How do you make a hard rockin tele?

serge3000 · September 30th, 2005, 03:46 AM

I am swapping my Highway one body for an ash body and refining a few of the parts to make it a real vintage sounding tele. With the left over H1 body, I wanna make a more rock/ overdrive style tele more suitable for heavier songs. What pick-ups would be suitable to get that heavier rock sound out of my second tele. I am thinking of humbucker style single coil pup, but i dont wanna put a HB in there. Also, would a new style bridge me better for that type of sound ?? putting a call out to all my tele buddies!

simonc · September 30th, 2005, 03:59 AM

check out the SD 1/4 pound, I got one for exatly the same reasons you mentioned, & am VERY happy with the results.

geddyleedog · September 30th, 2005, 06:36 AM

I also had a 1/4 pound and it was a good pickup for rock. Right now I have an SK T-90 pup in there and it's not going anywhere anytime soon. Steven makes a great pickup. I play straight forward rock n roll and it does a great job. My dad is building me a new Tele. I'm putting a Dimarzio Tone Zone T in that one based on some recommendations from guys on this site. I won't have it done for a few months so I can't comment on it yet.

Andre' · September 30th, 2005, 08:07 AM

muy grande

Mike D. · September 30th, 2005, 09:47 AM

I installed a SD Quater Pounder with the tapped option in a partscaster. It hooks up to a standard 5-way switch and offers the full pickup which is close to a humbucker in output and fatness and also the tapped pickup which is a pretty good standard tele sound. I can go from twang to rawk in a flick of the switch.

Marshall Thinline · September 30th, 2005, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by simonc

check out the SD 1/4 pound, I got one for exatly the same reasons you mentioned, & am VERY happy with the results.

Seymour Duncan sound clips

You can hear them here!
Keep us posted on what you do.

Ray

Marshall Thinline · September 30th, 2005, 11:07 AM

I have never heard any of the GFS pickups yet, but I have read many good things about them. I know that the price is right.
GFS Hot TC Alnico

HullettAmps · September 30th, 2005, 11:24 AM

If you really wanted to turn it into a rocker you could always turn it into this

Clay Hullett

Big Weapons · September 30th, 2005, 11:57 AM

I'd suggest any of the SD humbuckers. It just comes down to what you want.

I have a Little '59 in my bridge. Not as hot as the hot rails, but it retains some of the tele sound when it's clean. Nice crunchy lows and smooth highs when distorted :)

aln413 · September 30th, 2005, 12:03 PM

ive got an sd hotrails in my squire that sounds monstrous and in my amer stan ive got a fender red lace sensor thats extremely crunchy as well.both have the six saddle bridge.

fungusyoung · September 30th, 2005, 12:12 PM

I'd recommend a Harmonic Design S-90 for the bridge pup, especially if you like a P90-type sound.

Tom S · September 30th, 2005, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HullettAmps

If you really wanted to turn it into a rocker you could always turn it into this

Clay Hullett

Cool. Or this:

It rocked hard for many years...before I discovered Danny Gatton :)

Wild Rice Chris · September 30th, 2005, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom S

Quote:

Originally Posted by HullettAmps

If you really wanted to turn it into a rocker you could always turn it into this

Clay Hullett

Cool. Or this:

It rocked hard for many years...before I discovered Danny Gatton :)

Or, to continue, this:

'72 Gibson Super Humbucker and an '82 Gibson bucker

Or this:

Fralin Humbucker with a Lawrence Q-filter

Although my favorite rock/all around versatile tele is this:

Fender Nocaster bridge pickup with a Gibson mini-bucker.

Tom S · September 30th, 2005, 03:29 PM

As long as we're talking 'buckercasters, you could go LP-ish style....

:)

Marshall Thinline · September 30th, 2005, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by serge3000

What pick-ups would be suitable to get that heavier rock sound out of my second tele.

What players come to mind. This way we can zero in on your tone better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by serge3000

I am thinking of humbucker style single coil pup, but i dont wanna put a HB in there

You got a bunch of HB suggestions, even though that's not what you are looking for.

Where is Sarge when you need him? Maybe he will chime in on this one. He likes the heavier rock tones too.

Kilt · September 30th, 2005, 04:54 PM

I have a SD Phat Cat P90 in my esquire part-0-caster. It not only rocks ... It peels paint!

