The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    I'm considering a hum cancelling neck pickup for my Vola Vasti. I haven't really even thought about these since about 2012 and I'm sure there been lots of new contenders since then. Any thoughts?

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  3. #2

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    I recommend that you search for recent discussion on TDPRI.

    Personally, I tried and several that have worked well.

    First, for a noiseless pickup that looks and sounds like a vintage telecaster, my favorite has been the Dimarzio Area T.

    Second, most people think of EMG as a metal shredder's brand, but their single-coil styles can sound very, very good. In fact, EMG says that their T neck is the best pickup they make. I really like it (and the EMG tele bridge is by far my favorite because it's not spiky). But one reservation: vintage-style tele neck pickups work great for jazz because rolling back the tone control not only cuts the treble but seems to somehow boost the midrange; that doesn't seem to happen with my EMG T -- I roll back the tone control and it cuts the treble but doesn't otherwise fatten it up much. One example:
    .

    Third, Bardens are excellent pickups and many really love them. Where most single coil pickups have a dynamic range that goes from slight hum/buzz to medium output, Bardens have a dynamic range that goes from dead silent to really loud. My reservation with Bardens: where vintage telecaster pickups have alnico magnets that can subtly soften/darken/granulate the tone, Bardens have steel rails that sound harder/brighter/slicker, like someone turned the "presence" knob way up in a way that you can't easily tune out. Here's a good jazz example:
    .

    Fourth, I haven't tried them, but this video of the Fender Vintage Noiseless sounds great:
    .

  4. #3

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    I think Mark's post is an excellent place to start (and perhaps, to end.)

  5. #4

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    I am very happy with my Joe Barden neck pickup on my jazz tele.

  6. #5
    I like Barden pickups for teles.Its what Danny Gatton used. Nuff said.IMHO

  7. #6

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    I like the Dimarzio Area T that I have in my thinline build. Seem to be well balanced and versatile. They come with the wiring ready for a 4-way switch, too, if that is something that you are considering.

  8. #7

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    I found the Dimarzio Area T to sound excellent for jazz. I damaged mine and it died (bad screwdriver technique when adjusting pickup height). I replaced it with a Wilde/Bill Lawrence L280TN and have been delighted. Given the tones I have heard from you, I think you'd like that even better than the Area T.

  9. #8

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    Would any of you Barden players be willing to share some samples of your playing? I haven’t heard many recordings of Bardens used in jazz.

  10. #9

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  11. #10
    Danny Gatten has a lot of music on YT. The tele with Bardens have blades in them. But Danny was not strictly a jazz player. Jazz fans would probably like his album with Joey Defrancesco the best. Sorry about spelling. I think I like Ed Bickert and Ted Greenes tone the best. They used PAFs for neck pup.

  12. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by steve burchfield
    Danny Gatten has a lot of music on YT. The tele with Bardens have blades in them. But Danny was not strictly a jazz player. Jazz fans would probably like his album with Joey Defrancesco the best. Sorry about spelling. I think I like Ed Bickert and Ted Greenes tone the best. They used PAFs for neck pup.
    Ed played his Tee stock for many years and his tone was very nice. My understand that his motivation for the Tele was just to deal with the hum but his tone with the original single coil is glorious.


  13. #12

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    After my post last night, I thought about this some more. Personally, for jazz tones, I think that there’a something special about the traditional design (i.e. Dimarzio Area T, Kinman, Fender noiseless) that works better than other options (Barden, EMG) for jazz.

    I think it has to do with the shallow bobbin and the metal cover. Those seem to accomplish a very subtle treble roll off, and seem to add a midrange character when the tone knob is rolled down. And somehow, the distance between the pickup and the metal cover seems to impart a sense that the guitar is hollow or has some air.

    Lots of blues and rock players dislike the traditional Tele neck pickup and prefer new versions that “fix” these “problems” by making it more like a strat with a taller bobbin, no metal cover, and brighter tone. Or they “fix” these “problems” by using a humbucker.

    But jazz players never seemed to have a problem with the original design, probably because it was designed for Western swing! I remember the first time I played a tele, the neck pickup was by far my favorite, and I thought “how did they fit a huge hollow body archtop sound in this shiny little lipstick pickup!?!?”

  14. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by markesquire
    After my post last night, I thought about this some more. Personally, for jazz tones, I think that there’a something special about the traditional design (i.e. Dimarzio Area T, Kinman, Fender noiseless) that works better than other options (Barden, EMG) for jazz.

    I think it has to do with the shallow bobbin and the metal cover. Those seem to accomplish a very subtle treble roll off, and seem to add a midrange character when the tone knob is rolled down. And somehow, the distance between the pickup and the metal cover seems to impart a sense that the guitar is hollow or has some air.

    Lots of blues and rock players dislike the traditional Tele neck pickup and prefer new versions that “fix” these “problems” by making it more like a strat with a taller bobbin, no metal cover, and brighter tone. Or they “fix” these “problems” by using a humbucker.

    But jazz players never seemed to have a problem with the original design, probably because it was designed for Western swing! I remember the first time I played a tele, the neck pickup was by far my favorite, and I thought “how did they fit a huge hollow body archtop sound in this shiny little lipstick pickup!?!?”
    I love the traditional tele neck pickup. For all styles. I agree a good one has a "hollow" sound, which I love. I have never wanted to put a humbucker of any kind into the neck position of my tele. (I do have a Filtertron in the neck of my Cabronita, because that guitar requires Filter-tron-sized pickups... I have also had P90 type and Dynasonic type in that guitar.)

    I like strat neck pickups too, but if I want that I pick up my strat. I like my teles to be teles.

