Telecaster neck pickup that pairs well with....

[SonicMage117]

Looking for a good neck pickup that pairs well with something like the DiMarco Chopper T.

It's a Jason Isbell Tele that is stock (Twisted Tele set) that I'm looking to modify. Mainly just swap the pickups to something beefier but still Tele like. The Twisted set is great but when I do a full on comparison video, I (and others) found quickly that the Twisted set sounded super thin and underwhelming when compared to Pete Aderson's Working Class Set (much more volume and girth). The more time I spent with the Jason Isbell Tele, the more the Twisted Tele doesn't really sound like a Tele to me, sounds more like a Strat/Tele hybrid. Great sound, don't get me wrong- but not necessarily needed by me. I'd rather have the Jason Isbell Tele sound like a full, strong Tele equipped with pickups that can hold up to my other Tele with the Working Class pickups installed.

Looking for a bridge pickup/set that isn't too mid-forward - something like the Red Devil (which sounds like an out-of-phase'd/cocked wah bridge pickup) isn't something I want. I want something that is clear sounding and great for cleans, slight overdrives.

All neck pickup recommendations are acceptable, or of you want to recommend a set that seemingly fits what I'm looking for....

 

[ToneFiddler]

the chopperT is quite mid forward. sounds more like a humbucker (which it is) than a single coil.
you might still hear the tele quality coming from the tele bridge construction, but the chopper has no tele quality on it's own, if you ask me.
if you use the chopper in parallel it's a good match with a std. tele neck like the SD STR-1...
The twisted tele bridge sounds very tele to me, although a hot one. bare knuckle flat 50 is going for a similiar thing. yes the neck PU is more hollow.

 

[SonicMage117]

the chopperT is quite mid forward. sounds more like a humbucker (which it is) than a single coil.
you might still hear the tele quality coming from the tele bridge construction, but the chopper has no tele quality on it's own, if you ask me.

Interesting... yeah,, I've worked in the studio in the past with the Kotzen Tele and the bridge pickup was always sounding twangy to me no matter what amp I ran it through or what EQ settings I had dialed in, it was also easy to get the country twang/southern blues Tele sound out of the Kotzen, not so much with the Jason Isbell tele. The Jason Isbell just sounds thin in comparison, again, the pickups aren't bad, just looking for more of a powerful version of the Tele sound I guess.

The Red Devil Tele pickup seems closer in line to the most mids-driven Tele Pickups I've heard thus fat which is the Paisley signature La Brea pickups, so much honk to where it gets easy to get muddied in a signal. I can't ever see that happening with the Chopper T.

if you use the chopper in parallel it's a good match with a std. tele neck like the SD STR-1...
The twisted tele bridge sounds very tele to me, although a hot one. bare knuckle flat 50 is going for a similiar thing. yes the neck PU is more hollow.

I won't be doing any re-wiring and not sure what the Jason Isbell Tele came stock with as far as wiring specifics or the caps values (Never opened it up to check out the wiring at least).

I do know the Twisted Tele set is being marketed by Fender and the people who use the set as "Strat like" and "Add that Strat sparkle to your tele". The users say "The one that turns your tele into a Strat" or "Making the neck pickup actually usuable comparing to the bridge". The problem is that I don't need my Tele to sound like a strat, or closer to. I already have multiple strats so I don't need a middle ground so that's why I want to go the opposite direction of the Twisted Tele set.

What are your recommendations for a vintage tele pickup set? Again, I have the Seymour Duncan Custom Shop Dwight Yoakum one in my other Tele, from MJ. I wonder if the Joe Bonamassa Broadcaster set is much different. I have also been considering the Hot Chicken tele set, but it seems like there's not much knowledge or coverage about the set enough to make me make me pull the trigger.

 

[freefrog]

I (and others) found quickly that the Twisted set sounded super thin and underwhelming when compared to Pete Aderson's Working Class Set (much more volume and girth). The more time I spent with the Jason Isbell Tele, the more the Twisted Tele doesn't really sound like a Tele to me, sounds more like a Strat/Tele hybrid.

The twisted Tele neck SC has effectively been designed to mimic a Strat pickup under a Tele neck frame. It has a taller coil + taller rod magnets than usual Tele neck PU's and is wound with a thicker PE insulated wire (AWG42). [EDIT - Formvar insulated, as recalled below by ToneFiddler. Mixed memories. Was already thinking to the CS69 evoked in the next paragraph and which is in the same ballpark of low inductance... ]

So that's the kind of pickup that I tend to treat as if it was a CS69 in a Strat (I've transplanted a Twisted Tele from neck to mid position in a modified Tele, BTW, and find it really useful when it comes to emulate 2d/4th Strat positions).

