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Gabel · October 3rd, 2009, 10:24 PM

I've been lurking around this forum for some time. But now I've decided to sign up.

So I've gotten myself a Tele. A beautiful Lite Ash from the early 2000's.

However I'm getting some new pickups for it. Questions are which ones?

The kind of tone I want is a blues and classic rock tone. The kind of sound I want is classic Tele tone, but more rock than country. I use an 18watter or a Blackheart Little Giant, both of which are non-master volume amps. The tone I want out of my Tele is that of Black Crowes, Jeff Beck in The Yardbirds, Jimmy Page on Led Zeppelin I and Joe Bonamassa. Basically a tone with that classic Tele agressivness and spank, but being a bit fatter and more rock than country (I do not play any country) as I said. Something that is VERY important for me is dynamics and clairty. So I don't want really high gain pickups at all. As I said I use non-master amps, so I instead play really hard and control dynamics with my hand, but also need clairty and treble to cut through the mix.

I live in Europe I might add. I'm looking at Bareknuckle. I have a set of Mules (PAF copies) in my Les Paul and they are great. They have a lot of clairty, are clean enough to have dynamics, but can still deliver when you want to push the amp. They are kind of low output, 8,4 in bridge and 7,3 in neck. Definelty don't need something with more output than that! I was thinking the Blackguard, which is a Nocaster pickup or possibly a Yardbird pickup. What do you think?

Sorry for the wall of text... Just wanted to be sure I don't leave out any details

TeleTastic! · October 29th, 2009, 06:23 AM

well the blackguard and yardbirds outputs really aren't that much higher then that dude...
i think you'd probably be quite happy with the boss set however (8k bridge 7k neck)
very versatile from all reports...

or you could do it like i plan on doing and put a piledriver (14.3k bridge output =p) in the bridge and a yardbird in the neck (the people on the bareknuckles forums LOVE the yardbird neck tones)

just things to consider....

Ricky D. · October 29th, 2009, 07:17 AM

The Don Mare Supersport bridge/Stelly neck is precisely what you described IMO. Here's a link to his site:

http://www.donmarepickups.com/home.html

Telenator · October 29th, 2009, 07:38 AM

Honestly, I think you just described the pickups that are already in there. That's a real nice guitar and well equipped as it stands.

sjtalon · October 29th, 2009, 08:05 AM

hur mår du?

Yes, SD's are VERY nice !!

may be Custom Shop Texas Specials and a 4 w switch.

Wow that is a beauty ! Love the birds eye necks

castpolymer · October 29th, 2009, 08:52 AM

I would suggest giving the stock pickups a go first. If you are not happy with them, I highly suggest Don Mare's Graf Airship pups. The absolutely nail Jimmy's Zep 1 tele tone. I love mine.

superhand · October 29th, 2009, 10:39 AM

I would try a nice boost pedal before swapping the pickups, you can lose tone with "hot" pickups.

kate033 · October 29th, 2009, 01:53 PM

Bare Knuckle is an excellent choice. I have a set of Mule/Riff Raff in my LP that are KILLER. Tim is a great guy with a top notch product. As far as their tele pickups, I might look at the Brown Sugar as well as the Yardbirds for that early Jimmy Page tone.

I would highly recommend trying a set of Don Mare's Graf Airship Live pickups. I have a similar tele (see avatar) and they are just AMAZING in it. I'll have these pickups for life...which is not a statement I make often in regards to guitars/gear.
I previously had a Fender Nocaster neck and Bareknuckle the Boss bridge, which were by all rights excellent pickups, but the Mare's are a cut above. While many 50's style pickups get you in the close ballpark, these certainly are "the" Zep I tone...but should not be disregarded for other genres of music as they lend themselves well to just about any style. Nice bright airy 50's tele tone with great clarity and the right amount of bite and raunchiness.

davidge1 · October 29th, 2009, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Telenator

Honestly, I think you just described the pickups that are already in there. That's a real nice guitar and well equipped as it stands.

I was going to say the same thing. I'm no expert on pickups, but a friend of mine has this exact guitar, and the bridge pickup is very hot and fat sounding. ...exactly what you'd want for a rock Tele sound. If you look on the SD website you'll see that the Black Crowes use this same pickup:

http://www.seymourduncan.com/product...co_ii_pro_f_1/

I wouldn't change it.

fezz parka · October 29th, 2009, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Telenator

Honestly, I think you just described the pickups that are already in there. That's a real nice guitar and well equipped as it stands.

What Bob said.

cherrick · October 29th, 2009, 04:58 PM

Get a pair of Seymour Duncans for that baby!

RomanS · October 29th, 2009, 05:08 PM

...and yet another vote for leaving the stock pickups in there - those Seymour Duncan Alnico II PUs are perfect for more rocking tones, that have still a little bit of twang.

Stuco · October 29th, 2009, 05:09 PM

The pickups that are in there already are nice.

morroben · October 29th, 2009, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Telenator

Honestly, I think you just described the pickups that are already in there. That's a real nice guitar and well equipped as it stands.

I was going to say the exact same thing.

