What pups would U suggest?.....

I posted this on the FDP also, so if you read both, sorry for the double-post...
Like many tele players, I've often toyed with the idea of changing the pups. I have a MIM STD (in the bee-u-ti-full agave blue).

If I were to mod-out my tele, I've thought about 3 options..

#1 add a HB to the neck
#2 change the neck pup to a strat neck
#3 Go all out and add a HB to the neck and a strat middle pup (like a fat nashville style).

I won't try to describe the tone I want (using fancy words) but here are a few of the players I idolize and would like to emulate..

Wes Montgomery, Chet Atkins, Don Rich, The Derailers, JOhn Scofield, Jimmy Bryant, Rev Horton Heat, The Ventures, Dick Dale, Los Straitjackets, The Hellecasters, etc, etc...

So, if I were to mod, what pups would you suggest?
The total budget I have is $180. Go nuts..tell me what ya got!

With the bdget you have in mind, IMHO...I'd opt for a Seth Lover humbucker in the neck and a Lollar vintage wind tele bridge pickup. That should do well to ge you the smokey tones of Montgomery, the twang of Rich and everything in between.

A less expensive, yet equally tasty ( and no route ) way to go would be a set of DiMarzio Twang Kings. This way you would have some coin left over for upgraded pot's, cap & switch.

I could go on and on with recommendations, but I think I'll stop here! Good luck. I hope you find the tone you are searching for.

I won't try to describe the tone I want (using fancy words) but here are a few of the players I idolize and would like to emulate..

Wes Montgomery, Chet Atkins, Don Rich, The Derailers, JOhn Scofield, Jimmy Bryant, Rev Horton Heat, The Ventures, Dick Dale, Los Straitjackets, The Hellecasters, etc, etc...

So, if I were to mod, what pups would you suggest?
The total budget I have is $180. Go nuts..tell me what ya got!

Stick a set of Lindy Fralin Tele pickups in. If you want to sound like the Derailers or Don Rich, a bucker will do you no good at all.

The stock Telecaster pickup arrangement, with the intelligent application of effects, can deliver some of what you want with great detail and accuracy, and others as a reasonable facsimile.

I've never understood the beefing up of pickups. If you have stock pickups, or GOOD weak ones (being a Hamel convert, I like the GOOD weak ones) you can get as much crunch as you want, you can get a fatter sound, heck, by using the 4-way switch mod, you can get a pretty good facsimile of a humbucker tone.

But if you have hotter pickups, you cannot avoid driving the front end of the amp harder, even without stomp boxes.

IMO, good tone comes from weak pickups with the amp turned UP!

YMMV, of course.

Sorry to horn in here, just seeking clarification. Pete, I have to say that I'm surprised by your recommendation of the Fralins, especially having read your glowing reviews of the Hamels. Are you recommending the Fralins because they're a higher output pickup?
Thanks in advance.

Charlie Christian neck pup (Vintage Vibe or Lollar)

Duncan Broadcaster bridge

That combination would have all the smoke and fire you could want.

Sorry to horn in here, just seeking clarification. Pete, I have to say that I'm surprised by your recommendation of the Fralins, especially having read your glowing reviews of the Hamels. Are you recommending the Fralins because they're a higher output pickup?
Thanks in advance.

Nope, but based on a couple of assumptions, I don't think he can afford Hamels. If he CAN, that's what i'd recommend. but don't get me wrong, I don't have a thing against Fralins, until Alan got into the biz, Lindy was THE MAN and in many ways still is. I had a set of Blues Specials in my Tele for five years before the Hamels came along. But you know, $235 for a set of pickups is a LOT of money and Fralins are a less expensive yet still great alternative.

But you know, $235 for a set of pickups is a LOT of money

Amen to that!

Keeping in mind your budget, I've had good luck with Rio Grande pups. I get excellent warmth and clarity very inexpensively. I am also a big fan of Seth Lover humbuckers, but I would have to experiment with a variety of bridge pickups before I would recommend a single / hum combination. You may have to experiment quite a bit, so I would recommend a very cooperative shop. The shop I use lets me change pickups until I find a combo that I like and then I pay for that set and not all of the experiments.

I second Pete's idea in getting a stock tele pickup configutration and getting a 4-way switch. With a $180 budget, you can get some nice boutique pickups. I use Voodoo pickups, but his TE50's (which is what I use in my 50's classic) might be a bit too fat for the stuff you said you like. Peter Florance will work with you if you call him.

I'd also contact Jason Lollar. Never tried his pickups, but the man knows his shiznit. He specializes in Steel Guitar pickups, and since Teles are essentially converted Lap Steels, I'd have no qualms about going to him.

Fralin, Lollar, and Peter Florance will ultimately get you there if you tell them what you want. Just pick one and you'll be good.


P.S. the 4-way switch is great. You get the pickups in series as well as parallel. The 2 pickups in series has more output than the other 3 positions, and sounds like a thick, darker middle position. I love it. Oddly enough, it sounds great for stuff like Led Zeppelin and Guns 'n Roses. It is very humbuckery in nature.