Hello, I'm new and I own a crappy tele but...

... I've been dying to change the pick ups and would like to ask for some advice. I know there's a specific forum for pups but since I'm new I didn't really wanna make a fool out of myself without even having introduced.

So, I am new to the tele world (even though I've loved it for ages). I bought a standard mexican tele (from 2003, I think) last year and I have unfortunately not been able to incorporate it to my music. The sound (as you might expect from a MIM Standard) isn't the best but it's all I can afford now and maybe in the next two years because I'm after a good amp. After setting it aside for a year I've found a couple of satisfactory settings on my amp and I've decided I wanna go back to the tele but I am sure I can improve the tone.
In any case, I've been thinking about changing the pick ups and I wonder if any of the lace sensors would work. I'd be inclined to use one (red/blue lace sensor) in the bridge position.

It would be great to get some help from you people.


I am after a twangy yet warm sound (is that too much asking??)



Thanks,

Rodney.

Welcome! I don't feel like i'm the best person to say that because i only very recently joined the forum myself, but i'm also doing it so i can ask you a question :)

What amp are you using?

I have an old fender eighty five I found on ebay for €185. I'm planning on upgrading soon, though. I wanna get a VOX Ac30.

I also use the following effect pedals:

Boss SD1>EQ>Whammy>BOSSRv5>Boss DD6>Boss RE20

welcome!
Hmmmm,I was under the impression that MIM teles were actually pretty good guitars..... Ive never played one myself however...

As for pickups, check out Toneriders. Im so glad i bought some for my home made tele. The bridge has a real twangy bite, while the neck is extremely smooth and warm. Great complementary pickups. (pretty cheap too!)

What other gear do you use?

Rodney, Welcome!

sheesh. another vox lover :roll:(Im a secret vox hater btw:twisted:. Too trebly and no mid control!! Who needs tremolo on an amp anyway?):wink:
Just joking (well kinda:razz:)


cool. nice line up of pedals. tell us more about your playing style, in any bands? gig often?

My main guitar is an Epiphone Sheraton. It is really necessary for the type of music I make. I need long sustains/feedbacks and an overal warmth that I can't get that easily from the Tele. However, I am planning to play most of the clean sounds with my tele from now on. I fell back in love with it. :)

Oh an dont get me wrong, for the price MIM teles are GREAT but not exactly the real thing.

For amp/pedals, read above.

And, Thanks for the help I'm gonna try and find some videos/tracks to get to listen to the toneriders.
:)

EDIT:

haha! Yeah no mids!! :lol:

Yeah, I play in an indie/alternative band. I'm not much into shredding. Instead I try to create sonic atmospheres (hence, the rv5,Re20, etc). I also like playing with echo-filled feedbacks, etc.

I don't gig as often as I'd like but it's getting better. This year we've played around 10 gigs only but things are looking up and next year we hope to at least double that number.

Here my band's myspace:

http://www.myspace.com/starpost

You can hear my guitar playing style better on the tracks "Green Cab" "Daydream" and "Rabbit in a Hat".

hey your band sounds great! im totally jealous!

Thanks, mate.:oops:

Oh, and by the way, that tele deluxe (which i absolutely love!) that you can see on the "our ghosts will chase you" video isn't mine. It's the singer's.

What about you, mate? What kind of music do you play? Style, etc?

I have a Lace T-150 in the bridge of a Squier Protone Fat Tele (and a Seymour Duncan Seth Lover at the neck). Works for me. Drives pedals well, sounds good to me, not as ice-picky as some other Tele bridge pickups.

Are there better? Maybe - I might someday swap it out for a Lawrence dual-blade or other hum-cancelling bridge pickup, but that's just fussin'.

Oh an dont get me wrong, for the price MIM teles are GREAT but not exactly the real thing.

* * * * *
Man! Not everyone here has a Custom Shop '52, Rod. I love my Squier and when I paint my headstock I'm gonna put a Squier logo back on! It's the real deal for me.

I'm also a Sheraton II guy--awesome guitar that can do just about anything. Love it. I look forward to hearing your tracks and welcome to TDPRI.

BTW, you could safely ask your questions in the pickups forum. They are very helpful and welcoming. No doubt some Lace users over there, too, since I don't see any specific answers to your actual question yet. I put GFS Neovin hard vintage noiseless in my Tele and get plenty of sustain on the bridge, with my TubeSceamer and tube amp. Okay, it's probably a lot more the TS and the p'up.

Thanks for your help, people.

"Man! Not everyone here has a Custom Shop '52, Rod".

I have to admit I was expecting to get thrashed for not having one, Jeff K. :D

Welcome to TDPRI !!

Welcome to the TDPRI, Rodney! You'll like it here.

How about some pics?

Enjoy! :smile:

Welcome to TDPRI. I also owned a MIM Tele and I changed my pups for some Dimarzio Area T. It sounds like a tele but with more juice. You still have that twang on clean but you also get a very quiet distortion. I like them so far.

Welcome aboard!

Welcome aboard. For what it's worth, I'd take an MIM tele over an AV '52 any day.

The MIM standards are great guitars, great value, nice build and the pickups aren't completely useless, in fact they can sound pretty nice with a half decent valve amp

with that in mind (and since you have you sheraton as your main squeeze) maybe get the AC30 first and see how you feel about the pickups then

oh but one more thing... (just to complicate matters :wink:) if you want twangy but warm maybe a vox isn't the best way to go, when I think about AC30's twangy and warm don't come to mind.. more beefy and raw

anyways that's just my thoughts on the matter, take 'em or leave 'em :grin:
oh and welcome to the team!!

I have an MIM Tele and went with the Bill Lawrence "Keystone" pickups, (see Green tab "Wilde" Bill and Becky Lawrence supporting vendors banner on the front TDPRI page). They are very very reasonably priced pick ups and sound amazing with a Tele through an AC 30. Sound pretty amazing through any amp but you won't believe the jangle you get when you play them through a Vox.

Thank you all for the tips. Seems like a nice place this one.
Pictures later (have all the gear in the practice room).

Hey y'all! I have the '69 thinline reissue (MIM) tele. Bought it new several months ago. If I only had time to play it! Too much **** and not enough day! I love it though. Of course I am a 55 year old beginner and also have a BigBaby Taylor as it's brother. Both necks are slick as butter. Oh........I sold guitars, amps, and instruments 'bout 30 years ago for 9 years. Thank you all for letting me join.

:mad:Welcome I Should have kept my '69 Sheraton , Welcome ,
I replaced all my bridge PUPS with Duncans they are a bit nasty sounding
Cheers

Welcome to TDPR! !!