Love/hate...love!

[AndrewG]

I have always loved the sound of the Telecaster but also, being mainly a Gibson player, found playability issues, especially with maple boards. Until now; I mail-ordered a black, r/w Highway 1 and the flatter radius board combined with big, tall frets make this a wonderfully slinky player I don't have to fight with and I absolutely love it!
I don't know about anyone else but I do find the bridge pickup a little dark sounding. Could anyone suggest an alternative with similar power but more twang?
My amp is a Laney VC30 112.

Thanks.

[ccrnnr9]

Originally Posted by AndrewG

I have always loved the sound of the Telecaster but also, being mainly a Gibson player, found playability issues, especially with maple boards. Until now; I mail-ordered a black, r/w Highway 1 and the flatter radius board combined with big, tall frets make this a wonderfully slinky player I don't have to fight with and I absolutely love it!
I don't know about anyone else but I do find the bridge pickup a little dark sounding. Could anyone suggest an alternative with similar power but more twang?
My amp is a Laney VC30 112.

Thanks.

Congrats! I for one am not a rosewood guy but that is just one of the awesome things about models such as the tele coming in so many different combinations...more tele players!

As far as the bridge pup goes, maybe try a SD alnico II pro. I loved the one that was on my light ash...full of twang! I can't speak to the power and whether or not it is similar to what you have but give it a look. They are pretty cheap for as good as they are.
~Nick

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by ccrnnr9

Congrats! I for one am not a rosewood guy but that is just one of the awesome things about models such as the tele coming in so many different combinations...more tele players!

As far as the bridge pup goes, maybe try a SD alnico II pro. I loved the one that was on my light ash...full of twang! I can't speak to the power and whether or not it is similar to what you have but give it a look. They are pretty cheap for as good as they are.
~Nick

Thanks for reminding me; I also had the LA Tele for a while and the SD's sounded very good-using a lot of gain the tone was almost like a P90 with a bit of humbucker thrown in but backing off the volume brought the twang back.

[Colt W. Knight]

You say dark sounding, do you think you'd get along with a noiseless pickup like Fenders new SCN pups. You can get used Fender pups on ebay cheap where people upgrade so much. If you are really serious about getting an exact sound from your bridge pup, call a good pup winder like OC Duff and they will hand wind you a bridge pup to your taste.

[boris bubbanov]

Andrew, sound like you found one that just really works, for you.

I put a set of Bill and Becky Keystones on one of the Upgrade Highway Ones (mid 2005 and later) and they were vastly better than the stock Alnico 3s. I put a big fat rosewood board neck on there, that helped just as much and made it much more playable.

I've left the stock pickups on a second upgrade Highway One (also maple) which is back to the stock neck for now. With 10-46 rounds, I actually had a good time with it, playing through my new Gibson GA-5. (It sure was better than this solid rosewood neck I just stuck on an Am Se. Scary weird sound, that.) Still, I think the frets are too big, neck too slender albeit wide at the nut.

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by Colt W. Knight

You say dark sounding, do you think you'd get along with a noiseless pickup like Fenders new SCN pups. You can get used Fender pups on ebay cheap where people upgrade so much. If you are really serious about getting an exact sound from your bridge pup, call a good pup winder like OC Duff and they will hand wind you a bridge pup to your taste.

Hmm; not sure about the SCN's-although my only experience of them was in a MIM de luxe Player Strat where I found them very thin and insubstantial; might be better with a Tele.
Bareknuckle do a few interesting 'sounding' sets but try before you buy is, naturally, not possible. I guess I just need lots of recommendations to try and make an informed decision.

[Wardpike]

I get loads of output from my Fender Original Vintage bridge pickup. Try throwing one of those pups in the tail! Twang for days... months ... years!

[91xlntS-3]

Just my 2 cents here, but after installing a set of NoCasters in my Tele, can't believe the tone! Not just the Bridge p-up, but the neck p-up has a very articulate sound to it that I just love also. This is the best "over the counter" set of p-ups I've ever bought and recommend them highly!

My second choice would be a SD, as I've used several SD p-ups with great results also.

[Roli]

Originally Posted by AndrewG

I don't know about anyone else but I do find the bridge pickup a little dark sounding. Could anyone suggest an alternative with similar power but more twang?

Try to play with pickup height first, a few millimeters can change tone significantly. If still too dark, try an 500kOhm volume potentiometer. If still too dark, try 1MOhm pot. If still too dark (which I seriously doubt at that point), buy a new pickup for loads of money hoping it'll sound brighter.

[garytelecastor]

Lots of really good suggestions here, I would go with the Keystones, or if you want something with a little more edge the Seymour Duncan 5/2 (Brent Mason) is excellent. I have one in my MIJ.

[TG]

Originally Posted by 91xlntS-3

Just my 2 cents here, but after installing a set of NoCasters in my Tele, can't believe the tone!

If you find the stock Hwy1 lead pickup a bit dark I too would recommend a Nocaster.
I tried one for a few weeks a while back and it had a huge sound with a fat bottom and a huge twangy top end as well. Kind of like Roy Buchanan's sound, it seemed to me.

I prefer a more compressed tonality, myself, so I use alnico2 bridge pickups in my teles. But from what you said I'd wager that the Nocaster would suit you.