Ultimate Tele tone!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Lewguitar
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Re: Ultimate Tele tone!

Lewguitar said:
I like the JD in a bright guitar but in a dark guitar it's not bright enough sometimes.

Lew: I guess I'm going to be ordering a JD from you tomorrow. Can I take that statement to mean that it'll probably work ok in a basswood Tele?

Artie
 
Re: Ultimate Tele tone!

xStonr said:
I've spent the day reading threads here and on other websites. Let me tell ya, I a bit confused. There seem to be so many great options.Broadcaster, Rio Grande,Twang King, Alnico pro, and the list goes on. Here's the tone I'm trying to achieve. I'm looking for a versatile pickup that can do surf, country, blues, along with a little Keef and Bruce. Any suggestions?

springsteen has used bardens almost exclusively for a long time now
 
Re: Ultimate Tele tone!

What a killer thread! I am a tele fanatic too. Recently I've been using the Antiquity I in the bridge of my '57 tele and a Antiquity II in the bridge of my Crafted in Japan '62 RI. I love both of them. The AntII has more sparkle and spank but still get a nice midrange (the pickup is 7.03K). I think I have the same tastes as Lew judging by his descriptions of what he likes his tele to sound like (I dig Blues Specials also) and I typically use low powered amps to get my teles to sing. Another really cool pickup is the Lollar Special, similar to the Fralin Blues but better I think. Does anyone know if the Antiquity 55 is alnico 5? I can't find any info on it. It might be my next purchase.

-Mike
Lexington, KY.
 
Re: Ultimate Tele tone!

ArtieToo said:
The new Peavey Omniac, (Tele clone), uses the JD in the bridge and the AII Pro in the neck.
I wonder if they used this thread for some "research". ;)

Those weren't "guests" those were marketing gurus!

To think that this forum is regarded as an industry resource is an accomplishment we should be proud of.

I'm planning on getting a 5/2 neck and a a Floor Shop Custom A2 Broadcaster pup in the very near future.

Luke
 
Re: Ultimate Tele tone!

There are so many seminal tele tones.....from country to blues to rock to jazz. I agree that Roy B comes to mind right off the bat. Although I love and play teles, my tone is far from classic spank and twang.

For me, Don Rich, Roy Nichols, Brent Mason, Vince Gill, Steve Warnier ( and many others ) epitomize what I think a good tele in the hands of a great country style guitarist should sound like. Roy B really blurred the line between steely twang and fat, bluesy tone. Danny G was of course a monster player. While he is associated with a tele, his tele tone does not stick with me the way others do.

In the blues arena, Albert Collins frosty tone was to die for. Sharp, fat, sassy. While I dig what Muddy did with a tele, Albert is the tele blues man for me.

On the rock side.....could you imagine the solo for Stairway to heaven played on a strat? JP got some killer tones thats for sure. I remember back in the day thinking how heavy the tone was. Listening today, it's amazing how clean his tone was......yet HUGE!

Cropper to Beck to Page to Richards to Chrissie Hynde & Honeyman Scott, ( and others ) brought the tele to the fore front in rock.

Jimmy Bryant in jazz &. Joe Messina in soul/funk showed the tele was more than a countyfied geetar. Jim Campilongo has bridged the gap between Roy B, Jimmy B, Danny G and others for truly unique tone and style....mixing jazz, rock, blues and country into a cool original style all his own.

So, when I think of tele, I think of all the beautiful tones these ( and many other ) players have graced us with. The unique slice and stang of a good tele in the right hands can be magic....regardless of the musical genre.
 
Re: Ultimate Tele tone!

teleblooz said:
. . . to Chrissie Hynde & Honeyman Scott, ( and others ) brought the tele to the fore front in rock.

Good post. "Back on the Chaingang" was such a great Tele song. Great song regardless of the Tele, but good Tele-tone nonetheless. :)
 
Re: Ultimate Tele tone!

If you like old-school tele...ReddVolkaert.com.

Since hearing him live in the late 90's in a little Nashville bar, my other tele hero CD's have been gathering dust.
 
Re: Ultimate Tele tone!

I just about finished the conversion of my Peavey Genny from HSS, (Custom 5/QP/QP), to traditional Tele configuration today, with a JD bridge and an AII Pro neck. Everythings done except cutting a new pickguard, so it isn't "photogenic" right now. The missing middle pickup hole looks awful.

My initial reaction is just . . . wow! I realized while trying this, that its my first set of AII pickups. (With the exception of the Stag Mags, but thats a whole different animal.) There's really too many things to comment on all at once. The new pups, of course, new strings, the setup is all messed up now since I had the bridge off, and my new "sparkle-tone" mod. (More on that later.)

Anyway . . . don't want to get too melodramatic here, but this is cool. Its a whole new "sound" for me. I'll let it go at that, but I had to say sumpthin'. :)

btw - Thanks Lew. On several different fronts. ;)

Artie
 
Re: Ultimate Tele tone!

Thank you Artie! (I guess that "Wow" means you like 'em???)
 
Re: Ultimate Tele tone!

Howdy,

I've got SD replacement p/u's in both of my Gibsons ( '59's in my ES-335 and Vintage P-90's in my LP Sp.) and they are wonderful! As for my favorite TELE p/u's, i'd have to say DiMarzio Twang Kings! Puuure Bakersfield. Smooth and fairly dripping with that Don Rich sound :)

Eggman
 
Re: Ultimate Tele tone!

Guys,

Lately I have been reading some threads in the TDPRI forum. There are some quite good and helping folks over there!

Many of those guys go insane about 2 boutique pickups: Hamel's and Stuart's. Both of these guys I think were in Fender's custom shop, and have a strong reputation.

