Whats Your Favorite Tele PU??

Picked up a friends Tele the other day and it had Bardens loaded in it...not sure which model they were, but didn't do a whole lot for me...good but nothing super great like I was expecting. Have wanted to check some out for along time.
I have Lindy Fralins in mine that are thru Callaham with his vintage bridge...every1's differant I know...but I liked the Frailins....what say you's...whats yer fav's?

Right now my faves are Fender Custom Shop Nocaster pups in one tele, and Custom Shop Texas Specials in another guitar.
I have some Fralin P90s in another guitar that just kill!!

I have the GFS '63 Pro Tele pups in my Tele, with the hot overwound bridge, and they sound awesome. Haven't had too much experience with different Tele pups though.

Hell I just don't know. Maybe I'm easily pleased,but I can seem to get a noise I like from lots of good stuff.

Tonerider vintage plus have a warm sweet jangle.

Fender OV give a lovely range of Telecaster sounds on both pickups.

Rob De Stefano Cavalier Lion is a roaring monster in my Esquire.

A good amp is over half the battle.

I think the stock ones are fine if used properly. :)

I don't have a favorite. I do like the Chandlers I've used. I dig EMGs, Twang Kings, and even several of Fender's. I don't really swap pickups anymore unless I can't adjust what I don't like out of a new guitar's pickups.

I doubt I'll ever find a pickup that has everything, and I'll probably never get to try every one I'd like to. There are just so many.

I like the Tex-Mex variety in my newest Tele as far as Fender originals go. They seem just fine to me.

For aftermarket pups, I love the Lindy Fralin 5% overwound bridge/2% overwound neck set.

I wouldn't mind some day winding a set of my own to see how terrible I can make things sound. I'm an incurable tinkerer. Nothing ever survives long without being changed around here.

Rick

I've had to replace the bridge pickup in both my Teles, and am really pleased with StewMac's "Golden Age Vintage." They're Alnico 5, with raised center posts. Cheap, yes, but they sound great to me. I don't know what the neck pickup sounds like; haven't had to fool with that one yet (don't use it much anyway).

I was a purist for single-coils until I saw Bruce Springsteen using the Hot Rails. I have one in the bridge of a Mexi and I love it. It sounds like a Tele, not a humbucker. Hot and teleish. Nice.

Just replaced the stock Highway One pickups with a set of Brierleys, and am absolutely loving the sound.

I like my Bare Knuckles Blackguard 55 staggered. I like my Lindy Fralins in my Mellecaster. And from Fender, give me the '62 Customs.

I've tried a lot and I keep coming back to Fender Original Vintage.

Jim

Right now I'm loving my Custom Shop Texas Specials, but I wanna try some Lollars.

I really love my 'Nocasters in my '66. Sounds like a tele outta.

I'm thinking my next project will have Texas specials in it though. I wanna get dirty sometimes.

Bardens!

Lollar firebird neck and voodoo te50 bridge.

My Duncan Antiquity bridge pickup. Just awesome to me. A lot of people dismiss SD, him not being the winder "du jour", but he kicks major butt, IMO.

Texas Specials FTW.

Rumpelstiltskin Black Rope
DiMarzio 615

Bridge:

Duncan Jerry Donahue

Lollar 52

Neck:

Duncan SM-1

pretty amazed hardly anyone has picked the same ones...a few Fenders..but mostly differant.

Twisted Tele combined with a Wilde TL-48.

Texas Specials FTW.

+1...TS is the best!

Can't believe I'm the first in this thread to mention the Duncan Broadcaster.

Keystones

S.Duncan Broadcaster...have no inclination to swap it out.

Whatever came stock in my GE Smith. Supposedly uses the same as the 52 reissue but the bridge is supposed to be special to the model. Not sure if it the pickup or the fact it's screwed directly into the wood. Love the neck pickup too.

Stock pups that are in my AV62RI Tele Custom. Had a few, these are it for me.

The amp you play thru is a big part of your pleasure with a Tele IME.

Howdy,

DiMarzio's affordable, blue-collar Twang Kings.

Nocasters!

Keystones

+1 - Really like the "Keystones" and also like the "Micro-coils".

Whatever came stock in my GE Smith. Supposedly uses the same as the 52 reissue but the bridge is supposed to be special to the model. Not sure if it the pickup or the fact it's screwed directly into the wood. Love the neck pickup too.


