Telecaster Guitar Forum - View Single Post

dconeill · July 3rd, 2009, 08:44 AM

[quote=Walker;1919680]I'm getting a Baja so I've got the Tele sound covered. I like the Am Series, but after reading about broken Gibson headstocks I don't feel like getting a SG. Also, last year I played a show (Grease), but wasn't able to use the Tele because of the hum; it was just too much. I'd like some pickups where I wouldn't have to do any routing. Any suggestions?[/QUOTE

There are many options here. First of all, if you're talking about the current Fender offering, it's called the American Standard series. If you pull the pickguard you'll notice that the neck position is already routed to accept a Gibson-size humbucker, and also for a middle single-coil sized pup. As far as single-size pickups, there are several available:

Stacked humbuckers - one coil on top of the other
Seymour Duncan STK-T1N and STK-T3B, which are meant to mimic the traditional Telecaster sound
SD STK-T2B, a hotter bridge pickup
DiMarzio Area T bridge and neck pickups
Kinman pickups (expensive)
Lawrence Wilde single-pole pickups

Dual-Blade and side-by-side humbuckers in a single-coil size case
Seymour Duncan - several options
DiMarzio - several options
Lawrence Wilde dual-blade, particularly the L-48T

Many people will no doubt ream you a new one over the tone difference between single-coil pickups and single-size humbuckers. To my way of thinking, some people value the slightly different (or to some, very different) tone of the single-coil pups so much they're willing to bear the noise. I'm not one of them. I can accept the slight tone difference in exchange for the lack of noise. The audience can't tell and doesn't care.

Two of the most versatile configurations of the Tele are the Fat Tele and the Nashville Tele. The former has a Gibson-style humbucker at the neck and a standard Tele-style bridge pickup, while the latter has standard Tele-style pickups with the addition of a Strat pickup in the middle position.

If you're looking for a smooth uptown kind of sound, a Fat Tele might be just the ticket. Listen to Ed Bickert on the album "Pure Desmond" - he used a Fat Tele. The Nashville Tele setup is typically somewhat brighter.

So you've got lots of choices available to you. Poke around the web to see what's available. Seymour Duncan and DiMarzio have decent sites. Many boutique makers have websites as well, but I haven't paid much attention to those. Lawrence's website (http://wildepickups.com) is nearly incoherent, but look under "NF Singles" and "Twin Blades" and you'll find some info on his offerings. Kinman has a website. Greg Koch's website is now offering some single-size dual-blade pups.

July 3rd, 2009, 08:44 AM	#9 (permalink)
dconeill Tele-Meister Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: arlington, virginia, usa Posts: 198	[quote=Walker;1919680]I'm getting a Baja so I've got the Tele sound covered. I like the Am Series, but after reading about broken Gibson headstocks I don't feel like getting a SG. Also, last year I played a show (Grease), but wasn't able to use the Tele because of the hum; it was just too much. I'd like some pickups where I wouldn't have to do any routing. Any suggestions?[/QUOTE There are many options here. First of all, if you're talking about the current Fender offering, it's called the American Standard series. If you pull the pickguard you'll notice that the neck position is already routed to accept a Gibson-size humbucker, and also for a middle single-coil sized pup. As far as single-size pickups, there are several available: Stacked humbuckers - one coil on top of the other Seymour Duncan STK-T1N and STK-T3B, which are meant to mimic the traditional Telecaster sound SD STK-T2B, a hotter bridge pickup DiMarzio Area T bridge and neck pickups Kinman pickups (expensive) Lawrence Wilde single-pole pickups Dual-Blade and side-by-side humbuckers in a single-coil size case Seymour Duncan - several options DiMarzio - several options Lawrence Wilde dual-blade, particularly the L-48T Many people will no doubt ream you a new one over the tone difference between single-coil pickups and single-size humbuckers. To my way of thinking, some people value the slightly different (or to some, very different) tone of the single-coil pups so much they're willing to bear the noise. I'm not one of them. I can accept the slight tone difference in exchange for the lack of noise. The audience can't tell and doesn't care. Two of the most versatile configurations of the Tele are the Fat Tele and the Nashville Tele. The former has a Gibson-style humbucker at the neck and a standard Tele-style bridge pickup, while the latter has standard Tele-style pickups with the addition of a Strat pickup in the middle position. If you're looking for a smooth uptown kind of sound, a Fat Tele might be just the ticket. Listen to Ed Bickert on the album "Pure Desmond" - he used a Fat Tele. The Nashville Tele setup is typically somewhat brighter. So you've got lots of choices available to you. Poke around the web to see what's available. Seymour Duncan and DiMarzio have decent sites. Many boutique makers have websites as well, but I haven't paid much attention to those. Lawrence's website (http://wildepickups.com) is nearly incoherent, but look under "NF Singles" and "Twin Blades" and you'll find some info on his offerings. Kinman has a website. Greg Koch's website is now offering some single-size dual-blade pups.