A Pickup Story

I have a 2009 MIM Sunburst Tele that I absolutely love playing. I've had it for about a year now and can't believe how good an instrument it is for the price I paid for it. I got it for $400 out the door because it was sitting there for a while and had a few minor dings and defects in places that aren't immediately obvious to a new visitor. So after owning it for a while I felt that the pickups were on the hot side and a little mushy sounding. I like playing Jazz Blues and Country. Well I went on a quest to make this Tele sound the best I could without breaking the bank. My First attempt was with the Bill Lawrence Keystones. Without trying to offend anyone, I didn't like the neck position. I felt like it made my Tele sound like a strat so I put the originals back in and told myself to stop trying to fix something that wasn't broken in the first place. A few weeks ago I got the itch again and bought the Fender Original Vintage pickup set for a good price. I enjoyed these much more that the Keystones as they were much more balanced sounding to me although a little thinner than the stocks pickups. I ended up putting the originals back in and am going to leave this guitar alone, it's fine.

I've learned something very important here. Pickup winding type, materials, grade, design, etc., is like salt and pepper. Everone likes it a little different an no one is wrong. Thank you Fender for making good stuff for ridiculously cheap, it's not common nowadays.

Nice post, but do you realize you are a menace to the pickup industry?:mrgreen:

I have a 2011 American Standard Tele that I keep thinking I need to chance the pickups in, but every time I play something else, I change my mind.:cool:

Tuddy, some people don't bond with a particular guitar for awhile. Enjoy the MIM pickups!

Tuddy, some people don't bond with a particular guitar for awhile. Enjoy the MIM pickups!

Hiker, that's a great statement and right on target. A week ago I went out looking for a new Tele that was "better" i.e., American, better materials, etc. I played numerous expensive American Teles through expensive Fender amps and didn't get excited about any of the combos. They weren't bad per se, they were quite good. When I got home I plugged my stock MIM Tele into my Champ 600 w mods and you know what? I had a 3 mile smile because it sounded so good. Maybe one day when I'm up on a stage I'll need new gear that is technically better but for now my $600 worth of gear does what I need it to do...and then some!! :mrgreen:

Nice post, but do you realize you are a menace to the pickup industry?:mrgreen:

I have a 2011 American Standard Tele that I keep thinking I need to chance the pickups in, but every time I play something else, I change my mind.:cool:

Hi Toto's Dad, There's a lot of money to be made for sure!!

I have found that whenever I learn a new song or scale or progression or whatever that my guitar sounds way better than it did before I learned whatever new thing. A pro musician friend of mine respects my ear and is always telling me "you have great gear man, it's fine, just keep learning new stuff". It's just the gear bug I guess :)

I had a similar experience when I bought a Jimmie Vaughan strat. It came used with Fat 50s in it. I changed them out for some Mighty Mites, not even sure why now. Then I put CS 54s in it. Didn't like them after a while.

So I read up on the original specs. JV has them made with Tex Mex pickups. I had this CRAZY idea .... Maybe he designed the guitar with those pickups for a reason. Got a set, put them in, and they sounded great. I don't play strats much anymore, but those pickups are staying in.

Nothing against anyone else's tone quest, but I learned to leave well enough alone.

Ever since I got my Modern Player thinline with the P90's, I've been unhappy with the humbuckers on my 72 thinline RI. I thought about changing them but was afraid it could turn into a time consuming and expensive search for the "perfect pickup".

So instead, I got a graphic equalizer. It can't add anything that isn't already in the signal, but it does a very nice job of shaping the tone into something that I like. http://www.jimdunlop.com/product/m108-10-band-graphic-eq

http://www.jimdunlop.com/images/products/M10810-BandGraphicEQ-11.png

Ever since I got my Modern Player thinline with the P90's, I've been unhappy with the humbuckers on my 72 thinline RI. I thought about changing them but was afraid it could turn into a time consuming and expensive search for the "perfect pickup".

So instead, I got a graphic equalizer. It can't add anything that isn't already in the signal, but it does a very nice job of shaping the tone into something that I like. http://www.jimdunlop.com/product/m108-10-band-graphic-eq

http://www.jimdunlop.com/images/products/M10810-BandGraphicEQ-11.png

Boyd......... now THAT is a panacea (did I spell that correctly?) Thanks!

Tuddy........I HATED my MIM pickups.......neck was MUD, bridge was thin and would ice pick your eardrums. No amount of "amp adjust" or "height adjust" would cure it. Well I got some deluxe Keystones and loved the neck but DETESTED the twang even after lowering the B,E side down to almost out of sight. I ordered a Seymore Duncan lil 59 humbucker for the bridge. I got it in the mail today. Will let you know how "it" turns out. Still love the BL Keystone in the neck though. I guess I love the Telecaster look but don't like twang. Hugs and High Fives, KY

Sometimes, a bit of adjustment makes things all well and good. I never replace pickups unless adjustment doesn't work or unless I bought the guitar to house a specific set of pickups in the first place.

Enjoy!

How were you setting the amp differently with the different pickups?