Another Thread about pickup change

Hello,

I usually play Jazz, with Gibson guitars, but I also have a Tele AVRI 52.
I am considering a change of pickups for the Tele.
I usually use the neck pickup so
do you think there exists a neck pickup with the following characteristics:

Balanced sound between lows and highs, cristal clear, open and sparkling, in a pleasent way, especially through a Fender amp like a Deluxe Reverb, great dynamics, very responsive to the touch, great definition of notes, no muddy in the low register, no thinny sound and no harshness in the high register.

I would use it mainly to play some Fingerstyle Jazz, ala Teddy Greene, but also some jazz/Funky stuff or blues sound ala Robben Ford.
Am I asking too much?

I think a DiMarzio True Velvet neck pickup would work, as would an Area T if you go the noiseless route.

Wilde L280TN. All the characteristics you describe, and noise-free.

I think a DiMarzio True Velvet neck pickup would work, as would an Area T if you go the noiseless route.

Which would be your preference between the two you mentioned,
thanks

Wilde L280TN. All the characteristics you describe, and noise-free.

+1 or Bill Lawrence, (Wilde), "Micro-Coils". For the most part noise free and inexpensive. (Check out the green tab to your far left in the "Supporting Vendors" banner at the top of the page). Really sounded great with the Strat we put them in. I use BL "Keystones" on my Tele and I would say that the "Micro-coils" are just a notch better and more of everything that is good about the "Keystones". If you are strictly after the neck Pup would go with the L280TN.

If you can find a neck pickup from an 83 USA Standard, you've got the best Tele neck pickup ever wound!

If you can't find that, see about a Chandler Super 60, which, IIRC, they aren't winding anymore.

Beyond that, good luck! Check with Don Mare. He's got a great ear when it comes to winding pickups.

My friend loves his Don Mare S-Telly. Two more pickups around the same area code : OC Duff Big Boy and Fralin Jim Weider Big T.

Which would be your preference between the two you mentioned,
thanks

My preference would lean towards the True Vintage, but the Area T would come in handy if hum is an issue. SUPER quiet and a lot of dynamics and clarity.

+1 on the S-Telly as well, and maybe even a Barden Gatton pickup.

put any decent strat pup in yer tele's neck and enjoy. no routing required, just remove the strat pup's plastic cover and it will nicely fit yer tele pickguard neck pup opening. i also play fingerstyle almost exclusively and find that a strat pup wound with about 8500 turns of 42awg over a5 mags will offer a good blend of midrange and clear treble tones.

put any decent strat pup in yer tele's neck and enjoy. no routing required, just remove the strat pup's plastic cover and it will nicely fit yer tele pickguard neck pup opening.

With some, I've had to file 'em down to fit. YMMV

With some, I've had to file 'em down to fit. YMMV

SOME tele neck pup routs leave barely enuf room to fit a tele neck pup, but most rout for a strat pup to allow tweaking & fiddling room (as it should be done). in the long run, it's easier and safer to open up the neck pup body rout with anything handy, from a router to a dremel to a chisel or even just a file sharpened flat blade screw driver and a hammer - i've done that more than once, too. don't matter how ya do it, the pickguard covers the mess. besides, a tele should have had a strat pup in the neck position from the get-go, and not that dumb, covered, itty bitty, anaemic toned 43awg coil. :mrgreen:

a tele should have had a strat pup in the neck position from the get-go, and not that dumb, covered, itty bitty, anaemic toned 43awg coil. :mrgreen:

But have you played an '83? Or a Chandler Super 60? They are some fantastic sounding Tele neck pickups, and they don't sound like a Strat neck pickup. They are absolutely beautiful, especially through a high powered amp like a Fender Twin or a Peavey Triumph cranked up! Very Steve Cropper. Can you get that glistening, shimmering Steve Cropper neck pickup tone with a Strat pickup?

Not to put down the stuff you wind up, Rob. You've got some stuff I want to try out, but my schedule and financial situation demand that I use up some of the stuff I have before I start ordering again...

But have you played an '83? Or a Chandler Super 60? They are some fantastic sounding Tele neck pickups, and they don't sound like a Strat neck pickup. They are absolutely beautiful, especially through a high powered amp like a Fender Twin or a Peavey Triumph cranked up! Very Steve Cropper. Can you get that glistening, shimmering Steve Cropper neck pickup tone with a Strat pickup?

