Humbucker and a four way switch... I need some suggestions.

sg3000 · November 17th, 2005, 08:26 PM

I've got a USACG tele with a humbucker in the neck.

I really want a 4 way switch and a splittable
humbucker in the neck.
Anybody have any suggestions for an awesome sounding
humbucker? It has to be splittable and I prefer it to have
a cover, if possible.

BB · November 18th, 2005, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sg3000

I've got a USACG tele with a humbucker in the neck.

I really want a 4 way switch and a splittable
humbucker in the neck.
Anybody have any suggestions for an awesome sounding
humbucker? It has to be splittable and I prefer it to have
a cover, if possible.

Oh man...there are SO many great sounding buckers out ther that will do what you want. I'll list a few that have worked well for me.

Dimarzio Classic PAF & Virtual Vintage PAF. Both sound great in bucker and spilt modes. Duncan 59 & Jazz. I think the Seths can be oreder in 4 conductor. Sweet in the neck of a tele.

Armstrong 12 pole bucker. Wonderful sounding, inexpensive pickup.

Manlius, Highorder & Trutone are excellent hand wound at very good prices.

Lollar, Jon Moore, Voodoo, Rolph and Dave Stephens.

FatTeleTom · November 18th, 2005, 11:21 AM

You may want to consider a 5-way switch, per the American Series Hot Rodded Fat Tele (now discontinued). You can find the wiring diagram on Fender's website.

I've got one of these, and like it a lot. The DH-1 humbucker it came with is certainly decent, but I'm considering p.u. upgrades at the moment. No experience with other Tele p.u.'s yet though, so can't help you there, other than to say that I'm very tempted by Fralin's Blues Special for the bridge and Unbucker for the nect.

But the 5-way switch is definitely handy. You get:

bridge
bridge+neck (both single coil)
bridge+neck (neck in humbucker mode)
neck (single coil)
neck (humbucker)

Admittedly, I don't use that middle choice (bridge+neck bucker) all that much, but it's nice to have.

Oops, forgot to mention that Fender uses an extra resistor in there (see parts list/wiring diagram) that apparently helps balance out the two p.u.'s.

AJ Love · November 18th, 2005, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sg3000

Anybody have any suggestions for an awesome sounding
humbucker?.

The Lollar Imperial Humbucker!

d. meyers · November 18th, 2005, 01:00 PM

You are aware that any bucker thats not epoxy potted or otherwise Han-Solo'ed in some other crazy permanent encasement can be made tappable by the addition of a four conductor lead? A good tech can do it, and it makes a lot of already cool buckers even more fun. I'm a big fan of filtertrons in teles- but I also like me a meaty single coil (i.e. p-90 or clone) in the neck. No hum cancelling, but you get a lot of the power of a bucker without mud. Not that I'm against mud, it's just the thing soemtimes!

Geyser · November 18th, 2005, 02:42 PM

Hey FatTeleTom,
thanks for mentioning the Hot Rodded Fat Tele. I had a 99 Fat Tele (stolen in 2002) and I swore it had a 5-way switch. Nobody seemed to believe me. I thought I was losing my mind. I know that I did not have a "California" Series Tele, but a regular MIA "Fat" Tele that I bought brand new with a neck bucker and 5-way. Man, I wish I still had that guitar. Candy Apple Red, white pickguard, rosewood board... she was purdy.

eryque · November 18th, 2005, 04:14 PM

The only humbucker I ever tried that sounded at all like a normal tele neck pickup when split was the stock humbucker that came in my California Fat Teles. It wasn't a great humbucker, but the single coil sounds were pretty good.

I use a Duncan '59 now, and think the split sounds are uninspiring at best. The up side is that the split mode is great for playing live, it tended to fit right in the pocket when playingclean rhythm. Sounded like crap without the rest of the band, but was just right with everything else going on.

jjmantele · November 18th, 2005, 08:06 PM

I use a Duncan '59 in the bridge of my homebrew. I like the split sound which I have set up to be almost as loud as the HB setting. It's the only guitar I've ever played with that option so I don't know about how others sound split. Mine has less mids when split. It sounds a little like an acoustic when going direct into my soundcard. I wish I could split the TV Jones I have in the neck too.

eryque · November 19th, 2005, 12:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjmantele

I use a Duncan '59 in the bridge of my homebrew. I like the split sound which I have set up to be almost as loud as the HB setting. It's the only guitar I've ever played with that option so I don't know about how others sound split. Mine has less mids when split. It sounds a little like an acoustic when going direct into my soundcard. I wish I could split the TV Jones I have in the neck too.

