Replacement humbuckers for Shecter PT

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dogfootblues

New member
Hey guys. I need some serious help. Im a novice when it comes down to the nuts and bolts and insides of a guitar. I want to switch out my Duncan Designed split coil pickups on my Shecter PT for something that'll give it some life. The highs aren't really there, it just sounds dull. Can i put any humbuckers in and have them split like the Duncan Designed split coil pickups? Or are there only certain models i can buy for split coil? I also would like to put a telecaster replacement neck on. Im a Who and Pete Townshend fiend. So im trying to recreate the original Townshend and Saturn Shecters the best i can.
 
Re: Replacement humbuckers for Shecter PT

I have two gold top Shecter PTs. One i tried to route the neck pocket myself ( first and last time ) and really ****ed it up. So the one gold top will be my little Farewell Tour Pt. Once i find out some info about a telecaster replacement neck for it. The mistake PT is going to get a white telecaster pickguard and maybe a paint job to take after one of Townshends other Shecter teles. But they both still need new Split coil humbuckers in the neck and bridge. Any suggestion?
 
Re: Replacement humbuckers for Shecter PT

the original Teles pete used in this era where parts guitars put together by a few different people... the original was a custom made parts guitar Alan Rogan bought at Manny's in NYC in Sept 79... Pete loved it and started using it then... Alan and Pete then had copies made by a few different people... i talked to Roger Griffin once about the teles he threw together for Pete... most of the Giffin's where easy to spot in 1980-early 82 photos as they had double bound bodies and Giffin on the headstock instead of Shecter... but had also put together a few Shecters for Pete as well.... some of the Giffins had their necks swapped to have Shecter on the headstocks...

something i learned about these parts teles not too long ago is that they were mostly made of lighter poplar... Pete had some issues after using LP Deluxes for years and wanted super light stage guitars...

thewho.net web site can be extremely handy in finding info on Petes gear... you will find tons of Tab there too..

the answer on the PU's is not so easy... a lot of Petes had what where called Shecter Super Rock Pickups... Giffin said he thinks he had used some Dimarzio/Duncans in some... The Super Rock PU's were stock equipment in the factory PT/Saturn model issued in 83... i'm really not sure the specs on these PU's... but i'd imgaine they are basic Humbuckers with a coil split... the output i'm sure was not super hot or anything... i'd think a PAF or hot PAF style would fit the bill but maybe others have a better idea...

that being said i'll note Pete once said in an interveiw he really didn't use the coil cutting much...
 
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Re: Replacement humbuckers for Shecter PT

Townsend's "Tele's" were built as tools for stage use. He really likes single-coil tones, but used HBs on the Tele's to make them practical and quiet for stage use. In the '70s he used Les Paul Deluxes with their weaker, bright minihumbuckers. Point being, you don't want hot, fat humbuckers in there. A5 is recommended for Townsend tones because it's brighter than most other magnet types.

I tried a few different Duncans in my PT. The two I liked best were the Custom 5 and the 59. In humbucking more, I liked the 59 best. It's about as Townsendy as a humbucker can be. The 59s drawback is it's split mode - one 59 coil by itself is kind of weak.

The Custom 59 has a more gutsy single-coil mode, but the humbucking mode is more powerful that I'd like for Townsend tones.

The best of both worlds might be a C5/59 hybrid, with the C5 screw coil at the bridge.

Or, a 59 wired for series/parallel instead of splitting to single-coil might be less weak.

If I had two PTs, I'd stick 59's in one of them, and Phat Cats in the other. I wish Duncan made Phat Cats with black covers, though.
 
Re: Replacement humbuckers for Shecter PT

ya... hot humbuckers for sure is not what most Pete fans would want for sure... Pete prefered a cleaner slight overdriven sound for chording and added pedals for added solo gain...

Pete used a late 50's Flying V on the outstanding album Who By Numbers... so once in a while he pulled out PAF's... He also had a black les paul Deluxe that had been smashed up and repaired that he had fitted with 3 Dimarzio Dual Sounds... used it in the studio a bit according to an interview with Pete from 1980... A Hard Rock in the UK has it...

Pete s favourite Studio guitar to date is a 56-ish Tele... that and a small tweed amp of some sort is his go to studio rig for decades...

He has had so much gear!!!! Petes Shecter days was pretty cool... his stage sound in 1982 was for sure much thicker and distorted... the Mesa Boogie 4x12's the Boss OD-1 and the Shecters humbuckers really changed his over all live sound quite a bit...
 
Re: Replacement humbuckers for Shecter PT

One studio track that always sticks out in my mind in "Who Are You" You can really hear the splatty, ratty sound of the Tele through tweed on that one.
 
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