Tele Pickups selection guide please

Tele Pickups selection guide please

  • STL-3T, SSL-4 rwrp(custom order: tapped)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • ST-59-B1, SSL-2

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • APTL-3JD, APS-2 rwrp

    Votes: 4 50.0%

  • SSTL52-1, Antiquity II SS rwrp

    Votes: 4 50.0%
  • Total voters
    8
Baltar

Baltar

New member
I'm putting together a Tele and would like to know your opinion.
The more i think about pickups, the more do i loose the idea.
I'm playing county,rock,bluesrock(i like some texasblues feel also)
through my Blackface Twin (or my recent built brownface Bassman (112
cab Jensen neo tornado)) with somehelp from pedals.
Body is an old Fender alder body, orig black. Neck will be a Rockinger Vintage
21 fret (slightly more wood than modern c-shape), with rosewood fretboard.
Neck pickup should be a Stratocaster singlecoil. Bridge is wilkinson compensated

First consideration is a STL-3T plus SSL4-RWRP (custom:tapped) for
versatility (5way sw). Idea: to get that punch (optionally), that
vintage singlecoild lack to drive a pedal^^. Worries: will a stl-3 in tapped
position have some twang? does it provide this woody bass? versatility is
nice, but at the end it should sound like a tele. For that special setup there
aren't any meaningful clips around.

Second consideration is a little 59 bridge, + ssl-1,2 or aps ii in neck (4 way).
Idea: Stable setup with optional more balls in bridge pos. Worries: Again, i have
no clue if a split little 59 would make it really sound like a tele should in bridge position.

Third consideration would be a classic. donahue plus aps ii rwrp. Idea: Proven ok
Worries: i have no idea, if the aps ii can bring that texasblues feeling, like an ssl-1,2
or antiquity does. The donahue is defined to match with maple, not rosewood fretboard.

Fourth (picked by two wizard queries): stl-52 in bridge, plus antiquity surf in neck.

I'd be happy to have some feedback to my combination-idesa. For those who don't want
to text, i start a poll additionaly.

cheers, martin
 
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Re: Tele Pickups selection guide please

I'd go standard tele style pickups....ie all singlecoil.


For blues you probably want a slightly overwound pair IMO....ie more than just full vintage twang.

I feel SD's pure singlecoil offerings are all variations on vintage myself, so......

I like the look/sounds of the Fender Texas special Tele set, they sound beefy and would handle gain well.

Some of the Rio Grande offerings also look good, the Muy Gande set for example.

..........or for a 'left-field' suggestion - Zhangbucker's Paul Bunyan set. He prefers the neck pickup to be uncovered, which should add bite and open up the tone.
 
Re: Tele Pickups selection guide please

Neck: Duncan Vintage Rhythm

Bridge #1: Vintage 54 is cool but a little thin for some guys.

Bridge #2: Broadcaster, more powerful but not overly so.

Bridge #3 Hot Tapped Tele, low side sounds like a Broadcaster the hot side is a beast.

If it were me I'd go with the vintage rhythm and the 54 or the Antiquity neck and Ant 55 bridge but thats just my opinion.
 
Re: Tele Pickups selection guide please

AlexR said:
I'd go standard tele style pickups....ie all singlecoil.
Click to expand...
Yeah, the lil'59 was just a thought. I also think singlecoils are the way to go.

AlexR said:
For blues you probably want a slightly overwound pair IMO....ie more than just full vintage twang.
Click to expand...
Overwounds never sounded right to me, at least on Strats. All i've
tested had something unpleasant in upper mids, maybe what some call bright,
but lacked brilliance. Eg my fav Strat pups were custom wound to 62 specs
with just +3%, so even less than eg the ssl-1. I fear that the tele, which
is more picky in upper mids could even be worse with overwounds.