I also love the stock pick-ups in my '52 AVRI.

Don Mares. I have Donocasters and Joel Foys, had Hot Bakelites. His pickups are incredibly great.

Seems like everyone likes something by someone, because most makers have at least one decent model. The rest is up to taste.

I like all types myself for some reason or another. Even though I have the Lollar CC's in one Tele, the only set that ever made me sit back and say 'WOW' are the BK Blue Notes.

My Duncan Antiquity bridge pickup. Just awesome to me. A lot of people dismiss SD, him not being the winder "du jour", but he kicks major butt, IMO.

I was one of those people.

I'm a notorious pickup swapper and had only considered "boutique" pickup companies for years, until I ordered a set of Antiquity P-90's from Duncan. I like the pickups a lot but more importantly, I had some issues with the pickup covers and SD went way beyond the call of duty, customer service-wise, to put things right, so they gained me as a customer again.

Tele pickups I have played and liked particularly:

Texas Specials
AV62RI
Original Vintage
Whatever's in the Baja

Of those, I'm pretty sure I liked the OV the best.

Since getting Keystones, though, I'm not too concerned with what might be better. I have a "Wow!" moment everytime I play that guitar.

My favorites are the Lindy Fralin "Stock Tele," set. I went through several sets to get to that one including...

Fender CS Nocasters
Rio Grande Muy Grande's
Seymour Duncan Broadcaster
Seymour Duncan Alnico Pro II
and finally the Fralins!

Any one have the Lindy Fralin Tele PU set thru Callaham? What are your thoughts on them and what Callaham does to them...

A good amp is over half the battle.

Amen!

Amen!

+1 or 2

I just put Barden HB two tones in my thinline '72 RI and can't believd the improvemnt over the WRHBs. Tap the coils and it sounds a lot like a Strat. I have a set of Gatton T's for my MIM standard, it's going to be a week or so until I can install them.. I don't realy mind the stock pups, I,m just curious.

I go back and forth between Budz, OC Duff, Lollar and Mare depending on my mood.

I really love my 'Nocasters in my '66. Sounds like a tele outta.

I'm thinking my next project will have Texas specials in it though. I wanna get dirty sometimes.

Thats a fine looking boy you got there, Marcus! What a great picture. Are we looking at the future king ot the telecaster? Ya never know....

Lollar Vintage T's in my '72 work really well for me. The stock pickups in my Nocaster are a pretty close second.

Don Mares. I have Donocasters and Joel Foys, had Hot Bakelites. His pickups are incredibly great.

+1 I have a Hot Bakelite in the bridge position on one Tele, an 0038 Broadcaster pickup in the bridge position on another.

I also really like DiMarzio Twang Kings.

Neck position - the Jim Weider-designed Big T, made by Lindy Fralin!

CS Texas Specials(in ash body partscaster),CSNocasters(in CV50 BSB) and Rob DiStefanos'
Lion(in two Esquires)
Oldteleguy

Voodoo te50 bridge and lollar firebird neck.

Seems like you could buy PUP's forever and spend a bundle of dough and still not find something...wouldn't it be GREAT to have sound bites of all these PUPS in ONE place for comparing and listening so you can take a listen before you buy...geez what a concept!

Picked up a friends Tele the other day and it had Bardens loaded in it...not sure which model they were, but didn't do a whole lot for me...good but nothing super great like I was expecting. Have wanted to check some out for along time.
I have Lindy Fralins in mine that are thru Callaham with his vintage bridge...every1's differant I know...but I liked the Frailins....what say you's...whats yer fav's?

For me it's hard to say, i have 3 tele the first whit Dimarzio Twang King set, the second whit GFS alnico stager pole piece set(7K for the bridge and the neck pup has no cover)and the third one is converted to a esquiere whit a cavalier lion from rob distephano. The 3 guitar sound really good but i have to admit that i have a preference for the pup of Rob(Cavalier Lion), i don't have any experience whit Rob tele neck pup but i bet it's a good pup. Anyway i really like my tele's they have all particular sound.

Overall, I've found that pickups are personal to the particular guitar - keeping in mind the particular sound you're going for.

