Choosing a Tele bridge pickup...

Hey, guys - I need your expertise, please...

I'm looking for a pickup that's a little beefier, has more mids, and I guess a little more output. Right now I play with a Fred Stuart Blackguard bridge (7.4 K) pickup, and a Harmonic Design Chromotone neck pickup. The Chromotone's fine, as it's got plenty of clarity, and the middle position sound great, too, but sometimes I wich the bridge pickup had more punch and thickness. Would something like an Esquire-type pickup get me there? So far, I've checked out Don Mare, Peter Florence, Fralin, Lollar, and Kinman. I guess I couldn't go wrong with any of these, huh? I guess anyone could recommend just about anything, but I don't really know where I need to start. The Stuart is an awesome sounding pickup, no doubt. I know I've got a gem there. But, you know how Paisley uses those E-type guitars, with the big midrange, through those amps like the Stang Ray with the big low and high end? It's an awesome match! I know he uses the Fralin Blues in some, has some Kinman's, as well as some Voodoo's. I'd hate to do the trial and error thing with pickups, so I was wondering about any first-hand experience.

Lookin' for a fairly hot, mid-rangey, growling Tele bridge pup...

Thanks,
-Tookermel

Seymour Duncan Broadcaster pickup. There's the beef!

Oh yeah......forgot about that one. Is that an Antiquity?


Thanks,
-Tookermel

Oh yeah......forgot about that one. Is that an Antiquity?


Thanks,
-Tookermel

http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/telecaster/vintage/vintage_broadca/

Got it, thanks!

-Tookermel

The Duncan Broadcaster is very beefy and will save you some dough compared to the others you mentioned.

Wow, beat me to it! :lol:

More Beef, Less Dough.... Heh heh, ok I'll stop.

I'm building my first esquire around one! Kinda sad...first cheap kit I could find (which after gettin the first turd replaced by the company and telling them to personally inspect the next one before sending it out....came out great!) stickin a nice broadcaster tele, buyin some nitro from reranch and throwin a blackguard on it. It'll be's a sexy beast though maynard!

Does anyone happen to know what ohm bridge pup Paisley uses mostly? I just wonder how hot it actually is...



-Tookermel

OV52. It's precisely what you're describing. I found the Duncan Broadcaster too ice-picky, and not as warm as the '52RI pickup. I had the same dilemma as you: I use my Tele more for 60s/70s type rock and blues, and don't want too much twang and scooped mids. The '52RI is perfect for that. imho.

OV52. It's precisely what you're describing. I found the Duncan Broadcaster too ice-picky, and not as warm as the '52RI pickup. I had the same dilemma as you: I use my Tele more for 60s/70s type rock and blues, and don't want too much twang and scooped mids. The '52RI is perfect for that. imho.

Which would be best for a scooped mids sound?

I didn't like the Stuart Blackguard pups very much. I took mine out and put in the Chromotone (which you already have) in the neck, and the Harmonic Design "54 Special" in the bridge. It's much better in my opinion, and has a bit more of what you're looking for. It's a very punchy pickup (much moreso than the Stuart), but still fairly traditional sounding. It sounds to me like you might like the Harmonic Design "Vintage Plus" Tele pups. They go one step further than the 54 Specials. Or you may want to try the "Super 90" (also by HD), which is their Tele-sized P-90.

I didn't find much beef in the broadcaster, not what I expected from what I researched. I have an OC Duff that at about 6.95k is more midrangey and better sounding. I also found the OV less shrill than the broadcaster.

It's a lot less bright than people make it out to be, IMHO.

I did an A/B test with a friends Seymour Duncan Antiquity bridge and neck equipped US tele the other night through my 5E3.
My tele is a '55 thinskin and I'm pretty sure that it has the OV's in there (the bridge has the brass baseplate and flat poles).

The OV's sounded much better - the bridge was less bright than the SD which was VERY bright, and the OV neck has an almost p-90'ish quality to it while the SD was overly dark.