lil' 59 question

flapjack · May 12th, 2006, 10:56 AM

I currently have an Am. St. tele and I am considering getting a new mim standard tele. I would like to have the mim for slide (leave it in alternate tunings while performing) and for thicker distortion (for classic rock, heavier blues, etc). I was thinking of having a lil' 59 put in the bridge and leaving the stock pup in the neck. The new mim standard pups are hotter so I was hoping that I can get away with this. Will my output imbalance be extreme? Do I need to change the pot for the lil' 59? Should I be looking at another bridge position humbucker that would better suit my needs (if so I would prefer a stack that will fit as is)? Any advice will help since I am just learning about teles. Thanks.

BB · May 12th, 2006, 03:04 PM

The balance may be off due to the higher output of the Lil 59, but if you tweak the height of each, you should be able to strike a nice balance between the two. It's never been a problem for me, but I read all the time of others issues with balancing.

As far as pots go, I like 250K's with both singles and buckers, ymmv and most will say stick 500K's in there. I'd start with the stock ones and if you need more air, try 500's or keep the 250 for the vol and try a 1meg for the tone.

As far as alternative pickups, I personally like the Dimarzio Tone Zone T much more than the Duncan Lil 59'r. It's all subjective though and you may find just the opposite. There is a thread running right now on Duncan Rails too, so you might ( if you haven't already ) check that out. As far as high output, tele bridge buckers go, imho, the Tone Zone T is hard to beat.

May 12th, 2006, 10:56 AM	#1 (permalink)
flapjack Tele-Meister Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 176	lil' 59 question I currently have an Am. St. tele and I am considering getting a new mim standard tele. I would like to have the mim for slide (leave it in alternate tunings while performing) and for thicker distortion (for classic rock, heavier blues, etc). I was thinking of having a lil' 59 put in the bridge and leaving the stock pup in the neck. The new mim standard pups are hotter so I was hoping that I can get away with this. Will my output imbalance be extreme? Do I need to change the pot for the lil' 59? Should I be looking at another bridge position humbucker that would better suit my needs (if so I would prefer a stack that will fit as is)? Any advice will help since I am just learning about teles. Thanks. __________________ flapjack

May 12th, 2006, 03:04 PM	#2 (permalink)
BB Friend of Leo's Join Date: May 2003 Location: Pacific NW Age: 53 Posts: 3,141	The balance may be off due to the higher output of the Lil 59, but if you tweak the height of each, you should be able to strike a nice balance between the two. It's never been a problem for me, but I read all the time of others issues with balancing. As far as pots go, I like 250K's with both singles and buckers, ymmv and most will say stick 500K's in there. I'd start with the stock ones and if you need more air, try 500's or keep the 250 for the vol and try a 1meg for the tone. As far as alternative pickups, I personally like the Dimarzio Tone Zone T much more than the Duncan Lil 59'r. It's all subjective though and you may find just the opposite. There is a thread running right now on Duncan Rails too, so you might ( if you haven't already ) check that out. As far as high output, tele bridge buckers go, imho, the Tone Zone T is hard to beat.