Finally put a Tele together...School me on pups.

[Frenster]

In the 43 years I've been playing guitar I've never owned a Tele, so I finally put one together with AllParts parts. Fat maple neck, ash body, Callaham bridge, and 4 way switch. I finished and fretted it myself. Problem is, I got crap for pickups, and I don't know much about the latest crop of Tele pups. What are people liking lately? Lollar? Fralin? What else? I'd like to stick with a classic '50's tone, maybe a little hotter.

[Rob DiStefano]

you can test drive a cavalier lion tele/esquire bridge pup for the price of return postage. i prefer using a strat pup instead of the typical tele neck pup ...

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/just-pick...ry-me-out.html

[dconeill]

Bill and Becky Lawrence's pickups, both single-coil and hum-canceling, always seem to get good reviews. I like mine. Their webpage is a bit opaque, but "Keystone" are his single-coil pickups, while "Wilde" are his hum-canceling pickups that fit into single-coil size routs.

[SPUDCASTER]

Originally Posted by Rob DiStefano

you can test drive a cavalier lion tele/esquire bridge pup for the price of return postage. i prefer using a strat pup instead of the typical tele neck pup ...

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/just-pick...ry-me-out.html

You'd better get in line for that one if your smart. Can't beat the deal if your looking for a good quality pickup to try for postage only.

Nice job on the guitar. Welcome to the forum.

[maryjane]

i highly recommend the "twisted tele" pup for the neck; all the tele and strat sounds you can imagine if you install a very low value cap and tapered 1 meg pots. in the bridge it's hard to beat a pickup from an older fender lap steel but i have less experience there...

[telex76]

Nice job, everyones got thier favorite pups, good luck finding the sound you want.

[sjtalon]

Originally Posted by telex76

Nice job, everyones got thier favorite pups, good luck finding the sound you want.

No kiddin', you've opened a can of worms here

Tele looks great !

Nice pups, not much cash:

GFS
Tonerider
Keystone

[fezz parka]

Good lookin' fiddle! Start with Fender OV's, the tele benchmark sound. Then begin the "journey". Rob is the next step.

[Televised]

Wow! Nice Tele! Love my Bill Lawrence "Keystones". Sort of hot rodded single coil Pups but they are Rich, Clean, Clear, and Quiet for single coils. No icepick or mud and work real well with a "4-Way".

[Frenster]

Thanks all. Am I really feeling a fair bit of love for Bill and Becky's stuff? I have a couple 290/280/280 loaded strat guards around here and am a fan of much of his work. I was going for traditional '50's look. I'd like a fairly traditional sound...like I said, maybe a little hotter bridge and less muddy neck. Other favorites?

[JCBurke59]

As telex76 said, everyone has their favorites.

I went with a set of Rumpelstiltskin Black Ropes (1950 bridge) and never looked back.
Aaron can take your preferences and customize the wind 'to taste'.

Mine are RWRP (now standard from Rumpel) and I requested a separate ground wire on the neck pickup for use of a 4-way switch (which I recommend as well).

Nice job on your build. The guitar my Rumpels are in has an Allparts TMO-FAT neck and ash body as well.
My bridge plate is standard Fender, quite different from your Callaham.

[moondogz]

Originally Posted by fezz parka

Good lookin' fiddle! Start with Fender OV's, the tele benchmark sound. Then begin the "journey". Rob is the next step.

+1

[tape]

Originally Posted by fezz parka

Good lookin' fiddle! Start with Fender OV's, the tele benchmark sound. Then begin the "journey". Rob is the next step.

I just refurbed everything on my Tele in January and I went with the OVs. they far exceed expectations for the price. they'll give you a really good "traditional" Tele tone, and if you find you need to tweak it in some direction you can always try something else from there. I probably won't change mine though, I love them. esp. the neck pup.

[TwinACStacks]

Believe it or not This is the best Tele Bridge I have ever heard in 20 Years of searching. I've got no less than 40 Players converted to using this cheap-butt Pup. It is Unbelieveable regardless of Price. It easily kills a Custom Shop Broadcaster Pup.

Don't take my word for it, @ the price it won't hurt for You to try it:

http://www.guitarfetish.com/Repro-19...kup_p_652.html

TWIN

[Ricky D.]

Originally Posted by Frenster

... Problem is, I got crap for pickups, and I don't know much about the latest crop of Tele pups. What are people liking lately? Lollar? Fralin? What else? I'd like to stick with a classic '50's tone, maybe a little hotter. ...

Words fail pickups. It's hard to really zero in unless you have enough common ground to compare a mutually known pickup to the voicing that you're looking for.

I really like the Fender OV's for vintage-style sound. I have a set. Wide open, the bridge definitely has that classic bright Tele cut. With a .047 tone cap and the tone rolled back about 20% to knock back highs a little, it's got all the guts you want. Fez called them the benchmark for vintage Tele, and he's 100% right on that. OV's and a tweed Deluxe clone absolutely nail the early Steve Cropper tone. Switch to a BF Super Reverb to nail the later stuff.

The high-end winders like Fralin, Lollar, and Don Mare all have excellent vintage winds. I have the Don Mare Supersport/Stelly set, my favorite single coil set in the world. Bridge is a little hotter than the OV bridge.

BTW, that's a nice looking guitar you made!