Muddy tele neck pickup?

Left_Hand_Strat

Left_Hand_Strat

New member
hi all,

my telecaster copy is awesome, I love it to bits and i enjoy playing it, however the more I play it the more I think that the pickups require more clarity but enough bite to get nicely overdriven/distorted but also containing that vintage twang of a tele.

The neck pickup is disappointing in particular, it sounds very muddy with the tone turned up to 10 and when the tone gets dropped it sounds like a muddy fuzz fart.

the cap in it came from an old 70's bitser which i sold as spares and it makes the bridge sound good, so it could be that. Ultimately though, I would love to replace the pickups.

what do you guys recommend to do?? or have done before?
 
Re: Muddy tele neck pickup?

Q1) How close is your neck pickup to the strings?
Q2) What control circuit have you followed?
Q3) Pics would help.

By any chance, is that "vintage" capacitor a .047 or a .1uF?
 
Re: Muddy tele neck pickup?

Welcome to the world of Teles! Tele neck pickups are going to sound like that. It's the nature of the beast. You can try to remove the cover, as that will give you more highs. If you do that, don't try to force the cover off. If you do you might ruin the pickup. Use a hairdryer to loosen the wax if that becomes a problem.

Many players have had success with the Dimarzio Twang King neck pickup and the the Fender Twisted Tele pickup. I don't think you can buy the Twisted Tele pickups separate from a guitar, unless someone is selling them on ebay or Craigslist.

I would recommend a Tele neck pickup from Duncan along those lines, but the only one that I am aware of that they offer is a Custom Shop pickup.
 
Re: Muddy tele neck pickup?

There's also the Bare Knuckle Blackguard 52 set - the neck pickup is meant to sound more like a Strat neck than you would normally get in a Tele.

Bare Knuckles ain't cheap though...
 
Re: Muddy tele neck pickup?

I've been using this rig, the 53 Tapped Tele Set, for some time now: http://www.seymourduncan.com/2011products/53-tapped-tele-model-t.php

Love the bridge pickup and the neck pickup is way better sounding than a stock Tele neck pickup, let alone an inexpensive import Tele neck pickup, but since my Tele is already routed for a Strat neck pickup, that's what's going in there sometime in the next few weeks.

I think a real Strat pickup is the only solution without compromise.
 
Re: Muddy tele neck pickup?

I just picked up a Twisted Tele off ebay for $45 - sounds great. It's in my sunburst Tele in the Tele thread.
 
Re: Muddy tele neck pickup?

Wilde Keystones set
Duncan Broadcaster (b) - Dimarzio Twang King (n)
Fender OV (b) - Twisted Tele (n)
Nocaster set
 
Re: Muddy tele neck pickup?

Nocaster neck pickup is pretty bright and really sweet and airy, and never muddy. Goes great with the nocaster bridge too.

not the most harmonically complicated pickups, but the price is right and the quality is good.

Really awesome neck pickup. If you want something more traditional than twisted tele, try the nocasters.
 
Re: Muddy tele neck pickup?

I have also got a twisted tele neck pickup off ebay.
It was in aftermarket packaging so some stores must be able to get them separately.
(the twisted tele is essentially a strat neck pickup under a tele cover).

You could also hit up Zhangbucker and get some custom wound ones. He does coverless for the neck as standard
 
Re: Muddy tele neck pickup?

There's no such thing as a Strat pickup under a Tele cover. It's physically impossible. And there's no Tele size neck pickup that really sounds like a Strat neck pickup. There's some good ones, but the tone is a compromise and, for me, not as satisfying as the sound of a real Strat neck pickup. So that's what's going in my Tele next.
 
Re: Muddy tele neck pickup?

I think the sound you are after will likely be attained cheapest by dropping in a strat pickup.

I like Fralins, Lollars, and Bareknuckles but they come with a hefty pricetag.

I'm not really aware of any Duncans or Dimarzios in regular production that are "tele" pickups that really get that sound.
 
Re: Muddy tele neck pickup?

Jeremiah said:
There's also the Bare Knuckle Blackguard 52 set - the neck pickup is meant to sound more like a Strat neck than you would normally get in a Tele.

Bare Knuckles ain't cheap though...
Click to expand...

I have the BKP Blackguard Flat 52s in my Tele and I like them a lot. They have A5 magnets and 42 gauge wire. The neck pickup is not as clear as the SSL-1 in my Strat but it is a lot clearer and more open sounding than other Tele neck pickups I've played. The bridge pickup is just awesome for all the classic Tele tones. It twangs, it bites, it rocks. Paid £140 for the pair which, given that they are keepers, is fine with me :)
 
Re: Muddy tele neck pickup?

Right I see the options available to me.

the wiring is the standard tele situation. one vol. one tone three way switch with an old ceramic disc capacitor in it as the standard green one sounded pants.

the three way in an import type, the pots are also the smaller diameter shaft types which is annoying, however the plate will either be drilled or a new one obtained to remedy this. the pickups them selves have one wire coming from each pickup, in the PVC there is a bare earth wire and then the hot lead. essentially, cheap pickups.
 
Re: Muddy tele neck pickup?

So, is you is or is you ain't phishing for a modestly priced replacement pickup? :naughty:
 
Re: Muddy tele neck pickup?

Try a SD Jerry Donohue bridge and a APS-2 Alnico II Pro for Strat. That's the Duncan setup that Jerry used to use. He's now endorsing Fret King. That would be a not so expensive solution before getting into custom winding.

At Guitar Fetish they have pickguards for Teles' that will accomodate Strat pickups. You could save your old one. A Strat pickup will fit in the exsisting pickguard but without the cover. You would need to protect the windings.

If your not really wanting to go the "Strat" sounding neck pick up and removing the cover is something you don't want to do. Look for neck pickups with nickel silver covers instead of the plated brass ones.
 
Re: Muddy tele neck pickup?

I just got a new pickguard and in went an SSL-1.
sunny.jpg
 
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