She's my #1.

playin loud · October 1st, 2005, 11:10 PM

I have always wanted to do a P-90 in the neck position like a 72 custom but a thinline. You could use your existing bodie and fit in a P-90ish pickup in the neck and a high output single coil in the bridge position to balance with the output of the P-90. There are many different tricks you could use for wiring as well. Keeping both pickups as single coils you can get out of phase for some fun distorted tones, not to mention parallel and, series in phase as well.
Let us know what you decide on.

franchelB · October 1st, 2005, 11:41 PM

Rio Grande Muy Grandes!

gtrman911 · October 2nd, 2005, 09:57 AM

How do you make a hard rockin tele?

uh......plug it in.....turn up the volume.....and play well

[see tagline]

jonzer · October 2nd, 2005, 07:42 PM

I crank the amp, crank my Boss SD1, put the tele volume at 5 and occasionally turn it up for a little feedback or for the stinger at the end of the song.
My American Series tele is all stock too. You don't need the humbucker to rock hard.

swingin.little.guitarman · October 2nd, 2005, 09:05 PM

If you want to beef-up your Tele without modifyiing the bridge or body, I would recommend going to a hotter P90 style pickup in the bridge and neck position. Some pickups I have had good experience with are the Fralin SP43 and Wolfetone Rabid Bich models. The Fralin SP43's are equivalent to a good P90 output. I use the SP43 as a bridge pickup in several of my Strats. The Wolfetone Rabid Bich will give you a very hot P90 sound. Either pickup would be a good choice for a more powerful Tele tone. It just depends how far you want to get from the original Tele sound. For heavier sounds the Rabid Bich does a good job at cutting heads.

andrew · October 2nd, 2005, 09:29 PM

Do what the daddy of tele rock did....

8)

jwells393 · October 3rd, 2005, 12:33 AM

Practice ............. Practice ...............Practice.

PhatBoy · October 3rd, 2005, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HullettAmps

If you really wanted to turn it into a rocker you could always turn it into this

Clay Hullett

Clay,

What pups ARE those?

PB

bagpipe · October 3rd, 2005, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwells393

Practice ............. Practice ...............Practice.

I thought that was how you got to Carnegie Hall ? ?

September 30th, 2005, 03:46 AM	#1 (permalink)
serge3000 TDPRI Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 11	How do you make a hard rockin tele? I am swapping my Highway one body for an ash body and refining a few of the parts to make it a real vintage sounding tele. With the left over H1 body, I wanna make a more rock/ overdrive style tele more suitable for heavier songs. What pick-ups would be suitable to get that heavier rock sound out of my second tele. I am thinking of humbucker style single coil pup, but i dont wanna put a HB in there. Also, would a new style bridge me better for that type of sound ?? putting a call out to all my tele buddies!

September 30th, 2005, 03:59 AM	#2 (permalink)
simonc Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Perth Western Australia Age: 29 Posts: 1,552 4 Photos	check out the SD 1/4 pound, I got one for exatly the same reasons you mentioned, & am VERY happy with the results. __________________ Never, EVER, stop in the middle of a hoe-down" -Homer Simpson

September 30th, 2005, 06:36 AM	#3 (permalink)
geddyleedog Tele-Holic Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Connecticut, USA Posts: 583	I also had a 1/4 pound and it was a good pickup for rock. Right now I have an SK T-90 pup in there and it's not going anywhere anytime soon. Steven makes a great pickup. I play straight forward rock n roll and it does a great job. My dad is building me a new Tele. I'm putting a Dimarzio Tone Zone T in that one based on some recommendations from guys on this site. I won't have it done for a few months so I can't comment on it yet. __________________ (.o)==:::

September 30th, 2005, 08:07 AM	#4 (permalink)
Andre' Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Bronx, NewYork Posts: 108	muy grande __________________ "blues in a doggy bag, is what i got to eat!" Andre and The Night Hounds http://www.andreandthenighthounds.com/

September 30th, 2005, 09:47 AM	#5 (permalink)
Mike D. Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Chicagoland Posts: 570	Do What I Did I installed a SD Quater Pounder with the tapped option in a partscaster. It hooks up to a standard 5-way switch and offers the full pickup which is close to a humbucker in output and fatness and also the tapped pickup which is a pretty good standard tele sound. I can go from twang to rawk in a flick of the switch.

September 30th, 2005, 11:07 AM	#7 (permalink)
Marshall Thinline Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 632	Guitar Fetish Pickups? I have never heard any of the GFS pickups yet, but I have read many good things about them. I know that the price is right. GFS Hot TC Alnico __________________ Shameless plug.... The Offenders

September 30th, 2005, 11:24 AM	#8 (permalink)
HullettAmps Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Nashville Posts: 117	You could always If you really wanted to turn it into a rocker you could always turn it into this Clay Hullett __________________ "Find out what Nashville already knows."

