Talk me in or out of the Fender twisted Tele neck PU

[ToneFiddler]

it has AWG42 heavy formvar wire, and a taller height, which makes me curious.
1) but is it hotter than a normal AWG43 tele neck, or is it just able to compensate the AWG42 wire size with it's tallness and therefore same amount of turns/output?

2) how does it compare to a normal tele neck with a nickel silver cover (NOT Brass, like all duncans) or a uncovered one?
how would you describe the tone compared to a tele neck like the twang king e.g.

3)how would you describe it compared to a '69 strat PU or SD SSL1/2

 

[Mincer]

I'd ask first, outside of specs, what sound you are going for.

 

[beaubrummels]

Normal tele necks are a little dark, lacking some omph in the bass also. Twisted Tele sounds like a cross between a strat neck and a Gibson neck humbucker. Much more useful, but not so different you feel it's wrong for the guitars. Mixes well in the center position also.

 

[ToneFiddler]

well i in general i like tele necks. i only wish they would have higher output to match better with a hotter bridge tele PU. don‘t need more bass, but it‘s not a total dealbreaker 'cause that ones is easy to fix...

i have some stock fender ones which are quite bright.
maybe sometimes too glassy (->tone pot).
the darkest is the SD Str-1. it‘s ok to have one darker in one guitar, but the others get more play time. only wish they would be louder.

so what to expect from the twisted?
more mids?
higher output?

i mostly use it for distorted rhythm, think tom morello...

 

[CK71]

The twisted tele is my favorite neck pickup! It matches well with the stock bridge. It has more power than a stock tele neck. Tone wise it reminds me of the SSL-52 I had in my strat. It is, to my ears, very balanced. Just the right amount of bright, mids, and bass. I usually play fairly clean and low gain. It is not what I would think of first for a Tom Morello tone, however with the right amp and pedals I bet it could work.

 

[hamerfan]

Normal tele necks are a little dark, lacking some omph in the bass also. Twisted Tele sounds like a cross between a strat neck and a Gibson neck humbucker. Much more useful, but not so different you feel it's wrong for the guitars. Mixes well in the center position also.

If you use your Tele neck pup without cover, you will see it sounds 90% like a strat neck pup. My bet is you will not hear a difference at all, if there is no direct comparison.

 

[ToneFiddler]

@hamerfan: yeah, i wouldn't bet to pick the right one in a blind test.

@CK71: so more output than stock. sounds good! never tried the SSL-52. this is kind of a warmer, rounder, middier strat single i guess?

 

[beaubrummels]

If you use your Tele neck pup without cover, you will see it sounds 90% like a strat neck pup. My bet is you will not hear a difference at all, if there is no direct comparison.

Yeah, but I can't abide with the non-traditional cosmetics, man. None of my heroes did that, so, you know, it's like that...

 

[Mincer]

Yeah, but I can't abide with the non-traditional cosmetics, man. None of my heroes did that, so, you know, it's like that...

It is true- that keeps a lot of people from experimenting with 'different' setups.

 

[Ewizard]

I have one that I bought a while ago and I liked it so much I cloned it with my own pickup winding machine. They use a nickel silver cover which helps greatly in reducing the high-frequency tone loss. The pickup does have a more neutral output that works well with a bridge pickup in terms of volume. They say it's supposed to be more Strat like, I disagree. To me, it sounds more like a mellow neck humbucker that just happens to be a single coil. I like it a lot. It's warm, clear, bubbly, and has that Tele neck sound with more air and openness. The output is just so much more usable too. I love the sound of the neck pickups, I just can't deal with the low output. And while Tele neck pickups have a muted, sweet sound, I prefer a little brighter sound from them. I got tired of modding the guitar to brighten them up and got the Twisted Tele a few years ago, never looked back.

 

[freefrog]

it has AWG42 heavy formvar wire, and a taller height, which makes me curious.
1) but is it hotter than a normal AWG43 tele neck, or is it just able to compensate the AWG42 wire size with it's tallness and therefore same amount of turns/output?

2) how does it compare to a normal tele neck with a nickel silver cover (NOT Brass, like all duncans) or a uncovered one?
how would you describe the tone compared to a tele neck like the twang king e.g.

3)how would you describe it compared to a '69 strat PU or SD SSL1/2

I have a Twisted neck PU in a "Magnificent Seven" Offset American Tele.

