MIM Telecaster w/ Dogear Antiquity bridge and Antiquity Soapbar neck

[Fenderman]

Just recently bought a 2007 MIM Telecaster and I am planing to put 2 P90 pickups (dogear in bridge and soapbar in the neck) because I have recently discovered how amazing p90's sound. So why the hell would I put them in a tele? Good question! Although I have a love of Gibson guitars i always feel myself reaching for that Tele or Strat. So its an attempt to 1. Get my Skills on rewiring/setting up/modding guitars up to scratch, and 2. To have a guitar with the delicious P90 tone that I want to play!

I have realised that in doing this modification, I will need to buy a buttload of new parts and wanted to ask your opinions on the reliability of the products/if there is any better options out there!

So Pickup wise, at the moment I am looking at the Duncan Antiquity p90 Soapbar in the neck and Duncan Antiquity Dogear in the bridge. I have looked at buying them from Lollar because everyone raves about them and I really liked the idea of having 5% overwound Bridge pickup (seeing as you cant adjust the dogear's hight) but my bank account is telling me thats a no-go. The Duncans seem to be a cheaper alternative and becasue I've used them before, I would at least know what I'm getting. The only question is really, would it be worth putting a Dogear or Soapbar. I heard the dogear sounds better because it can resonate with the wood a little more because its mounted directly to the wood without springs, but the soapbar is adjustable. I do like the look of the dogear however.
ALSO if there is a better option of pickup I would definitely consider a rethink about the Ants!

I'm going to put 2 500k CTS pots with a 0.15uf (for something different) Orange Drop cap. Would I need 2 500k pots because tele's are already bright guitars? I guess because the Ants use Alnico 2 Magnets they might be alright but still, GIVE ME YOU'RE OPINIONS! :biglaugh:

Bridge wise I'm Looking at a Gotoh Hardtail Bridge Which I'm pretty sure is a Strat bridge so I'll probably have to drill a few new holes. But would there be a better option out there? I do love Gotoh's Products but if there is a better option I'll definitely consider it.

Well these next few items don't really involve the pickups but I may as well let 'yall know what else I'm planning on upgrading on the guitar!

So also in my Stew Mac cart I have...

A Tusq XL Nut (Because why not)
Gotoh Oval Knob Macine Heads (Because also why the hell not!)
And a CRL 3way Switch (Not even sure of the brand but it was the most expensive so it must be good!)

What are your opinions on those 3 lil' things as well (If you can be bothered of course!)

Cheers for all your input and hope to have a CRACKER of a guitar in the very near future!


Ps, this is my first thread (yay) so I'm hoping I'm talking about the right thing in the right place...

Also thank you in advance for reading the novel!

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: MIM Telecaster w/ Dogear Antiquity bridge and Antiquity Soapbar neck

Welcome to the forum.

"Planing" could be the operative word. You will almost certainly need to remove wood from the top of the guitar in order to persuade a dogear P90 to lie below the line of the strings.

There is no need for a dogear style P90 on any Telecaster with a flat-mounted bridge. (It would take a stud-mounted bridge and tailpiece plus a steep neck pitch angle to get everything to align.)

These days it is even possible to buy a Telecaster-sized pickup that is designed to sound like a P90.

Short T style bridges with the vintage style four mounting screw holes exist. Wilkinson certainly offers one.

 

[Fenderman]

Re: MIM Telecaster w/ Dogear Antiquity bridge and Antiquity Soapbar neck

I know that I will have to route the bridge section of the guitar to fit the dogear pickup. But I just think it look so good! I saw this video and it inspired me to do the dog ear thing! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKxDpBAARZc

The P90's look so good, and they sound great as well. I always feel like when you make a bigger pick up in a smaller version (in this case the dogear to the tele sized p90) you loose something. Even if they claim it sounds exactly the same, my ears tell me otherwise. Not only that but I just find that the big p90's just look fantastic!

Do you Genuinely think I should reconsider my idea?

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: MIM Telecaster w/ Dogear Antiquity bridge and Antiquity Soapbar neck

You are free to do whatever you wish.

In my opinion, it would be simpler to have purchased a Fender Telecaster that is routed for P90s to begin with. If you are keen on Rockabilly music, there is also a model with Filter'Tron style pickups.

I watched the YouTube video. Imagine my disappointment at witnessing a man with a Fender Bassman re-issue amplifier get his overdrive from a pair of pedals rather than from cranking up the amplifier itself.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: MIM Telecaster w/ Dogear Antiquity bridge and Antiquity Soapbar neck

On reflection, all recent Fender MIM Standard Telecasters come with a generous one-size-fits-all neck/Rhythm pickup cavity. You can try an Antiquity P90 in this position without inflicting irreversible damage on the guitar.

You may find that most of your P90 demands can be met by just one of them. This would leave your options open for the bridge/Treble pickup.