Tele Humbuckers - Suggestions

Hi all,

I picked up a J5 Squire Tele with a Duncan JB in the bridge. The tone is pretty good over all…but I wouldn’t mind mellowing out the highs/darkening up the tone. Not sure if this would be possible simply by going with 250k pots or if perhaps the pick up itself may not be the best fit considering it’s a bright guitar to begin with. I'm probably not your traditional tele guy. I appreciate the twangy tele stuff, however play a lot of rock. Cosmetically, I just happen to find teles to be the sexiest guitars out there. Hopefully looking to find something to get more of the tone I'm looking for here.

· Body: Alder
· Neck: 1-piece maple
· Fingerboard: Rosewood,

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/squier-j5-telecaster-electric-guitar/501904000001000

Would it be worth my while to try out 250k pots or would I be better off trying out a different pick up all together?

Any feedback is appreciated… Thanks!

You can turn down the tone pot to about half (capacitor doesn't come into affect until about 4). Also, don't be afraid to radically change your amp's EQ. On many Fender style amps, I turn the mids up all the way, bass between 2-4, and treble between 1-3, and I like to have actual highs to my tone with extremely clear pickups. Try the 250k pots if that doesn't get you far enough.

My last suggestion, before replacing the pickup, is to use a short, low capacitance cable. The character, especially of the bridge pickup, is decided by the interaction between the pickup's inductance (typically higher with humbuckers) and the cable's capacitance. The more of either you have, the lower the resonance is. The suggestion of a low capacitance cable then seems sort of counter-productive, but in actuality, resonances between about 3-5 kHz on the bridge can give the pickup a very bright/harsh/icepick-type quality that makes EQing incredibly difficult without sacrificing clarity and definition, as so much of an electric guitar's voice is defined generally by uppermids (you can't simply turn treble down to resolve this issue).

You might find your ultimate answer is to go to an even clearer pickup so you can turn down treble without sacrificing critical definition to your sound.

A lot of guys run those JBs with 250k pots, don't be afraid to try. If that doesn't work a DiMarzio Tone Zone might be a good choice for you axe.

Welcome to the Tele Forums !

I would try a 250K w a Duncan A2P.

Those J5 pick ups are pretty hot, due to a Ceramic magnet (i believe) and that will give you some ice picky shrills.

Just backing off the volume pretty much does what the 250K would do (the tone even full off is a small sound factor).The SH-14 Custom 5 by Duncan is great if you like a darker sound.Very powerfull AlNiCo. Like a 1 octave lower '59. At 6K and 7K the coils split well too.