Making a custom and seeking advice...

[nevadicus]

Hey everybody. I'm new to this forum, but it seems like everyone knows what they're talking about a little bit more than me. Here's the thing: I'm having an entirely custom guitar made for me by Warmoth and I've run into a wall: What pickups do I use? I know very little beyond the basics of the different types of pickups. I've listened to the audio files on the Seymour Duncan website and another company, and have found things approaching the sound I'm looking for, but not coming close enough.
Specifically, I am looking for one pickup that, with a clean signal, can achieve "dark, round, full, ringing" tones - like a cathedral bell. For another pickup, I'm looking for warm "chirpy", "chimey" tones - but not thin or twangy. And for the third pickup, if there's room, some smooth, jazzy tones would be nice. I love the sound of the neck pickup in the Jazzmaster, but the big soapbar-size pickup from that probably wouldn't fit in a tight, 3 pickup arrangement. I hope someone out there can translate my ridiculous adjectives into a pickup recommendation or two. Thanks for reading my post.
Cheerio,
Nevada J.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Making a custom and seeking advice...

What are the specs on your guitar (i.e. body woods, scale length, bridge type).

Also, keep in mind that the SD sounclips are more of a rough guideline. Every pickup will sound different in every guitar.

 

[nevadicus]

Re: Making a custom and seeking advice...

It's going to be a telecaster style guitar with a hollowed-out alder or ash body and a maple neck and fingerboard. It won't have the traditional ashtray tele bridge - takes up too much space. Instead, it'll be a Gotoh flat mount bridge. I suppose I should have thrown that info in there to begin with. Thanks for the reply, by the way.
Nevada J.

 

[Erlend_G]

Re: Making a custom and seeking advice...

Well, to my ears, the Alnico 2 Pro Single Coils sounds as chirpy\chimey and warm as you can ever get!

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Making a custom and seeking advice...

How will your guitar be routed?

If you're going to have the guitar routed for a bridge tele pickup, I'd put a Jerry Donahue Lead in the bridge, an APS-2 Alnico II Pro flat in the mid, and a Phat Cat in the neck.

 

[nevadicus]

Re: Making a custom and seeking advice...

Thanks guys for the feedback. I guess I don't even know what routing means, but I know that I don't have to commit to telecaster pickups just because it's a telecaster body. I can use strat pickups, humbuckers, whatever. They can make anything fit in there, so my options are pretty wide open. I took a fresh listen on this site to the pickups you guys recommended, and they seem to be as close as they come for the "warm, chirpy, chimey" sound. Still hoping for a small single coil that sounds like the Jazzmaster neck pickup and any kind of pickup that approaches "cathedral bell" tone. Hey, it might even be the "chirpy, chimey" one, just not in the bridge position.
Again, thanks for the ideas...