CS Nocaster vs. Broadcaster PUPs

[ETThompson]

Hi

I've been working on getting a '51 Nocaster (the older one, not the new one with twisted teles), I played one at a friend's house and loved the tone (and that neck!). However, I found a pretty sweet CS tele with alot of the Nocaster's features *and* in my fave color, this guitar has a Broadcaster in the bridge, can anyone with knowledge let me know how these compare? I can't play this particular guitar in person...

I searched the forum and can't find anything exactly addressing this question, thanks!

--Eric

[Wayne Alexander]

If it's the Fender brand Broadcaster pickup, it's very similar to a Texas Special, but with flat poles. It'll be a little midrangier than the later production Nocaster bridge pickup, more similar to the earlier production Nocaster bridge pickup that was also a higher-wind pickup.

[lightnin1]

Strangely, I find the modern Fender Broadcaster Tele bridge to be brighter than the average Nocaster bridge. The Nocaster seems to have a bigger set of balls, despite the big difference in ohms resistance. I've played both pickups live, and to my ears, the Nocaster could get into humbucker territory at volume while I found the Broadcaster to be thin and anemic. Maybe I had a bad Broadcaster pickup but it spec'd out good on my DVOM. IMO, just another example of why pickup readings mean very little.

[cap217]

43g vs 42g wire here so the ohm readings do not matter...

[ETThompson]

I found this video which has a Broadcaster Pup in the bridge position - sounds pretty great to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k211RAN1rvs

Here's what the salesperson told me about the difference: "the main difference that I hear in the broadcaster vs. the nocaster is the broadcaster does not seem to have as much midrange to me. That is one thing that I think sets the nocaster apart from other tele pickups is the amount of midrange that it has. It almost makes it sound less bright than most other tele pickups. The broadcaster is still in the same ballpark from an output perspective but may be a touch brighter and a bit less "nasally". Both are definitely more of a vintage voicing than a lot of modern tele pickups."