Ok, which tele bridge pup for this tone...

T

telecast

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I have a Bassman RI LTD, and I have a 50s vibe tele with the maple neck and the vintage style bridge plate. What bridge pup do I need to get THIS tone? It starts at :13.

Please, no suggestions for Barden's. I know he's using Barden's now, but he wasn't back then, and I'm not a big Barden's fan. I also know these were probably custom wound, but which pups available NOW would get me the closest? Either Duncan or something else?

If I didn't insert the link right, here's the url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5Tu_vLvdRU
 
Re: Ok, which tele bridge pup for this tone...

I would think a Duncan Broadcaster would get you there. I'm more a fan of Antiquities myself, that's what I use in mine. Definitely don't want something modern that's overwound. It needs to be lower output to get that bright snap it had in it.
 
Re: Ok, which tele bridge pup for this tone...

Will a broadcaster have that kind of treble bite? I thought those were more mid-rangey.
 
Re: Ok, which tele bridge pup for this tone...

No, the Broadcasters have PLENTY of treble bite. I think the whole notion that the Broadcaster is super fat is kind of misleading. It's more aggressive than the Vintage 54, but it's got plenty of upper mids and treble for bite.

The Jerry Donahue, on the other hand, has more MID mids, for fatness, and a much sweeter top end.
 
Re: Ok, which tele bridge pup for this tone...

telecast said:
Will a broadcaster have that kind of treble bite? I thought those were more mid-rangey.
Click to expand...

I recommended it because I use it and it will get that tone. I don't think a Bassman 4x10 is the right amp, however. My experience with Fender amps with 10" speakers is that they tend to be dark on the top end and 'bark' a bit in the mids. Using Tweeds with 12" speakers and some others with 12" speakers I've gotten the tone you are seeking - just the right growl and edge along with the brighter snappy tone that cuts through from that vid - using my Tele with a Duncan Broadcaster.
 
Re: Ok, which tele bridge pup for this tone...

beaubrummels said:
I recommended it because I use it and it will get that tone. I don't think a Bassman 4x10 is the right amp, however. My experience with Fender amps with 10" speakers is that they tend to be dark on the top end and 'bark' a bit in the mids. Using Tweeds with 12" speakers and some others with 12" speakers I've gotten the tone you are seeking - just the right growl and edge along with the brighter snappy tone that cuts through from that vid - using my Tele with a Duncan Broadcaster.
Click to expand...

Raises an interesting question. Is the barkiness and top end darkness of the bassman more a result of the speakers or the amp? I have noticed that sound with it before (this is the first bassman 4x10 I've owned). I was considering using a treble boost with whatever pickup I go with to counteract that dark, 'barky' tendency. I know Springsteen's bassmans were pretty heavily modified, as was everything else he was using in the mid 70s through 80s.
 
Re: Ok, which tele bridge pup for this tone...

telecast said:
Raises an interesting question. Is the barkiness and top end darkness of the bassman more a result of the speakers or the amp? I have noticed that sound with it before (this is the first bassman 4x10 I've owned). I was considering using a treble boost with whatever pickup I go with to counteract that dark, 'barky' tendency. I know Springsteen's bassmans were pretty heavily modified, as was everything else he was using in the mid 70s through 80s.
Click to expand...

Based on my personal experience I think it's the 10" Jensen speakers. I have a SuperReverb which is a different circuit but sounds the same, and I also have various Marshalls, Traynors that are based on the Bassman circuit yet don't sound like that through 12" speakers.

One way you can test is disconnect the four 10s and power an external 12" cabinet with just the Bassman amp (just be sure to match ohms and watts when you do.)

If Springsteen is getting good top end out of a 4x10 I would guess either he's changed out the stock speakers, or has something else in his signal path that is providing the growl and not pushing the amp itself to the edge of distortion. All Fenders can sound pretty brilliant at lower gain. It's when pushed to the edge of break up where the 10" darkness and barking mids start for me. He might have also changed the tube configuration to change the gain or sound.
 
Re: Ok, which tele bridge pup for this tone...

beaubrummels said:
If Springsteen is getting good top end out of a 4x10 I would guess either he's changed out the stock speakers, or has something else in his signal path that is providing the growl and not pushing the amp itself to the edge of distortion. All Fenders can sound pretty brilliant at lower gain. It's when pushed to the edge of break up where the 10" darkness and barking mids start for me. He might have also changed the tube configuration to change the gain or sound.
Click to expand...

That makes a lot of sense, especially as far as his rigs go once 78 and 80 rolled around. All throughout the 70s he was using tweed bassmans, and when he got to the 80/81 tour he used the peavey bassman clones. During the 70s, he would go from very chimey, 60s cleanish (Born to Run, Rosalita...) for some tunes and then go more dirty/overdriven for others (Kitty's Back, some of his late 70s era stuff, etc). I'm sure there was a lot of messing around with his volume knob to get some of that, but at times it definitely seems like either he or his soundman/tech was activating something for dirtier passages. So it sounds like his bassman was set to be pretty cleanish for his stock sound, and then he would add something to the signal path for dirtier passages. Plus, yeah I know his bassman was modified within an inch of its life, so who knows what speakers/tubes were in there.
Once the mid-80s arrived, he was entirely converted to Mesa Mark III's, by the way. Little bit of a different vibe with those.
 
Re: Ok, which tele bridge pup for this tone...

I would either suggest the broadcaster or the vintage 54 which is basically the broadcaster but underwound some for less mids and more treble. Broadcaster would be my first choice though.
 
Re: Ok, which tele bridge pup for this tone...

Fender does. Not sure about $ , but I know some people rave about them.
 
Re: Ok, which tele bridge pup for this tone...

I have the Fender '51 Nocaster pickups. They sound great but, IMO, they are not going to get the Broooooooooooooce tone.

If you follow the link that I posted earlier, it explains that a luthier rewound the pickups hotter than standard. Beyond that, no details are supplied.

If you are willing to pay Custom Shop prices, the '53 Tapped Tele bridge pickup is the one to try.
 
Re: Ok, which tele bridge pup for this tone...

Funkfingers said:
I have the Fender '51 Nocaster pickups. They sound great but, IMO, they are not going to get the Broooooooooooooce tone.

If you follow the link that I posted earlier, it explains that a luthier rewound the pickups hotter than standard. Beyond that, no details are supplied.

If you are willing to pay Custom Shop prices, the '53 Tapped Tele bridge pickup is the one to try.
Click to expand...

I was actually a customer of that luthier back in the 90s. His name was Phil Petillo. I bought a pair of the tele pups he was making at the time. They were very bright, but unfortunately I couldn't get that kind of biting snarl out of them that Bruce got out of his. They didn't really have a distinct tele sound. They were just powerful and bright.
Of course, Phil had no idea how he had wound the pups he made for Bruce back in the 70s. They changed those pups constantly, and Phil was always trying new things. They didn't keep exact details of how he did each different one. If he did, those records have been lost to time.
I was also a dope and I was using those pups in a pretty heavy alder tele with an American Standard bridge, so my tele wasn't going to sound that close to the Bruce esquire anyway. His was a much lighter ash body, and of course in the 70s he was using the vintage bridge plate.
Phil's son David still runs the business (Phil passed away a few years ago), so I may at some point try another set from him one more time. But again, his pups now are different then the ones he made in the 70s. Hence my desire to try to identify something else that may come close to that Kitty's Back kind of sound.
I'll probably try scoring a Broadcaster pup off ebay first and see how it goes.
I appreciate everyone's help!
 
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