September 30th, 2005, 11:57 AM	#9 (permalink)
Big Weapons TDPRI Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Milpitas, CA Posts: 75	I'd suggest any of the SD humbuckers. It just comes down to what you want. I have a Little '59 in my bridge. Not as hot as the hot rails, but it retains some of the tele sound when it's clean. Nice crunchy lows and smooth highs when distorted :)

September 30th, 2005, 12:03 PM	#10 (permalink)
aln413 Tele-Meister Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: fontana,ca. Posts: 444	ive got an sd hotrails in my squire that sounds monstrous and in my amer stan ive got a fender red lace sensor thats extremely crunchy as well.both have the six saddle bridge.

September 30th, 2005, 12:12 PM	#11 (permalink)
fungusyoung Tele-Holic Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Eastern PA Posts: 944 22 Photos	I'd recommend a Harmonic Design S-90 for the bridge pup, especially if you like a P90-type sound.

September 30th, 2005, 03:29 PM	#14 (permalink)
Tom S Friend of Leo's Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 2,211 49 Photos	As long as we're talking 'buckercasters, you could go LP-ish style.... :)

September 30th, 2005, 04:54 PM	#16 (permalink)
Kilt Tele-Meister Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Kyle, Texas Posts: 322 1 Photos	P-90 I have a SD Phat Cat P90 in my esquire part-0-caster. It not only rocks ... It peels paint! She's my #1. __________________ ___________________________ Industrial Strength Honkabilly

October 1st, 2005, 11:10 PM	#17 (permalink)
playin loud Tele-Meister Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Francisco/California/USA Age: 30 Posts: 108	P-90 for a rock monster... I have always wanted to do a P-90 in the neck position like a 72 custom but a thinline. You could use your existing bodie and fit in a P-90ish pickup in the neck and a high output single coil in the bridge position to balance with the output of the P-90. There are many different tricks you could use for wiring as well. Keeping both pickups as single coils you can get out of phase for some fun distorted tones, not to mention parallel and, series in phase as well. Let us know what you decide on. __________________ Inspiration is one mishap away

October 1st, 2005, 11:41 PM	#18 (permalink)
franchelB Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Irving, United States of Texas! Age: 43 Posts: 1,862	Rio Grande Muy Grandes!

October 2nd, 2005, 09:57 AM	#19 (permalink)
gtrman911 Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Camelot Posts: 1,168 7 Photos	How do you make a hard rockin tele? uh......plug it in.....turn up the volume.....and play well [see tagline] __________________ My opinion is worth what you paid for it.

October 2nd, 2005, 07:42 PM	#20 (permalink)
jonzer Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Virginia Posts: 1,068	I crank the amp, crank my Boss SD1, put the tele volume at 5 and occasionally turn it up for a little feedback or for the stinger at the end of the song. My American Series tele is all stock too. You don't need the humbucker to rock hard. __________________ http://816rocks.com/

October 2nd, 2005, 09:05 PM	#21 (permalink)
swingin.little.guitarman Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 147	If you want to beef-up your Tele without modifyiing the bridge or body, I would recommend going to a hotter P90 style pickup in the bridge and neck position. Some pickups I have had good experience with are the Fralin SP43 and Wolfetone Rabid Bich models. The Fralin SP43's are equivalent to a good P90 output. I use the SP43 as a bridge pickup in several of my Strats. The Wolfetone Rabid Bich will give you a very hot P90 sound. Either pickup would be a good choice for a more powerful Tele tone. It just depends how far you want to get from the original Tele sound. For heavier sounds the Rabid Bich does a good job at cutting heads.

October 2nd, 2005, 09:29 PM	#22 (permalink)
andrew Tele-Holic Join Date: May 2003 Location: Valley Ranch, TX Posts: 799 5 Photos	Do what the daddy of tele rock did.... 8)

October 3rd, 2005, 12:33 AM	#23 (permalink)
jwells393 Doctor of Teleocity Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Albuquerque, USA Age: 64 Posts: 12,252 101 Photos	How do you make a hard rockin tele? Practice ............. Practice ...............Practice. __________________ Jack's Disclaimer: When I say something.... always ask yourself ..... "What the hell does he know?" _ Guys - learn to disable the flash on your digital cameras.