Anyone put les paul pickups in a tele?

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jvin248

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Like this? Split humbucker on a 4-way switch: series, 'neck', parallel, 'bridge'... ;)
Most are thinking of a humbucker in the neck though ... Either place is easy as long as the body is routed for it. This Tele shipped with both cavities suitable for humbuckers. Otherwise you need a template and a 1/4 inch trim router that can be obtained at Harbor Freight for under $30 or so.

Assuming your body is set and you want a neck humbucker, you'll need a new pickguard. For switching just remove the old pickup and solder the new one to the same switch lugs. I saw someone recently wanted a 'stealth' neck pickup. A humbucker under an esquire pickguard would be stronger to work better than a single coil for that.


BlacknTort_Tele_170114sm.jpg
 

dsutton24

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I've got a Strat with Gibson humbuckers in it. There's nothing about them that makes it more difficult to install than any other humbucker.
 

Bartholomew3

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I put a Gibson logo neck PAF into a vintage tele about 100 years ago - great sound, a bit bass heavy on the bottom strings and completely over-powered the buzzy bridge single-coil.
 

trev333

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I made a lefty for a mate a few years back with a gibson bridge and a P90 in the neck.... he was a gibbo kinda guy I was trying to convert to a tele...;)

he plays lefty but strings it righty ...so I could play it a lot when setting it up .... the HB and the P90 worked well together..

I was sorry to see it go, I kinda liked it...

3 way gibbo switch.jpg P90 lefty small.jpg
 

Gutterguy

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Thank you to all. I'm 100% guilty of chasing tone.
I like the feel of my tele and just want a fatter sound for blues. Way too many choices for pickups, ugghhhh.
 

Howie22

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I posted a similar thread in the main forum a few days ago

I want to get a tele sounding closer to a Les Paul. Love the LP sound, just don't find Gibsons to be comfortable to play.
 

Zepfan

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I posted a similar thread in the main forum a few days ago

I want to get a tele sounding closer to a Les Paul. Love the LP sound, just don't find Gibsons to be comfortable to play.
Ever try a LP Special? Flat body like a Tele.

A 4-way switch can be of help to get LP sounds out of your Tele. Another thing that helps is tune down a half step and put a capo on the first fret.

Go all out and build a Tele with a Mahogany body/neck, the Gibby scale, a couple of HB's, a Gibby style bridge and stop tail piece.
 

Gutterguy

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I'm attached to my lefty mexi-teli. Just dig that gibson sound. I can't find anywhere that has a reasonably priced lefty setup with dual hums and a 4 way. Thinking about buying it all seperately and going from there.
 

Howie22

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A 4-way switch can be of help to get LP sounds out of your Tele.

I have that on one of my teles now. Not sure if it's not wired properly or if my pickups just don't work well with it.

Seems to be boomy and lacks low end focus
 

dbickford

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I put a set of StewMac's Golden Age Parsons Street humbuckers in a Tele build of mine. I was looking for something a little bit different.
They're supposed to replicate that famous PAF sound.
IMG_7983.JPG


It's one of my best sounding Tele's.
 

Rockdog

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This is my last project. It turned out sounding great, but I kinda miss the regular Tele, so I'll probably convert it back.
 

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Zepfan

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I have that on one of my teles now. Not sure if it's not wired properly or if my pickups just don't work well with it.

Seems to be boomy and lacks low end focus
Could be a phase problem. Do you get hum cancellation in the #2 & #4 positions?
 

Howie22

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Could be a phase problem. Do you get hum cancellation in the #2 & #4 positions?

2 and 4 are definitely more quiet than 1 and 3

They all make some noise. Seems like grouding issue. If I touch the bridge, one of the knobs, or the control plate, it's more quiet.
 
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