I've got a humbucker (neck) / single coil (bridge) telecaster that I want to replace the PUPs in. I want Stones sounds (out of the humbucker) and Led Zep as well as spanky sounds out of the single coil pup. My original thought was to pair a Seth Lover and '54 Vintage SC. I plan to use a 4-way switch with 250K pots. Is this a good match? Better ideas?
Telecaster PUP Update - School me
- Thread starter kdlp
- Start date
Chistopher
malapterurus electricus tonewood instigator
Sounds like a more than solid set to me for what you're looking for. I'm more of a fan of a threeway switch myself though, with no splitting options. I say go for the 4 way switch now and change it to a 3 way if you find out you don't need one of the positions, makes a heck of a lot more sense than the other way around.
beaubrummels
Well-known member
Could work fine. Another option might be an Antiquity neck with a Broadcaster bridge.
ToneFiddler
New member
I would suggest a hotter bridge single.
You don‘t really want all that twang unless you play country.
You don‘t really want all that twang unless you play country.
Ya, I wondered if I wasn't needlessly complicating things with the 4-way. The 4-way gives you a "series" (out of phase) position if I understand correctly. I'm not sure about the wiring schematic but there must be something out there.
BTW, I see options on the Seth Lover Humbucker as to the cable. I see "1C Braided" and "4C shielded". My Telecaster guitar body/pickguard is shielded. Is this a 4 wires versus 1 wire choice until the cable crosses into the control cavity? I assume there will be 4 conductors regardless.
And thx for the advice.
Well, it looks like I have a bit more surfing to do. Thx for the advise...
I guess I was trying to keep the impedance close... I think the Seth Lover is 7.4 and the '54 SC is 7.0. Do I need a higher impedance SC to get the output levels to match better? I know HB PUPS are hotter than SC, how high up would I need to go? I see the Quarter Pounder at 17K... I do want some country-spank left from the bridge, but it's not the first priority.
chadd
New member
I love minis and FB pickups in the neck of a tele. They tend to balance better than full size humbuckers and can give you a fat, yet articulate tone.
There is just more string volume in the neck position than the bridge, so generally the bridge would need to be a little hotter to balance. Not as hot as the QP. Maybe as hot as the Jerry Donahue.
ToneFiddler
New member
My firebird Tele isn‘t finished, but I might be able too try it soon.
a filtertron neck is also a great match in a Tele neck!
it‘s clearer than a PAF to me.
Jerry Donahue is the lowest I would go. You still will have to roll down the tone quite a bit for a early page tone. It‘s not really hot, just not borderline bright anymore.
Maybe la brea bridge will work too, but I don‘t own that one, but seems similar to the bare knuckle yardbird Tele pickup, which I think goes after the page Tele tones…
ToneFiddler
New member
To really match a neck humbucker I would go for something like the zhangbucker Paul Bunyan, but I never tried to get something like a page sound out of it.
definitely something he didn‘t use
definitely something he didn‘t use
ToneFiddler
New member
The Seymour Duncan broadcaster is really bright and steely and also not very hot. Mine has a very skinny bobbin (smaller than the JD) so I suspect it‘s 8k worth of awg 43 which is way less than 7.4k of awg 42. it also sounds that way…
beaubrummels
Well-known member
Different experiences. I have a Broadcaster in an Ash tele and it was my number one guitar for all kinds of cover music for over 10 years. You can get heat from amps. Having some treble available gives you range for a variety of music. If it's too bright, that's what the tone is for, both on the guitar and at the amp.
That said, I believe the Antiquity '55 might be closer to what Jimmy Page had in his Dragon tele, FWIW.
That said, I believe the Antiquity '55 might be closer to what Jimmy Page had in his Dragon tele, FWIW.
ToneFiddler
New member
I think the SD Broadcaster formula has changed over the years, but's that just a guess. mines a recent one and the bobbin is smaller than the JDs which has the lower DCR reading. Your's might be AWG42???
My amp has plenty of gain, but rolling down the tone is not the same as a hotter wind, not even close. I like low output, as long as it gets the tone I am after. No probs with a fender CS69 or tele necks.
maybe a parallel cap to the output might be better in mimic the tone of a hotter PU, but i don't have too much experience with that...
Chistopher
malapterurus electricus tonewood instigator
1C braided means you won't be able to coil split, 4C shielding means you can. Other than that the only difference is aesthetic.
beaubrummels
Well-known member
Mine is older, from around 2005, so almost 20 years ago. It's still in the guitar and not leaving soon. But like I say, different experiences. Mine sounds convincingly similar to humbuckers with the tone rolled back a bit. The tone control lowers the resonant peak, making it sound closer to a humbucker; takes all the twang off it and makes it mid-heavy. Make up gain can be gotten from the amp.
For me, hotter winds just start you out hitting the amp input harder, which makes the amp sound different, but doesn't really make the guitar sound different (if that makes sense), since I can get a humbucker-like sound out of a lower output PU already. Hitting the amp input harder changes the headroom, and grit/distortion characteristics and how the tone stack of the amp responds a bit IME. Maybe that's what you're getting at with the 'not even close' comparison. But the same effect could be achieved with a boost after a low output single coil guitar; basically the reason Klons, Dallas Rangemasters and numerous other boosts are sought after.
Cheers
