USA Fender HOT Alnico 3 Pickups

The O.K. · May 22nd, 2008, 02:18 AM

I see many of these on ebay. What is the difference between these PUPs and OV's. The both used Alnico 3, right? Who has a pair or one of the HOT Alnico 3 PUPs in their Tele? Are these just the standard PUPs that come in Am. Teles?

boris bubbanov · May 22nd, 2008, 10:56 PM

The Original Vintage pickups are really great; I have 3 sets of them, I like them a lot in ash and alder bodies, different bridge assemblies, etc.

The similarity between the Hot Alnico 3s found in the Upgrade Highway One? About as different as 2 sets of Tele Alnico 3 pups can be different.

The Hot A3 has a plastic base, plastic insulation not cloth, plastic bobbin, etc. But the real difference is in the way it sounds and was meant to sound. It was drastically overwound in the hopes it would sound great heavily distorted; well it doesn't sound good distorted to me and it really sounds bad when you try and play clean.

I very much prefer the stock pickups in my Squier Standards to the Hot A3s.

The quantities of available Hot A3s is a direct result of the pup being a bust, IMO.

The O.K. · May 23rd, 2008, 03:22 AM

Thanks for the input. I am on the look out for OVs or NoCasters. They seem to be less expensive than SD or DiMarzios, and I have only read good things about both the OVs and the NoCasters. The OVs are a little darker than NoCasters, yes, due to the alnico 3s?

I have read that Fender has tried to make the newer Hwy 1's more "70's sounding". Does this explain the HOT alnico 3 PUP?

May 22nd, 2008, 02:18 AM	#1 (permalink)
The O.K. Tele-Meister Join Date: May 2008 Location: Southern California Age: 30 Posts: 113	USA Fender HOT Alnico 3 Pickups I see many of these on ebay. What is the difference between these PUPs and OV's. The both used Alnico 3, right? Who has a pair or one of the HOT Alnico 3 PUPs in their Tele? Are these just the standard PUPs that come in Am. Teles?

May 22nd, 2008, 10:56 PM	#2 (permalink)
boris bubbanov Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: New Orleans, LA + in the past Posts: 7,664	The Original Vintage pickups are really great; I have 3 sets of them, I like them a lot in ash and alder bodies, different bridge assemblies, etc. The similarity between the Hot Alnico 3s found in the Upgrade Highway One? About as different as 2 sets of Tele Alnico 3 pups can be different. The Hot A3 has a plastic base, plastic insulation not cloth, plastic bobbin, etc. But the real difference is in the way it sounds and was meant to sound. It was drastically overwound in the hopes it would sound great heavily distorted; well it doesn't sound good distorted to me and it really sounds bad when you try and play clean. I very much prefer the stock pickups in my Squier Standards to the Hot A3s. The quantities of available Hot A3s is a direct result of the pup being a bust, IMO. __________________ Bubban0v

May 23rd, 2008, 03:22 AM	#3 (permalink)
The O.K. Tele-Meister Join Date: May 2008 Location: Southern California Age: 30 Posts: 113	Thanks for the input. I am on the look out for OVs or NoCasters. They seem to be less expensive than SD or DiMarzios, and I have only read good things about both the OVs and the NoCasters. The OVs are a little darker than NoCasters, yes, due to the alnico 3s? I have read that Fender has tried to make the newer Hwy 1's more "70's sounding". Does this explain the HOT alnico 3 PUP?