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I just picked up one of these on Sunday:
Fender FSR Standard Ash Telecaster Electric Guitar | GuitarCenter
I'm looking for new pups to give me a clean Frisell tone on the neck, and humbucking in the middle position.
It's a very nice little guitar, and I'm pretty happy with it, but of course, I want to modify it
I bought it for 2 main reasons: the weight is really light, only a smidge heavier than my Eastman 403, and the neck pup gives a really good, solid tone that is great clean for jazz -- that clean Frisell tone -- but...
Even though I really like the neck pup, I'm finding the plain G pops a bit hard and the D is a bit quiet. I've fiddled with the height screws and I've got it as balanced as it's gonna get, but I'm wondering what pickups would give me the same tone, but be balanced for a plain G. D'Addario 11's. The plain G is non-negotiable for this guitar.
The other issue is the bridge pup is not humbucking with the neck pup, and that's not acceptable for gigging purposes. I've played enough rooms with really bad power to always need a humbucking option available on any guitar I bring to the gig.
Suggest away!!
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09-30-2014 01:23 PM
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Call me an a$rse for suggesting this..
Are you willing to risk the existing pickup? I got in an argument with RandyC (I still think i am right
over this but it is not unheard of and can be done (assuming this has magnetic poles and not a bar magnet along the bottom )
Take the neck pickup out, take off the cover, use something like a drillpress WITHOUT A BIT to push the g magnet back a little to stagger it. I wouldnt touch the D string right away.
So if it works, great. If it doesnt, you just toasted the pickup and time to buy a new one (in a previous thread it was suggested that it is quite simple to unwind the old pickup.. fix the break in the coil.. and rewind it. It is a little trickier than that.
If this were a vintage pickup, a 120$ lollar or a pickup you really really really love i wouldnt try it. But if you can get it to work great. If not you are out (max) a 50$ pickup.
What???? Just a suggestion
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I might give this a try. And you're right, I'm not that bothered destroying a cheap pup, so I might give it try next time I change strings. Of course, it'd be a good idea to have a replacement in mind in case I ruin the pup, so keep those recommendations coming!
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See the Frisell quote on the Harmonic Design website: Harmonic Design Custom Pickups
I put the Z90 on my Squire Tele - would do so again and again.
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Originally Posted by Rob MacKillop
The HD chrometone looks interesting, but the HD order page is not explicit that it is secured (i.e. no https) so I won't use it. Yes, they could be using a secured cURL, but I don't trust it. Besides, sending the info from the computer to the server (where the cURL would be located) is not secure. Bad business decision.
Not looking for a p90, but a standard Tele neck style, just better balance. Certainly not looking for a Strat neck tone -- I got a Strat for that!
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If you do end up looking for a custom pickup I'd suggest Vintage Vibe Guitars pickups built by Pete Biltoft. He's a wizard a building pickups. i sold all my other electrics when i got two of his pickups for my main guitar.
Pete Biltoft answers his own phone. He is super friendly and super knowledgeable. Pete will gladly talk with you to find out exactly what you want, and will make it only when he knows for sure. He can make most any configuration you desire. And his pickups have an interchangeable magnet system that can be changed in a few seconds to either Alnico 2, 3, or 5, or ceramic. Each pickup comes with two sets of magnets, your choice. So you can get experiment with a wide range of tones without getting new pickups.
I'm not affiliated with Pete Biltoft except as a really satisfied customer.
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Also a very satisfied Vintage Vibe customer...turned a MIM Tele into a very versatile machine!!
b_goat
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+1 on the vintage vibe.
Charlie Christian p/u. Yes it's a humbucker size only because it was from a hollow bodied guitar and I wanted the CC tone on a 25.5" guitar.
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I have to say my fav tele neck pickup is the Lollar Special T. A little warmer and fuller than a normal tele.
True story: I dont normally like the neck pickup on a tele (at lest the ones I had tried over the past 20 years).
Had a Ttop hb in the neck of my tele but the stock pickup (74) was just horrible.. way to bright.
I emailed Jason Lollar asking what would be a good balance tonally with the neck pickup. Not necessarily at the same time but something that you can switch from neck to bridge without having the re-eq the heck out of the amp. He suggested a tele special T pickup. Tried it and was a perfect fit.
Some months later a got a very good deal on a Lollar Special T neck pickup. I had a project guitar I was working on and didnt really care about what went in the neck but thought a tele pickup would be cute. Well... amazing sounding pickup.
Doesnt sound like a strat pickup. Doesnt sound like a P90. Doesnt sound like my VVCCR. It DOES sound like a tele but with a bit more lows and mids. Not a hot pickup but possibly a little hotter than a normal if I had to guess (I didnt measure the DCR).
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Vintage Vibe is a place I'm gonna look into
The Lollar sounds interesting as well. I've used several Lollar's and while they've not necessarily been what I was looking for, they're always extremely fine pickups!
I'm also a Fralin fan, with a set of vintage hots in my strat that I simply adore, but I remember using some of his Tele pups about 10 yrs ago and was un-wowed. Still, things might've changed with my ears since then...
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Fender custom shop nocaster neck, I put one of these in my classic vibe and it sounds great! Good luck!