Having said that, I tend to favor an A3 type pickup wound in the 7-8k range....such as a Nocaster or Fred Stuart Blackguard for the bridge position because I like the more forward mids and slightly laid back highs. Having said that, I have a japanese A5 wound to 5.9 that sounds fantastic in another guitar, so....there you go.

As far as neck pickups go, I prefer a clear one such as Dimarzio Twang King, Nocaster, or Twisted Tele. I don't play the neck position as much as the middle, so I tend to pick my neck pickups based on the way it sounds in the middle with whatever bridge position I've already selected.

I use the Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound set, which I like because they're very thick-sounding pickups. It's fun to throw a more vintage-style pickup into my Tele from time to time but I always come back to that Quarter Pound crunch.

I haven't tried many pickups at this point but I do Love the sound of My S.D. alnico 2 pro pickups. No doubt I'd like the sound of many but I really wish I had a few more sets of those S.D's. It's a mellow pickup I'd say. Warm wonderful sounds. I would not call them "hot".

My favorite Tele bridge pickup (for the moment) is the Fralin Blues Special. Does it all for me. As for the neck - I like a P-90. Gibson makes a nice one.

I have the GFS '63 Pro Tele pups in my Tele, with the hot overwound bridge, and they sound awesome. Haven't had too much experience with different Tele pups though.

+1 the GFS overwound Alnico bridge. good sound, price is very good.

another one I've used for years is the Muy Grande by Rio Grande, but its got so much output, its close to P90 territory. Still, a very good sounding pickup.

Fralin Broadcaster Hybrid.

Right now it's the BG1400

It was the quarter pounder for a long time...

Rio Grande Dirty Harry set.

Are you feeling lucky, punk?

Bill Lawrences for me.

I have a set in these two gigging Teles.

One has Microcoils, the other has Keystones

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k7/andys_01/TwoMIMTeles.jpg

Hell I just don't know. Maybe I'm easily pleased,but I can seem to get a noise I like from lots of good stuff.



A good amp is over half the battle.

Can't be overstated, but it's a double edged sword. A great amp will make just about any pickup sound good,but it also enables a great pickup to show you why it's a great pickup. There's not a big difference between the stocker in my CV and my Lollars and Fralins in others played through say my Blues Jr. But plug into an old Super or Bluesbreaker and A/B them and you get knocked over by the the harmonic content and dynamics (or lack thereof). Not that the CVs don't sound really good,the Fralins just sound fantastic. And I didn't have a clue as to what I was missing until the I upped the ante with the amp.

Can't be overstated, but it's a double edged sword. A great amp will make just about any pickup sound good,but it also enables a great pickup to show you why it's a great pickup. There's not a big difference between the stocker in my CV and my Lollars and Fralins in others played through say my Blues Jr. But plug into an old Super or Bluesbreaker and A/B them and you get knocked over by the the harmonic content and dynamics (or lack thereof). Not that the CVs don't sound really good,the Fralins just sound fantastic. And I didn't have a clue as to what I was missing until the I upped the ante with the amp.

That could be an apples and oranges issue more than anything. Increased dynamics and harmonic content are generally due more to voicing, and to capacitance load for a given inductance. One pickup might have a higher Q factor than another, so it will have increased harmonics in the resonance range. There are other factors that (if addressed in the design) will result in a more accurate representation of the Fourier spectrum, but it won't necessarily mean an increase in harmonics, just less phase-cancellations. Very few designers know how to really deal with that. Some designers may have inadvertently arrived on formulas that incorporate some of the required elements for decreased internal phase-cancellations. I'm not knocking trial and error. I learned how to troubleshoot PC's almost entirely based on trial and error.

Higher power magnets can be associated with increased dynamics. More information in the critical 2-5kHz range gives the impression of increased dynamics, but it can usually be compensated for via capacitance load. Another factor that influences dynamic range is fundamental to harmonic ratio. Pickups with a decreased fundamental ratio will literally deliver a decreased dynamic range. It's actually very common, and may have something to do with the more "compressed" sound we associate with certain pickups.

Seems like you could buy PUP's forever and spend a bundle of dough and still not find something...wouldn't it be GREAT to have sound bites of all these PUPS in ONE place for comparing and listening so you can take a listen before you buy...geez what a concept!

sound bytes are, for the most part, bogus. there are far Far FAR too many variables to consider. in the best of worlds, trying out a pup in your guitar, with you playing, through your rig is what's sorely needed.

which is why i offer "try before you buy" - geez what a concept! :cool:

....