  15. #14

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    When I put together my Warmoth Tele some 30 years ago I did it BECAUSE of Danny Gatton and Ted Greene and Ed Bickert. The original Barden pickups were in that guitar for at least 15 years before I replaced them with a set of DiMarzio Area T's (on account of a certain Mr. Chuck D'Aloia)and in these 30 years I used that guitar for appr. 1000 gigs. 18 months ago I swapped out the original Fender bridge for a new Mastery bridge which improved the response, the sustain and the twäng-factor considerably. NOW however I'm lusting for a new set of pups that give me yet a little more of a vintage vibe than the Area's already do... they're close but not close enough. I'm even considering using true single coils and going the "wrapped-in-copper-foil" route, since I'm hardly ever using overdrive when gigging with this guitar.
    So I can attest to the sparkly, robust and dynamic tones that the Barden pups offer and also to the dead-quiet and very musical performance of the Area's. It's a toss up - after putting in the new bridge this guitar sounded and felt def. more like a vintage Tele and I guess that new pups will only make a marginal difference ....

  16. #15

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    I have been using the Bill Lawrence Keystones in my Tele for years. Not totally noiseless but close and great sounding pickups for sure.
    thanks John

  17. #16

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    It’s more complicated and expensive than just a neck pickup but the Fishman Fluence Greg Koch Pickup Set could be an option.

    Greg Koch Gristle-Tone™ Signature Fluence Pickup Set | Fishman

  18. #17

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    So Ive tried all sorts of different styles of Tele pickups both noisless and regular.
    I'm not a fan of the normal neck pickup in general.
    So I always end up with a mini humbucker, SD Jazz humbucker, or even CC Rider in that position.

    I will say for noisless single coils including Tele Bridge pickups, my choice is Bill
    Lawrence Becky Wylde pickups. Incredibly fair priced, and not overly bright like Joe Gardens. But I'm not a Tele purist either

  19. #18

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    My favorite hum-cancelling Tele neck pickup is a Duncan Phat Cat. Excellent P90-ish tones with zero hum.


  20. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by Gitfiddler
    My favorite hum-cancelling Tele neck pickup is a Duncan Phat Cat. Excellent P90-ish tones with zero hum.

    The Phat Cats are not hum-cancelling, they are "true P90s"- single coil, just in a humbucker cover.

  21. #20

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    I probably should have said before that I already have a 25.5" guitar with a humbucker so I definitely don't need another one. I really like the sound of the single coil in the Vola. I just fins the noise a bit annoying.

    I seem to recall Tim Lerch talking about a hum/noise cancellation pedal. Perhaps that's a better alternative than a pickup change. Has anyone tried that route?

  22. #21

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Soloway
    I probably should have said before that I already have a 25.5" guitar with a humbucker so I definitely don't need another one. I really like the sound of the single coil in the Vola. I just fins the noise a bit annoying.

    I seem to recall Tim Lerch talking about a hum/noise cancellation pedal. Perhaps that's a better alternative than a pickup change. Has anyone tried that route?
    I have never heard of a pedal that eliminates 60-cycle hum, which is the problem with single coils. Noise-reducing pedals are noise gates; not remotely the same thing.

    I would begin researching "tele neck pickup hum cancelling" and see what you find... discard all the PAF humbuckers, and see what's left. I would also email Pete Biltoft at Vintage Vibe, and ask him id he can do anything.. he might be able to wind you something with a dummy coil or something.

  23. #22

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Soloway
    I probably should have said before that I already have a 25.5" guitar with a humbucker so I definitely don't need another one. I really like the sound of the single coil in the Vola. I just fins the noise a bit annoying.
    You should find these threads interesting...

    Bill Lawrence Wilde L-202TN Review / L202TN Noiseless Tele Neck Pickup | Telecaster Guitar Forum



    Review: Duncan Vintage Noiseless Neck | Telecaster Guitar Forum

  24. #23

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    Jim definitely check out the Blade Tele pickups from Becky Wylde/Bill Lawrence
    These are the pickups Reggie Young used in his Tele and Strats.
    And at around $65 new per pickup you won't go wrong!

  25. #24

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    Quote Originally Posted by jads57
    Jim definitely check out the Blade Tele pickups from Becky Wylde/Bill Lawrence
    These are the pickups Reggie Young used in his Tele and Strats.
    And at around $65 new per pickup you won't go wrong!
    Any idea of I would have to get them direct or if there's a dealer in Canada?

  26. #25

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    I suspect you’re thinking of a noise gate, as I know of no pedals that will reduce noise or filter it from signal while you’re playing. For example, you could filter 60 or 120 Hz noise with a notch filter, but low E is about 82.4 Hz at concert pitch. A filter steep enough on both sides to remove only 60 Hz is not practical, and even a 3rd order high pass filter (18 dB / octave) will audibly attenuate / affect at least the bottom octave if set to reduce signal by 18 dB at 60 Hz.

    Noise gates are signal activated switches. The threshold is adjustable, and it blocks all signal when the level falls below the set point. So it blocks all noise below the threshold level from reaching the amplifier. The main problem it introduces is that it cuts off all signal - so it can truncate decay of notes if set too high. And lowering the threshold further could allow the noise you’re trying to eliminate to pass through. The noise gate pedals that I’ve seen were simple on-off signal valves, so they don’t reduce the noise level. It’s there in full if it’s above the set threshold. I’ve heard about stepped attenuation in sophisticated studio noise reduction devices, but I’ve never seen it and I don’t think there are any generally available pedals that do it.

    I hope that helps, Jim (and tells you something you didn’t already know )