Hi there! New and looking for pickup suggestions

I am brand new here. Joined because you all clearly know about Telecasters! I've loved them all my life. As a teen, I had a cheap Hondo tele copy... I briefly had a Fender American Standard tele in my 20s, still sorry I got rid of it.

I'm now fat and middle-aged and have a thinline tele (Jay Turser) with not the best pickups. I am very much liking the thinline vibe... The stock neck PU sounds decent (tad muddy though). The bridge PU is terrible.

My dream for this guitar would be that I'd be able to get a nice jangle (perhaps from the bridge pickup) AND a decent jazz tone (perhaps from the neck pickup).

Any suggestions for pickups that might do that?

Thank you for your wisdom! Glad you're here!

I am brand new here. Joined because you all clearly know about Telecasters! I've loved them all my life. As a teen, I had a cheap Hondo tele copy... I briefly had a Fender American Standard tele in my 20s, still sorry I got rid of it.

I'm now fat and middle-aged and have a thinline tele (Jay Turser) with not the best pickups. I am very much liking the thinline vibe... The stock neck PU sounds decent (tad muddy though). The bridge PU is terrible.

My dream for this guitar would be that I'd be able to get a nice jangle (perhaps from the bridge pickup) AND a decent jazz tone (perhaps from the neck pickup).

Any suggestions for pickups that might do that?

Thank you for your wisdom! Glad you're here!

You will get a lot of replies about pickups, it's a personal choice thing.
How you ear perceives different tone etc..
What wood the guitar is made from matters as well as what the neck is made out of. Everything impacts tone to some degree and a lot of tone is in your hands.

check these links out, these are really great pickups.
I'm having the Lollars installed in a new axe I have on order.
There are a lot to choose from from many makers.

http://www.lollarguitars.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=telecaster-pickups

Check these out also.

http://www.fralinpickups.com/telestyle.asp

Thanks for the links. :razz:

Based on the descriptions, the Lollar Alnico 3 might be the closest match...

I have Seymour Duncan 5/2s in my Thinline. They're not overly twangy (which is good for me) but they do have that bridge jangle and I love the neck for jazzier things.
It's a personal choice, though. Your ears might not like what my ears like.

I have Seymour Duncan 5/2s in my Thinline. They're not overly twangy (which is good for me) but they do have that bridge jangle and I love the neck for jazzier things.
It's a personal choice, though. Your ears might not like what my ears like.

That certainly seems close to what I'm going for, too... jangle in the bridge, jazz in the neck... Thanks for the suggestion.

Seymour Duncan, listen to demo's on their site...

Seymour Duncan, listen to demo's on their site...

It's so hard to tell with my horrible computer...

Has anyone tried Joe Barden tele pups for jazz? Of course, they cost almost as much as my guitar did...

Yeahhhhh Lollar's.

Yeahhhhh Lollar's.

For a decent jazz tone? And which Lollar PUPs? Thanks!

Welcome to TDPRI !!

Welcome to TDPRI.

For a decent jazz tone? And which Lollar PUPs? Thanks!

The Charlie Christian neck pickup for Teles gets a lot of love for its clean, jazzy tone:

http://www.lollarguitars.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=LGP&Product_Code=222&Category_Code=charlie-christian-pickups

JgYsugjmITc

I love my Dimarzio Area T. They are clean and very quiet while still retaining that twang tele sound.

The Charlie Christian neck pickup for Teles gets a lot of love for its clean, jazzy tone:

http://www.lollarguitars.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=LGP&Product_Code=222&Category_Code=charlie-christian-pickups

JgYsugjmITc

Great link, thanks. Only problem is, I have a thinline... seems like they are recommended for solids only...

I'm sure the can be put into thinlines. A quick search through this forum and I found:
http://cudney.net/ball-n-chain-tele/mary-tele.jpg
http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o67/echorrigan/Black_Thinline_Full_Front.jpg
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e323/RomanSonnleitner/tblaster3.jpg
http://www.tdpri.com/telephoto/data/500/medium/blond_thinline_reduced.jpg

You may want to email Lollar pickups and ask them if there are any issues, however.

By the way, when I searched this forum for images I found over a dozen threads about CC pickups. You may want to check those threads out. I guarantee you'll be hankering for the pickup after you do that!

WOW, BigDaddy, thanks! That is the tone I seek.... It's good to see that it CAN be done.... I'm sure the pro who does all my mods could do it -- but I wonder how much it would cost me...

Someone turned me on to Vintage Vibe CC Riders... The cheaper alternative to the Lollar. Given that I'd be putting into a lowly Jay Turser thinline, maybe that's the way to go. Still waiting to hear from my tech guy how much the labor on the routing job would be....

I've heard good things about both of them. Some picky folks prefer the wire gauge and resistance of the Lollars, but either way you've got a great pickup.

You're probably going to pay more for the labor anyway -- make sure the new cavity is shielded!

I've heard good things about both of them. Some picky folks prefer the wire gauge and resistance of the Lollars, but either way you've got a great pickup.

You're probably going to pay more for the labor anyway -- make sure the new cavity is shielded!

The estimate for labor is about $100... seems about right, given the job.

Thanks, all. The Vintage Vibe CC Riders came in the mail today... guitar and PUPs to the pro for installation... hopefully in two weeks or so I can report back on the results (with photos).

Right on! Let's see the results.

CC Rider pickup just installed! Here's the before and after:

http://www.tdpri.com/telephoto/data/536/BeforeAfterThinlineJTtele.JPG

The sound of the pickup is great... much jazzier, much more like what I wanted. Interestingly, I think it sounds especially good in the middle position now -- maybe even like that more than the neck PUP alone...