So I finally installed the tele pickups I ordered from Zhangliqun, and they're amazing. I dropped a telebucker in the neck position, and a paul bunyan bridge pickup in a strat.
Amp: Ampeg B100R (yeah its a bass amp)
Pedals: Choralflange, Verbzilla, ZVEX Mammoth, Empress Tremolo, etc
Bridge pickup is overwound, with a coil-tap at vintage levels. On the vintage setting, its exactly what one expects out of a tele pickup; it does it perfectly. Bright, twangy, and percussive. The overwound is the same, with a bit of a bump in the lower midrange making it growlier and a bit beefier. Both settings stay really clean even when I dig in, no sharp piercing highs, or grit that shouldn't be there.
The humbucker in the neck is great too. Really full sound. Tonnes of lows but they stay defined and don't get muddy, and a surprising amount of highs considering its a humbucker and up by the neck. Really well ballanced, and compliments the bridge pickup beautifully.
All in all, I can't believe how articulate and crisp these sound. Absolutely not muddy, each note is beautifully defined. The harmonics really jump out at you... I actually use my tone control now, as its suddenly usefull and doesn't make things muddy. They distort well, even with the crazy fuzz of the mammoth (and the machine). I can't wait to try them out with a more traditional gain pedal. I don't want to come off like a reviewer that is beyond obsessed, or can't admit that there might be a flaw, but I really can't find anything that I would call an issue. I actually even waited a few weeks to right this for the new gear honeymoon period to end. The only thing that I'm not a fan of is the overwound bridge in series with the 'bucker as its a little to midrangey for me.
Hopefully this helps at least a little, but I'm mainly a bassist (although I've been playing the guitar for about 7 years) so describing guitar tones is a little awkward. I'll always answer questions if I missed something. And here's a pic as I like to show it all off.
Amp: Ampeg B100R (yeah its a bass amp)
Pedals: Choralflange, Verbzilla, ZVEX Mammoth, Empress Tremolo, etc
Bridge pickup is overwound, with a coil-tap at vintage levels. On the vintage setting, its exactly what one expects out of a tele pickup; it does it perfectly. Bright, twangy, and percussive. The overwound is the same, with a bit of a bump in the lower midrange making it growlier and a bit beefier. Both settings stay really clean even when I dig in, no sharp piercing highs, or grit that shouldn't be there.
The humbucker in the neck is great too. Really full sound. Tonnes of lows but they stay defined and don't get muddy, and a surprising amount of highs considering its a humbucker and up by the neck. Really well ballanced, and compliments the bridge pickup beautifully.
All in all, I can't believe how articulate and crisp these sound. Absolutely not muddy, each note is beautifully defined. The harmonics really jump out at you... I actually use my tone control now, as its suddenly usefull and doesn't make things muddy. They distort well, even with the crazy fuzz of the mammoth (and the machine). I can't wait to try them out with a more traditional gain pedal. I don't want to come off like a reviewer that is beyond obsessed, or can't admit that there might be a flaw, but I really can't find anything that I would call an issue. I actually even waited a few weeks to right this for the new gear honeymoon period to end. The only thing that I'm not a fan of is the overwound bridge in series with the 'bucker as its a little to midrangey for me.
Hopefully this helps at least a little, but I'm mainly a bassist (although I've been playing the guitar for about 7 years) so describing guitar tones is a little awkward. I'll always answer questions if I missed something. And here's a pic as I like to show it all off.
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