Rio Grande Pickups - Tallboy or Muy Grande?

[Halatando]

After buying a American Special Strat with some sweeeeet Texas Special pickups, my MIM Standard's pickups sound lifeless, muddy, and, in short, crappy. I have been looking into Rio Grande pickups after hearing excellent reviews and sound samples of them. I'm positive that I want a Vintage Tallboy with a chrome cover for the neck position, but I'm debating what I should get for the bridge position.
What's your opinion? Vintage Tallboy or Muy Grande? I'm looking for more Tele spank, but yet want it to sound full.
Thanks

 

[YoGeorge]

I've had experience with the Muy Grande bridge and Tallboy neck for many years, and really like that combination.

Not sure how the chrome cover will affect the neck tallboy--the formula has always been to upsize the uncovered tallboy neck pickup to the full size of a covered tele pickup, so it may be a bit weaker than the uncovered version.

The Muy Grande bridge still sounds quite tele, punchy with a big bass and clear treble, and lacks the big midrange "hump" of other overwound hot tele pickups like the Duncan Hot Tele or the Dimarzio Pre-B1. I vote Muy Grande, but if you want chicken pickin' vintage twang, the tallboy might work just fine. Isn't there new halfbreed model that is in between? That might be a good choice if you are on the fence...

Is your MIM a recent version (post '06 I think, with the ceramic pickups)? If so, those are pretty loud pickups, and a Muy Grande will fall into the same territory re volume. If it's an older MIM tele with alnico slugs, the tallboy will resemble those more in volume.

George

 

[Stratburst]

Never tried their single coils but I love the BBQ/Texas combo in my Carvin H2. Does everything from jazz to metal.

 

[Nub]

I ran a Muy Grande set in my #1 for quite a few years, and a Dual Calibrated set in a Nashville Tele... all of them sounded great, but I REALLY dug the Halfbreed in that one. The next time I run a Rio set, it'll definitely be a Halfbreed in the bridge & Vintage Tallboy in the neck (or a Halfbreed set).

 

[brookdalebill]

Muy Grande!

 

[YoGeorge]

Forgot to mention that I have my Muy Grande in the bridge of a USACG light ash tele body (built in 2001) with an old Hamer T-51 neck on it, mixed with a Duncan Hot Tele neck pickup with the cover removed and most of the wax baked out of it.

In the summer, a few buds and I basically do an full instrumental jam band thing at our Velodrome, a bike race track in Rochester, Michigan, and I have put a LOT of hours and sweat onto that Muy Grande, so I do have a special attachment to it for everything from rock and roll to surf music. Surprisingly, the Duncan Hot Tele neck is almost the same 10k of wire and is a killer match for the Muy Grande, a bit boxier and thicker than the tallboy neck pickup (which I have in a stock Hamer T-51 with a magical Duncan Broadcaster bridge and have had that there since the late 90's), so although I have a Muy bridge and Tallboy neck, they are mixed with Duncans (same polarity but they magically hum cancel, which is handy...)

The open tallboy neck is very clear and stratty--not sure what the cover does to the formula. If I was building an all-round tele and wanted a bit of kick, I'd be interested in a Muy bridge and a halfbreed neck. But hey, Rio does great tele (and strat) pickups.

George

 

[Stubee]

Had Tallboys in a CIJ AV62 Strat = powerful pups that respond well to yer guitar input. Great pups.

Clean up well, articulate, quiet enough & great to power up. IMO a cant miss if ya give them a chance.

 

[Halatando]

Is your MIM a recent version (post '06 I think, with the ceramic pickups)? If so, those are pretty loud pickups, and a Muy Grande will fall into the same territory re volume.

It's a 2010 standard, and the pickups do seem to holler (in a bad way). I would prefer a "quieter" pickup.

 

[franchelB]

... I'm positive that I want a Vintage Tallboy with a chrome cover for the neck position, but I'm debating what I should get for the bridge position.
What's your opinion? Vintage Tallboy or Muy Grande? I'm looking for more Tele spank, but yet want it to sound full.
Thanks

I'm thinking that you're wanting the Tallboy for the bridge too.

