Tele Bridge Pickup for bright guitar?

T

Tumblinman

New member
Hello

I'm looking to buy a bridge pickup for my tele-copy. The body of this guitar is somewhat lackluster(soundwise) and seems heavy too me. However, I'm a newbie when it comes to teles and could really use some help.

The pickups in the guitar is a GFS Repro vintage alnico neck and a GFS Repro 1960's Hot Alnico bridge. I really like the neck pickup - especially since I removed the cover! The bridge pickup, however, is a little to thin and trebly too me. It's not awful - but I believe it doesn't come it it best when mounted in such a bright body. It's a overwound version of the original tele pup and as such I was expecting a little more body to the sound. The output is rather hot but all it's power is in the treble end of the spectrum. When I turn down the tone control of the pickup I feel like most of the output is lost. When the tone is up it's clearly hotter than the neck pickup but when the tone is dimed that is reversed. I'd just like to add that there's nothing wrong with the schematics/electronics. I'm just trying to describe how it sounds.

The question is - is there a pickup out there that can remedy a dull-sounding guitar body? I totally agree with the notion that a great guitar needs a great piece of wood for the body. A body that resonates and contributes to the sound of the guitar. With this guitar, though, I'm trying to keep the cost down. It's a cheap guitar - but it plays perfectly and feels nice. I could buy a replacement body instead of new pickups, but that would be more expensive.
Is it a pickup with more middle range I'm lookin for? Or is it just a better quality pickup? Not that I believe that GFS pickups are inferior to other pickup manufacturers in any way.

I should say that I'm trying to stay within in the realm of standard(vintage) tele pickups.
 
Re: Tele Bridge Pickup for bright guitar?

I have a set of antiquity tele pickups that I'm going to try the following on.

Because you like the sparkle of the neck pickup, why don't you try to remove it from the tone circuit like a strat bridge pickup? Then, you can use the tone control to permanently tame the bridge pickup or turn it up when you need more sizzle.

If you don't want to lose tele sparkle, I think you should stay away from the Quarter Pounders, I haven't tried them but I've heard that they're really really fat sounding.

Why don't you try a JD bridge? Slightly overwound with alnico II magnets to help with the brittle highs.
 
Re: Tele Bridge Pickup for bright guitar?

I'd rather not mess around with the pots and such at this time. And I like the possibility to use the tone knob on the neck pup for certain sounds.

However, I'll take your advise regarding the quarterpounder under advicement.

It would also be really interesting to hear from anyone that has used the JD in an inherently bright tele. I have read many good reviews of that pup on this forum.
 
Re: Tele Bridge Pickup for bright guitar?

Hopefully this helps:

I had an Indonesian-made Squier Std. Telecaster with an agathis body. A very warm-sounding guitar. I used a SD Five-Two set and the guitar came alive. The Five-Two pickups have Alnico 5 magnets under the bass strings for brighter, snappier bass response and Alnico 2 magnets under the treble strings for creamier, fatter highs. With this particular guitar that I had, these pickups worked wonders. Suffice to say, I was recording an album (the final cut has 17 songs on it) and I had 6 guitars to choose from. Well, I ended up playing that Tele with Duncan Five-Twos on six of the songs, i.e. more than one-third.

Good luck finding your pickups and your tone!

Tony
 
Re: Tele Bridge Pickup for bright guitar?

LJ King - Could you describe how the Fatbody sounds? I'm a little concerned that it deviate from the classic tele sound. I have read some comments of the neck version of that pup that said that it sounded very much like a strat neck pup.
 
Re: Tele Bridge Pickup for bright guitar?

the JD should be right up your alley. It has a very classic tele tone to it, but with some added output and warmth. I have one in my Johnson El Cheapo Tele which is also quite bright by nature and it worked wonders, great pup.
 
Re: Tele Bridge Pickup for bright guitar?

Thanks, Loserchief!

I have just about decided on the JD-model. It also says on the specs that it's suitable for bright guitars.

/
 
Re: Tele Bridge Pickup for bright guitar?

Tumblinman said:
LJ King - Could you describe how the Fatbody sounds? I'm a little concerned that it deviate from the classic tele sound. I have read some comments of the neck version of that pup that said that it sounded very much like a strat neck pup.
Click to expand...

Do all strat neck pickups sound the same? The tele neck fatbody does not sound the least bit stratty to me and I play both guitars. It is much thicker sounding than most of the single coil strat pickups I have used.

The hot overwound bridge, and to a lesser extent the not as overwound 62 alnico do have a treble / upper midrange peak that overshadows the lower tones. I would describe it as more of a honk sound when used on its own.

The fatbody bridge does not have that. The upper mids and treble is smoother and it sounds bright rather than honky. The high range balances very well with the low end. A more even response across the range without a significant loss of power.
 
Re: Tele Bridge Pickup for bright guitar?

I think you'll love the JD -- it's the right solution for your problem.
 
Re: Tele Bridge Pickup for bright guitar?

Tumblinman said:
What's the main difference between the JD model and a Broadcaster type of pickup?
Click to expand...

the Broadcaster has alnico 5 magnets, so it's naturally brighter. mine measures a little hotter than spec, and I think that helps knock some highs down. When I first used the Broadcaster, I thought it was too bright, but I've since learned to use the tone knob more with a tele. I have mine in a regular alder US tele, and it sounds great in that guitar.

the JD has alnico 2 magnets, so it's naturally softer in tone, and has a little less string pull. However, the JD still has the bite you expect from a tele bridge. I don't recall any negative comments regarding the JD on the forum. In fact, I'd say that most players who try it, love it. Mine's currently in a custom ash tele, and sounds great in that guitar.
 
Re: Tele Bridge Pickup for bright guitar?

Somebody needs to make a Tele version of the Brobucker. Same problem here as with humbuckers that made the Brobucker happen -- with Tele bridges, everything's either 8k and below or 14k and above.
 
Re: Tele Bridge Pickup for bright guitar?

Zhangliqun said:
Somebody needs to make a Tele version of the Brobucker. Same problem here as with humbuckers that made the Brobucker happen -- with Tele bridges, everything's either 8k and below or 14k and above.
Click to expand...

Have you tried the Tele Hot Stack? It's got a very high impedence rating, but in reality it's definitely a medium output pickup. I have one with a series/parallel switch on it, and it is incredibly versatile. In series it's fat and chunky, and in parallel it's a lot like a vintage Tele pickup.
 
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