It came stock with a no load tone pot that I've swapped for a TBX with an additional LRC filter.... but in center position, it's still a no load control. I don't remember what I've put as a volume control but it might be of a higher value than 250k (this ltd edition having a Custom shop bridge PU with a huge 4H of inductance despite of its modest 7.5k: it's thick as a PAF clone and I wanted controls adapted to this bridge PU).

In this configuration, the Twisted neck sounds extremely close to a CS69 neck, with the tubey voicing and piano like bass: the no load tone pot somehow compensates eddy currents due to the cover.

Honest testimonial, FWIW.

 

[beaubrummels]

Yeah, that, for me is better than cover off - just not having a tone on the neck. Total night/day improvement - sounds like a million-dollar record.

 

[ToneFiddler]

thanks for the input.

yes i use the modified tbx with a true highpass cap also.
definitly not dark or muddy anymore, although it additionally robs some output...
the center no load can even be stinging bright with one of my stock fender neck...

 

[gimmieinfo]

Why not try the cheaper TT neck....the Bootstrap Pretzel. I have one and it is supposedly a TT clone according to specs and every one that has used both. I have one and love it for all of about $31 shipped ! USA made and quality parts, not that GFS asian junk. Seriously, if u wanna try a TT neck thats the way to go and much cheaper. Total chime and sweet brightness that doesn't sound harsh at all. Love the thing so much that when shopping for a bridge pickup that i was looking to fralin for, i decided to try BS. Got one custom built to my specs for $41 shipped. ($10 more for custom specs) Just ordered it so i can't comment on it yet but if it's as good as the pretzel neck is i will be buying a lot more Bootstrap pickups. Whats not to love about quality USA built pickups that are even cheaper then GFS?!

 

[beaubrummels]

I didn't think Twisted Tele pickups were that expensive. But cool that there are other options.

 

[gimmieinfo]

I didn't think Twisted Tele pickups were that expensive. But cool that there are other options.

Well, you thought wrong ! They go for $189 on reverb/ebay, and with tax thats about $210. Go have a look. The bootstrap TT clone set is $49+$3 shipping for a grand total of $52 or 1/4 the price of the fender set ! I'd say thats substantial. I haven't tried the bridge model because it's not a spec i care for, but it's the same spec as the TT bridge, 10.5k/A5/43AWG. And like i said, the quality is right there with fender.

 

[Mincer]

Wow, that is expensive! Is it because they aren't available aftermarket? Or because they are a product from Fender?

 

[gimmieinfo]

Wow, that is expensive! Is it because they aren't available aftermarket? Or because they are a product from Fender?

No, i think they may be considered "custom shop" and that may be why. Just a guess. But they are absolutely available aftermarket. There are lots of sets available new online. But the pure vintage 64 set which is same quality USA tele set that's really popular is $109. So fender pickup prices vary quite a bit.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

I like the Twisted Tele a lot. Definitely a tad more output and a lot more sparkle than a tradtitional Tele neck.
A bit more of the deep bass too, I think.

There's enough cut to retain pretty good definition with gain, and enough attack to match better with the bite of a Tele bridge.
I've always said they're more Stratty than stock, but I agree they aren't truly Stratlike - just a nice step in that direction.

Had no idea the TT had got so expensive. I bought mine used - with pickguard - for $40. But that was more than five years ago.

 

[gimmieinfo]

I like the Twisted Tele a lot. Definitely a tad more output and a lot more sparkle than a tradtitional Tele neck.
A bit more of the deep bass too, I think.

There's enough cut to retain pretty good definition with gain, and enough attack to match better with the bite of a Tele bridge.
I've always said they're more Stratty than stock, but I agree they aren't truly Stratlike - just a nice step in that direction.

Had no idea the TT had got so expensive. I bought mine used - with pickguard - for $40. But that was more than five years ago.

Even back then thats a deal. You lucked out. Yeah, its a great pickup for playing rhythm/riffing kinda stuff with edgy gain. It doesn't muddy up like most of them so you can use more gain before things get muddy. Absolutely fantastic for those edge of breakup tones ala SRV and such. I wouldn't say it's strat like either, tho it does share the strat neck's ability to do what i just described. I'm tempted to try the bootstrap TT bridge clone too, tho it's hotter then i like but i have one tele that i think may just work well with that kind of thing.