Need some Tele help...

[PHILBERT]

OK...I got this Tele a while ago:

Great piece of wood, and great birdseye maple neck. Came with Duncans (a plus, right?). The tone is good, but the bridge pickup is way hot for what I'm doing. Maybe too bright as well. I have to dial way down...and then loose tone. I'm looking for a lower gain Tele honkey-tonk mojo type pickup. Think "Jealous Again" by the Black Crows. Reference:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jjq5Rq4sSZc

I want that tone bad. It is everything I want a Tele to be. The wood has that quality of tone to it, but I need a mellower pickup. I need that low gain chime. What Bridge pup would get that?

My Duncan neck pickup is the other way around. Too low in gain and bassy. No definition. What would work better there?

Here are the guitar specs:

Fender Lite Ash Telecaster®

The Lite Ash Telecaster guitar is something new from Fender. Ash is a desirable body wood because of its tonal qualities, and with its birdseye maple neck and Seymour Duncan pickups, it gives Tele players just what they need to get the job done.

Model Name Lite Ash Telecaster®
Model Number 026-5102-(521)
Series Special Edition Series
Colors (521) Natural

Body Lightweight Ash
Neck Birdseye Maple, Modern C Shape,
(Satin Polyurethane Finish)
Fingerboard Birdseye Maple, 9.5 inch Radius (241mm)
No. of Frets 22 Medium Jumbo Frets
Pickups Seymour Duncan® APTR-1, APTL-1, (Neck/Bridge) (AP=Alnico Pro)
Controls Master Volume, Master Tone
Pickup Switching 3-Position Blade:
Position 1. Bridge Pickup
Position 2. Bridge and Neck Pickups
Position 3. Neck Pickup
Bridge Vintage Style with 3 Brass Saddles
Machine Heads Cast/Sealed Tuning Machines
Hardware Chrome
Pickguard 1-Ply Black
Scale Length 25.5? (648 mm)
Width at Nut 1.625?
Unique Features Black Plastic Parts,
Abalone Dot Position Inlays,
Oversized Strap Buttons
Strings Fender Super 250L, Nickel Plated Steel,
Gauges: (.009, .011, .016, .024, .032, .042),
p/n 073-0250-003
Introduced 1/2004

PS-I have 10's on it for fuller tone.

Thanks!

 

[Butch Snyder]

Re: Need some Tele help...

Very interesting about the bridge pickup. Unless someone changed it out, it's an Alnico 2 Pro just like the neck pickup. The A2 Pro is one of the most "polite-sounding" Tele bridge pickups made. You won't find a Tele bridge pickup that's lower output and warmer. Try lowering a bit. As for the neck pickup, I have also found the APTR-1 too mellow. Try a Vintage 54 (STR-1). It will brighten things up a bit.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Need some Tele help...

What is the unamplified tone like?

Of what is the top nut made?

Is there a treble bleed capacitor on the Volume control?

 

[PHILBERT]

Re: Need some Tele help...

Very interesting about the bridge pickup. Unless someone changed it out, it's an Alnico 2 Pro just like the neck pickup. The A2 Pro is one of the most "polite-sounding" Tele bridge pickups made. You won't find a Tele bridge pickup that's lower output and warmer. Try lowering a bit. As for the neck pickup, I have also found the APTR-1 too mellow. Try a Vintage 54 (STR-1). It will brighten things up a bit.

Thanks, Butch. I looked over all the Tele pickups in the lineup. You are correct. It is the lowest and warmest of the bunch. And as I discovered that selection I immediately got the screwdriver out and did just that...lowered it. That was a big help! And I discovered a quality I never heard before...almost like two pickups on at the same time when lowered. Cool! I'm still hunting for the best spot, but I'm close.

When I first balanced this pickup, I was looking for warmth. So I raised it until I could "feel" it. Those were T75 speakers in my cabinet at that time. Since then I have changed them to Greenback types (Scumbacks). I'm able to hear things I never heard in the stock Marshall Celestian speakers. Good stuff.

And I might try that STR-1...no, I WILL try it. Sounds like it would help a great deal.

Thanks again.

 

[PHILBERT]

Re: Need some Tele help...

What is the unamplified tone like?

Of what is the top nut made?

Is there a treble bleed capacitor on the Volume control?

No Bleed cap, and the nut looks like nylon or white plastic. I don't think it is bone. It is allot closer now that I lowered the pickup.

The wood is resonant. Loud unplugged, and I can feel the vibes. The guitar is a featherweight.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Need some Tele help...

