. I just find it a little ironic that it's such a basic set ... we often talk about Custom Shop pickups, Antiquities, and some lesser used pickups, but I'll repeat something I needed to be reminded of:
Seymour's most basic, popular, and often recommended sets sound terrific!
I put together an ash strat a while back. It was more or less vintage style, and I used a Broadcaster/ Vintage Rhythm combo. I found these a bit bright, and replaced them with a set of Antiquities - a great set, by the way.
Meanwhile, I had a regular alder body/ rosewood neck US tele. I thought it sounded fine stock, but I thought it could be even better with some SDs. I went with a JD bridge and a Hot neck for a little more beef.
This set sounded great with a little OD for playing slide, but I found the clean tone of the neck pickup a little dark when paired with the JD.
Some of Donzo's posts made me reconsider my Broadcaster. I dug mine out and put a meter on it - 8.26K!!!! "Darn, I gotta try this again!"
So yesterday, I put the Broadcaster/ Vintage Rhythm set in my US tele.
What a great set!
I still think the Broadcaster is bright, but what I've learned in the meantime is that is the nature of teles!
Also, I usually play strats, and you simply have to tweak your amp settings when switching to a tele. I've found that, depending on the amp, I have to increase my amp volume and add some treble in order to get enough oomph and brightness on the (usually) weak tele neck pickup, then just use your tone knob when you switch positions, rolling off highs on the bridge to suit.
Once I did this, I got a great tone in all three positions. The Vintage Rhythm sounded warm and smooth, and got a good Blues tone, and a good Jazz tone with a little of the highs rolled off. The Broadcaster had punch and clarity, a great sounding bottom, and once I found the sweet spot on the tone control, it had that vocal quality I love about SD pickups. The mid position had a great chimy tone that Lew often refers to as a great rhythm tone.
I played this guitar for a couple hours yesterday, mostly through my Blues Jr, but also through my DRRI, my Victoria Double Deluxe, and my old '56 Deluxe.
I'm very pleased with the balance of this set - something that's often discussed on the forum in regard to tele sets.
Some of this is probably old news to the tele players, but I usually find myself fighting teles. I'm no chicken picker, and as much as I try Country licks, they usually come out bluesy.
Having a great balanced tele tone though is a great starting place to revisit my whole approach. I just find it a little ironic that it's such a basic set ... we often talk about Custom Shop pickups, Antiquities, and some lesser used pickups, but I'll repeat something I needed to be reminded of:
Seymour's most basic, popular, and often recommended sets sound terrific!
