60th Anniversary Tele - Replacement Pickup Options in UK ???

Gav2000 · July 4th, 2008, 08:19 AM

My 60th Anniversary Telecaster may have a faulty bridge pickup (it's being looked at right now). I may need to buy a replacement and am unsure where to start. I have seen a pair of Fender Vintage Tele pickups on the Axes R Us site for £80 but am not sure if I should get these or look at non-Fender pickups?

The guitar is one of the numbered 60th anniversary models so I am tempted to stick to Fender to keep it as original as possible. However are there some alternative manufacturers who offer better pickups for the same or less money (to a buyer in the UK)?

What should I do?

Gavin.

Tony474 · July 4th, 2008, 09:08 PM

For premium-grade non-Fender pickups in the UK, you could do a lot worse than Bare Knuckle (Tim Mills, 01326 341313, www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk). Bit more than 80 quid a set, though, but their various models do have a superb reputation. The OV Fender ones from Axes R Us will be quite good and Tony and Jackie are excellent to deal with. Why not see what happens with your original one before making an alternative choice?

boris bubbanov · July 4th, 2008, 10:31 PM

You should be able to find a separate bridge pickup, whether the OV or the No-Caster, on the used market and I would try that.

The "numbered" one would be the American Vintage 52 FSR with the wood inlay in the body below the vintage bridge plate. That will be a No-Caster pickup, where a regular AV 52 (butterscotch) would have an Original Vintage pickup. You probably would be fine with either; the current ones are not that different (the AV 52s of 20 years ago had a very hot set of 'OV' pups).

I like the guitar a lot with the No-Casters; I think the bareknuckles are very nice; we tend not to buy them over here because the cost here is very big.

Gav2000 · July 7th, 2008, 05:36 AM

Well it seems like it was a dry solder somewhere. All of the key solders have been remade to cleaned connectors and it is now fine. This is good news as it avoids the expense of a new pickup and keeps the guitar original.

The guitar is now back at home and sounding great (well, as great as my playing will allow!).

Gav.

July 4th, 2008, 08:19 AM	#1 (permalink)
Gav2000 TDPRI Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Northampton, UK Posts: 13	60th Anniversary Tele - Replacement Pickup Options in UK ??? My 60th Anniversary Telecaster may have a faulty bridge pickup (it's being looked at right now). I may need to buy a replacement and am unsure where to start. I have seen a pair of Fender Vintage Tele pickups on the Axes R Us site for £80 but am not sure if I should get these or look at non-Fender pickups? The guitar is one of the numbered 60th anniversary models so I am tempted to stick to Fender to keep it as original as possible. However are there some alternative manufacturers who offer better pickups for the same or less money (to a buyer in the UK)? What should I do? Gavin.

July 4th, 2008, 09:08 PM	#2 (permalink)
Tony474 Friend of Leo's Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: North Bushey, near London, England Age: 61 Posts: 2,102	For premium-grade non-Fender pickups in the UK, you could do a lot worse than Bare Knuckle (Tim Mills, 01326 341313, www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk). Bit more than 80 quid a set, though, but their various models do have a superb reputation. The OV Fender ones from Axes R Us will be quite good and Tony and Jackie are excellent to deal with. Why not see what happens with your original one before making an alternative choice? __________________ Proud to be The Man From Uncool.

July 4th, 2008, 10:31 PM	#3 (permalink)
boris bubbanov Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: New Orleans, LA + in the past Posts: 7,654	You should be able to find a separate bridge pickup, whether the OV or the No-Caster, on the used market and I would try that. The "numbered" one would be the American Vintage 52 FSR with the wood inlay in the body below the vintage bridge plate. That will be a No-Caster pickup, where a regular AV 52 (butterscotch) would have an Original Vintage pickup. You probably would be fine with either; the current ones are not that different (the AV 52s of 20 years ago had a very hot set of 'OV' pups). I like the guitar a lot with the No-Casters; I think the bareknuckles are very nice; we tend not to buy them over here because the cost here is very big. __________________ Bubban0v

July 7th, 2008, 05:36 AM	#4 (permalink)
Gav2000 TDPRI Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Northampton, UK Posts: 13	Well it seems like it was a dry solder somewhere. All of the key solders have been remade to cleaned connectors and it is now fine. This is good news as it avoids the expense of a new pickup and keeps the guitar original. The guitar is now back at home and sounding great (well, as great as my playing will allow!). Gav.