Tele Bridge Pickup Suggestions?

[Kess.V]

Citizens of the interweb, lend me your minds. I recently acquired this here partscaster (MJT body and a Mighty Mite neck) for an absolute STEAL, however the bridge pickup leaves something to be desired (a little too honky/nasally/brittle for my taste). What are your recommendations for a single-coil sized humbucker to throw in to get a little bit thicker sound but can still get that classic tele sound when split and paired with the neck? (If it helps at all, I'm playing through an AC15 and prefer chime and glass over twang). I'd like to keep it around $100. Any and all recommendations are appreciated. Thank you!

"I tried the Telecaster and it only has two sounds: good and bad, and a very weak tone variation."
-Jimi Hendrix

Here are some that have been suggested elsewhere:
Fender NoCaster bridge
Seymour Duncan Little '59
Seymour Duncan JB Jr.
Bare Knuckles Flat 50s
DiMarzio Fast Track T
Seymour Duncan Hot Rails
Lace Sensor Pickup (vintage gold?)
Wolfetone Pickup
Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Tele Bridge Pickup Suggestions?

BG-1400, AKA the Pearly Gates for Tele. It has a thick raunchy ZZ-Top tone when in series, but has a convincing Tele twang when in parallel. Its 30k, but don't let scare you it's got plenty of harmonics even when in series. All the other pickups listed are good as well, except the Broadcaster isn't noiseless and can't sound like a humbucker and the Quarter Pound isn't noiseless, it can however go from P90 to Tele rather excellently if you get the tapped model. The Fast Track is noiseless, but it doesn't get a humbucker tone, and I can't speak for the Wolfetone or Flat 50.

The only problem with the BG-1400 is it's pretty tricky to find a good match for a Tele neck. You're pretty much limited to either the neck they offer with the BG-1400 or the 5-2 Rhythm Stack for Tele neck.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Tele Bridge Pickup Suggestions?

I wanted to try the BG-1400 (love the Pearly Gates, would think it would be an amazing pickup in a Tele) but ended up going with the Wilde Bill Lawrence L-45S and L-48T...absolutely love the combo. Definitely can get the Tele "Twang" but can tone it down to not have a Twang--very versatile setup.

EDIT: Congrats on the score! Teles are awesome, love mine! Looks like yours was made from great parts!

 

[Ayrton]

Re: Tele Bridge Pickup Suggestions?

What is in there now?

The BG1400 is awesome, but I think of it as more hard rock than twang.

The '53 tapped tele set is also great for being able to go vintage to modern.

The Fender Twisted Tele set is another one of my favorites.

The Jerry Donahue, the STL-1, I go could on for days. I love Teles.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Tele Bridge Pickup Suggestions?

Another option is the Little 59 for Tele. It also sounds great in parallel. Another option for an awesome Tele pickup is the Jerry Donahue, which is a thicker single coil that can rock, and still get great Tele tones.

 

[PierceOkken]

Re: Tele Bridge Pickup Suggestions?

Lil 59' will do you good. It is in one of my strat's bp and it is absolutely fiiiinne. I recommend that.

 

[Kess.V]

Re: Tele Bridge Pickup Suggestions?

What is in there now?

I actually have no idea. I believe that it's just a no name thrown in, but I'll check what it is the next time I throw new strings on and let you know.