Pickup matching help please

[6stringer]

I have a Hwy-1 Tele with a SD STL-1 (vintage 54) in the bridge, I wanted to
try a mini humbucker at the neck, so at the guitar show in L.A. last week, I
picked a SD mini humbucker that I think must be an Antiquity II, bridge PU,
it measures 8.2k. It sounds great, just what I was looking for except,
it's WAY louder than the bridge PU, even adjusted even with the pickguard
(which probably isn't where it sounds best). So... the question is, should
I look for another, lower output mini humbucker, or is there a bridge PU with will be a better match with this neck PU and still have the spank of a good Tele PU?
or is there a way to attenuate the output of a PU without compromising tone (yeah, I know, I didn't think there was either)
You advise is most appreciated.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Pickup matching help please

You could go with an alnico 5 Tele Hot Tapped and a five way switch like a Strat uses.

The full output of the Tele Hot should match the output of your neck pickup better and if you want the vintage output like you have now, switch to the tapped output.

Lew

 

[Artie]

Re: Pickup matching help please

. . . or is there a way to attenuate the output of a PU without compromising tone?

Sure is. Its called an L-pad. Its just two resistors:

Even though I drew that for a humbucker, it works the same for a single. Also, those resistor values are for a 500k volume pot. If you're going to use a 250k, then:

R1=73k
R2=1.2M (Note: thats megohms.)

Both of those provide a -3db drop. I can give you values for a -6db drop if you prefer, or I can just give you the formula, and you can calculate your own values.

 

[6stringer]

Re: Pickup matching help please

Wow, thanks, I'll give a try