Suggestions for new pickups?

[Haught]

Hey all!

So lately I've been creeping through the internet looking to replace my current stock pups. However, i just don't know what to go with! Which brings me here...

I have a Fender '69 Tele Thinline reissue, in fact here it is along with some specs: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/fender-69-thinline-flame-telecaster-electric-guitar
Mahogany Body, maple neck. Currently single coil stock pups..vintage tele style with alnico magnets (I don't really comprehend the magnet stuff, i don't know much about pups).

As far as the sound I'm going for, I dig blues, jazz, pop, rock, folk, punk, alt, country, almost anything besides metal. To get a little more specific here are a few artists and songs to reference for the specific sound.

The Black Keys - pretty much anything they play
John Mayer - older stuff and blues - Your body is a Wonderland, Who Did You Think I Was, Try!, Another Kind Of Green, Covered In Rain, Man On The Side, just about all his stuff...
The White Stripes - anything
Goldfinger - Superman
Jason Aldean - Dirt Road Anthem
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Jimi Hendrix

I mean I really could go on, but those are just a couple to go off of. I'm a huge John Mayer and Black Keys fan so those are the two primary sounds I'd love to base my sound off of, however I'd also like it to be pretty versatile or at least as versatile as I can get. (As I said, I also love jazz etc..)(And yes I know effects play a major role in some of these sounds).

I know I may be asking for too much out of a pickup, I don't know..as I mentioned before I don't really know too much about pups yet so I don't know how much I can expect from one except that each give you different kind of sounds.

Any help is very much appreciated, and suggestions don't have to be only SD pups! I just know they are good quality. Again thanks for any possible help! :]

 

[chris_tw21]

Re: Suggestions for new pickups?

Twang king neck pickup and vintage for broadcaster lead,since it's a mahogany semi hollow guitar that is warm with more depth.These pickups in the middle and neck postion would be tighter and brighter then stock.

 

[Haught]

Re: Suggestions for new pickups?

Thanks so much! I'm definitely going to be looking into those within the next day or two.

Any other suggestions would be more than appreciated.

On a side note, is there somewhere I could read up on this stuff so that I could understand it better? like the workings of pickups, how they sound the way they do and why etc..?

 

[bluesbend]

Re: Suggestions for new pickups?

I love the Broadcaster bridge. My fave Tele neck p'up is the Duncan STR-2. It's a bit hotter than most Tele neck p'ups and matches up well with the broadcaster.
I have this set in one of my Tele's.

 

[chris_tw21]

Re: Suggestions for new pickups?

overwound=hotter,power,mids
underwound=colder,weaker,highs

alnico magnets
high number magnet=power,more attack,tighter
lower number magnet=weaker,less attack,looser

ceramic is weaker then neodymium
passive pickups have more punch and clarity then active
Wax potted pickups are a little warmer
some humbucker's have equal windings
only custom shops and dimarzio can make double cream humbuckers
only prs has true vintage wire
only custom shops have more alnico options for pickups

Speakers and pickups dictate what style of music you play and volume can change that so know how to pick gear for what type of music you play.
What Seymour duncan says goes.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Suggestions for new pickups?

The Antiquity Tele bridge pickups go pretty cheap on Ebay. I would recommend trying one no if you are into vintage style Tele pickups.

 

[chris_tw21]

Re: Suggestions for new pickups?

You could go brighter or darker but darker won't sound like most tele's..The brightest set seymour makes probably would be best,but hot bridge and bright neck I like better.I also like hot rails these days and you might also.

 

[bluesbend]

Re: Suggestions for new pickups?

You could go brighter or darker but darker won't sound like most tele's..The brightest set seymour makes probably would be best,but hot bridge and bright neck I like better.I also like hot rails these days and you might also.

This from the guy that has no clue about Tele pickups.

 

[chris_tw21]

Re: Suggestions for new pickups?

Yeah,but I'm a guy who know's fenders.

 

[Powdered Toast Man]

Re: Suggestions for new pickups?

This from the guy that has no clue about Tele pickups.

Yeah,but I'm a guy who know's fenders.

Don't you hate Telecaster pickups? Or was it the $10 of parts that ruin it?


Anyway, to the OP, the best Tele pickups I've ever tried are the Fender CS Nocaster set. I also have an SD Broadcaster and it's pretty good - very aggressive, but very vintage.

 

[Quencho092]

Re: Suggestions for new pickups?

you list a whole bunch of strat neck pup gods. PUT A STRAT NECK PUP, Broadcaster or CS Nocaster bridge. That way you can get the mayer/SRV tones in neck position, and rock out in the notch/bridge position.

 

[chris_tw21]

Re: Suggestions for new pickups?

Given that the tele is a treble based guitar you should just need a twang king neck to get the sound you want.

 

[Haught]

Re: Suggestions for new pickups?

So what would be the difference in the sound between the nocaster and broadcaster? (also the positioning of each for neck or bridge) also someone mentioned the Antiquity Tele bridge pickups, could you tell me a little more about these?

Sorry if I seem like i'm asking a lot, I just figured you guys have heard them personally or even used them so I prefer your honest opinion over anything else!

Also, what about a single coil sized humbucker? any ideas or how that may even sound with the guitar i have?

 

[chris_tw21]

Re: Suggestions for new pickups?

Compared to a swamp ash soild body tele your tele's tone is warmer because it's made of mahogany and the notes have more depth because it's a semi hollow design.Ant's are for vintage tone snobs and scsh's are for guy's who want to fatten things up.