CS nocaster or pv 64 pickups in alder/rw Tele

I have the "'64" pickups that are in an AVRI '64, and a set of CS Nocaster pickups not currently installed in anything.

Between those two I suppose the CS Nocaster? I don't consider either of them voiced very well for jazz. I prefer the '64 pickups over the CS Nocaster pickups for everything else, by a lot.

Not that either of them are "bad" at jazz, it's when I hear their sounds that would be the last thing I would think of.

I don't know if that makes much sense, sorry about that!

 

'64s: brighter, staggered.

Nocasters: warmer, flat poled.

I would go for the brighter set, the '64s, in order to make your guitar more neutral. Neutrality = more versatility that can be achieved with tonal controls.

Don't forget that there were '58s as well in the Pure Vintage line. You can still track them down used or N.O.S. They are my favorite of the three Pure Vintage Tele sets ('52, '58, and '64). They have the best characteristics of both the '52 and the '64s. Better magnet stagger than '52s, but still with the darker '50s tonal character. I do like the '64s, but they are inherently thinner and brighter pickups than the '52s and '58s, so I do have to play and adjust that Tele a bit differently than my Tele with the '58s.

 

I have both in home made guitars- I prefer the 64 set to the nocasters- but for jazz on the neck pickup either will work fine Nocaster neck pickup is quieter than the nocaster bridge by quite a bit. Nocaster bridge has great bite to it but I prefer the 64 over it. Heck a regular old American standard neck pickup is just fine too

Here's a 64 neck pickup on a tele I made trying to be smooth jazz ish through a super reverb I think....no pedals

 

I haven't owned either, but I've heard a lot of demos. I vote for the '64's.

 

Of those I have owned, I really like the Bootstrap Palo Duro set (gives you a '64-ish bridge with a nice warm neck that's great for jazz).

Another set I'm really liking is the Cavalier Nashville bridge with a Fat Lion King neck.

Both are very affordable. I have both wired up with 4-way switching. Rob's (Cavalier) pickups come 4-way ready. Ryan (Bootstrap) will happily wind them with 4-way-ready wiring on request.

The Palo Duro and the Fat Lion King are two of my favorite pickups for jazz. I used to have a Fat Lion bridge as well...with the Fat Lion King Neck, that guitar was a jazz machine! The series/parallel positions sounded almost like a P90. Fat twang on the bridge only and I nice warm, open neck-only sound.

I had one of Rob's Nocaster pickups (slightly overwound) and really did not like it, personally. I don't think it was merely the A3 mags...as I've previously owned an OC Duff Guardsman set and liked it. I think it was the high wind count with those mags that put me off and just didn't fit my sound/rig. Even the Duff Guardsman set though, was not among my favorite pickups. I would much prefer his Buckaroo set (Owen's version of the '64 Fender set; A5 mags).

 

I’ll add to the chorus for the 64s.
They are the best vintagey Tele pickups I’ve ever used. Right up there with the set in the Mirror Tele, which I think is a mildly tweaked ‘64 set. Based on nothing but my ears.

I think of pickups like I think of dynamic range. I can always subtract treble and restrict dynamic range. Lacking either is very frustrating.

 

Had the same dillema as you. No shops around for testing..
Chose the PV64 to replace the too thin sounding japanese pups in my MIJ 62 reissue. No regret at all. Neck pup with tone rolled off can do great jazz. Enough bite ant treble for any needs. Great overdriven sounds with pedals.
No regret for choosing 64’s.

 

I've been through a lot of Tele pickups through the years. SD Broadcaster, SD Alnico2Pro's, AmStd, MIM Std, Fender 52's, Nocasters, Don Mare 0038's, Fender 64's.

To date the PV64's are the best sounding Tele pickups I've heard. They're bright and articulate without being harsh. Output is also in a nice medium range. The 64 neck is also the best Tele neck there is. It's warm but also round and a bit chimey.

 

I agree that the pv64 is the best neck pickup I’ve ever had from any Fender. The only issue with the bridge is that the stagger is overdone. I love the Nocaster bridge pickup and while I like the neck the 64 is the real deal.

 

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It's right up there, very tasty indeed

 

I think of the two the 64s make more sense given your stated preferences. I believe that the Bootstrap Palo Duro would do just as well (zero compromise, if not an upgrade) for less money.

 

I bought a Nocaster for my Tele and did not like it at all. For Led Zep or metal, perhaps, but that's it. It had an edge, and I did not like the edge. I now have 64s in there. They are normal and Alnico 5. They are staying in there. I only play the neck pickup in any of my guitars. I think they would do jazz well in the right hands, as would a lot of normal Tele pickups.

 

As many others have stated in this thread, I would also recommend the Bootstrap Palo Duro set. It's Bootstrap's take on the 64 pickup and has a nice warm and smooth neck pickup, which seems close to what you want. It's also the cheapest of all the options so you take less risk.

 

I'm just curious, but at ^k with A5 magnets, how do they get the 64 bridge pickup to not ice pick you to death? Thats not a rhetorical question, i'm really curious because low wind A5 pickups generally are very very bright. The only one i ever tried that was wound that low with A5 mags was in a CV tele and that thing was like a blizzard of razors. Is there a design aspect to this pickup that tames that an is so, what? Gotta be 42 gauge i would think otherwise the output would be nothing at 6k. Maybe weaker degaussed A5?

 

.....blizzard of razors. Beautiful. I've made note of that. I'm going to use it....... Heh heh......