Give me suggestions for a Tele Custom with a Seymour Duncan Little 59 bridge pickup.

[ThisIsHuhWow404]

I had the Little 59/Vintage Stack set in my MIM Standard Tele, and while I liked each pickup individually, I hated the way they sounded together. I eventually swapped out the Little 59 for a Vintage Stack bridge and now have this lone Little 59 sitting around. I think it’s a fine pickup, I’m just not sure what to do with it.

I find the Tele Custom appealing, and think it could make a good home for it. Are there any good PAF style humbuckers for the neck it would play good with? Any suggestions regarding wood? Or what finish would compliment the sound aesthetically? Possibly over engineering it with a Free Way or push pull pots?

What would you do in this situation?

 

[ragamuffin]

Tele customs are neat looking!

I would say any ol' not-too-hot neck humbucker should balance with it pretty well. Duncan 59' neck? Be rebellious and use a Dimarzio 36th An. P.A.F. in there? Lot's of nice boutique options out there like Wolfetone, Lollar, Zhangbucker just to name a few.

I don't find that wood species has a ton to do with tone in electrics, but mahogany with humbuckers is the classic choice. Most people seem to subscribe to the idea that korina will sound similar to mahogany with more interesting aesthetics, and that you might find alder or ash to be a smidge brighter. Personally I'd let aesthetics lead your choice of wood, and weight.

 

[Hodgo]

I agree, pick a PAF and go for it.

If you want to do something off the beaten path but still with a nod to Fender history, a trans red finish over mahogany was used on some rare Teles back in the early 60s, also with rosewood fretboards. Of course those ingredients are also proper Gibsonish, so it’s a fine line straddler.

As an alternative, just go for the WRHB in the neck.

 

[JohnnyHardtail]

I would prefer Alder to mahogany because it is lighter. Fortunately the tele custom has some weight relief due to the control route.

 

[ThisIsHuhWow404]

I’ve basically boiled the neck pickup down to the Seymour Duncan Seth Lover, ‘59, Whole Lotta Humbucker, or Alnico II Pro. Maybe the P-Rail if I wanted to get really crazy with it. Unfortunately the Little 59 has a ceramic magnet so I can’t really go by resistance reading in telling what would go best with it.

 

[ThisIsHuhWow404]

Just an update. It’s only been a month. I am still planning on this one out.

Pickups: I’m torn between the 59 Neck (SH-1n) and Alnico II Pro Neck (APH-1n). The 59 seems like a "safer" option, but the color I want only comes with a 2 cable option, and I’d need to pick a different color if I wanted 4 cables for splitting. It’s a petty reason, but part of me feels like there might be some cosmic significance, like the universe is telling me "go for the Alnico II Pro!" Although the most famous Alnico II Pro user was Slash on Appetite For Destruction, which feels like a really far cry from "Tele."

I’ve decided against Seth Lover due to the lack of wax potting, wouldn’t pair well. Whole Lotta Humbucker doesn’t seem to fit what I’m going for.

Pearly Gates and the Slash model I haven’t considered but might look into. My memory of the Little 59 is that it was actually a lot hotter and more rocking than I expected, so maybe the Slash would be a better fit than the Alnico II Pro.

Woods/Finish: I’ve decided on an alder body with DIY Ready. I’ve had spray cans for a blue/turquoise/purple color shift paint job for a while. I’ve been planning on using them for a guitar but it was always too tacky and gaudy for what I was actually working on. If you look up the Ibanez S67ALB, it’s similar to that. I’m torn between the neck being maple/rosewood, maple/macassar ebony, or just roasted maple. The Azurite Malachite dots would fit the paint.

Seymour Duncan themselves don’t list an E-Mail on the "contact us" part of their website, only a phone number. Might call them and ask if I get the courage. Damn social anxiety!

 

[Hodgo]

Pickups: I’m torn between the 59 Neck (SH-1n) and Alnico II Pro Neck (APH-1n). The 59 seems like a "safer" option, but the color I want only comes with a 2 cable option, and I’d need to pick a different color if I wanted 4 cables for splitting. It’s a petty reason, but part of me feels like there might be some cosmic significance, like the universe is telling me "go for the Alnico II Pro!" Although the most famous Alnico II Pro user was Slash on Appetite For Destruction, which feels like a really far cry from "Tele."

Have you considered a 4 conductor Gibson 57 Classic? People pull them out of their Gibbies all the time to “upgrade” to something boutique, which means finding them cheap and barely used is fairly easy. They sound fantastic, right in that classic Les Paul territory.

 

[ThisIsHuhWow404]

I think I might do a Roasted Swamp Ash body for this. Suhr uses it on the Modern T body and PRS uses it on some of the NF-53 models.

Only problem is that I’m using a solid finish so the look of the wood grain isn’t really much of a concern. I get the impression Roasted Swamp Ash is kind of like Black Korina or Flame/Birdseye/Burl maple where the appeal is in what the wood looks like and using a transparent finish. I might be wasting a good piece of wood (and my money) because of imaginary tone science and blown out of proportion "lower weight" and "more density."

And I think Alnico II Pro is my choice for the neck pickup. Pearly Gates and Slash are both targeted at specific tone chasing while Alnico II Pro just seems to be a normal pickup for a more broad purpose. The comparison videos for Alnico II Pro and Slash on YouTube make the Slash sound more modern and compressed while Alnico II Pro sounds more vintage and has a better dynamic range. I think it will pair well with the Little 59.

 

[Rick]

Why cover a roasted wood with paint you can't see through? Is that something Suhr does? Indeed it's an unnecessary expense. If you're going to cover it up, go with Alder, poplar, ... maybe mahogany ... maybe korina ... unless money is no object and you want to have some fun? Then have at it.

 

[ThisIsHuhWow404]

Why cover a roasted wood with paint you can't see through? Is that something Suhr does? Indeed it's an unnecessary expense. If you're going to cover it up, go with Alder, poplar, ... maybe mahogany ... maybe korina ... unless money is no object and you want to have some fun? Then have at it.

The myth is that the roasted woods are lighter (weight wise), as well as more dense and hard due to the lack of moisture, so more "stable" and less prone to dings and cracks. There’s some alleged tonal differences but nobody can agree on what they are.

And people say roasted maple neck have a nice smell when the guitar is brand new.

Roasted Swamp Ash bodies from PRS and Suhr all seem to be a transparent or burst finish, if not clear. Suhr and Charvel both offer roasted alder bodies with solid finishes.

 

[Hodgo]

Ya ever worked with ash before? Not sure it needs to be any denser, it’s already baseball bat tough before roasting.

I would rather pay the up charge for an extra light piece of alder, poplar, or basswood than waste an expensive chunk of ash.

 

[ThisIsHuhWow404]

The tech support guy from Seymour Duncan got back to me and said all the pickups I was looking at would work, but said he personally would actually use the P-Rail neck. I’m considering it.

 

[ThisIsHuhWow404]

UPDATES!

I realized I needed a trem cover for my Meadowhawk I’m still waiting on, so I took the opportunity to order the Tele Custom body and pickguard at the same time. Went with normal Swamp Ash, and the forearm and tummy contour. I skipped the DIY paint ready option because I still have a ton of StewMac supplies laying around from another project. I might regret that.

I’m holding out on getting a neck until the body is actually finished, because money. Musikraft has an inlay called Blue Nebula that might complement the paint better than Warmoth’s azurite malachite dots.

I’m leaning towards the Saturday Night Special neck pickup. It seems to have a similar "This is a PAF…but not really" vibe.