Boingy bass, twangy treble for a 2011 Pro Pine Telecaster

[Mr Kite]

Hey,

I've got a 2011 pro Telecaster, which is pine with a rosewood board. It's a very, very resonant guitar, and plays wonderfully.

It's got the stock pickups which are a twisted tele in the neck and a 'master design' twisted bridge pickup. They sound great, but they're not quite what I'm after. It also has a 'grease bucket' tone control, I'm not 100% what that means but I wonder if changing that out to a regular tone control might help...

The neck is a little too bright, and quite similar to a bridge sound, not a traditional tele neck sound, and the bridge is really fat, punchy and, I think, reasonable output. I have to admit they do sound great, but they're more of a rock/blues set and I tend not to play that stuff...

What I'm after is a full, woody neck sound, that can get dark if needs be, a nice chimey middle position with that tele 'pop' whens needs be, and a bridge pup with lots of boing in the bass, and twang too.

I tend to play cleanish, into a PRRI, with a barber ltd silver for light overdrive and a fulltone OCD for heavier tones. Although I don't play country, I like a lot of the classic tele tones on those buck owens records, and I'm currently grooving on Jim Campilongo....

I know it sounds like I'm trying to completely change the sound of my guitar, but I'm more trying to refine it a little - the guitar plays exactly how I want it to, and, acoustically, it's so alive, that I want it to be perfect...

I'm in the UK so at the moment the front runners are a set of Bare Knuckle Country Boys...

Thoughts?

[metalicaster]

Bareknuckle flat 50s are the best "tele" voiced pickups I've ever head
They sound exactly how you'd expect want a telecaster to sound, brilliantly balanced and still very twangy

However seeing as I spend my time making a Telecaster sound "fat" you might want to wait for someone more experienced in "tele tone" to answer

[JuSteve]

Try lowering the bridge pickup dramatically then slowly raise it to suit taste. If you already tried this, maybe it's just a bit too hot.

(This is a borrowed tip from Fezz that works quite well.)

[Teleterr]

The AVRI stock p/ups in my '52 RI are the only p/ups I didn't want to change once I got the guitar.Ever.A set on ebay used should be less than $60. Any of the boutique or major winder versions should serve you well also.If you like that tone get the p/ups that produced it.I'm assuming the Owens guitarist was playing a Tele.

[PeterUK]

Originally Posted by Mr Kite

I'm in the UK so at the moment the front runners are a set of Bare Knuckle Country Boys...

Thoughts?

Originally Posted by metalicaster

Bareknuckle flat 50s are the best "tele" voiced pickups I've ever head

I wouldn't disagree with either of these suggestions.

I must confess, I like your original description and went with Bare Knuckles to achieve what you don't like/want!

Maybe we should have swapped?

Check out the Tonerider range too. The Vintage Plus Set - TRT1 might also fit the bill for not a lot of money.

http://www.tonerider.com/pickups/telepickups.html

Dangleberry stock 'em: For the bridge click here and for the neck click here.

If musicalmartin chimes in he'll make this recommendation too!

If you do buy 'em and don't like 'em, you can sell 'em on eBay. I did [sell mine on eBay and I regret the day ] and got more for them than what I paid for them.

Hope this helps.

Peter

[OuttaspaceMan]

Originally Posted by JuSteve

Try lowering the bridge pickup dramatically then slowly raise it to suit taste. If you already tried this, maybe it's just a bit too hot.

(This is a borrowed tip from Fezz that works quite well.)

+1 on lowering/adjusting the pickup heights and see if that works out for you. In case it doesn't pan out to your expectations, at least you know you didn't cut any corners before swapping them out and no regrets.

[Mr Kite]

Originally Posted by OuttaspaceMan

+1 on lowering/adjusting the pickup heights and see if that works out for you. In case it doesn't pan out to your expectations, at least you know you didn't cut any corners before swapping them out and no regrets.

I already tried lowering both pickups, and adjusting the neck to be closer to the bass strings in order to lose a little clarity, but I found it sounded a bit 'loose', if you can imagine how that sounds... I've got a classic player jazzmaster which also has quite hot pickups and i've screwed them right down and it gives a nice, ringy, almost acoustic sound, but I found I lost a little focus with the tele pups being a bit lower..

Originally Posted by PeterUK

I wouldn't disagree with either of these suggestions.

I must confess, I like your original description and went with Bare Knuckles to achieve what you don't like/want!

Maybe we should have swapped?

Check out the Tonerider range too. The Vintage Plus Set - TRT1 might also fit the bill for not a lot of money.

http://www.tonerider.com/pickups/telepickups.html

Dangleberry stock 'em: For the bridge click here and for the neck click here.

If musicalmartin chimes in he'll make this recommendation too!

If you do buy 'em and don't like 'em, you can sell 'em on eBay. I did [sell mine on eBay and I regret the day ] and got more for them than what I paid for them.

Hope this helps.

Peter

It's a tough one as the original pickups do sound great! But it's just not quite the sound I'm after at the moment... I did think that, ideally, I need two teles - a 'country' one and a 'rock' one, but that's a whole other kettle of fish!

Currently I'm thinking that I'll get some country boys in the pro, and keep an eye out for a good deal on something second hand I can turn into an esquire with the pro bridge pickup...

If I stick the BK's in and don't like what I'm hearing then I'll go back to stock and keep an eye out for a good deal on something second hand to stick them in...

Basically I see another tele coming... oh dear...

[JuSteve]

Rereading your post, sounds like you are going the wrong direction with heights.

I generally have the neck pickup tilted lower under #6 string (low E) and the bridge slightly the opposite.

[Mr Kite]

Originally Posted by JuSteve

Rereading your post, sounds like you are going the wrong direction with heights.

I generally have the neck pickup tilted lower under #6 string (low E) and the bridge slightly the opposite.

I know that's generally the way to go, but i'm finding the neck pickup a little bright...

Ironically i had a good play last night and, as we all know, found that technique always helps! After a week or so working on a jim campilongo country lesson, and listening to a lot of that stuff, i found i could get really close to the 'tone' with picking technique and a few 'country tricks'.

However i still found myself wishing the bridge was a bit brighter and the neck a little darker...

[JuSteve]

This may sound a bit odd, but...

My Cv Tele came with a foam damper under the neck pup (for tension) instead of springs. When I installed springs, it became brighter.

It may be worth a try to wedge a piece of closed cell foam between the pickup and the guitar body to dampen some of the sharpness.

(A not so)
"Ancient Chinese secret."