Telecaster PUP Update - School me

[ToneFiddler]

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

to be more clear: the cable capacity or parallel capacity shifts the resonant peak down. the tone pot only damps the resonance, at least on moderate tone settings not all the way down, if i remember correctly.

as stated i like super low output pickups like a tele neck or similar.

it's just the bright single Coil bridges that i regularly rip out of my guitars. tried different tone caps, also. At the point they are not too bright anymore, they often just sound kind of lame. maybe it's the combination with my v30 speakers?
with the JD and other hotter Tele bridges i am fine if i turn the town knob down 1/4 or 1/3 max. anything more (depending on the cap value) and i tend to not like it...

you are not trying to convince me that different pickups are useless and you can achieve everything with a vintage tele PU and a tone pot, do you?

 

[beaubrummels]

you are not trying to convince me that different pickups are useless and you can achieve everything with a vintage tele PU and a tone pot, do you?

I never said that. I just stated my experience with the various pickups in question, for the benefit of the OP, who isn't you.

 

[kdlp]

Just want to toss in a quick "Thanks!" here for all the useful info. I haven't figured out exactly what I'm going to do with this Tele yet but I have certainly minimized the possibilities.

 

[Mincer]

Just want to toss in a quick "Thanks!" here for all the useful info. I haven't figured out exactly what I'm going to do with this Tele yet but I have certainly minimized the possibilities.

Come back and let us know how this project turns out!

 

[kdlp]

Come back and let us know how this project turns out!

So the project turned out well... but I'm still not satisfied, I suppose because I like to tinker. Here's where I am and where I'd like to go. My current Tele has the Full-Range HB in the neck and a Texas Special PUP in the bridge. It also has Master Volume and Master tone and a 3 way switch on the control panel.

It's OK... but here's what I'd like to do: Same PUPs in the same locations but add a 3rd pot (I have a 3 pot Tele control plate) to serve as a Blender Pot. The Blender pot would allow me to dial in how much of each PUP gets to the signal path. Full clockwise would be the neck, full counter-clockwise would be full Bridge PUP. My questions are: Does anyone have a schematic for doing this already? What impedance should that blender pot be? And am I going to have to add a resistor here or there to try and balance the impedance across the control panel?

I'm pretty confident in wiring/soldering it all together but I have "0" knowledge of how to go about pulling this off in terms of theory, etc. I guess I'm hoping someone has been there and done that. Thanks for any suggestions.