Tele Mini Humbucker recomendation?

[Artie]

Re: Tele Mini Humbucker recomendation?

Great forum info, as usual. I always thought that mini's were Firebirds.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Tele Mini Humbucker recomendation?

If your tele is routed, Minis are incredible for necks... All the way from pseudo twang to Les Paul deluxeish.

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This.

And if it’s not routed you can do it yourself...the pickguard can cover up any mistakes

Seriously...a Firebird pickup in the neck of a Tele is superb.

Edit: Yes, minis and firebirds are not the same...I just always lumped them together due to the size.

I would recomend a Firebird pickup in the neck.

 

[zionstrat]

Re: Tele Mini Humbucker recomendation?

This.

And if it’s not routed you can do it yourself...the pickguard can cover up any mistakes

Seriously...a Firebird pickup in the neck of a Tele is superb.

Edit: Yes, minis and firebirds are not the same...I just always lumped them together due to the size.

I would recomend a Firebird pickup in the neck.

Absolutely true... If not worried about perfection, a dremel tool works and a chisel is a very non percision option.

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[dystrust]

Re: Tele Mini Humbucker recomendation?

I have a SM-1n in the neck of my Tele and it's amazing. Jeremy summed it up pretty well in terms of tones.

 

[woffi]

Re: Tele Mini Humbucker recomendation?

Ok, folks - great advice. SM-1 in the neck it will be ... just have to make up my mind between Hot Tele oder Jerry Donahue for bridge.

I want some twang, but I also want a little more midrange and output ... according to the sound samples I tend to like the Hot Tele more, but you guys seem to prefer the Donahue?!

 

[Mincer]

Re: Tele Mini Humbucker recomendation?

I think the Donahue sounds more like a traditional Tele pickup, as the Hot Tele has more mids. But that might be your thing. If you are in the US, you can use the 21 Day Exchange policy, too.

 

[dystrust]

Re: Tele Mini Humbucker recomendation?

Ok, folks - great advice. SM-1 in the neck it will be ... just have to make up my mind between Hot Tele oder Jerry Donahue for bridge.

I want some twang, but I also want a little more midrange and output ... according to the sound samples I tend to like the Hot Tele more, but you guys seem to prefer the Donahue?!

I'm not familiar with the Hot for Tele, but I have a Hot Stack in my Tele along with the SM-1. I'm not all that into country twang, so the Hot Stack works well for me. It isn't super hot either; it's vintage Tele with just a bit more output and mids so it's great for early Zeppelin.

 

[Artie]

Re: Tele Mini Humbucker recomendation?

If not worried about perfection, a dremel tool works and a chisel is a very non percision option.

I do plan on using a Dremel, with the plunge router base, on mine. But I'll build a precision jig/template first, and practice on a board. Also, a chisel, if sharpened properly, can actually do some very precise work if used with care. I've seen some amazing tenon and mortise joints made with a chisel.

 

[zionstrat]

Re: Tele Mini Humbucker recomendation?

Good for you on dremel- would love to see photos along the way!

And yes a chisel is incredible in the hands of talented wood workers- my father and grandfather were masters, but it skipped me

 

[elelpe]

Re: Tele Mini Humbucker recomendation?

If you're a predominantly twang player that wants to rock, go with JD. If you're a rocker that wants some twang, get Hot for Tele.

 

[6stringer]

Re: Tele Mini Humbucker recomendation?

I have several Tele's, my favorite, most versatile set up uses an older SD mini-humbucker (with adjustable pole pieces) in the neck position. Wired with a 4-way switch it's great. That guitar also has a push/pull tone pot wired to put the PUs out of phase, which is a usable tone too. The next best sounding Tele has a Tom Anderson PU at the neck, similar to a Quarter Pounder. I had a real '59 Esquire with a PAF at the neck for many years (until it was stolen) and would say that the Tele with the SD mini-humbucker gets closest to that guitar'sr tone.