If I wanted it to sound less thin in neck position, I'd plug in a rig matching this profile, through a Hendrix / SRV style cable with high parasitic capacitance (IOW: through a long and/or curly cord) or in parallel with a small cap emulating the high capacitive load of such a cable...

And I wouldn't either consider a DiMarzio Chopper T if the goal is to match a set of Tele PU's: with its rather high inductance, the Chopper is closer to a Duncan SSL6 than to a standard Fender style SC.... unless it would be wired in parallel, as judiciously suggested by ToneFiddler. ;-)

So, in such a case, I'd just try to find another set of Working Class Tele PU's. But that's just me. Do what you want and be happy.

 

[SonicMage117]

The twisted Tele neck SC has effectively been designed to mimic a Strat pickup under a Tele neck frame. It has a taller coil + taller rod magnets than usual Tele neck PU's and is wound with a thicker PE insulated wire (AWG42).

So that's the kind of pickup that I tend to treat as if it was a CS69 in a Strat (I've transplanted one from neck to mid position in a modified Tele, BTW, and find it really useful when it comes to emulate 2d/4th Strat positions).

If I wanted it to sound less thin in neck position, I'd plug in a rig matching this profile, through a Hendrix / SRV style cable with high parasitic capacitance (IOW: through a long and/or curly cord) or in parallel with a small cap emulating the high capacitive load of such a cable...

And I wouldn't either consider a DiMarzio Chopper T if the goal is to match a set of Tele PU's: with its rather high inductance, the Chopper is closer to a Duncan SSL6 than to a standard Fender style SC.... unless it would be wired in parallel, as judiciously suggested by ToneFiddler. ;-)

So, in such a case, I'd just try to find another set of Working Class Tele PU's. But that's just me. Do what you want and be happy.

But....

I'm not looking for this tele to sound similar or comparable to my Tele with the Working Class Set though, I'm looking to make the Jason Isbell Tele sound less strat like, while being able to compliment the Dwight Yoakum Tele with the Working Class pickups. My complaint isn't that the Strat-like neck pickup is thin, it's not, at least I've never considered it to be. My problem is how it affects the other pickups in the middle position and how it responds to effects. It's more or less engineered to respond and EQ'd as Strat pickups are.

And yes, I saw the video you're referring to comparing the CS69 Strat neck pickup to the Twisted Tele neck pickup where they sound nearly identical but what it doesn't show is that the Tele pickup isn't as friendly with effects This shows in live playing and in the studio, demos not so much.

https://youtu.be/7bU5oxjody0?si=PiyusukxNr8ZNTwW

Maybe I can have MJ cook me up a "Cold Chicken" set, meaning almost everything is the same but not as hot, not as low output

 

[ToneFiddler]

....a thicker PE insulated wire (AWG42)....

formvar!

edit:but rest is spot on! (as usual)

 

[ToneFiddler]

But....

I'm not looking for this tele to sound similar or comparable to my Tele with the Working Class Set though, I'm looking to make the Jason Isbell Tele sound less strat like, while being able to compliment the Dwight Yoakum Tele with the Working Class pickups. My complaint isn't that the Strat-like neck pickup is thin, it's not, at least I've never considered it to be. My problem is how it affects the other pickups in the middle position and how it responds to effects. It's more or less engineered to respond and EQ'd as Strat pickups are.

And yes, I saw the video you're referring to comparing the CS69 Strat neck pickup to the Twisted Tele neck pickup where they sound nearly identical but what it doesn't show is that the Tele pickup isn't as friendly with effects This shows in live playing and in the studio, demos not so much.

https://youtu.be/7bU5oxjody0?si=PiyusukxNr8ZNTwW

Maybe I can have MJ cook me up a "Cold Chicken" set, meaning almost everything is the same but not as hot, not as low output

again, the bridge twisted tele PU sounds all tele to me (or at least one of the tele flavours). nothing strat about it.

the STR-1 is a good tele neck PU. if you find it to dark, you can change the cover to a nickel silver one, as i did.

 

[beaubrummels]

Looking for a good neck pickup that pairs well with something like the DiMarco Chopper T.

Don't have experience with Chopper T, but...

It's a Jason Isbell Tele that is stock (Twisted Tele set) that I'm looking to modify. Mainly just swap the pickups to something beefier but still Tele like.

IME beefier pickups will be less Tele-like (you'll lose a lot of twang, top end and some bottom end), because Tele pickups weren't really beefy by themselves. The right amp makes a real vintage Tele beefy.

