New telecaster needs new pickups

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vgar

New member
i just got a new telecaster and i need your recomedation for new pups.. I will be playing blues, classic rock & some 80's stuff.. what should i be putting on it?? I'm not an awesome player but i cand deffend my self.. please tell me what pickup would you recomend and why...

All recomendations are welcome..
 
Re: New telecaster needs new pickups

i dig the vintage stack for tele set .... quiet and great tone for blues and classic tele tone

not at all like the 80s

good luck
t4d
 
Re: New telecaster needs new pickups

I would say a JB in the bridge with a coil tap and a PG in the neck with a coil tap or a classic stack in the neck.

It's hard to cover blues and 80s music at the same time. The JB splits really well though and is insane in full humbucking mode.
 
Re: New telecaster needs new pickups

I recommend leaving the guitar stock and getting familiar with it before swapping anything, at least a couple months. Play it the way it is, use it for everything, and then decide after that. Too many are quick to changing things without even getting familiar with what the guitar can do.
 
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Re: New telecaster needs new pickups

ErikH said:
I recommend leaving the guitar stock and getting familiar with it before swapping anything, at least a couple months. Play it the way it is, use it for everything, and then decide after that. Too many are quick to changing things with even getting familiar with what the guitar can do.
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Big ol +1 here.

Find what the guitar can and can't do.
That said if you Must change them I'd go with a more traditional tele pickup. Keep your Tele a Tele, there's a reason you bought one.
 
Re: New telecaster needs new pickups

It all depends on what you want and what you have...what model Tele is it? Also, what kinds of tones do you want? Do you want noisless (humbucking) pickups or do you want stock vintage style pickups?

there are lots of cool Tele flavors to be had but it all depends on what you want out of said Tele...
 
Re: New telecaster needs new pickups

the guy who invented fire said:
It all depends on what you want and what you have...what model Tele is it? Also, what kinds of tones do you want? Do you want noisless (humbucking) pickups or do you want stock vintage style pickups?

there are lots of cool Tele flavors to be had but it all depends on what you want out of said Tele...
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Great point, I should try to mellow out my opinions. I'm on a Tele should be a tele and a strat should be a strat kick as of late. I gotta remember a guitar is a tool, a music & meyhem delivery system, and to each his/her own.
So excuse me while I take a bite o my crow sandwich.
:smack:
 
Re: New telecaster needs new pickups

ErikH said:
I recommend leaving the guitar stock and getting familiar with it before swapping anything, at least a couple months. Play it the way it is, use it for everything, and then decide after that. Too many are quick to changing things without even getting familiar with what the guitar can do.
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Wise advice.

vgar... by taking some time to familiarize yourself with your new guitar you will be in a better position to tell us what it is you like or don't like about the stock pickups (should you deem them needing of replacement after giving them a fair trial period). That way you've got a much better chance of getting it right the first time around. ;)
 
Re: New telecaster needs new pickups

I'm a big fan of the Tele Hotrails with a split or parallel operation switch/push-pull. Twang to bang with the touch of a control...
 
Re: New telecaster needs new pickups

well its a mexican fender telecaster... and i will like a very classic tele sound.. i know it doesn't sound (and it will never sound no matter what) like one of those cool expensive teles... if i can get some cool blues sound and vintage tones it will be a great improvement..
 
Re: New telecaster needs new pickups

I'd suggest reading through the Ultimate Tele Tone thread.

that will give you several players' opinions regarding tele pickups, and you'll be well informed to make the right decision
 
Re: New telecaster needs new pickups

If you are going to go with traditional style pups make sure that whatever you get it has a copper baseplate. That's the problem with most tele bridge pups. Without that baseplate you're missing an ingredient of the traditional tele tone.

For about 2 years I had a set of Quarter Pounds in my Tele. Lots of power, some spank and tons of low end crunch.

For 80s stuff look into a little 59 for the bridge, for more juice still the HR.

Luke
 
Re: New telecaster needs new pickups

Well, if I were looking to build a versatile tele that had both vintage tele qualities and increased output for higher gain rock/classic rock/etc., I'd probaly look at a STL-2 Hot Tapped paired with a STR-1 Vintage. The tapped STL-2 offers a very good vintage tele tone, and the full STL-2 has the increased output to drive the amp a little further, yet still retains that telecaster flavor.

I forgot about the ultimate telecaster thread. That's worth the read, vgar.
 
Re: New telecaster needs new pickups

Ive got a MIM Fender Tele With Quarter Pounder and Hot for Tele Tapped with a 5 way switch and it covers everying that MikeS describes. The vintage tele right the way through to something a little hotter but still identifiable as a tele
 
Re: New telecaster needs new pickups

BluesGuyJ said:
I would say a JB in the bridge with a coil tap and a PG in the neck with a coil tap or a classic stack in the neck.

It's hard to cover blues and 80s music at the same time. The JB splits really well though and is insane in full humbucking mode.
Click to expand...

Unless he has a dual HB tele, that recommendation won't work.
 
Re: New telecaster needs new pickups

i know i'm basically a tele noob, but the Jerry Donahue/Quarter Pound combo i have in my tele could cover everything you described and still have a very classic tele tone.
The JD in the bridge is a little warmer and has a little more output than average tele pups, which makes it a great for slightly overdrien bluesy leads. The Quarter pound in the neck is like the invader of singlecoil tele pups. Lots of power and beefy as hell. Great for blues rhythm playing and classic rock and it even can do metal without problems if you want it too. If you get the tapped version you can go from hot and fat to vintage sounding by using a push-pull
 
Re: New telecaster needs new pickups

I love tele's with Seth Lovers in the neck ala Keith Richards. Big round, warm tone and nice growl.
 
Re: New telecaster needs new pickups

I agree with Erik. Figure out the guitar itself before you switch anything. Know what produces that tone you have, such as the balance of wood, routing, pots, capacitors in place now and pickup combination, and what works and what it's weak on, before you switch.

If you don't know that info and you switch, you're likely to misfire on pickup selection and NEVER hit the bullseye. There are some super-capable premium pickups out there, but I'd bet that if you had Seymour Duncan, Chris Kinman, Bill Lawrence, Joe Barden and two or three other pickup makers around a campfire and you poured them a dram and said, "you know, I think I'll switch pickups on this new guitar I bought this afternoon", they'd all have the same first comment.
 
Re: New telecaster needs new pickups

I like the muy grande in the bridge of my tele for all the fields you're looking at.

It can be a bit overly agressive at times under a good amount of gain though.

8.4k A5 oversized poles.
 
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