What's the "heat" of Bill Lawrence pickups like?

The output of a pickup tells me nothing. I know that the L-200 is fairly low in output and is not a hot pickup, but where does it sit when compared to other non-noiseless pickups as far as heat goes? I'm actually not concerned with the L-200, but more the L290TLE and L298TL.

Is the L290TLE the heat of your average Blackguard style Tele pickup like a Fender Broadcaster or Stuart Blackguard? Is the L298TL like a hot Broadcaster at 11k or 12k? Higher, lower???

I'm really just trying to figure out which bridge pickup to pair with my favorite neck pickup and I can't stand it when the heat doesn't match up.

Anyone?

Anyone?

I've heard the L-290TLE (my son had one in his Tele for years) referred to a Nocasterish, but it has unhardened steel pole pieces and is imo smoother and richer than a Fender Nocaster or a Duncan Broadcaster because it doesn't have the characteristic peak and notch that you get when you use alnico slugs as a core a la Fender. The L-298TL can venture further into P-90 territory, but I can't imagine using one without Bill's "Q-Filter" tone circuit to control its roar -- it's a tone monster (Bill calls it a "working horse"), and like all monsters you often have to put it on a leash to get it to behave. They're both great pickups -- between the two imo the L-290TLE is a bit "tamer" and L-298TL/Q-Filter combination more versatile. They both "weigh in" at over 5 henry inductance, which I suppose is "hot" by Tele standards -- that's in the same ballpark as a 1950s Gibson PAF humbucker!

The output of a pickup tells me nothing. I know that the L-200 is fairly low in output and is not a hot pickup, but where does it sit when compared to other non-noiseless pickups as far as heat goes? I'm actually not concerned with the L-200, but more the L290TLE and L298TL.

Is the L290TLE the heat of your average Blackguard style Tele pickup like a Fender Broadcaster or Stuart Blackguard? Is the L298TL like a hot Broadcaster at 11k or 12k? Higher, lower???

I'm really just trying to figure out which bridge pickup to pair with my favorite neck pickup and I can't stand it when the heat doesn't match up.

It's more than just trying to match up overall output between various pickups. If the two pickups have drastically different designs, they may seem similar in output when played individually, but when put in parallel one might drastically dominate the combination. For example, I would never pair a Joe Barden neck pickup with a Bill Lawrence bridge pickup. They have drastically different resistances (the Barden is way lower), so in combination I would expect the Barden to seem much louder, as it is loading down the Lawrence. This cannot be compensated for by lower one and raising the other. This is why I avoid mixing pickups from different manufacturers, or of drastically different designs. I use similar pickups in all positions so that I know ahead of time that they will play nicely with each other.

What is this favorite neck pickup of yours that needs a mate?

Kinman Broadcaster neck pickup. After a little experimentation with Capacitors I'm liking the Kinman bridge more, but BL's are so cheap, why not try one out? I live not too far from their shop, been there for an open house, maybe they'd let me pick one up in person.

Did you dislike the Kinman Broadcaster bridge, or simply choose not to get one due to price? I tried one several years ago, but immediately disliked it and put my Wilde L280TL back in. The Kinman and the L280 had similar output levels, but the Kinman was WAY too bright and harsh. I would think that any of Bill's NF singles could balance reasonably well with the Kinman neck. They are both stacked-coil humbuckers. I would think your most important criteria should be which of Bill's pickups has the closest tone to what you want. I've only tried the L280TL and the L290TL, and I prefer the L280, but I'm going for maximum twang, not grunt. The L290TLE and the L298TL all seem designed to have more bottom than I want.

I use Bill's pickups in all of my guitars. They are the best I've tried, and they are a great value. However, I can't recommend them in a vintage style stamped steel Tele bridge. They do NOT perform at their best in a bridge that distorts their magnetic field. The tone gets harsher, the noise canceling reduces (so they hum a bit) and they are very prone to microphonics. In my brass Gotoh bridges, there are NO microphonics, the tone is much more even and pleasant, and they are absolutely silent.

After going onto the Wylde forum, it appears as though the L290TL is what I'm after. The Henries match up approximately and the description says its supposed to be Bill's response the Broadcaster pickup. I like a bit of bottom end and while I like twang, I can pull twang out of just about anything. I'm mainly looking for a rock pickup, but I don't like super hot pickups and I hate it when the bridge is loads hotter than the neck too. As for the bridge itself, I'm using a Barden bridge which I've heard is not problematic.

As for the Kinman, I actually really like it. I've been comparing it to the Fred Stuart Blackguard in my Danocaster and while they are voiced slightly differently, probably largely due to the difference in magnets from A5 to A3, they are quite similar. The Kinman sounds like an awesome single coil, but it lacks a little bit of the extra "air" around the sound that the Stuart has. At this point I'm not sure if that's because the Kinman is noiseless or because the Stuart is A3 and that's the way some people describe the sound of Alnico 3 magnets. It would be interesting to compare the 2 pickups if Kinman made an A3 version.

Yep, 290TL should be right for you. I'm a big fan of the 298 series, but they're hot hot hot!

I have a 290TL in my Tele knockoff and after I installed it I quit looking for Tele pickups! Simply put, it is awesome!!! It can get heavy and do rock if you want to, or you can make it twang and do country in spades. It is very versatile, but it really shines under gain.

Here is a bit of Kenny Wayne Sheppard's Blue on Black that I recorded with my Wilde L290TL and my Marshall JCM900 2500 MkIII:
http://tonefinder.com/files/10-Blue%20on%20Black.mp3

Cole