Wilde L280TN noise free Tele neck pick (with video)

[Jim Soloway]

I bought my Vola Vasti T-style guitar several months ago I've really enjoyed it. Just about the only thing I wasn't thrilled with was the traditional single coil neck pickup. Hum was an issue and being unpotted, it was a source of endless clicks when I made contact with my nails. (I play a lot further forward than most people and I'm often right over the neck pickup so that was a real problem. With the clicking I was getting from making contact, I was reallytrying to play further back but that was never comfortable for me.

I did a bit of research on hum cancelling neck pickups with wax potting and several people pointed me towards the Wilde L280TN. Wilde are the company that Bill Lawrence built in his later years after having some sort of copy right issues on building under his own name. They're and interesting company: tiny, and a bit old fashioned in a very nice way. It's run by Bill's widow Becky and his daughter Shannon and it felt very much like a family business. The prices are insanely low and the service is really good. Even shipping to Canada, I had my pickup in about a week.

My experiences with this pickup have been spectacular. It's incredibly quiet and potting works perfectly. With out even thinking about it my had almost immediately went back to my usual position. The tone is just Tele Neck ... touch sensitive, warm with a bit of clank. it plays very well with my Quilter Superblock US rig. And it's made the Vasti just a wonderful guitar to play.

Here's a short demo. Nothing unusual. I think it mostly sounds like me (and really, that's the whole point).

 

[archetype]

Oh, Bill and Becky are well-known for spectacular pickups that are value priced. I had that pickup. Very defined tone. Use volume and tone controls for a surprising range of tone.

 

[ChicknPickn]

Yeah, world-class pickup. They’ll spoil you, I’ll warn you of that. You get used to dead-quiet, rich-sounding pickups, and they become the standard against which you judge all others. I put away several pairs while Bill was still living.

Nice playing, very sweet sound.

 

[hopdybob]

great sound, enjoyed your playing

 

[loudboy]

I've got the 480TL in my main gigging Tele, and I love it.

 

[Jim Soloway]

Thanks all. I think it's probably the finishing touch in already really nice guitar.

 

[That Cal Webway]

That's so nice and tasteful, thank you.

 

[Hoodster]

Beautiful playing and tone as always, Jim, and really nice to see these pickups getting some attention. There’s really not many decent demos on YouTube about them.

I had the 280/290 combination in a Tele 20 years ago, ordered from Bill himself, and I always wanted to check them out again. So just a few months ago I put the 280/290 Strat combo in a Bullet Mustang project for kicks, and it is now an incredible guitar.

 

[hopdybob]

Here's a short demo. Nothing unusual. I think it mostly sounds like me (and really, that's the whole point).

i wonder, what pot values did u use?
it sound so much warmer than my L280 strat neck pup.
(maybe because is use it together with a L500xl and 500K vol and a DIY no load tone pot.
https://www.tdpri.com/threads/no-load-mod-your-guitar-bass-tone-or-blender-pot-2014.466061/

 

[Jim Soloway]

i wonder, what pot values did u use?
it sound so much warmer than my L280 strat neck pup.
(maybe because is use it together with a L500xl and 500K vol and a DIY no load tone pot.
https://www.tdpri.com/threads/no-load-mod-your-guitar-bass-tone-or-blender-pot-2014.466061/

I'm using 250's. I think of this as being really close to my basic tone.

 

[Lone_Poor_Boy]

I've had his pups in my Strat since about 2002 I think. I had some questions on wiring, even though he sent a hand drawn sketch, and Becky answered and handed the phone to Bill. I knew nothing and he was kind enough to chat away for an hour explaining a lot about the pickups and all.

 

[schoolie]

Keystones have been my gold standard in Tele pickups for years.

 

[ChicknPickn]

i wonder, what pot values did u use?
it sound so much warmer than my L280 strat neck pup.
(maybe because is use it together with a L500xl and 500K vol and a DIY no load tone pot.
https://www.tdpri.com/threads/no-load-mod-your-guitar-bass-tone-or-blender-pot-2014.466061/

Pretty sure Bill himself liked using 500k for both pots in combination with his noise-free pickups.

 

[hopdybob]

I'm using 250's. I think of this as being really close to my basic tone.

thank you

 

[Derek Kiernan]

Pretty sure Bill himself liked using 500k for both pots in combination with his noise-free pickups.

Bill “started” with 500k pots because he would add resistors in parallel to drop down to the values he liked with a given pickup while testing, and he was always testing!

 

[ChicknPickn]

Bill “started” with 500k pots because he would add resistors in parallel to drop down to the values he liked with a given pickup while testing, and he was always testing!

Good point. He certainly was more adventurous with a soldering iron than I am! I did start with 500k, and stayed there on several builds. I lack some hearing in the upper ranges and tend to like brighter guitars.

 

[brookdalebill]

Sounds great, thanks.

 

[Jim Soloway]

thank you

I was thinking about this exchange this morning and I thought I ought to point out a couple of things.

There are a lot of things i do to warm up my tone and they've become such a part of my playing that I don't really think about them. I do think they have a lot more impact than the pots though. I'm tuned down a full step to D-standard. I'm using very light flat wound strings with very little tension. I pick much further forward than most players with my picking hand above the pickup or even the end of the fingerboard. I play with a combination of nail and flesh. And I play with an absurdly light touch which eliminates a lot of the attack.

 

[hopdybob]

Bill “started” with 500k pots because he would add resistors in parallel to drop down to the values he liked with a given pickup while testing, and he was always testing!

i have a old curved blade l500 (7,75 K ohm)that has a tone that comes in the neighborhood like @Jim Soloway his vid.
what resistor could i try with the l280 to get a bit closer to the L500?
volume is 250Kohm tone is 250Kohm no load
maybe you have a suggestion ;-)

 

[Derek Kiernan]

An L500XL with an L280?