 

[YoGeorge]

It's a 2010 standard, and the pickups do seem to holler (in a bad way). I would prefer a "quieter" pickup.

I'm assuming the covered neck tallboy will be a bit quieter than the regular tallboy, so maybe a halfbreed in the bridge would be "just right", or a tallboy. Still, my Muy Grande can holler in a very good way--I have never gotten a bad tone out of it or even had a slight urge to change it out. And I actually have a post-06 ceramic MIM bridge pickup in a Squier (set up as an Esquire) so I have experience with that pickup--wish it could turn into a Muy Grande. (I am moving some other pickups around in my guitars and will have something nicer for the Squier)...

I will note that when I got the MIM tele, the OEM pickups stayed in it for a couple days while I got a new set together for it.

This evening I might have a chance to pull out the Squier as well as my Muy Grande tele and compare the relative volumes head to head...

George

 

[Hiker]

NGD

Any guess on how to ID which model of Rio Grande pups are in my (new to me) Peavey Predator?

 

[bo]

I've never tried a Tallboy. I do have a lender Muy Grande in a Tele I'm having a pickup rewound for (J.M. Rolphs rewinding an old Tex Rubinowitz rewind from the mid-'70s...that should be interesting). The Muy Grande is a big sounding pickup. Quite fat but not P-90 fat. Decent highs too. That said, it sounds more like a big pickup that will fit in a Tele, not a traditional Tele pickup. I like it for rock/suburban white boy blues, but not for the usual twangy stuff I lean towards. YMMV.

 

[uriah1]

Tallboy in neck is great..*think TOmmy Castro".tried a muy grand in bridge..not so much..loads o mid

 

[YoGeorge]

Tallboy in neck is great..*think TOmmy Castro".tried a muy grand in bridge..not so much..loads o mid

I respectfully disagree with your assessment of "loads of mids" from the Muy Grande. It is punchy, has phat bass and a fair amount of treble. Not super vintage twangy but definitely a tele pickup character. Less upper mid "bark" than even something like a Duncan Broadcaster to my ear. In contrast, a Duncan Hot Tele single coil is LOADED with mids. I have one each of these 3 pickups in 3 of my teles right now...

(Likewise the Dimarzio Pre-B1 is mid heavy and overwound--I do not presently have one but played one for a while. Harmonic Designs Vintage Plus is more middy than the Muy as well. And something like the Duncan Lil'59 is ALL mids.)

George

 

[uriah1]

cool...it has been awhile
it did have loads of bass on tap.
my correction (muy grand strat) and (tallboy strat)...it has been awhile..

 

[FMA]

I have a set of Tallboys in my American Standard -- it came with them already in -- and they are outstanding pickups. The uncovered neck pickup is one of the best-sounding neck pickups I've ever heard. Very clear and articulate and, yes, kind of Stratty, but with its own thing.
The bridge Tallboy is also excellent. Can twang and scream. Full sounding without being too middy. Can cover a lot of ground. For reference, it sounds very much like the Texas Special I have in a Burton Standard, but with a bit more output.

 

[Wrong-Note Rod]

I've had experience with the Muy Grande bridge and Tallboy neck for many years, and really like that combination.

+1 to that. Great combination.

 

[eggman]

Howdy,

I was disappointed with the Muy Grande bridge some 10 years ago; too powerful and too "fat" sounding, with it's huge pole pieces. Not my cup of tea. I suggest DiMarzio's True Velvet bridge. It's slightly middier (with a corresponding reduction in treble) than thier excellent Twang King-which really rings my chimes. Good luck!

PS: I'll bet the Tallboy bridge would be just fine, fwiw.

 

[spankdplank]

The uncovered tele tallboy neck is very stratty sounding, but still tele. Lots of balls but still very bright and clear. It will defintely twang. No experience with the MGs.

 

[Shovelhandle]

Have the tallboys all around in my warmoth strat. It does the job well. Sounds vintage even aside an original 1964 Fender strat (with one pup rewound by a. ybarra, the original winder)