 

[woffi]

Re: Tele Mini Humbucker recomendation?

I have several Tele's, my favorite, most versatile set up uses an older SD mini-humbucker (with adjustable pole pieces) in the neck position. Wired with a 4-way switch it's great. That guitar also has a push/pull tone pot wired to put the PUs out of phase, which is a usable tone too. The next best sounding Tele has a Tom Anderson PU at the neck, similar to a Quarter Pounder. I had a real '59 Esquire with a PAF at the neck for many years (until it was stolen) and would say that the Tele with the SD mini-humbucker gets closest to that guitar'sr tone.

4-way-switch -> to put both pickups in series instead of parallel? That's exactly what I have in mind, also the out-of-phase switch. Which pickup do you have in the bridge position?

 

[Bodeanicus]

Re: Tele Mini Humbucker recomendation?

Just to be clear, this thread is combining minis and firebirds... 2 very different pups that happen to be the same size and work great in tele necks.

Minis are pretty much scaled down traditional humbuckers... Because they are thinner they see less of the string than a traditional humbucker, so they are brighter and less muddy than traditional humbucker.... Great in a les paul deluxe or neck of a tele when you want a relatively clean, articulate and relatively warm tone.

Firebirds have the magnet in the coil they are bright and more aggressive. Kind of like a thicker strat with a little more drive.

Both are great pups, but the firebird in tele neck is brighter and more aggressive than the mini.

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Firebird minis sound great in Strats, too.

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[Benjy_26]

Re: Tele Mini Humbucker recomendation?

Is anyone splitting the FB pickups they have? I am currently using three SM-1n's in differemt guitars and am wondering if going to the Seymourized model is worth it in order to obtain the 4 conductor wiring.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Tele Mini Humbucker recomendation?

Ok, folks - great advice. SM-1 in the neck it will be ... just have to make up my mind between Hot Tele oder Jerry Donahue for bridge.

I want some twang, but I also want a little more midrange and output ... according to the sound samples I tend to like the Hot Tele more, but you guys seem to prefer the Donahue?!

I have the STL-2T in one of my teles. The tapped sound isn't as juicy as a JD, but it does pretty much what an old school tele should do. The full output sound is indeed pretty hot and quite thick. Thick enough that you can do some humbucker sounds with it and be OK in a live setting.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Tele Mini Humbucker recomendation?

the only duncan mini i might split is the sm2. the sm1 and sm3 along with the antiqutiy models would be pretty weak and thin, not worth it for me but it doesnt hurt to experiment if ya wanna try it

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Tele Mini Humbucker recomendation?

How much of the FB character does the SM-2 keep when in series mode?

The reason I asl is because I have a Nighthawk with a SM-1n in the neck. I replaced the stock, 16k 4 wire FB pickup that came in it and it sounds MUCH better when in the neck position, but I did lose a bit of quack when in position 2 as compared to the split stocker in the same position.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Tele Mini Humbucker recomendation?

the sm2 has some fb character still but its hotter for sure. not as hot as the crap gibson was using for a while. i prefer the sm1/sm3 series mode especially for cleaner stuff but the sm2 is a good pup. you can try the sm3 and split with in position 2. might sound really good. on its own, probably fairly weak. the sm2 will definitely sound better split

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Tele Mini Humbucker recomendation?

Thanks! I'll start with the 3. I really like the 1n, but maybe the 3n is a better compromise for this particular guitar.

 

[Rich_S]

Re: Tele Mini Humbucker recomendation?

I wanted to put an SM-1 in my Tele a few years ago, but I was looking for used pickups and an SM-3 popped up before I found a -1. It's been in there ever since. I love the middle position, combining it with the STL-1 in the bridge.

One of the things I love about MIM Teles is, they're routed for a humbucker at the neck, so I can swap pickups easily, with just a pickguard change. However, I haven't done it in a while because I really like the SM-3.