Seymour Duncan Little '59

Will this pickup just "fit right in" the bridge position in a MIM '07 '69 Thinline Telecaster with zero modifications? Thanks to all for any input and help, Anne

p.s. Is this an entirely different sound than a traditional Tele bridge PUP?

Yes, it will fit right in if you buy the replacement for telecaster, just solder and you're ready. It sounds like a Les Paul/SG pickup very different, and much hotter/louder.

It's between a Les Paul and tele sound, doesn't really have much of a personality in my opinion.

Plus it overpowered my neck pickup - some people like it, some don't, personal choice.

It fits right in.

It's not a tele sounding pup.
I liked it wired in parallel the best.

JJ

Thank you all for your input. All the best to you, Anne

p.s. it is gonna be paired with a Keystone Deluxe single coil in the neck position.

After many years of vintage-style pups, I am presently using a Little 59 Tele bridge with a Little 59 Strat neck in my old 52RI.

These are not traditional Tele pickups by any stretch. But they sound terrific in a Gibson/ Fender hybrid sort of way. Output is high, the bridge is dark and fat.

But 75% of tone is in the fingers. I've always been a Fender player, and so I play with a lot of twang and bare fingered string pops. That comes right on through with the Little 59s.

I am really enjoying this setup. No hum of buzz, great selection of usable sounds. Crazy good overdriven tones. When I want bright & shiny, I prefer my Strat.

Yes, part of the brilliance of this pickup is that you can have a humbucker in your Tele without modifying your bridge.

I love mine. My neck pickup was pulled from a 90's Mexican Strat, and they are perfectly matched in both volume and tone. The 59 is not very impressive split, but I've heard good things about it in parallel, which I intend to try sometime.

As a bridge pickup, it's a great blend of Gibson and Fender. It's thick and dark the way a humbucker should be, without being too hot, like some I've played. I didn't want a metal machine- just a thicker, warmer sound. But it still cuts like a Tele. Somehow I always feel lost on Gibsons, like they're just too dark or murky, but this is just right.

Thick and dark sounding........I like that description........ I ordered today.

Thanks to you all. Not to be offensive in any way towards anyone but I can not tolerate that twangy single coil bridge. The neck, however, is an entirely different story. The Keystone is NICE in that position. I will not give that up.

Thick and dark sounding........I like that description........ I ordered today.

Thanks to you all. Not to be offensive in any way towards anyone but I can not tolerate that twangy single coil bridge. The neck, however, is an entirely different story. The Keystone is NICE in that position. I will not give that up.

Both sounds have their uses.

With a '65 tele I used for a lot of stuff, it had the classic twang but was very limited in other areas, especially with a lot of distortion. When I wanted thick, dark, and midrange, I would grab for a Gibson or superstrat. However, if you have something like a '52 Hot Rod tele, or a tele with Duncan Quarter Pounders (like my longtime #2), or a John 5 tele with twin humbuckers, you will have something powerful and Gibson like similar to what you have now.

The lil '59 and lil JB are somewhere in between the Fender tele and a Gibson bridge pickup being really a lot closer to the latter. While this pickup is not one I put in the twang category, many a chicken picker can just shine with this model. There are so many ways you can set your effects and amp to get that twang or pull off a full sized hot humbucker.

While this pickup is not one I put in the twang category, many a chicken picker can just shine with this model. There are so many ways you can set your effects and amp to get that twang or pull off a full sized hot humbucker.

+1

I still sound like me with my Little 59 set. It's darker, but snaps with a huge full sound.

Right now I've got it setup as standard series humbuckers with no coiltaps or series/parallel options, but might add that - it's easy to do.

One thing I did do that helps me is to change my pots and treble bleed circuit. I installed 500K pots with a 0.022mfd tone cap, which gives a very useful range of tones with the 59s. I then added a treble bleed circuit which forms a "shelf" shaped EQ as the volume control is turned down - this allows me to thin out those powerful lower mids by turning down my volume 1/4 turn, and is a useful volume control setup when combined with my pedalboard and volume pedal. I can get closer to regular Tele pickups in both level and EQ on one knob.

The treble bleed is simply a 220K resistor in series with a 0.001mfd cap, going from the top of the volume pot to the wiper, like virtually all bleed circuits.
When used with a 10ft cable, I get what I want.

I bought a tele with one in the bridge. I'm not going to replace it but it wouldn't have been my choice for a replacement pu.