I am finding my American Tele' bridge pup rather dull

5 months ago, my girlfriend bought me an American Standard Tele.

First few months it all went well, but now I am finding its bridge pickup rather dull.

That's what it is lacking: nastiness. The bridge pup sounds far too gentle, too well round, too perfectly equalized, lacks that trebly bite. With a bit fuzz or overdriving the tubes it gets better, still not that better.

So I was wondering, since I do not want to swap the neck pup, what pickup could I buy to make it sound more like those nasty, harsh teles that spits trebly notes but still fit well with the neck pup on mid position?


Oh and just in case, the amps I use are a Vox AC30, a Pignose (the portable one) and a Blues Jr.


Thanks in advance!

Before buying other pickups, and if you haven't tried this yet, you may experiment with pickup height -a very easy thing to do, which more than often give great results. In your case, maybe the bridge pickup sits too low.

Before buying other pickups, and if you haven't tried this yet, you may experiment with pickup height -a very easy thing to do, which more than often give great results. In your case, maybe the bridge pickup sits too low.


I agree, try this first. I have a ~9 month old American Standard Tele as well and have no problem getting those ice-picky, harsher tones.

Yeah, raise the pickup up close to the strings (close enough that you can push down with only moderate force on the low E and touch the pole piece slug).

Can't understand why you're not getting the desired effect from the Am Std bridge. They are well made pickups and should be performing well. Have you checked the effectiveness of your tone control?

Get some new strings?

Simple.

Replace the pots with 500K?

Hi Lev! Could this be our first Cyrillic username?

Those pickups are made well, but they are a bit "generic" and there's a lot of replacements out there that may be more along the lines of what you're wanting in a Tele.

Totally agree with the OP, had a Standard US but my 8502 was miles better in tone. A friend of mine swapped his US pups for a set of Brieley's made here in Australia...

http://www.brierleyguitarpickups.com.au/

The improvement in tone was spectacular, so it wouldn't be hard to find something similar and not too expensive to improve on what you have.

A friend of mine has an AmStan with the stock pups. They're ok, I guess.

Hi Lev! Could this be our first Cyrillic username?


I could change mine to мсфендерарг!

Funny thing is, I used Cyrillic to cheat in school...:oops:


As for the pickup...I love the one on mine, but it is a '96 AmStd...So I dunno...

I could change mine to мсфендерарг!

Funny thing is, I used Cyrillic to cheat in school...:oops:

As for the pickup...I love the one on mine, but it is a '96 AmStd...So I dunno...

Fun! Mine would be АЖБэйкер! I've been studying Russian for 5 years now.

Amp controls, pickup height adjustment, string change, low capacitance cable, 500k pots, new pickup, in that order.

Amp controls, pickup height adjustment, string change, low capacitance cable, 500k pots, new pickup, in that order.

You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear :grin:

The fixes are all good suggestions that I'd agree with, but if he still wants to swap it out, is there a good bridge replacement pickup that would agree with the neck?

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll quote this one that summarizes the thread:

Amp controls, pickup height adjustment, string change, low capacitance cable, 500k pots, new pickup, in that order.

Well, amp controls. I am not exactly banging rocks here.

String change, once again, I am not banging rocks here, I know old strings sound dull and my strings are brand new.

Pickup height will only make it hotter, not exactly what I want.

On the pots, I'd rather not fiddle with them.


Perhaps I did not express myself quite well and I apologize for that, but I'll try again: The snag is, my telecaster sounds really bland, far too modern and not enough powerfully strident. I'd like something more 60's, more Barrettish in the bridge. That classic Tele twang is partly missing on mine.


Ah, for the record, I just bought a Bigsby B5. Perhaps with the change from steel saddles on steel-plated brass bridge to full aluminium shall make it better. Or worse for that matter, but I just need a Bigsby to fiddle with feedback :mrgreen:. Installing it right now, we'll see.

Those pickups are made well, but they are a bit "generic" and there's a lot of replacements out there that may be more along the lines of what you're wanting in a Tele.

I've been thinking the same, but I am rather inexperienced when it comes to Tellies.

Would you mind expanding on that, please?

Cheers!

I don't see how a B5 will alter the tone, unless you've changed to an Aluminum bridge. That will make a difference. Otherwise, trying the things Derek suggested in the order he listed are what to check out before changing PUP's.

You'd be surprised at how much string gauge, or material can alter the tone. Alloy 52 strings will give you noticeably more powerful twang on the wound strings for the same gauge than nickel wrapped steel. Gibson "Humbucker" are the cheapest Alloy 52 strings I know of.

Don't underestimate the contribution of cable capacitance. A low C cable will often solve your problem. It will let the highs through, so you can hear the "twang".

Lastly, I doubt you'd really want an offensive sounding PUP, but you want one with "attitude"? For my money, the Wilde L280TL is probably the perfect balance of aggression without being too harsh, or tinny. It's noiseless as well. I don't know if they make the L280TL anymore. The L290TL is basically a slightly darker version. The bridge plate material will alter the pickup's tone. Steel, or Aluminum are not recommended. Brass, or stainless steel should be fine.

A good place to start could be a set of vintage style pickups. Something like a bridge pickup wound with 42 AWG to about 7k over alnico 5 or 3. Weaker starts taking you into brighter, twangier pickups, stronger and you get fatter midrange.

The fender nocaster set is pretty popular here, and you might want to check out leosounds.de too. The pickups aren't to expensive, but maybe check out shipping to Russia.

If you drop a DiMarzio 615 in there, you'll see what the difference is between "generic" and what you have. It's a noiseless "vintage style pup" with some oomph. Your guitar will as they say, "come alive". As far as changing strings, bridge plates etc etc., they are all factors, but nothing as significant as changing the pup. I think the forum comments are helpful and intended to steer you away from spending money on a new pup until you have tried other methods to see if you like what you have. Lots of nice folks here.

Well, pickups certainly make a big difference. Baring a complete rig change, capacitance and resistance load are probably the next most significant factors. Try cutting your cable in half and listen to the major change in tone. That's capacitance load at work.

Holy Smokes, am I in the right place? This is TDPRI right? Where a casual remark about the weather is all it takes to start an epic thread on pickups? Well, stand back, cuz I just got my partscaster out of the shop yesterday with the new Bare Knuckle Boss bridge pup installed! Lev, I hemmed and hawed for years over spending the money, then saved up and finally pulled the trigger. And although I repeat myself, Holy Smokes! The Boss is everything folks have said it is. Played clean it's chimey and bright--like a puppy running in a field, just exploding with life. Each note in a chord sings its own melodious song. And as long as the string is vibrating, the Boss keeps riding the wave. With a little distortion (via my Roland Cube--I can only imagine what it would sound like through a Bassman or a good silverface), the puppy turns out to be a Rottweiler--but always ALL Tele. For me, a lifelong Bruce fan, this is the tone that has brought me more joy than any sound in the world. A buzzsaw cut from a church bell. Oh, and the bottom strings twang with menace. They finally SOUND like they're made of metal. This is the kind of Tele tone that takes the Strat to the woodshed. You bet I'm on my honeymoon. Having a great time, wish you were here!