The Twisted set is great but when I do a full on comparison video, I (and others) found quickly that the Twisted set sounded super thin and underwhelming when compared to Pete Aderson's Working Class Set (much more volume and girth).

Compared to vintage Tele pickups, the Twisted set is notably thicker. If they sound thin to you, then you aren't looking for a Tele sound, which is good to know to make recommendations.

Looking for a bridge pickup/set that isn't too mid-forward - something like the Red Devil (which sounds like an out-of-phase'd/cocked wah bridge pickup) isn't something I want. I want something that is clear sounding and great for cleans, slight overdrives.

Out of phase and cocked wah are the opposite sound from each other. I favor vintage Tele pickups, so the hotter ones I have less experience with, but the one that has vintage qualities but more push that I'm aware of might be the Jerry Donahue bridge. Jeremy or maybe Mincer might have experience to say.

All neck pickup recommendations are acceptable, or of you want to recommend a set that seemingly fits what I'm looking for....

As far as Tele necks, most all real Tele necks are dark sounding. The Twisted set kind of solved that problem. If you want something different, perhaps Alnico 2 Pro, or Quarter Pound, or Five-Two, or just plain Hot Tele. I moved away from hot Tele pickups, so I have less experience with those.

Interesting... yeah,, I've worked in the studio in the past with the Kotzen Tele and the bridge pickup was always sounding twangy to me no matter what amp I ran it through or what EQ settings I had dialed in, it was also easy to get the country twang/southern blues Tele sound out of the Kotzen, not so much with the Jason Isbell tele.

A significant percentage of twang comes from the neck scale, not the pickups.

The Red Devil Tele pickup seems closer in line to the most mids-driven Tele Pickups I've heard thus fat which is the Paisley signature La Brea pickups, so much honk to where it gets easy to get muddied in a signal. I can't ever see that happening with the Chopper T.

Usually a mid peak helps cut through a mix. There must be something else going on also (guitar body/neck, hardware, amp, settings, processing) to get muddy with a mid peak.

The problem is that I don't need my Tele to sound like a strat, or closer to. I already have multiple strats so I don't need a middle ground so that's why I want to go the opposite direction of the Twisted Tele set.

I think the Quarter Pound set might be that.

What are your recommendations for a vintage tele pickup set? Again, I have the Seymour Duncan Custom Shop Dwight Yoakum one in my other Tele, from MJ. I wonder if the Joe Bonamassa Broadcaster set is much different. I have also been considering the Hot Chicken tele set, but it seems like there's not much knowledge or coverage about the set enough to make me make me pull the trigger.

For vintage Tele, my forever set has been a Broadcaster bridge with an Antiquity '54 neck. But I don't think vintage is the sound you are describing. It sounds like you want hot, thick across the entire mids without any mid peak, with a little bit of treble/twang on top. My thoughts are maybe Jerry Donahue bridge with a Hot Tele or 5/2 neck, or maybe a Quarter Pound set, or maybe 5/2 set. I don't have your guitar or amp, so I can only suggest things that might be in the ball park.


As always, the shorter path is just tell MJ what guitar you have and what you want it to sound like and pay once. If the idea is really good and reusable, it could become a production pickup.

 

[freefrog]

And yes, I saw the video you're referring to comparing the CS69 Strat neck pickup to the Twisted Tele neck pickup where they sound nearly identical but what it doesn't show is that the Tele pickup isn't as friendly with effects This shows in live playing and in the studio, demos not so much.

I was actually referring to my own experience with Twisted Tele and CS69 PU's, not at all to any video... but thx for sharing the related link.

Personally, I don't find Twisted Tele neck SC's less "friendly with effects" but such experiences necessarily vary according to the gear involved. With which effects exactly do you have this feeling and why?

Now, sure, the response of a typical Tele neck PU is linked to a specific design that a Twisted Tele neck PU... "twists" in several ways. ;-)

So and as you appear to have a clear idea of what you want, considering a CS pickup or set is probably a good idea...

Good luck in your quest.

 

[ToneFiddler]

Don't have experience with Chopper T, but...




IME beefier pickups will be less Tele-like (you'll lose a lot of twang, top end and some bottom end), because Tele pickups weren't really beefy by themselves. The right amp makes a real vintage Tele beefy.




Compared to vintage Tele pickups, the Twisted set is notably thicker. If they sound thin to you, then you aren't looking for a Tele sound, which is good to know to make recommendations.




Out of phase and cocked wah are the opposite sound from each other. I favor vintage Tele pickups, so the hotter ones I have less experience with, but the one that has vintage qualities but more push that I'm aware of might be the Jerry Donahue bridge. Jeremy or maybe Mincer might have experience to say.




