Gave up on the lil '59

[Vol. Knob]

Just the wrong p'up for my guitar.

Back in the late '90s I had the bridge pickup rewound/overwound by a custom guy who was starting out. I was happy enough with the thing for the longest time until it started to bow and warp. The lower and higher strings ended up way louder than the middle strings.

So I loaded my beloved thinline with a Duncan lil'59.

And I was unhappy. No longer sounding like a Tele.

So today I bought a no-name, who-know's-what-it-is tele bridge pickup from a pile of used junk at a local music store and wired it up.

Ahhhh..... Single coil tone again....

Anybody need a lil '59?

[crawdad]

I got rid of mine pretty quick. Its a good pickup for certain things, but I'm so used to the single coil vibe, I had to pull it out. Mine ended up in a lap steel that made for a guy in Texas. Sounded good in that.

[JohnnyCrash]

A great pickup to RUIN Telecaster tone.

I like it for rock stuff, I still have it in a Tele. It's just a one trick pony though.

I would never cop any Country licks on it, I save my other Tele for that - but it's nice for faking a Les Paul in my Telecaster that fakes Strats... HAHA

Yes, the guitar is really fake - it can approximate many guitars well without nailing the sound of any of them 100%... not exactly a "studio" guitar - more like a "swiss army" guitar for live work.

[Wild Rice Chris]

Th Lil59 can sound very good if you wire the coils in parallel. A little more SC vibe with some kick. Not the best sound in the world, but still pretty cool.

[ComingApart]

I need a humbucker for the bridge of one of my tele's, can the Lil 59 be coil split? If so I might be interested in buying it off of you. Heck, I'd probably be interested even if you can't.

[fndtele24]

It can be coil split. However the tone would be very thin and tin sounding. I don't know why people don't like like the lil' 59. I have one installed on AmSe tele with a callaham bridge that a lot of people also think loses the twang factor. Pickups have very little to do with twang. It's the skill in your picking hand.

[teledude66]

I've had mine in for about 2 wks i dig it on driving songs, and it's ok for country, but not country enough, like someone else said it's a good swiss army guitar. I'm looking at a set of Fralins. It'll hopefully get a good workout tomorrow at practice, that'll be the deciding factor.

[Cindi 500]

Originally Posted by ComingApart

I need a humbucker for the bridge of one of my tele's, can the Lil 59 be coil split?

Like others inferred, I'd go for it if you just want a meaty bucky. We had issues with pole-piece guesswork when split, and the result sound was like a Tele breathing with a few ribs missing, with D and G wheezing between coughs. Poor thing.

However, both coils running a hot amp is a really yummy thing. I even like it better than my friend's LP studio(w/'57s) in bridge position, being an excellent full-harmonics cruncher for the job with a tad more plink(sub-concious twang factor?) than the '57s. If you don't mind a Tele permanently donning combat boots in favor of leather-soled wingtips, know that the boots will cut the mud just fine. Pretty useless for square dancing at the church promenade, however. *^_^*

[demetalenman]

i also gave up on the lil 59. I have one in my MIM tele. All my friends play on a strat. But When i hear that SC sound, i want to replace the lil 59 with the stock pick up. I am gonna replace them this week. In my opinion the lil 59 has a high and lifeless sound and to much mid. And i prefer alnico magnets above ceramic.

[GUITARmole]

Originally Posted by fndtele24

Pickups have very little to do with twang. It's the skill in your picking hand.

C'mon...you REALLY believe that?

There are some pickups/guitars that won't twang regardless of your skill. Regular fullsized humbuckers and EMG type pups are characteristically non-twangy IMO. Dead sounding 70's guitars aren't particularly sought after for their twangy tone either.