Real nerdy/technical pickup problem

drew_half_empty

drew_half_empty

Looking for Real Life
Hey fams, I used to frequent this board a lot back in the early 2000's, and here I find myself again seeking answers, lol


Anyway, I'm a guitar teacher and for Christmas next year I'm planning a thing where I sell students some Harley Benton guitars for a markup, and use that money to buy more that I can give to needy kids. Part of the deal though is I want to put work into them and get them playing/sounding as good as possible for as little money as possible.

Which brings me to the question... by all accounts the tele bridge pickups they use on the cheapest model are fine, but the neck pickup is reputably low output and muddy. Further investigation revealed it's wound to 4-5k and uses ceramic bar magnets. Now... by all logic, this should be a very bright clear pickup... but the opposite seems to be true.

What gives, and what's a cheap fix? Was thinking maybe neodymium magnets...

cheers
 
jeremy said:
my guess is the cover is dulling the hell out of the sound. never tried swapping a ceramic bar for a neo bar
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hey i remember you! lol hope you've been well

Anyway yes, a common fix seems to be removing the cover... but plenty of bright tele neck pickups have a cover. Inferior material used for said cover is the culprit?
 
things are good man, hope they are with you too.

i would guess, yes, crappy materials with the cover. could be something else, but thats my first guess
 
jeremy said:
things are good man, hope they are with you too.

i would guess, yes, crappy materials with the cover. could be something else, but thats my first guess
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solid, that's an easy fix.

Another thing that came to mind is... I'm sure there are different types of ceramic just like there are alnico. Are you aware of any such "good ceramic" and "bad ceramic"/characteristics of each?
 
there are c5 and c8, maybe others too, but thats what ive seen and heard of. everything is basically c8. its super cheap and there is basically no advantage to using anything else
 
You might also try getting some cheap pickguards, or routing out the stock ones for a cheap Strat pickup. It certainly won't sound muddy.
 
drew_half_empty said:
pickguards? Not sure I follow... and idk that strat pickups would be any cheaper than tele pickups
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Strat pickups aren't necessarily cheaper than Tele pickups.
As Mincer said, even the cheapest Strat pickup will have more cut and bell tone than just about any Tele neck pickup.
Also, they're always readily available. But they're a little too big to fit in the cutout for a T-type neck.
 
I agree that playability is probably a lot more important than tone tweaks for beginner guitarists, so any improvement to tuners, nut, frets, and bridge would be what I would target.
 
I would start by just removing the tone control from the neck pickup when it's active. If that doesn't work, look into replacements. There are numerous options that will restore bright clear tone to the neck position in a Tele.
 
The specs arent the parts, Who knows what wire was used and how it was wound. Could be the bobbin is wonky compared to a traditional tele bobbin. Lots of reasons beyond just the specs that they would sound dull.

But to be honest unless they sound really bad I wouldnt bother. Most beginners are put off by bad set up. A guitar that plays well that they dont have to fight will have them practicing. They dont know if it sounds dull or not. Might even be a good way to push that its the indian not the arrow. Tone is in the fingers. Im sure played well they will be ok until they are ready to move up to something more their own style.
 
If these are going to be people’s first guitars, they’re probably going to be running them through a crappy-sounding amp anyway, so will pickups matter that much?
 
If you're giving away Harley Benton guitars I wouldn't bother changing pickups. Just make sure they're all in excellent playing condition with good action. And recommend them the Boss Katana 50.
 
So... I'm just figuring out cheap things I may or may not do to give them a thing that'll be as good as it can be. If I can spend $3 on a new magnet and give them something that's clearly superior, why would I not? But I appreciate the... attempt to shift focus onto playability--that's the first priority, of course.
 
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