AlexR said:
I feel SD's pure singlecoil offerings are all variations on vintage myself, so......
Click to expand...
I'd rather stay with duncans this time. It's easier to get help.

the guy who invented fire said:
Neck: Duncan Vintage Rhythm
Bridge #1: Vintage 54 is cool but a little thin for some guys.
Click to expand...
I think for me too

the guy who invented fire said:
Bridge #2: Broadcaster, more powerful but not overly so.
Click to expand...
Hmm, interesting.
Maybe Broadcaster bridge + Antiquity II surf(Strat) neck?

cheers, Martin
 
Re: Tele Pickups selection guide please

my favorite tele pup is the custom shop tapped '53 jb but its pricey.

that with an ssl2 or surfer neck would be fantastic.

i think the stl3t would be a cool option to cover lots of ground

im a sucker for a firebird pup in the neck of a tele and the antiquity II is sweet as they come
 
Re: Tele Pickups selection guide please

jeremy said:
my favorite tele pup is the custom shop tapped '53 jb but its pricey.
Click to expand...
cool throw in, thanks. too bad it's that pricey.

i'm still curious if a stl-3t sounds nearly classic-tele-like, when tapped.

jeremy said:
that with an ssl2 or surfer neck would be fantastic.
Click to expand...
those two are my favourite candidates. do you think, they could be a nice
match to a st-1b as well?

cheers, martin
 
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Re: Tele Pickups selection guide please

yes they would match the stl-1b just fine.

the stl3t sounds somewhat classic tele like when tapped. the output is right, the tone is pretty close.
 
Re: Tele Pickups selection guide please

result sharing...
aquiring a neat bridge pickup turned out to be a challenge.
neither the stl-3t nor the fivetwo were in stock at any major austrian or german
dealer, so i gave the broadcaster a try. it's really a cool classic pickup, but not
what i was looking for. happily i shot a fender texas special bridge pupon ebay,
which i like a lot. so AlexRs input which i initially refused, turned out to be a cool
choice. thanks for mentioning, it helped ;) . btw it pairs very nice with the ssl2.

meanwhile i removed the wilkinson compensated bridge and mounted a
gotoh six saddle bridge. she is sounding much more defined and balanced
now.

thanks again everyone
 
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Re: Tele Pickups selection guide please

Four T style lead/treble pickups currently doin' the business for me:
1) Fender Nocaster model
2) SD Custom Shop Tele Lead Stack (30k, A5, 50 Gauss, MJ)
3) G&L ASAT Classic MFD
4) SD Custom Shop '53 Tapped Tele

I only just got the last one, pre-owned. Still experimenting with wiring permutations.

The T lead stack was also sourced pre-owned. Specs do not quite conform to any of the models in the website listings. On a recently-acquired Fender MIM Tele, with its coils wired permanently in series, this baby sounds huge - twangy and kinda P90-ish. It is putting the SD P90 Stack in the neck/rhythm position to shame.*

Cutting to the chase, SD Custom Shop pickups are pricey but they ALWAYS produce an absolutely killer sound.

EDIT - * Fixed this. Changed the tone control cap from .050 to .022uF.
 
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Re: Tele Pickups selection guide please

Sounds like you're thinking of using a Strat pickup for the neck and Tele pickup for the bridge. Good idea!

I'm a big fan of Duncan's Tele Hot Tapped, which is an alnico 5 pickup, and also the Alnico 2 Duncan Custom Shop version of this pickup which is the 53 Tapped. http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/custom-shop/telecaster/1953_tapped_jb/)

If you want a Strat neck pickup it's hard to beat the Antiquity. If you find Strat's to be to bright and prefer a less bright tone, than go for the Ant Texas Hot. If you like the bright sound of vintage Strat pickups go for the Ant Surf.

I use a 5 way switch on my Tele that lets me get all of the combinations: vintage bridge, vintage bridge & neck, neck, hot bridge & neck and hot bridge.
 
Re: Tele Pickups selection guide please

I have a Vintage for Broadcaster in my tele. I only use the bridge pickup, so I removed the neck one. I love this pickup. I also really like the older two conductor Quarter Pounders. It's kinda like having a P90 in your tele.
 
Re: Tele Pickups selection guide please

I didn't like the lil 59/apII combo in my alder tele. It would sound better in swamp ash. I am going to put the lil 59 in a tele inspired lapsteel.
 
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