Have any one of you guys tried them? They are kinda pricey, and do not know if it is worth trying them out being very satisfied with the following tele lead pickups: JD and Fralin Blues sp. Nowadays I have been asking myself quite frequently: Can those Stuarts and Hamels be really that good?

My experience with a J.M. Rolph tele lead (7.15K a5) has been quite good, but I would not say "give away all your tele lead pickups and get J.M. Rolph's". In fact, I like both the Fralin and JD more (due to the specific tone of my hard-ash tele).

I happen to have some experience with boutique HBs, like voodoos, timbuckers, rolphs, wagners. But I would not say the difference between any of those and duncan 59's for example is day and night! I mean, yes they are better OK, but I have a hard time thinking that an untrained ear would hear that difference, and could justify paying lotsa extra cash.

Would appreciate hearing what you guys think.

Best,

B

PS. Lew, if you ever get the opportunity to score one, I think you gotta do it for the purposes of reviewing them. Serious! :beerchug: BTW Good luck with the new place.
 
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Re: Ultimate Tele tone!

Doc...I am also on the TDPRI and like you I have been curious about those pickups but I am still (after more than a year) so hapy with my Custom Shop Duncans I have not bothered to check them out...I am thinking about a set of Hamels for my next project but it might be a while before thats done...if I go with the Hamels I'll let you know what I think.
 
Re: Ultimate Tele tone!

the guy who invented fire said:
Doc...I am also on the TDPRI and like you I have been curious about those pickups but I am still (after more than a year) so hapy with my Custom Shop Duncans I have not bothered to check them out...I am thinking about a set of Hamels for my next project but it might be a while before thats done...if I go with the Hamels I'll let you know what I think.

Christian,

Thanks man. I sure will be interested in hearing what you think. Let me know.

B
 
Re: Ultimate Tele tone!

dr.barlo said:
Guys,

=Many of those guys go insane about 2 boutique pickups: Hamel's and Stuart's. Both of these guys I think were in Fender's custom shop, and have a strong reputation.

Have any one of you guys tried them? They are kinda pricey, and do not know if it is worth trying them out being very satisfied with the following tele lead pickups: JD and Fralin Blues sp. Nowadays I have been asking myself quite frequently: Can those Stuarts and Hamels be really that good?



Would appreciate hearing what you guys think.

Best,

B

.


Hey Doc-

I don't have a huge range of experience, but I'll tell you what little I know.

I just put a Hamel Broadcaster in my alder/rosewood Tele; it has a Firebird PU in the neck. The Hamel replaced an Antiquity I. While the Ant sounded nice, it wasn't what I was looking for; it didn't have the twang or aggressiveness I was hoping for. The Hamel (A3 flatpole, I can't remember the k's but it is a bit hot) has raw, nasty twang. The Duncan Broadcaster might have the same thing, but I never tried it. I was looking for something to replace the Ant and I jumped at the chance to get a Hamel with no wait. It sounds great and is incredibly dynamic and 3D. As for the wait time and customer service, that's a whole other issue but I have absolutely nothing to complain about.

My other Tele (Tokai with unknown body wood and RW neck) is set up as an Esquire with a Voodoo 60's and it sounds like a chorus of angels made up of dead guitar players from Bakersfield (with Jerry Garcia circa 71-72 sitting in, too). At some point I would like to get a CIJ 52 clone and throw either Stuarts, the regular Hamels, or the OC Duff Nancy set in it.

:)
 
Re: Ultimate Tele tone!

Thanks Bro. So they are that good! Very good to know. You got me (that review coming you is much more informative than all the raving reviews I have read on the TDPRI), I am gonna get listed! :beerchug: To both Hamel's and Stuart's.

B
 
Re: Ultimate Tele tone!

Falstaff said:
Hey Doc-

I don't have a huge range of experience, but I'll tell you what little I know.

I just put a Hamel Broadcaster in my alder/rosewood Tele; it has a Firebird PU in the neck. The Hamel replaced an Antiquity I. While the Ant sounded nice, it wasn't what I was looking for; it didn't have the twang or aggressiveness I was hoping for. The Hamel (A3 flatpole, I can't remember the k's but it is a bit hot) has raw, nasty twang. The Duncan Broadcaster might have the same thing, but I never tried it. I was looking for something to replace the Ant and I jumped at the chance to get a Hamel with no wait. It sounds great and is incredibly dynamic and 3D. As for the wait time and customer service, that's a whole other issue but I have absolutely nothing to complain about.

My other Tele (Tokai with unknown body wood and RW neck) is set up as an Esquire with a Voodoo 60's and it sounds like a chorus of angels made up of dead guitar players from Bakersfield (with Jerry Garcia circa 71-72 sitting in, too). At some point I would like to get a CIJ 52 clone and throw either Stuarts, the regular Hamels, or the OC Duff Nancy set in it.

:)

I HATE alnico 3 single coils! :laugh2: Well, hate is a strong term...but I find them way to bright and ice picky for my tastes. I tried to like the A3 Nocasters but no dice. Jerry Garcia's lead tone has always struck me as being thin, stringy and like playing guitar through a solid state 300 watt hifi amp...actually, his guitar tone reminds me of his singing: nasal, thin and whiney! Just not my tastes I guess. Growing up in Detroit with great singers like Marvin Gaye, Mitch Ryder, Bob Seegar, etc. I just never got to excited about the whiney meandering sounds of the Grateful Dead I guess. First time I heard them doing Dancing In The Street I felt like: "What? I'm supposed to get excited about this???" :smack: Always dug what they were into...but not thier music...or thier tones. :) Lew
 
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Re: Ultimate Tele tone!

Doc-

Check your PMs.

The Dead might not be for everyone, but the Hamels are nice. ;)
 
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