Unhappy with STR-1 (neck pup) in my Mex Tele....

[RogerMexiko]

Re: Unhappy with STR-1 (neck pup) in my Mex Tele....

Thank you both for the pictures. Like the look and even more the concept. Time to buy a Telecaster and load a Stratocaster neck pickup in it.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Unhappy with STR-1 (neck pup) in my Mex Tele....

Yeah, a Strat pickup in a Tele is a good idea...even better with a 4 way switch which adds the option to be in series, too.

 

[RogerMexiko]

Re: Unhappy with STR-1 (neck pup) in my Mex Tele....

Tele players have been complaining about Tele neck pickups for the last 66 years.

I have a 30 year old Duncan STR-1 in my original '54 Fender Esquire. A previous owner installed it.

Esquires are routed for a neck pickup although they normally only have a bridge pickup. The bridge pickup in mine is the original.

I find I get my best rhythm sound with both pickups on. The middle position.

I've owned a few vintage Teles and the STR-1 sounds like a vintage Tele neck pickup: somewhat weak and somewhat muffled. So it's actually a fairly accurate reproduction of the vintage Tele neck pickup sound.

Disconnecting the tone control from the neck pickup helps. I do that.

Removing the cover from the neck pickup helps too. That exposes the polepieces for more treble, but also exposes the windings and they could be damaged so I don't do that.

The best neck pickup in a Tele is actually a Strat pickup. That's what I put in my MIJ Tele Custom. But that requires enlarging the pickup rout and a new or modded pickguard.

In any case, there's probably nothing wrong with the STR-1. It just sounds like what it is: a reproduction of the original pickup.

A Fralin Blues Special sounds a lot better. It's wound to sound like a Strat pickup and it has no cover to kill the treble.

thanks Lewguitar! got my first telecaster put a SSL-1 in the neck and a ST59-1 in the bridge position. Sounds great, never thought I'd like a Tele.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: Unhappy with STR-1 (neck pup) in my Mex Tele....

I prefer Strat neck pickups myself. But for a great, articulate Tele neck that's not Stratty, consider the Wilde Keystone. Don't let the low price fool you, these are killer pickups. They're sold as sets but Becky has always been pretty accommodating and I bet she'd sell you the neck by itself if you call her and ask. BTW, the Keystone bridge is pretty darn great too.

 

[Numerov]

Re: Unhappy with STR-1 (neck pup) in my Mex Tele....

I never thought the STR-1 had any kind of 'articulation and clarity', because the vintage ones didn't...they sounded muffled and warm. It just might not be the right pickup here. You might try actually putting a Strat pickup there for more articulation, as none of our vintage-style Tele offerings are really all that clear.

Hi Mincer.

I will try the suggestion to take the tone control off the STR-1 completely to see if that helps.

If this does not have the desired effect - what alternative Tele neck pickup do you recommend to give improved clarity and articulation so it is a better tonal balance
for the STL-1b broadcaster pickup?
This should allow me to NOT have to radically alter guitar and amp tone settings in order to get a good sound in each of the 3 telecaster pickup positions.

Additionally - the output of this alternative Tele neck pickup will need to be similar to that of the STR-1 (7.6 - according to the SD website) so it matches well with STL-1b output (8 - according to the SD website).

I have heard plenty of Tele's on record and at gigs that have used a tele rhythm pickup in the neck where the sound has NOT been muffled - so I hope you will be able to recommend me a Tele neck pick up rather than a Strat neck pick up.

Big thanks

Numerov

 

[Mincer]

Re: Unhappy with STR-1 (neck pup) in my Mex Tele....

Other than the Zephyr, it seems all of the stock Tele neck pickups have similar EQ: Big bass with lower, but balanced mids and highs. My thought is that some guitars' woods don't allow a pickup to sound that good (I've witnessed this many times). You could get a Custom Shop pickup, like a Rhythm for Tele with Strat Tone, Most Tele neck pickups simply have a lot of bass in them, usually balanced by a bright sounding ash or alder body, and the brighter bridge pickup which is a tonal opposite. I think this is why so many players just went ahead and changed the neck pickup to something else.