Not to put down the stuff you wind up, Rob. You've got some stuff I want to try out, but my schedule and financial situation demand that I use up some of the stuff I have before I start ordering again...

it's all good brother merlin, it's all good. :cool:

SOME tele neck pup routs leave barely enuf room to fit a tele neck pup, but most rout for a strat pup to allow tweaking & fiddling room (as it should be done). in the long run, it's easier and safer to open up the neck pup body rout with anything handy, from a router to a dremel to a chisel or even just a file sharpened flat blade screw driver and a hammer - i've done that more than once, too. don't matter how ya do it, the pickguard covers the mess. besides, a tele should have had a strat pup in the neck position from the get-go, and not that dumb, covered, itty bitty, anaemic toned 43awg coil. :mrgreen:

Ah, poor maligned tele neck pickup, 'Why won't you love me Rob? :-('
;-)
Seriously, yesterday I couldn't stop smiling at how good my fezz oildale neck sounds. With AWG 42 and 5.3k on a tele bobbin with metal cover, I guess it's a bit of a tele/strat hybrid.

whack a good P90 in it....;)...matches the description...


you too, eh e-merlin... I'm hooked onto my 83 neck pu... I've got half a dozen other various fender US tele neck PU's here in guitars and a few in the box I like...
.. this one 83 has a magic others don't... and it's THE most well played,scratched and beat up Tele I own.. bought from a dealer in from NY city for 650 .
peel it out of my dead hands....

If you can find a neck pickup from an 83 USA Standard, you've got the best Tele neck pickup ever wound!


Does it have to be exactly 83? some sort of magic number?
82 or 84?
I have absolutely no idea where I can find a pickup of that year.

put any decent strat pup in yer tele's neck and enjoy. no routing required, just remove the strat pup's plastic cover and it will nicely fit yer tele pickguard neck pup opening. i also play fingerstyle almost exclusively and find that a strat pup wound with about 8500 turns of 42awg over a5 mags will offer a good blend of midrange and clear treble tones.

a5= alnico 5 (I guess)
awg= ?

big difference between 42 and 43 awg?

put any decent strat pup in yer tele's neck and enjoy. no routing required, just remove the strat pup's plastic cover and it will nicely fit yer tele pickguard neck pup opening. i also play fingerstyle almost exclusively and find that a strat pup wound with about 8500 turns of 42awg over a5 mags will offer a good blend of midrange and clear treble tones.

Does this mean that I should have bought a Stratocaster?
Let me put it in another way.
Are the Telecaster and the Stratocaster essentially the same guitar?
Is it just a matter of pickups? (not considering the 3 Strato PUs vs the 2 Tele PUs, just talking about the neck and possibly the bridge one)
I am not such an expert of Fender guitars, but this question always haunted my thoughts.
Maybe you can clarify this point.

Does this mean that I should have bought a Stratocaster?
Let me put it in another way.
Are the Telecaster and the Stratocaster essentially the same guitar?
Is it just a matter of pickups? (not considering the 3 Strato PUs vs the 2 Tele PUs, just talking about the neck and possibly the bridge one)
I am not such an expert of Fender guitars, but this question always haunted my thoughts.
Maybe you can clarify this point.

The difference between Strats and Teles are much more than just the pups. The body style is obviously different and some prefer one style over the other. As far as tone goes, the hardtail bridge, as well the pickups help give the tele its unmistakable "twang" that you cannot really get with a strat. Personally, I like the tele twang, but also the strat out of phase kinda sounds. Thats why I really like the Brent Mason configuration, which not only has tele and strat sounds, but also a bridge hum-bucker.

Does it have to be exactly 83? some sort of magic number?
82 or 84?
I have absolutely no idea where I can find a pickup of that year.

I'd keep an eye out on eBay and maybe check out vintage guitar dealers to see if they have any.

IIRC 1983 was the first year Fender brought guitar manufacturing back to the US.

I don't know the technical specs, but I've played two or three USA made 1983 Teles and they all have fantastic neck pickups, as well as toploader bridges. That may have something to do with it, too.

I wish I still had my old '83 Tele. It was the first Tele I ever owned...

With some, I've had to file 'em down to fit. YMMV
I have also found that some strat pickups don't fit in a tele neck slot
I have notice that the plastic type bobbin strat pickps will fit & strat pups made with forbon is a little too tight

a5= alnico 5 (I guess)
awg= ?

big difference between 42 and 43 awg?

AWG= American write gauge. 43 AWG wire is thinner, and what tele neck pickups use. 42 is thicker, and is used on strat pickups and tele bridge pickups (in general).

Wilde L280TN. All the characteristics you describe, and noise-free.

Lots of great suggestions, at the moment I have about three or four candidates.
I am trying to narrow the choice, therefore, based on some youtube videos,
I am thinking about
Wilde Keystones or L280TN,
DiMArzio Area T
Fralin-Weider Big T

About the L280TN, I don't like the fact that it is uncovered, I like (aesthetically) the PU cover. Is there a particular reason why they don't have a cover?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35sjrBo54Ss
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Awz14aRNteU