IMHO the Wilde/Bill and Becky Lawrence L280 noiseless pick ups are the best drop-in replacements for the sake of fat tone and clarity.
The Dimarzio Area T pickups are a close second. They might get you closer to the classic Ed Bickert pre-PAF tone, if that's what you're looking for, than the Wildes. Having used both extensively, I prefer the Wilde pickups.
Both of those have a bit of humbucker compression; if you really like the true single coil sound, the Wilde Microcoil pickups for the Telecaster are outstanding. While they are a true single coil, they pick up less noise due to the smaller coil not offering as much antenna. There are two versions, one with I presume a ceramic bar magnet and one with alnico polepiece magnets; I prefer the sound of the ceramics (the alnicos are a little too Stratty for my tastes).
In my case, I have found that I like adding a resistor in parallel between the hot output of the bridge pickup and ground to sweeten/round off the highs just a little bit and make it less spiky. There are wiring diagrams on the Wilde website and also Lindy Fralin's website has a very nice page on this. Basically, this makes the bridge pickup think it is seeing a lower resistance pot, say 100K, while the neck pick up thinks it's seeing 250K. Folks who belong to the icepick school of Telecaster bridge pickups would probably hate it.
Thought I would share. Aerodyne Telecaster. Stock pickup replaced with CC in P-90 case and upgraded bridge pickup. Both by Pete Biloft at Vintage Vibe pickups.
“It’s not a question of why be a free improvisor. It’s a question of what else? Free Improvisation offers more playing per cubic second than any other type of music making.”
Derek Bailey quoted in...
I had one guitar where the finish on the tuning knobs started coming off. I didn't notice at first, except for the guitar feeling sticky.
Eventually, I put on new tuning knobs and cleaned the...
I’ve played fusion in pizza restaurants and cafes. And of course, on jazz club gigs. They was (or is) a fantastic fusion night at a pizza place near me.
Many places aren’t afraid of a bit of...
The same was said about Gibson guitars some years ago and it was debated on this forum on several occations. Some said it was caused by a switch from solvent soluble laquer to water soluble as an...
You're probably right, call me a curmudgeon. It wasn't his price I was critiquing, it is fair enough, it was the idea of only accepting cash from someone in his area. That seems silly to me, reduces...
An Italian (Neapolitan) band I liked that was big in the 70's and 80's was Napoli Centrale ("Central Naples"). James Senese is a pretty soulful sax player and singer. They didn't define themselves as...
As you point out, I guess that they are not so rare. Come to think of it, 3,750 copies were printed. I'm not sure where that puts it for rarity in the coffee-table-books-about-guitars category.
Oz Noy is quite cool! I had only heard the name and (don't know why) I thought they were doing experimental-avantguard (I guess the name sounded like they were doing that.
Carol Kaye told me she preferred Rosewood as fingerboard material for the warmth. I ended up choosing maple on my P Bass for the visual effect. All of my guitars have either rosewood or ebony and I...
@Mick-7 Why denigrate another forum members for sale ad? Others can decide what price and terms they are willing to pay for this item themselves. IMO, your post in this thread is unnecessary and...
https://youtu.be/Mqh-4kvwlYA?si=zr59q5QIcO6ehZ5_
I used the head off this album. Stop bickering guys. The newbs will think that’s how everyone gets treated and they’ll be afraid to post.
...
Thanks, Jeff. I found a digital download on 7Digital.com of the recording. For a start I like that kind of music. I'll see what I can hear that I can use.
I'm also working on John Pisano's "Jazz...
Really good luthier in Albuquerque, Santa Fe,...
Yesterday, 09:09 PM in Guitar, Amps & Gizmos