How do you set it up to be almost as loud when split?

November 17th, 2005, 08:26 PM	#1 (permalink)
sg3000 TDPRI Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 62	Humbucker and a four way switch... I need some suggestions. I've got a USACG tele with a humbucker in the neck. I really want a 4 way switch and a splittable humbucker in the neck. Anybody have any suggestions for an awesome sounding humbucker? It has to be splittable and I prefer it to have a cover, if possible.

November 18th, 2005, 02:42 PM	#6 (permalink)
Geyser Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 291	bucker Hey FatTeleTom, thanks for mentioning the Hot Rodded Fat Tele. I had a 99 Fat Tele (stolen in 2002) and I swore it had a 5-way switch. Nobody seemed to believe me. I thought I was losing my mind. I know that I did not have a "California" Series Tele, but a regular MIA "Fat" Tele that I bought brand new with a neck bucker and 5-way. Man, I wish I still had that guitar. Candy Apple Red, white pickguard, rosewood board... she was purdy.

November 18th, 2005, 04:14 PM	#7 (permalink)
eryque Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: albany, ny [not chicago] Posts: 6,929 44 Photos	The only humbucker I ever tried that sounded at all like a normal tele neck pickup when split was the stock humbucker that came in my California Fat Teles. It wasn't a great humbucker, but the single coil sounds were pretty good. I use a Duncan '59 now, and think the split sounds are uninspiring at best. The up side is that the split mode is great for playing live, it tended to fit right in the pocket when playingclean rhythm. Sounded like crap without the rest of the band, but was just right with everything else going on. __________________ my blog: eryque.blogspot.com Updated 10.27.07 Subscribe_____________________

November 18th, 2005, 08:06 PM	#8 (permalink)
jjmantele Tele-Holic Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: New Jersey Posts: 843	'59 I use a Duncan '59 in the bridge of my homebrew. I like the split sound which I have set up to be almost as loud as the HB setting. It's the only guitar I've ever played with that option so I don't know about how others sound split. Mine has less mids when split. It sounds a little like an acoustic when going direct into my soundcard. I wish I could split the TV Jones I have in the neck too. __________________ JJman If it says "Vintage" on it -it isn't.

November 18th, 2005, 11:21 AM	#3 (permalink)
FatTeleTom Tele-Meister Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Evanston Age: 40 Posts: 178 3 Photos	You may want to consider a 5-way switch, per the American Series Hot Rodded Fat Tele (now discontinued). You can find the wiring diagram on Fender's website. I've got one of these, and like it a lot. The DH-1 humbucker it came with is certainly decent, but I'm considering p.u. upgrades at the moment. No experience with other Tele p.u.'s yet though, so can't help you there, other than to say that I'm very tempted by Fralin's Blues Special for the bridge and Unbucker for the nect. But the 5-way switch is definitely handy. You get: bridge bridge+neck (both single coil) bridge+neck (neck in humbucker mode) neck (single coil) neck (humbucker) Admittedly, I don't use that middle choice (bridge+neck bucker) all that much, but it's nice to have. Oops, forgot to mention that Fender uses an extra resistor in there (see parts list/wiring diagram) that apparently helps balance out the two p.u.'s.

November 18th, 2005, 01:00 PM	#5 (permalink)
d. meyers Tele-Meister Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: PDX OR Posts: 462 8 Photos	You are aware that any bucker thats not epoxy potted or otherwise Han-Solo'ed in some other crazy permanent encasement can be made tappable by the addition of a four conductor lead? A good tech can do it, and it makes a lot of already cool buckers even more fun. I'm a big fan of filtertrons in teles- but I also like me a meaty single coil (i.e. p-90 or clone) in the neck. No hum cancelling, but you get a lot of the power of a bucker without mud. Not that I'm against mud, it's just the thing soemtimes!