As far as Tele necks, most all real Tele necks are dark sounding. The Twisted set kind of solved that problem. If you want something different, perhaps Alnico 2 Pro, or Quarter Pound, or Five-Two, or just plain Hot Tele. I moved away from hot Tele pickups, so I have less experience with those.




A significant percentage of twang comes from the neck scale, not the pickups.




Usually a mid peak helps cut through a mix. There must be something else going on also (guitar body/neck, hardware, amp, settings, processing) to get muddy with a mid peak.




I think the Quarter Pound set might be that.




For vintage Tele, my forever set has been a Broadcaster bridge with an Antiquity '54 neck. But I don't think vintage is the sound you are describing. It sounds like you want hot, thick across the entire mids without any mid peak, with a little bit of treble/twang on top. My thoughts are maybe Jerry Donahue bridge with a Hot Tele or 5/2 neck, or maybe a Quarter Pound set, or maybe 5/2 set. I don't have your guitar or amp, so I can only suggest things that might be in the ball park.


As always, the shorter path is just tell MJ what guitar you have and what you want it to sound like and pay once. If the idea is really good and reusable, it could become a production pickup.

the JD is not hotter than the twisted tele bridge. softer attack and softer nature all around with the JD though.
i have them both (but not in the same guitar).

Zhangbucker Paul Bunyan might be the ticked for you! (or maybe rio grande muy grande or cavalier fat lion).
quarter pound was 1 or 2 steps too far for me. but finding a fitting tele neck Pickup for those will be even harder!

 

[ToneFiddler]

so i looked up the jason isbell:
fender.com/products/jason-isbell-telecaster-pickup-set
it's not a twisted tele bridge, so now it makes more sense, but the jason-isbell bridge and Pete Anderson “Working Class” bridge don't seem miles apart.
so it might be more the guitars themselfs. same string gauges? same bridge construction? woods?

​

 

[SonicMage117]

so i looked up the jason isbell:
fender.com/products/jason-isbell-telecaster-pickup-set
it's not a twisted tele bridge, so now it makes more sense, but the jason-isbell bridge and Pete Anderson “Working Class” bridge don't seem miles apart.
so it might be more the guitars themselfs. same string gauges? same bridge construction? woods?

​

You may be right, the Isbell Tele is all stock, the Player series Tele with the Working class pickups (which I just call the Dwight Yoakum Tele for short) is a fully modified Player Tele. For more context:


The Fender Jason Isbell Telecaster is stock with classic Fender 3 saddle ashtray bridge, the modified Fender Twisted Tele Pickups Set that comes stock, smoked alder matte body with a Rosewood neck, Fender classic tuners, stock Fender wiring. All stock.

The Fender Player Telecaster having a Babicz full contact bridge, Seymour duncan custom shop Working Class pickups, glossed Maple neck, wheel locking Fender tuners, glossed Alder body, 920D wTele.

Basically the only things on that tele that haven't been changed are the body and neck themselves. so maybe that is contributing to my issue when in comparison with the other tele. I'm not sure what strings each guitar has specifically but the Dwight Yoakum Tele has 9's and the Isbell Tele has 10's.

There's alot of differences there but wouldn't necessarily pin it as apples to oranges, they are both very Tele. Moving parts vs non-moving parts, sustain vs compressed. Slow is fast, fast is slow.

 

[beaubrummels]

The Babicz and locking tuners will have a notable affect on the Player. That's a notable increase in mass for the strings to anchor into.

 

[SonicMage117]

For vintage Tele, my forever set has been a Broadcaster bridge with an Antiquity '54 neck. But I don't think vintage is the sound you are describing. It sounds like you want hot, thick across the entire mids without any mid peak, with a little bit of treble/twang on top. My thoughts are maybe Jerry Donahue bridge with a Hot Tele or 5/2 neck, or maybe a Quarter Pound set, or maybe 5/2 set. I don't have your guitar or amp, so I can only suggest things that might be in the ball park.


As always, the shorter path is just tell MJ what guitar you have and what you want it to sound like and pay once. If the idea is really good and reusable, it could become a production pickup.

I'll look into the JD Bridge and Hot Tele, 5/2 necks. I keep forgetting they have 5/2 pickups for tele. And I totally forgot about the Quarter Pounder one which seems to be regarded well in Tele, I remember Fender had limited edition Player model with the Quarter Pounder set, I was curious about that at the time.

May have to do that with MJ, thanks!!

 

[ToneFiddler]

The Babicz and locking tuners will have a notable affect on the Player. That's a notable increase in mass for the strings to anchor into.

this! huge difference to a thin steel 3 saddle bridge.