Hidden middle pick up in Nashville set up advice

[Muckyboots13]

HNY Group members one and all.

Currently working on an Elite Tele which is routed SSH in neck. Going for a broadcaster style bridge pick up and a PAF in the neck, and hiding the middle pick up under the scratchplate, choice of a SD Hotrail or standard Strat middle pick up with a five way switch. Has anyone got any experience with this mod. Does the middle pick up need to be super powerful to get through the plate? Will the Hotrail be too powerful for the bridge pick up to get the sort of classic strat position 4 sound?

Any thought. Let’s have ’em.Cheers.

BR

 

[SPUDCASTER]

Talk to [email protected] Pickups. He offers a new "Stealth" pickup.

It might be worth a call/email.

 

[schmee]

I would put a very hot pickup there. The plate isn't an issue but the distance is.

 

[MarshallHeart]

HNY Group menbers one and all.

Currently working on an Elite Tele which is routed SSH in neck. Going for a broadcaster style bridge pick up and a PAF in the neck, and hiding the middle pick up under the scratchplate, choice of a SD Hotrail or standard Strat middle pick up with a five way switch. Has anyone got any experience with this mod. Does the middle pick up need to be super powerful to get through the plate? Will the Hotrail be too powerful for the bridge pick up to get the sort of classic strat position 4 sound?

Any thought. Let’s have ’em.Cheers.

BR

why hiding it??? The pickup would be far away from the strings, not good for articulation. The hot rails is high output, so it would bring back some loudness...
I would use a vintage strat SC without hiding it...

 

[SpaceAceman]

If you wire it in series with the bridge - you get hum cancelling.

But other than that - what is the point here?

 

[Muckyboots13]

If you wire it in series with the bridge - you get hum cancelling.

But other than that - what is the point here?

Good question. Aesthetics & easy to strum without a pick up in your way & a bit of a surprise to the curious… apart from that, no major reason.

BR

 

[drmordo]

I experimented with an under-the-PG PU, and the output was so low it was useless to me. Note that the PU I used was actually designed to go under the PG (SD Secret Agent)

However, I think you could make it work if

1. You play clean most of the time or you use pedals for dirt.
2. You lower the other PUs so they are almost as far from the strings as the hidden PU.

 

[JL_LI]

I don’t get what you’re trying to accomplish. My avatar Telecaster started out as a Nashville. I didn’t like the Tex-Mex middle pickup alone but it blended ok but not well enough for me. When I got a Strat, a Telecaster with a middle pickup seemed pointless. I have a CS ‘69 Stratocaster with CS ‘69 pickups. I love the middle pickup alone, kind of a warming twang, but it doesn’t give me anything I want blended. That’s OK. I rewired the guitar to give me the bridge and neck. My other Stratocaster has Ultra Noiseless pickups. They’re different. The pickups blend well but I don’t get that middle pickup twang. There’s no such thing as a guitar that does everything. That’s why I have a few of them. If I had a SH Elite Telecaster I’d leave it as it is and look at a Stratocaster for middle and blended pickup tones. An Elite Telecaster is too nice a guitar to risk making a mess of.

 

[SpaceAceman]

Good question. Aesthetics & easy to strum without a pick up in your way & a bit of a surprise to the curious… apart from that, no major reason.

BR

So no major need for a sound?

My comment - skip it.

I too would think the output would be too low, and no one will be that curious.

But I play three pickup Les Pauls...so there is that.

 

[Muckyboots13]

I don’t get what you’re trying to accomplish. My avatar Telecaster started out as a Nashville. I didn’t like the Tex-Mex middle pickup alone but it blended ok but not well enough for me. When I got a Strat, a Telecaster with a middle pickup seemed pointless. I have a CS ‘69 Stratocaster with CS ‘69 pickups. I love the middle pickup alone, kind of a warming twang, but it doesn’t give me anything I want blended. That’s OK. I rewired the guitar to give me the bridge and neck. My other Stratocaster has Ultra Noiseless pickups. They’re different. The pickups blend well but I don’t get that middle pickup twang. There’s no such thing as a guitar that does everything. That’s why I have a few of them. If I had a SH Elite Telecaster I’d leave it as it is and look at a Stratocaster for middle and blended pickup tones. An Elite Telecaster is too nice a guitar to risk making a mess of.

Changing a scratchplate and a couple of solder joints is hardly risking much. I want to take advantage of the 3 PU routes but would prefer to keep thr middle pick up hidden if it was possible, hence the OP. Just curious to know if anyone had success attempting it.

 

[Wrighty]

I intend to get around to having a hidden middle pup but cutting the guard as normal. Then I want to cover the guard with sticky back plastic (Fablon?) and not cut out the centre pup hole. That way I can get it closer to the strings with no significant barrier between. One day........................

 

[pelle31]

I say don't hide it!

 

[That Cal Webway]

Mucky

I'm with you on this because not bc of appearance like Esquire players to put one in the neck position,
but to have that middle pup out of the way to facilitate picking!

Great idea and us know how it turns out!

 

[Fenderdad1950]

Brad Paisley has a 'ghost' pick-up in his Esquire. Trogly's Guitar Show on YouTube covered the MIM BP guitar, which has a Seymour Duncan 'secret agent' hidden pick-up in the neck position. The body has a top & bottom spruce with paulownia wood as the center core. The paint is tagged as diamond in black (black sparkle with a scattering of pronounced silver flakes. It has grey paisley pick guard. Personally I think it is pretty cool. The price is about $1100. The vid is worth a view and shows Trogly's normal disassembly. The pick-up is clearly shown.

 

[Muckyboots13]

Brad Paisley has a 'ghost' pick-up in his Esquire. Trogly's Guitar Show on YouTube covered the MIM BP guitar, which has a Seymour Duncan 'secret agent' hidden pick-up in the neck position. The body has a top & bottom spruce with paulownia wood as the center core. The paint is tagged as diamond in black (black sparkle with a scattering of pronounced silver flakes. It has grey paisley pick guard. Personally I think it is pretty cool. The price is about $1100. The vid is worth a view and shows Trogly's normal disassembly. The pick-up is clearly shown.

Thanks, yes I am aware if it. Previous posts say there is mixed feedback on it’s performance. I am going to try a middle pick up vintage SD hotrails first. Will be interesting to hear the results. Going for a vintage Alnico 2 paf in the neck with 500k pot and a Monty’s broadcaster bridge pick up. Should keep me busy in these dark winter nights with feck all else to do. Cheers