Best Tele Pickups for Blues??

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UPtele

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Searching for and trying out pickups is fun, but give the stocks an honest try. You might be very surprised
 

Bongoslade

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no-one has said BOOTSTRAP pick up's yet - Daaaannngggg
50 bucks - killer tone for both tele and strat at my place - sound amazingly good.
i might change them again, just for sh**s and giggles...
have fun
 

TokyoPortrait

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Hi.

I'm with the 'live with it for a while' crowd. A reasonably long while too.

I'm with the 'adjust the pickup heights and see what happens' crowd too.

I'm also with the 'play around with your guitar and amp settings' crowd too, but not sure if they have arrived yet.

Seriously though, don't rush these things.

But, if you do *eventualy* decide you need new pickups, I would suggest exploring Bootstrap. They are highly regarded and very good (love mine). Also very reasonably priced - which might be a factor considering how keen the customs folk are in NZ.

But yeah, use it for a decent amount of time and explore what it does and how it interacts with the rest of your stuff & adjust things.

Pax/
Dean
 

Demonsone67

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Hey guys I have a brand new 2022 Fender Player Telecaster arriving soon, I was thinking of replacing the stock pickups with after-market set of Fender pickups maybe customshop twisted tele? I love Classic-Rock and Blues Rock....what is the best pups for this? Thanks.
Hey sorry not an answer to the question...I was just curious if anyone knows if Ron Ellis uses metric or standard on pickup height adjustment screws. Thanks
 

Bongoslade

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ha - the only pickups i have ever put in before - so what do i know - former bassist.
i play thru a little Blackstar amp - like 10 watts lovely little thing right by my side - so cool
 

Maguchi

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Hey guys I have a brand new 2022 Fender Player Telecaster arriving soon, I was thinking of replacing the stock pickups with after-market set of Fender pickups maybe customshop twisted tele? I love Classic-Rock and Blues Rock....what is the best pups for this? Thanks.
Fender Tex-Mex Telecaster 2 pickup set.

 

John_B

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My BS Extra Crispy thru my 12" C Rex with the reverb pushed up. This always makes me think of a smokey dark blues bar.
 

JL_LI

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Blues was never about the guitar. The tone we associate with the blues comes from underpowered amps driven hard. Single coils, humbucker’s, and hot single coils like P90’s all work if they push the amp. What you need is a big enough speaker to fill the room and an amp that sounds good pushed. An amp with power scaling can be nice scaled for the venue. Your Player Telecaster will do what you need with the tone rolled back a bit. If your amp has a gain knob, turn it up and use the guitar volume to find the sweet spot.
 

JKjr

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I love playing pickup games. I'll try multiple sets to find the right match for each body and neck. I'll sit for hours adjusting height and pole pieces. I switch out caps and pots. Finding that perfect spot for me is addictive.
And I'll bet the stock pickups in yours are just fine. With the exception of some Squier P90's I don't think I've heard a Fender pickup that wasn't at least pretty good, and some are excellent. From imports to CS they all get the job done. And since you're filling a hole in your arsenal as long as it sounds like a decent tele you should love it. Just don't be afraid of the tone knob.
Since you asked though, DMZ PRE-BS sounds like gut bucket blues and 70's rock. Big fat midrange, no twang, and still manages to sound like an old tele. A good trick and super cheap. On the other end of the financial spectrum, Lollar specials are the shyte, and have become a favorite of the Nashville studio crowd.
 

Gris

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Based on your style of music, you might prefer a broadcaster bridge pickup and a stratty neck PU. Jus sayin….
 

sjtalon

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As said, give what you have a chance.

If they don't float ur boat, try Fender Custom Shop Texas Specials, and put a 4 w in for a kinda neck humbucker tone (series) when you want it. That also gives another noise reduction setting as a bonus.
 

Cali Dude

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I did this years ago to my Tele. I settled on Fender Texas Tele pickups with a SD Antiquity Texas hot in the middle. I play a lot of blues. It's a good combo.
 
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