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i fitted my 68 thinline tele with the Fender Custom shop 51 nocaster set ....(they are available individually too ) .... i use my tele for all the jazz i play these days and by rolling off some tops (tone control) i am very happy and i like a warm /vintage tele tone .... btw the difference between standard fender pickups and the custom shop 51 nocasters was chalk and cheese as we say ... worth every cent
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Does the nocaster set provide a humbucking position, i.e. when the front and back pickups are both on? Does it balance with a plain G string?
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as for a plain G i use my tele with roundwound 10's and the G is plain and i have no problems....
i guess the secret is to try em before you buy....i'm sure someone near to you must have them in a tele....i say this cos some folk are just way more critical on the sound/balance than others....
for me they were a huge step up from usa standard pickups..... a noticeable tonal shift i guess cos usa standards are a modern sounding set and this is supossedly true vintage ala 1951 (and it's not that "ice pick" tele tone one associates with the 50's tele's) but a surprisingly warmer tone i'd say warmer than most other tele pups i tried so far
as for the humbucking aspect ...yes it works like any tele with the 3 way switch but you gonna have to ask someone more tech savvy about that ....
***but please note to get jazz tone i do roll off the tone quite a bit and if the amp has a lot of gain i back off a notch or two on volume
but try it .... believe me if you hear em you will know instantly if you like em or not
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The disfarmer mexican telecaster has a nocaster set, http://www.myjazzhome.com/00s_FrizTele.shtml
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I have two Nocasters and a G&L ASAT Classic. The Nocasters' neck pickups are a little too Stratty to me. Never liked the G&L stock pickups. Each guitar has a Don Mare in the neck. The Nocasters' bridge pickups are stock and the ASAT has a Seymour Duncan Broadcaster in the bridge. I tried a bunch of neck pickups and ended up liking the Mares the best.
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yes i heard great things about the don mare's , i see rick Kelly puts them in his Bowery tele's and they sound fabulous but those guitars are made from 150yr old wood too so maybe hard to judge ...but yes love to try a set sometime
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Just FYI, my tonal goal for the neck pickup was Frisell. The Don Mare's work beautifully and he is available to talk it through with you as well.
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Which model did you choose? Originally Posted by Encinitastubes
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On the ASAT Classic it was a Super Sport, perhaps my favorite. The Nocasters were his traditional (brass I believe) neck pickups. Beautiful organic tone.
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I like a bright sound, and I don't use the tone knob usually except as a special effect. When I was at GC picking out the guitar, I tried every Tele with standard pickups they had in stock, and none of them gave me the tone that the Mexi FSR did. Most of 'em were too close to a Strat (Am standards) or not as sweet sounding. The pickup in the Mexi is not dark by any means, it's bright enough, but seems "fuller" than the other guitars I tried. Who knows, maybe it's the guitar and any pups will do me
I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by the choices, but I'm gonna add the Don Mare sets to my radar
I think first I'm gonna try the magnet push trick and if I destroy the pickup, I got a couple of spares I could toss in -- a cheap no-name and an old Fender noiseless -- till I can buy a new one. If I don't destroy the pickup, I'll probably look for a broadcaster-type bridge pup that will humbuck with the neck.
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i am a tele fan and i have yet unless i play into an extremely dark amp to leave the tone on the tele full open and get a good jazz tone with tele style pickups .... on fender amps which i favour i always roll off the tone even sometimes just a hint ... a notch or two and if the amp is bright i roll off a lot more..... Originally Posted by D.G.
before you buy new pickups experiment with rolling off some tone ...*** note i don't mean turn tone all the way down
cos no one can accuse a tele of not having enough tops... so sometimes they need a hint of softening especially for jazz tone...and rolling off volume (again just a notch) can get a woodier sound as many pickups are designed for rock where the output is pretty high
so try fiddling with volume and tone knobs it may just bring a whole new palate of tones to your sound
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Concerning magnet choice, I prefer Alnico 2 for my Tele neck pup, it sounds much smoother than the Alnico 5, but I don't know what you hear and you don't know what I hear.
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I dont know about the Alnico 2 vs 5 thing but the "I dont know what you hear and you dont know what I hear" quote is golden. Originally Posted by GuyBoden
Concerning magnet choice, I prefer Alnico 2 for my Tele neck pup, it sounds much smoother than the Alnico 5, but I don't know what you hear and you don't know what I hear.
If people could understand this there would be so much peace and harmony in the world (except for the trolls)
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I don't go for the "standard jazz tone" thing. Too dark and muddy for my tastes. I'm a single coil guy all the way.
To clarify, I like the sound of the neck pickup I currently have, it's just too hot on the plain G string, i.e. the magnets are either not staggered or staggered for a wound G. The other issue is the neck and bridge pickups when on together do not humbuck, which is deal killer for me on a gigging guitar.
I'm considering possibly an alnico 2/5 for the neck pup. I'm not really very concerned with the bridge, except that is be RWRP with the neck.
So far the sets I'm considering are:
Duncan Five-Two
Don Mare Magnificent 7's (or similar)
Lollar Special T's
Fralin 1/2 1/2 hybrid stagger
I'll make a decision after this Sunday when I can attempt to modify the current neck pup
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