Tighter than a '59B?

[Rich_S]

My main guitars are two Teles; a stock one with an STL-1 in the bridge and a Schecter-bodied PT with a '59B. My logic is that they are close enough to be somewhat interchangable, but also slightly different. I've been playing the Schecter the last few nights, warming up some old '80s stuff for an upcoming reunion.

Tonight I switched to the "real" Tele and played a lot of the same stuff and everything sounded more "right" that with the humbucker. So much so that I started thinking maybe I should buy an adapter plate and put a Tele pickup in the HB bridge, maybe a Hot Stack (always wanted to try one of those) or maybe just another STL-1 or STL-1B. The idea seems nuts, but the normal Tele sound so good tonight, for everything I played.

Back in the '80s I played all this same stuff with humbuckers. I had Custom in a Dean V for a while, and then an original US-made Schecter PT with their humbuckers, and I thought those sounded good. These days, I think the '59 sounds kind of loose and mushy, not percussive enough. This despite the A5 magnet, through-body stringing, and maple neck.

Are there any alternatives that would be a bit tighter, without going full-on single coil? I don't really want to get hotter, just tighter.

And where on the STL-1 to '59B spectrum does the Hot Stack fall? I've always been strangely attracted to that pickup (probably because Mick Ronson played one) but never tried one.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: Tighter than a '59B?

Jazz bridge!

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: Tighter than a '59B?

Edit: ^Beat me to it

Jazz Bridge? Very similar on paper to a 59 , but not as loose; more bright-ness/presence, less "bounce," more cut and a wider sort of harmonic depth to the sound overall. It's weird how the pickups can have such similar EQ specs (both sort of scooped, low output, though as mentioned the Jazz is a bit brighter) and such different dynamic response and sound.

...My real answer might be the Screamin Demon though, as far as a 'fast,' single coil-ish response and solid bottom. It's not quite so bright as the Jazz etc. but I still hesitate to make that my first recommendation as 1.) I love the Demon too much and am too likely to recommend it for anything, and 2.) the Demon doesn't seem to suit everyone.

 

[Rich_S]

Re: Tighter than a '59B?

I should add that I think my amp is part of the equation. These days I'm playing a cathode-biased 18 Watter clone which is inherently both "squishy" than the fixed-biased 2203 or 2204 that I played back then. The single coil Tele pickup compensates for the 18 Watter's looseness, where as humbucker tend to get farty through this amp. I suspect if I were playing a bigger Marshall like a DSL-40C my thinking would be different.

 

[Demanic]

Re: Tighter than a '59B?

Cathode bias amps are, I think, inherently looser in the low end.

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[Rich_S]

Re: Tighter than a '59B?

Oh, they are for sure. I love my amp, just looking for a way to tighten up the goldtop PT.


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[Condemnedsoul]

Re: Tighter than a '59B?

Jazz bridge and a Screaming Demon make a good pairing.
Would the 59/C hybrid be a good fit here?

 

[VinceT]

Re: Tighter than a '59B?

59/Custom hybrid came to mind - hotter than 59B but tighter at the same time. I have one in my Starfield Cabriolet (Tele based shredder) and it's GREAT!!!


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[chadd]

Re: Tighter than a '59B?

...My real answer might be the Screamin Demon though, as far as a 'fast,' single coil-ish response and solid bottom. It's not quite so bright as the Jazz etc. but I still hesitate to make that my first recommendation as 1.) I love the Demon too much and am too likely to recommend it for anything, and 2.) the Demon doesn't seem to suit everyone.

The Demon works incredibly well in so many situations, I don't hesitate at all. Very few tight pickups out there with lower output, and the Demon is outstanding at filing the niche

 

[Demanic]

Re: Tighter than a '59B?

How about a regular Custom?

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[Rich_S]

Re: Tighter than a '59B?

I wondered about a Custom myself. I think I may suffer from a bit of ceramic prejudice; If it's not Alnico, it's not a serious player's pickup, unless we're talking about high-gain applications. This is complete hogwash, I know.

I worry the Custom might be too hot for someone who's swapping back and forth between a Tele and a humbucker, but maybe some ceramic tightness is what I need. After all, one of my favorite '80s tones was Neil Giraldo's and his BC Rich had ceramic Dimarzios in it.

To experiment on the cheap, I think I'll look for a used Custom and/or Screamin' Demon, see what comes up, and go for it. I can always change again later.

 

[Xavier]

Re: Tighter than a '59B?

The Custom 5 is the tightest SD pickup I have tried, really. And to my ears it sounds better than the Custom......