I recently posted about what tele neck pickup I should get, however i've decided that I quite like the Seymour Duncan that I already have. However i'm now thinking about changing the stock bridge pickup, anyone have any suggestions of not too expensive pickups I can look at? I'm after a pickup with a nice trebly bite and nice bottom end, I was even thinking about a single coil sized P90.
It was the pickup in my blue Esquier which has done the rounds on here.
Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2012 8:24 pm
by paul_
The best tele bridge pickup I've ever heard was a used AV '64 Custom I bought from eBay.
I have not tried the fatbodies but I was definitely not impressed with the "52" tele bridge pickup I got from GFS. Shit was weak (and not in a vintage low-output way, more like a "fake strat" kind of way).
It was the pickup in my blue Esquier which has done the rounds on here.
Thanks i'll look into them. Do they still have the tele bite and do they have a nice fat bottom? Do they sound good clean as well as with drive/distortion?
You know the problem with Tele Bridge pickups- The great vintage pickups have all the snap, bite and growl that made Telecaster®s popular, but usually they lack the round low end of a humbucker guitar and certainly can be "fingernails-on-the-blackboard" screechy. I started making this pickup by hand for myself and a few select artists years ago, and everyone begged me to find a way to produce one for a reasonable cost.
Back in the 80's I used to make these by hand- I'd start with a set of Tele fiber bobbins, drill out the holes to accommodate P Bass pole-pieces, the lacquer dip em, wind with 42 gauge Formvar wire on my sweet 1/2 HP Baldor motor pickup winding rig, wax dip the whole thing and dress it up with correct vintage black cord.
The HUGE pole-pieces looked amazing, and my Tele had the kind of string snap and presence and POWER that NO TELE ON EARTH HAD.
I played all over the place with that guitar, and due to popular request I sold a bunch for $90, even sold a few to some then-famous rock stars.
15 years later I finally had the scratch to have a proper run of these made, using my exact formula- I gotta say- these are amazing! These are ALNICO pole-pieces, all correct vintage everything, even cloth covered wires. I promise you- there is no better Tele Bridge pickup on the planet if you're after big, bold tone, I've overwound these to a blistering 10K with 43 awg plain enamel wire- For a VERY full and rich bridge sound- Get all the power and drive you always wanted without losing the character or appearance of your Tele.
Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2012 12:31 am
by robroe
the body is Aqua Marine Metallic. It was only offered on american standard telecasters during 96-97'
here is what it looks like in stock form.
Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2012 12:36 am
by robroe
here it is when i owned it
Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2012 2:28 am
by Billy3000
I'd also recommend the GFS fatbody. I love both the fatbody bridge and neck pickups that I have in my knockoff tele kit! They both have that distinct tele sound, but just fat and thick as hell.
Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2012 10:33 pm
by johnnyseven
Thanks for the advice chaps. In the end I decided to go for a Dimarzio Pre B1, I got one new from Thomann for £52 posted. I liked the idea of the Twang King but was concerned about the amount of treble it output so went for something thick sounding with a bit less treble - I may try one in the neck at some point though. The B1 seemed to have similar tonal characteristics to the Area Hot T but cheaper - I wasn't bothered by the noiseless bit. I did look at the GFS Fatbody but couldn't find a UK supplier and although one would be cheap from the US once you add postage and comedy taxes I may not have saved much.
Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2012 3:00 am
by onedaycloser
+1 the gfs fatbody, had a set in an SX Thinline tele that was great.
Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2012 1:18 pm
by theshadowofseattle
I was the first SS owner of that blue tele body. It's MIM. I modified it to be string through.
Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2012 1:37 pm
by Benmurray85
i have nothing of any worth to add to this thread other than fuck that esquire is pretty
Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2012 1:45 pm
by lorez
theshadowofseattle wrote:I was the first SS owner of that blue tele body. It's MIM. I modified it to be string through.
i wondered who did those ferules.
I miss that guitar from time to time. lovely sound with any dirt pedals I've had and the neck was like butter to play