October 3rd, 2009, 10:24 PM	#1 (permalink)
Gabel TDPRI Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Stockholm Age: 19 Posts: 13	just got a Tele, now for new pickups. I've been lurking around this forum for some time. But now I've decided to sign up. So I've gotten myself a Tele. A beautiful Lite Ash from the early 2000's. However I'm getting some new pickups for it. Questions are which ones? The kind of tone I want is a blues and classic rock tone. The kind of sound I want is classic Tele tone, but more rock than country. I use an 18watter or a Blackheart Little Giant, both of which are non-master volume amps. The tone I want out of my Tele is that of Black Crowes, Jeff Beck in The Yardbirds, Jimmy Page on Led Zeppelin I and Joe Bonamassa. Basically a tone with that classic Tele agressivness and spank, but being a bit fatter and more rock than country (I do not play any country) as I said. Something that is VERY important for me is dynamics and clairty. So I don't want really high gain pickups at all. As I said I use non-master amps, so I instead play really hard and control dynamics with my hand, but also need clairty and treble to cut through the mix. I live in Europe I might add. I'm looking at Bareknuckle. I have a set of Mules (PAF copies) in my Les Paul and they are great. They have a lot of clairty, are clean enough to have dynamics, but can still deliver when you want to push the amp. They are kind of low output, 8,4 in bridge and 7,3 in neck. Definelty don't need something with more output than that! I was thinking the Blackguard, which is a Nocaster pickup or possibly a Yardbird pickup. What do you think? Sorry for the wall of text... Just wanted to be sure I don't leave out any details Last edited by Gabel; October 4th, 2009 at 12:03 AM.

October 29th, 2009, 07:38 AM	#4 (permalink)
Telenator VENDOR Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Connecticut Posts: 6,620 5 Photos	Honestly, I think you just described the pickups that are already in there. That's a real nice guitar and well equipped as it stands. __________________ Dogs have the right idea! www.telenator.com

October 29th, 2009, 08:52 AM	#6 (permalink)
castpolymer Friend of Leo's Join Date: May 2008 Location: Oklahoma - Home of the Sooners Age: 38 Posts: 2,155	I would suggest giving the stock pickups a go first. If you are not happy with them, I highly suggest Don Mare's Graf Airship pups. The absolutely nail Jimmy's Zep 1 tele tone. I love mine. __________________ On my deathbed I will receive total conciousness. So I've got that going for me.

October 29th, 2009, 05:08 PM	#12 (permalink)
RomanS Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Vienna, Austria Age: 37 Posts: 4,119 22 Photos	...and yet another vote for leaving the stock pickups in there - those Seymour Duncan Alnico II PUs are perfect for more rocking tones, that have still a little bit of twang. __________________ http://www.myspace.com/romans212 http://www.myspace.com/theneatpickers http://www.thomassoulriverband.com/

October 29th, 2009, 05:09 PM	#13 (permalink)
Stuco Friend of Leo's Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: GA Posts: 4,227	The pickups that are in there already are nice. __________________ -"You do not merely want to be considered just the best of the best. You want to be considered the only ones who do what you do" J. Garcia

October 29th, 2009, 06:23 AM	#2 (permalink)
TeleTastic! NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Victoria Posts: 6	well the blackguard and yardbirds outputs really aren't that much higher then that dude... i think you'd probably be quite happy with the boss set however (8k bridge 7k neck) very versatile from all reports... or you could do it like i plan on doing and put a piledriver (14.3k bridge output =p) in the bridge and a yardbird in the neck (the people on the bareknuckles forums LOVE the yardbird neck tones) just things to consider....

October 29th, 2009, 07:17 AM	#3 (permalink)
Ricky D. Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Maryland Age: 58 Posts: 1,950	The Don Mare Supersport bridge/Stelly neck is precisely what you described IMO. Here's a link to his site: http://www.donmarepickups.com/home.html

October 29th, 2009, 08:05 AM	#5 (permalink)
sjtalon Tele-Holic Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Upper Peninsula of Michigan Age: 50 Posts: 897 7 Photos	hur mår du? Yes, SD's are VERY nice !! may be Custom Shop Texas Specials and a 4 w switch. Wow that is a beauty ! Love the birds eye necks

October 29th, 2009, 10:39 AM	#7 (permalink)
superhand Tele-Meister Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Clovis, CA Posts: 244	I would try a nice boost pedal before swapping the pickups, you can lose tone with "hot" pickups.

October 29th, 2009, 01:53 PM	#8 (permalink)
kate033 TDPRI Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Ft. Lauderdale Posts: 31	Bare Knuckle is an excellent choice. I have a set of Mule/Riff Raff in my LP that are KILLER. Tim is a great guy with a top notch product. As far as their tele pickups, I might look at the Brown Sugar as well as the Yardbirds for that early Jimmy Page tone. I would highly recommend trying a set of Don Mare's Graf Airship Live pickups. I have a similar tele (see avatar) and they are just AMAZING in it. I'll have these pickups for life...which is not a statement I make often in regards to guitars/gear. I previously had a Fender Nocaster neck and Bareknuckle the Boss bridge, which were by all rights excellent pickups, but the Mare's are a cut above. While many 50's style pickups get you in the close ballpark, these certainly are "the" Zep I tone...but should not be disregarded for other genres of music as they lend themselves well to just about any style. Nice bright airy 50's tele tone with great clarity and the right amount of bite and raunchiness.

October 29th, 2009, 04:58 PM	#11 (permalink)
cherrick TDPRI Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Austin, TX Age: 64 Posts: 22	Get a pair of Seymour Duncans for that baby!

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