Telecaster: middle position vs bridge PU with tone rolled off

If you own an Esquire I'd keep it an Esquire. Although I love Telecasters I must say that the world has enough Telecasters to the point they're falling out of arses, being used as doorstops and sporting an ownership clan that needs a 12 step program. I love my Telecasters but, if I owned an Esquire I would keep it an Esquire. Those meetings can get rough and they're always embarrassing. "Hi. My names Rick. I have a problem."

 

Maybe consider one of those "stealth" neck pickups? I think Brad Paisley has a video or two on Youtube about his. Supposedly, gives you the second p/up option, but retains the looks of an Esquire.

 

phase will not be an issue. Any pickup will work. If it’s out of phase, all you have to do is wire the hot/ground wires the opposite where you have them.

if it’s noise canceling or not Is the only possible issue, if you happen to care about that. Polarity of the pickups are the concern there.


I think the stealth neck pickup is a good idea. Just find a hotter neck pickup, and body mount it to the body under the pickguard.

 

A Telecaster bridge pickup with the tone rolled down takes you into Stratocaster middle pickup territory but doesn’t get you through the gate. I still need my Strats, both of them. My Strats are wired for bridge and neck. That gets me into Telecaster bridge and neck territory, through the gate, and with the tone rolled down a little in the house.

 

To me the Tele mid position gives a totally different sound to the bridge with tone rolled off to the sweet spot - don’t ask me find words to describe the sounds.
If you feel you need it, the stealth option sounds the way to go.

 

I agree 100%, it’s not the same at all. Tele middle position is less trebly than the bridge, but not just with the top taken off — it has a sweet chime to it, a little hollow sounding. If you know what I mean!

 

Just get a cheap Tele pickguard and a neck pickup and give it a try for a while. You can always it switch back.

Then you will know which you prefer. I have had both. I like both for different reasons. Just try it and find out for yourself.

 

Basically you are missing the most beautiful clean rhythm guitar tone in the world.

 

i don't think anything is a replacement for the phase stuff (acoustically, not talking about wiring) that goes on with two pickups in different locations. hence why a strat middle pickup doesn't sound like the hollowed out middle position on most guitars. it's a sound that can only come from two pickups placed near different nodes of the string.

as for how much you gain...i know that campilongo says he doesn't hear much of a difference between bridge and middle on his. but that could just be due to his pickup heights/strength of each pickup, which would control the blend. where i have mine set, it sounds pretty different from the neck or bridge.

since you don't necessarily care about the neck, you can use it just it to influence the tone of the middle position. You could do the opposite of broadcaster wiring. my favorite blend on mine is with more neck than bridge. but i have to compromise on it because otherwise the bridge will sound too weak like that.

 

If you're unhappy with your Esquire, change it.

If you think you might be happier if you were more like Campilongo, well, I'd leave that alone!
If it was me I'd sell the 6120 and buy or assemble another Esquire...

 

Ah okay, sorry, I was confused then.

 

To me, the Tele middle position sound is one of the sweetest in the world. Mellower and more rounded than the bridge alone, and tighter and smoother than the neck alone.

 

I agree, you get to keep it an Esquire and get a middle position.

 

I think using both pickups in parallel interacts differently with the preamp than just one pickup with the tone control adjusted, even if the mix of bass, mids and treble are the same. In my mind it's not equivalent to cutting treble on just one pickup.

My rudimentary electronics knowledge have me thinking that the overall resistance with two pickups will be lower than just one pickup - not that resistance is the only factor, but I think it cleans up a bit without reducing treble like rolling down the volume does.

Anyone more knowledgeable please correct this if it's wrong!

 

To me, the bridge alone and tweaking the tone works great for a lot of stuff, but it doesn't cover everything perfectly. I've gigged with just an Esquire in my classic country band for years, and I still could. Being able to nail those other tones when it's really needed is nice though.

 

Personally, if it were me, I'd call and talk to Ryan at Bootstrap Pickups or Rob at Cavalier and see what they could do.......both of them can do custom work for less than a Seymour Duncan product......and I'd wager just as good.