No Bleed cap, and the nut looks like nylon or white plastic. I don't think it is bone. It is allot closer now that I lowered the pickup.

The wood is resonant. Loud unplugged, and I can feel the vibes. The guitar is a featherweight.

You are lucky. All of the Lite Ash series guitars that I tried were toneless mutts. For now, concentrate on adjusting your existing PUs with the screwdriver.

If your neck PU refuses to come good, consider the SD Five-Two or a Fender NoCaster pickup.

 

[PHILBERT]

Re: Need some Tele help...

You are lucky. All of the Lite Ash series guitars that I tried were toneless mutts. For now, concentrate on adjusting your existing PUs with the screwdriver.

If your neck PU refuses to come good, consider the SD Five-Two or a Fender NoCaster pickup.

Roger that ~

Dumb luck, really. I tried a bunch in the stores and thought the same. YucK! Could it have been the strings? An on-line dealer had this one on display. The wood looked so nice, and the color was different...plus the birdseye was outrageous, so with a 20% off eBay coupon I took a chance and won. It needs a little fretwork so I can lower the action. I could put a better nut in there too, but the wood is good. I don't know how to describe this, but it has that Tele "strained" sound. Keith Richards type tone. And I am noticing the sound really changes with minor pickup adjustments. At one point in the mid adjustment area it sounds like two pickups on at the same time. Just below that it sounds better to me. But just where I like it I hear microphonics. I can tap the tailpiece with my pick and it goes "ding" loud enough to start a feedback loop. Maybe it needs rubber springs?

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Need some Tele help...

The issue here is likely not the pickups but the amp...

What are you playing thorugh??

 

[Thunder]

Re: Need some Tele help...

the issue here is likely not the pickups but the amp...

What are you playing thorugh??

+1

 

[PHILBERT]

Re: Need some Tele help...

The issue here is likely not the pickups but the amp...

What are you playing thorugh??

My best (and really pretty good sounding) Plexi setting on my Hughes & Kettner Switchblade 100W head through Scumback speakers (close clone of the original pre-Rola Pulsonic H30 made by Webber). Top notch all the way. The amp doesn't get enough credit. It can do classic to shread to NU rock and everything in-between. People who know my rig know I'm not kidding. And all settings store in memory for instant MIDI recal. And I'm an school Marshall Plexi guy (back in the day), so I know the sound well.

I think I got it where it sounds pretty good now. All I need is a new neck pickup. :thanks:

 

[Butch Snyder]

Re: Need some Tele help...

I wouldn't bet on the amp when one pickup is overly bright and loud; while the other pickup is very mellow and soft-sounding. The amp is part of the equation though....

 

[PHILBERT]

Re: Need some Tele help...

I wouldn't bet on the amp when one pickup is overly bright and loud; while the other pickup is very mellow and soft-sounding. The amp is part of the equation though....

Right. My LP and SG sound great with that setting...which is one of my most basic classic settings. The amp is doing fine.

Butch...I want to thank you. I nailed the tone! I found the right height and that character just fell into place. I never realized a Tele had so many voices based on the height and balance of the pickup. Greenback (clone) speakers kick butt. They let you hear all the tone. I like the H30 over the M25's though. Hendrix made that Strat full and bouncy with those speakers.

Truth is that is a great recording, and not easy to match. I did though. I went and listened to 3 different live versions of that song and it doesn't sound anywhere near as good as the original...or my tone. Same Tele as the studio version too. It must be his amp!

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Need some Tele help...

Perhaps a lower wattage fender like a tweed deluxe cranked up might get you closer to that sound than a marshall.
I know they used matchless amps for some stuff too.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Need some Tele help...

My best (and really pretty good sounding) Plexi setting on my Hughes & Kettner Switchblade 100W head through Scumback speakers (close clone of the original pre-Rola Pulsonic H30 made by Webber). Top notch all the way. The amp doesn't get enough credit. It can do classic to shread to NU rock and everything in-between. People who know my rig know I'm not kidding. And all settings store in memory for instant MIDI recal. And I'm an school Marshall Plexi guy (back in the day), so I know the sound well.

I think I got it where it sounds pretty good now. All I need is a new neck pickup. :thanks:

I personally never liked the alnico II Pro tele neck pickup...too dark for what I like to hear.

Try the vintage neck, it's alnico 5 and is a little brighter...that said Rich uses a PAF in his main neck in the neck.

 

[PINKBITS]

Re: Need some Tele help...

Slider of Slider's pickups makes incredible Tele and Strat pickups.

I have a set in my Tele and am blown away ever time I plug her in.