Tele pickup recommendations

[notCardio]

I'm looking for something absolutely clean, but jazzy, glassy clean, not spanky, twangy clean. I don't really care if it's humbucking or not, actually I might prefer that it was if it didn't sacrifice tone for it.

So am I looking at Vintage Noiseless, or something in the JB line, or what?

Gotta fit the single coil tele footprint.

Also, this is for a Squire Affinity, which I hear conflicting information on hardware depth issues, so if anybody's had any experience with that, I'm all ears. (which is why I had to get the Beyer 770s )

Thanks.

 

[chestwick91]

I like the vintage noisless for the clean twang your looking for...also give a look at the fender SCN pickups...they also provide that sound you wish to achive....also go to the seymore duncan website...they will give you a list of the sounds, the artist playing the pickup and most all of them have sound clips (clean and with gain)....gota love seymore duncan

 

[notCardio]

I don't want clean twang. I don't want twang at all. I want clean, but mellow.

More of a scooped sound, if you will.

 

[tkingen]

I bought a set of Vintage Noiseless and found that they didn't have the twang that I was looking. They were replaced and now I have a brand new set of VN's that need a good home. Check your PM's and I'll give you a good deal on them.

 

[notCardio]

So what did you go with?

I don't want twang, I'm just curious.

None of the JB examples did anything for me.

Anyone know how hard it is to fit a Strat single coil in the neck postiion of a Tele?

 

[Anfontan]

So what did you go with?

I don't want twang, I'm just curious.

None of the JB examples did anything for me.

Anyone know how hard it is to fit a Strat single coil in the neck postiion of a Tele?

The hard part is that the Strat pickup is larger than the pickguard slot for a Tele neck pickup and you will need to enlarge the slot. And I put a Strat pickup in the neck of my Tele when the neck pickup died, the Strat pickup sounds better to me than the Tele neck pickup ever did too! It has more of that Strat clucky sound in the middle Tele position, I have a DiMarzio Chopper T in the bridge and its wired for series/ parallel with a Push/ pull and a 4 way switch. Its really versatile now theres lots of tone in there!

 

[chestwick91]

my mistake i misread...but the scns should do it.......let me ask you something....you dont want twang, yet you bought a fender tele? may i ask why...(besides the obvious reason that teles are amazing)
try the custom shop texas special for low and mid bost not to much high
or seymor duncans

 

[Big Kenny]

Here ya go...
http://www.specialtyguitars.com/sd/tele.html

 

[Light]

Real clean, and kind of mellow? Bartolini. The only problem is their single coil pickups are all special order now, so you could be looking at over a year to get them. You didn't say if you mind getting the guitar routed out, but if you don't then going with one of the PBF-55's or PBF-49's in the neck would be a very good idea. And, by the by, if you want the sound of a humbucker, you really need a full sized one, as the narrow ones (Seymour Duncan's rail pickups, and such like) don't pickup enough of the string to give you that sound. I would avoid any of the Fender tele pickups, as they are all going to be voice more for Twang (and the noiseless ones just suck). I'm pretty sure the JB jr.'s will be too hot for you, as will the hot rails. The Duncan Vintage Rails might work out well for you, but they don't make them for Teles. You could have a dealer call them up to see if they would do a set of Cool Rails for you in tele sizes. They are usually quite good about custom orders (I get mine pretty quick, at any rate, but I also order a fair number of them). I'm afraid I really don't know of anyone who makes Tele pickups which are not really designed for twang. I mean, that's what Teles DO, you know?

 

[Light]

Anyone know how hard it is to fit a Strat single coil in the neck postiion of a Tele?

It would require routing out the body (at least, unless it is a bathtub rout body), and also the pickguard. If your doing that anyway, you may as well get the Bartolini, which I think would make you happier anyway.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[notCardio]

The reason I got a Tele

was because I liked the size and the feel, but I got this one specifically because the neck is something really special. The finish on it (the neck) is somewhere between the normal Fender/Squire 'satin' neck and a nitro finish. I can't explain it.

I go for feel, then worry about sound later, because if it doesn't feel right I'm not gonna want to play it, and 90% of the time I'm just playing it unplugged anyway.

I knew it was going to be a project guitar. I'd really like to find a different body (Warmoth or All Parts, etc.) to use, or even better, to have made.

 

[Zaphod B]

noCardio, the American Teles come with noiseless Samarium Cobalt pickups, and the neck pickup is very sweet and clean, not twangy.

 

[notCardio]

So is that the same thing as the Vintage Noiseless?