 

[Numerov]

Re: Unhappy with STR-1 (neck pup) in my Mex Tele....

Other than the Zephyr, it seems all of the stock Tele neck pickups have similar EQ: Big bass with lower, but balanced mids and highs. My thought is that some guitars' woods don't allow a pickup to sound that good (I've witnessed this many times). You could get a Custom Shop pickup, like a Rhythm for Tele with Strat Tone, Most Tele neck pickups simply have a lot of bass in them, usually balanced by a bright sounding ash or alder body, and the brighter bridge pickup which is a tonal opposite. I think this is why so many players just went ahead and changed the neck pickup to something else.

Thanks Mincer

In most Teles I've heard or played on in shops the tonal balance between neck and bridge sounds fine to my ears. So whatever you describe is normal to me. What I am saying is that the tonal balance between the SD STR-1 (neck) and SD STL-1b (Broadcaster - bridge) is abnormal compared to other Teles I have heard.
It is impossible to get a tone setting that suits both pickups.
The STR-1 has little clarity or character.
If the tone is completely open/100% on the guitar and the treble setting on my amp (Peavey bandit 112 late'90's Silver stripe) is very high the STR-1 does improve but still isn't great. But at these settings the STL-1b is way too trebly - and I constantly have to fiddle with the tone control on the guitar to get the sound I want. That's way too much hard work when I should be concentrating more on what I'm playing!

I have now heard of other people who feel the same way about the STR-1 as I do. They also paired it up with the STL-1b (going by DS's recommendation) and found the 2 pickups tonally imbalanced.

IF I tried the trick of re-wiring my guitar so the tone only affected the bridge pickup would this make the STR-1 noticeably brighter or would it sound the same as it does now with the tone control completely open/100%??

(Reminder - when the stock pickups were on my Mex Tele - although I didn't like them - the tonal balance between them was fine to my ears)

 

[jeremy]

Re: Unhappy with STR-1 (neck pup) in my Mex Tele....

take the tone off the neck pup, itll get brighter. is it enough? only you will know but you wont know till you try

 

[Mincer]

Re: Unhappy with STR-1 (neck pup) in my Mex Tele....

Thanks Mincer

In most Teles I've heard or played on in shops the tonal balance between neck and bridge sounds fine to my ears. So whatever you describe is normal to me. What I am saying is that the tonal balance between the SD STR-1 (neck) and SD STL-1b (Broadcaster - bridge) is abnormal compared to other Teles I have heard.
It is impossible to get a tone setting that suits both pickups.
The STR-1 has little clarity or character.
If the tone is completely open/100% on the guitar and the treble setting on my amp (Peavey bandit 112 late'90's Silver stripe) is very high the STR-1 does improve but still isn't great. But at these settings the STL-1b is way too trebly - and I constantly have to fiddle with the tone control on the guitar to get the sound I want. That's way too much hard work when I should be concentrating more on what I'm playing!

I have now heard of other people who feel the same way about the STR-1 as I do. They also paired it up with the STL-1b (going by DS's recommendation) and found the 2 pickups tonally imbalanced.

IF I tried the trick of re-wiring my guitar so the tone only affected the bridge pickup would this make the STR-1 noticeably brighter or would it sound the same as it does now with the tone control completely open/100%??

(Reminder - when the stock pickups were on my Mex Tele - although I didn't like them - the tonal balance between them was fine to my ears)

I am not a Tele enthusiast, and I generally like either Strat pickups or a PAF-alike in the neck of a Tele, but I would try the tone pot mod first. Take it of the neck pickup, see if you like it. Thing is, looking at the rest of the SD neck Tele range, there is not a pickup outside of the Custom Shop that will be vastly different. They have similar EQ profiles.
So, try this first (it is free!) and report back. We'd love to get your Tele sounding the way you like. There is a possibility that there could be something wrong with the pickup itself, so that might be something else to explore, too.