Tele content-A2P vs. L.F. Blues Special

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VTM Mike

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I have the A2P in my tele, and I am hearing an upper mid/lower high end harshness that can't be dialed out (without sucking high end). I know the tone chart has the mids scooped, but there is something in the voicing that I can't get along with. I tried lowering the pup but I lost spank without getting rid of the problem. I was thinking about a Lindy Fralin Blues Special. How does it compare to the A2P? Any other recomendations are welcome. Tone wise I would like to cover the gammet from Andy Timmons to Brad Paisley.
 
Re: Tele content-A2P vs. L.F. Blues Special

what type of tele is it? ash body?

what were the stock fender pups, noisless? did you change pots when you changed pups?

the alnico 2 pro is a warmer but still vintagey tele pup that is going to have some spank to it. its usually not harsh in the way you are describing. ive never seen andy timmons with a single coil in the bridge, usually a bucker. something like the hot tapped for tele might be a good option. use the tapped output for the cleaner spanky brad style stuff and the fatter hotter output for the overdriven stuff. the fralin would be great for the brad stuff but not sure how it would fare for the higher gain stuff
 
Re: Tele content-A2P vs. L.F. Blues Special

jeremy said:
the alnico 2 pro is a warmer but still vintagey tele pup that is going to have some spank to it. its usually not harsh in the way you are describing. ive never seen andy timmons with a single coil in the bridge, usually a bucker. something like the hot tapped for tele might be a good option. use the tapped output for the cleaner spanky brad style stuff and the fatter hotter output for the overdriven stuff. the fralin would be great for the brad stuff but not sure how it would fare for the higher gain stuff
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Jeremy's right. The Alnico 2 Pro will be very warm and not really edgy at all. If you're getting an edginess now, the Blues Special wil be even more edgy.

FWIW, Andy Timmons does use a Telecaster. I believe it's a 60's Tele with a maple fretboard. When I aksed him about the pickups, he told me they were stock.

A lot of the edginess from both Brad and Andy are their amps. Vox, Dr. Z, and Mesa Boogie, which both Brad and andy use, can provide a lot more edginess than Fender.
 
Re: Tele content-A2P vs. L.F. Blues Special

I'm certain the Lindy Fralin Blues Special has more output and that I would prefer it to the A2Pro. I've used both but never compared them to each other. I always felt that the A2Pro was a little lower in output than the tone I was looking for. But I never felt it was overly bright or harsh sounding - just the opposite. I usually recommend Duncans, but with the Blues Special you're talking about one of my very favorite Tele bridge pickups. I really like it. It's smoother and less glassy than Lindy's Vintage model, and has more output but I wouldn't call it a HOT pickup. It sounds like a real strong vintage Tele pickup to me without the ice pick treble that some Tele bridge pickups have.
 
Re: Tele content-A2P vs. L.F. Blues Special

jeremy said:
what type of tele is it? ash body?

what were the stock fender pups, noisless? did you change pots when you changed pups?

the alnico 2 pro is a warmer but still vintagey tele pup that is going to have some spank to it. its usually not harsh in the way you are describing. ive never seen andy timmons with a single coil in the bridge, usually a bucker. something like the hot tapped for tele might be a good option. use the tapped output for the cleaner spanky brad style stuff and the fatter hotter output for the overdriven stuff. the fralin would be great for the brad stuff but not sure how it would fare for the higher gain stuff
Click to expand...

It's an ash body, maple fretboard. The duncans were stock. I messed around some more with different amps, and also tried adjusting the height. Maybe my ears are so used to humbuckers that I need more time with it. There's just a certain frequency there that overpowers the warmness and clarity of the pickup. It sounds fantastic in the middle position. Maybe I'll throw a 7 band in front and mess with frequencies, see if I can pinpoint the issue. Thanks for the replies guys.
 
Re: Tele content-A2P vs. L.F. Blues Special

Great thread !

I nearly bought the very same guitar (used for $500.00 USD) about a month ago . . .

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-Lite-Ash-Telecaster-Electric-Guitar?sku=511339

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/document?base_pid=511339&cpd=0OEY&doc_id=99371&index=1 - this one.


. . . untill i saw it came stock w. SD A2P's !

NOT the Tele tone i was looking for !
With A2 mag's in a TELE, i thought it would be way to warm for the tone i wanted, AND i already have an A2P bucker set in my SG !

Why would you want to warm up a classic Tele tone with A2's ???



James
 
Re: Tele content-A2P vs. L.F. Blues Special

VTM Mike said:
I have the A2P in my tele, and I am hearing an upper mid/lower high end harshness that can't be dialed out (without sucking high end). I know the tone chart has the mids scooped, but there is something in the voicing that I can't get along with. I tried lowering the pup but I lost spank without getting rid of the problem.
Click to expand...
Have you tried adjusting the pole pieces ?

I suppose you know that a pickup with adjustable pole pieces is in effect a limited range 6 band equalizer.
In your guitar if a certain frequency or group of frequencies is prominent and a source of annoyance you can lower i.e. screw clockwise a pole piece to reduce it's output or prominence.
If you find the voicing of the pup not quite as you like it you can again use the pole pieces to boost and or cut the mids, top end or bass to your liking.
 
Re: Tele content-A2P vs. L.F. Blues Special

wanmei1 said:
Have you tried adjusting the pole pieces ?

I suppose you know that a pickup with adjustable pole pieces is in effect a limited range 6 band equalizer.
In your guitar if a certain frequency or group of frequencies is prominent and a source of annoyance you can lower i.e. screw clockwise a pole piece to reduce it's output or prominence.
If you find the voicing of the pup not quite as you like it you can again use the pole pieces to boost and or cut the mids, top end or bass to your liking.
Click to expand...

You can't adjust the pole slugs of Telecaster pickups.
 
Re: Tele content-A2P vs. L.F. Blues Special

so this is a lite ash tele right? ive seen this same thing with a few different ones of this model.

SlowGroove said:
Why would you want to warm up a classic Tele tone with A2's ???
Click to expand...

so it doesnt sound like a shrill screech
 
Re: Tele content-A2P vs. L.F. Blues Special

Yes, it's a light ash tele. Obviosly it is more prominent with different amps, but it's there. I played this guitar, a few mim's and a '52 reissue, and it sounded the best out of all of them (believe it or not). It sounds great with gain, but there is a frequency there that is not pleasing to my ears, and it's in the upper mids for sure, mostly the higher strings. The low strings sound fine.
 
Re: Tele content-A2P vs. L.F. Blues Special

VTM Mike said:
It sounds great with gain, but there is a frequency there that is not pleasing to my ears, and it's in the upper mids for sure, mostly the higher strings. The low strings sound fine.
Click to expand...

i had a very similar problem in a completely different guitar and pickup, a perly gates bridge in an SG!!:eyecrazy:
 
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