And Light, when you say noiseless suck, are you referring to a particular kind?

 

[Zaphod B]

So is that the same thing as the Vintage Noiseless?

And Light, when you say noiseless suck, are you referring to a particular kind?

No, they're different. I think the Samarium Cobalt pickups are a bit hotter. (I will say that my Tele, which has the SCMs, is hotter than my Strat.)
Link to Fender's description:
http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0992110000


The Vintage Noiseless are described as being similar to Strat noiseless pickups, but voiced differently:
http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0992116000

Oh, by the way, the SCNs are not entirely noiseless, compared to a humbucker, but they are quieter than other single coils I've used.

 

[mrface2112]

As i recommended to someone in a different thread--don't try to make a tele sound like something other than a tele. i spent 15 years doing so and it's a futile effort.

<on soapbox>
a tele is MEANT to twang somewhat--much like a strat's meant to "quack". so EMBRACE the sound of what a tele's supposed to sound like. if you want something that's NOT a tele, get something else. if you want a truly versatile guitar, i'd look at a strat with a bridge humbucker. but don't try to make a tele something it's not. <off soapbox>

anyway, over the years i've tried a lot of different bridge pickups for my tele. the problem with most tele pickups is that alnico 2's are flabby on the bottom and alnico 5's are VERY hard on the top--what i refer to as "icepicks in the ears".

the one i've settled on and that i absolutely LOVE is the Seymour Duncan Nashville 5/2. They use alnico 5's for the bottom 3 strings (which gives a nice full bottom) and alnico 2's for the top three (which gives solid brightness without the icepicks).

this makes the 5/2 the "best of both worlds". it's glassy clean, very present at the top and very solid on the bottom, and has just enough twang that when you roll up the tone you get an excellent country tone--but is flexible enough that you can roll off the tone and calm the twang a good bit.

i can't recommend the 5/2 enough. i betcha it'll be very close to what you're looking for.


cheers,
wade

 

[Light]

And Light, when you say noiseless suck, are you referring to a particular kind?

The Fender ones.

BLEH!


Their just boring, and stale, and dull, and just, BLEH!


Now, if you want something like them that DOESN'T suck, get Kinmans. They still aren't as good as a single coil (if you want it to sound like a single coil), but they are MUCH better than the Fender noiseless. And if you wanted a Twangy tele style pickup, I'd suggest Joe Barden's anyway (seeing as how he's making them again, YEAH!)


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[Light]

As i recommended to someone in a different thread--don't try to make a tele sound like something other than a tele. i spent 15 years doing so and it's a futile effort.

I've got to disagree. Teles are one of the most versatile platforms out there, and they respond really well to different pickups, as long as you are changing the SHAPE of the pickup. I've got a lot of customers with heavily modded Teles which they love. And some of these guys are outstanding players. In particular, Teles respond extremely well to different neck pickups. Humbuckers are very nice, as are P-90s. I think the bridge pickup is better left alone, but I've seen plenty of them with different bridge pickups too. And of course, you can always add a middle pickup as well. Our shop manager has a really nice Tele with Joe Bardens in the bridge and middle positions, and a Bartolini PBF-55 in the neck which is a killer (and very versatile) guitar. It's all about what is comfortable to the player in question.

Besides, there are a ton of players through the years who played modded Teles; Steve Morse, Mike Stern, and Keith Richards all come to mind rather easily.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[notCardio]

The Fender ones.

BLEH!


Their just boring, and stale, and dull, and just, BLEH!


Now, if you want something like them that DOESN'T suck, get Kinmans. They still aren't as good as a single coil (if you want it to sound like a single coil), but they are MUCH better than the Fender noiseless. And if you wanted a Twangy tele style pickup, I'd suggest Joe Barden's anyway (seeing as how he's making them again, YEAH!)


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

Are you saying both kinds of Fender noiseless suck, the SCN, and Vintage?

I might go for a hotter bridge, but it's mostly the neck I was concerned with. That's what I want to be jazzy.

 

[RandyW]

I have a couple teles including an affinity. I myself am using a couple SCN's and a set of the original SCNs built by Bill Lawrence "willie" forgot the model numbers. I've heard some good things about the Kinmans though. It may be all hype, I don't know I've never played anything with them it.

 

[Chris Shaeffer]

A buddy of mine put EMG actives in his. Regular ol' tele single coil EMG actives.

Very sweet and mellow but still articulate. Best I've ever heard the guitar sound. Doesn't sound country at all. I love playing the neck pickup on it now. Its all mellow jazz.