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the Duncan STL-1 bridge pickup. I'm very happy with the one I have. Nice and twangy bright but when I'm strumming on the bridge pickup it doesn't get harsh or too "over-toney". It stays nice and articulate. I have a GFS overwound in the bridge of my other tele and it's pretty close but the STL-1 is the one I like the best out of all the pickups I've tried.

Seymour Duncan Broadcaster in bridge and a Dimarzio Twang King in the neck . I'm set for life !

this neck PU, atm... a stock fender slightly microphonic 83 ... :smile:

I love my Don Mare Super Sports... pure magic!
I have tried OV's, Nocasters and Fralin Blues Special in the same guitar, (52ri), the Mares are staying.

In my next guitar Im would like try either a Voodoo 50 or another one of Don's...

'76 WRHB............ in the neck.

So many great bridge choices....... I'm just getting the feel of a Lawrence Keystone, at the moment but the stock Fender in my '83 Tele is gnarly.

Seymour Duncan JD or Bill Lawrence Microcoils

Howdy,

DiMarzio's affordable, blue-collar Twang Kings.

Thank God someone mentioned DiMarzios! I'm off the hook now! :neutral:

Sollophonic, IMHO, you have your pickguards on the wrong guitars, they both would look far better the other way round...

Bullfrogblues-+1 are you an unknown long lost brother of mine?!!!!

Another vote for Bill Lawrence "Keystones". Really like the clear/rich tone. I also like the Bill Lawrence "Micro-Coils", which are similiar but more of an enhanced clear/rich tone compared to the "Keystones". Also, pretty hard to beat the price for both of these if you're including bang for the buck in the picture.

Of course the guitar itself makes a difference...but...for the neck position i think an old Teisco goldfoil sounds pretty close to holy grail...as for bridge, Stuarts are amazing, Mare, OC Duff, Lollar, most "boutique" builders offer outstanding tone (and sometimes value...).
At the time i use a Nash/Lollar bridge that sounds excellent.

I haven't tried everything out there, but my Don Mare Donocasters are my favorites by far. I was looking for a warmer sweeter sound with a bit less twang, and these deliver and then some. Ultimate plug n play pups - no matter what amp or settings I use, I get a tone that makes me want to just keep playing.

Bullfrogblues-+1 are you an unknown long lost brother of mine?!!!!

Ha ha, could be, you never know!!!:mrgreen:

I have found the stock pickups in my '52 Hot Rod to be the best combination thus far.

I've got a '52 AVRI, which brings the OV PUs, as I understand.
I never swapped pickups, however I would be very curious to try the following list,
for the neck pickup, for a much clearer sound and open sound:

Twisted Tele
Di MArzio True Velvet T
Di Marzio Area T
Keystones
Jim Weider Big T
Don Mare S-Telly

For playing live, Bardens in the AmStd and DiM Area Hot T in my Fauxsquire, because they are noiseless. Bardens work really well in a band context, versatile. OVs in my build.

I don't have much experience with Tele pups, but I like my Harpmaster Modern Tele Pickups. (http://www.harpmasterpickups.com/hmstcvm-modern-tele-nickel-cover-only.html) Good clean warm tone. Beautiful with pure nickel strings.

Just switched out the neck and bridge pickups over to OnlyMusic Blues Tribute "Lone Star". Neck is at 9.5k and the bridge is at 10.4k, alnico 5 rod magnets. I'm happy with the way these sound. :grin:

Nocasters and CS Texas Specials

Fralin Blues Special. Ain't nothing better AFAIC.

sumarian cobolt fenders noiseless for me

Neck: Twisted Tele

Bridge: Fralin SP-42

Bridge: SD Jerry Donahue, definitely
Neck: Either SD Alnico II Pro for Strat, Fender Twisted Tele or for more authentic sound, SD STR-1 Vintage Rhythm.

Been using Bill Lawrence, looking forward to install a set of Donocasters.

Bridge:

Duncan Jerry Donahue

Lollar 52

Neck:

Duncan SM-1

Love the Donahue!!! Recently changed the neck from a Duncan Alnico-II to a Duncan Quarter Pound, great for rockin and rollin!!

Hey I have a Don Mare Rev Zee and and an Antiquity Firebird neck in my main tele. I am building and esquire and have a Duncan BG-1400 on order for it. The Rev Zee is similar to a Tweed Monster bridge. It is unreal.

Thanks, Jason

Fred Stuart Blackguards

Fralin stock are a close second. Depends on the application, for 60s bright twang the Fralins, for everything else the Stuarts.

Go with Shed pickups. 1 man operation across the pond. Take 6-8 months to get your pickups, but boy are they nice.

... Take 6-8 months to get your pickups, but boy are they nice.

now THAT is totally insane! :roll: :twisted:

I've tried several, and always end up with Budz in guitars.

A pair of O.C. Duff Guardsmans. Vintage, Blackguard type specs.

I'll never get used to how good they sound!

CS Nocasters.CS Texas Specials

This is a next-to-impossible question to answer, but here's my faves (in unranked order) that have been in place for some time now in various teles:
- SD Jerry Donahue
- SD Broadcaster
- Keystones (neck & bridge)
- OC Duff A2 (tapped at 7.6k and 9.8k) for my Esquire

My wish-list includes Bills micro-coils and Rob's Cavalier...

Bardens!

Me too, the Modern set. Killer.

Bridge is definitely my Florance TE59. I will have one in any tele I ever have. I LOVE it.


I like the Adder new ok but I think I'd like another tele with either an OV or a Don Mare 53 or similar neck.

I really like Klein Tri-state V2 and the neck I had made to match. I'm also a fan of the SD Alnico 2 pro.

I really love Fralin pickups. I have stock, +2%, & Blues Specials & they are all very good & each bring something unique out of each Tele. I have a American Standard 2007 Tele that I put Barden Danny Gatton pups in bridge & neck as well as a Barden vintage bridge with compensated saddles. This is probably the sweetest sounding guitar I own. I put a 4 way switch on it & every position just very musical. For sure the quietest pickups I have ever owned. With the volume cranked, a lot of the time I'll reach & try to turn the volume up on the guitar & find that it is all the way on!!

Anyone try the Fralin Big T neck pup from analogman? I just ordered one. I'll try anything once.

I love cs Texas specials.

I know opinion is a bit split on these but for what I like (70s heavy rock) they are right on the money.
With a Marshall they can Sóund almost p90ish.
Solid bass and mids and no ice pick highs.
I've got the TS bridge and neck set in my black AM standard maple neck tele and the bridge TS and twisted tele neck in my rosewood neck vintage white AM series.
The TS bridge and twisted neck make for great parallel tones.

Don Mare StangRay 2-tap bridge. He wound it to 6.6k and 10k. I LOVE THIS PICKUP.

The two most prominent boutique makers seems to be Lollar and Fralin. However, I have heard insanely great things about Bare Knuckle Pickups (BKP) and have accordingly ordered a set of Flat 52s to replace my Kinmans. BKPs seem to be exploding in popularity.

For noiseless, Kinmans are hands down the best.

For not-over-the-top expensive, Keystones get rave reviews on here frequently and I hear Stew-Mac has great stuff too.

Wilde (Bill Lawrence) Microcoils. Best pickups by far I've ever installed.

Bare Knuckle "Brown Sugar" hand wound beauties!

bullfrog-+1 that!

Fralin Blues Specials and Bare Knuckle Brown Sugars rock my Tele world.

Best set I've had so far was a pair of OC Duff's, amazing tone and Owen's a cool guy to work with.

I have the Plankster bridge and Paint Peeler neck. The descriptions on his site are spot-on, the bridge is a little warmer but with an edge, the neck is punchy and really cuts through for clean soloing.

For me it's hard to say, i have 3 tele the first whit Dimarzio Twang King set, the second whit GFS alnico stager pole piece set(7K for the bridge and the neck pup has no cover)and the third one is converted to a esquiere whit a cavalier lion from rob distephano. The 3 guitar sound really good but i have to admit that i have a preference for the pup of Rob(Cavalier Lion), i don't have any experience whit Rob tele neck pup but i bet it's a good pup. Anyway i really like my tele's they have all particular sound.

Little mistake it's GFS alnico 5 oversize pole piece set not alnico stager pole piece.