Help me understand tele pickup history

[musicispeace]

OK, for a strat guy I am looking at the other side of the street and wanted to run this past some tele players and see if I am at all getting this right. I fully understand that a person has to go with pickups that they feel have that certain something that resonates with them. That said, I get the impression that the "Broadcaster" phase of vintage styled tele pickups tend to be a little bit higher output, a little beefier but still twang worthy things. "52 blackguard tele" styled pickups are probably in the ballpark of what most of us associate with all things classic tele sounding, twang but can grind at it when pushed. The sixties styled tele pickups I still have not gleaned a working definition yet. Then there are the various high output options that will rock (or do metal) that are pretty far from a Johnny Cash recording.

Any thoughts on this as I am presently a bit torn between the Broadcaster and 52 blackguard tele flavors. My interest is in learning some old country but I still primarily spend my time working on blues. Thanks everyone.

 

[mayfly]

I got nothing for you there except buy what you think will sound the best. 

I will say that the older (two pickup) broadcasters/nocasters that I've played the bridge pickup sounded hot mostly because the neck pickup was so freaking weak    The later guitars were much better balanced.

 

[Kostas]

Most if not all pickup makers have descriptions on their pickups. You can also email for further information and to check online what others have to say about the pickups you are interested. I have assembled two telecasters and I didn't study the history of the guitar, I chose according to the tone I wanted.

 

[jackthehack]

I highly recommend SD '52 set, you can get all the vintage sounds out of them

 

[Cagey]

I agree with Mayfly on the Broadcaster take. Bridge wasn't really hot, just relatively so because of the extra-weak neck.

I recently built a "vintage" style Tele that I put a set of Bill Lawrence "Microcoil" Tele pickups in. Very nice. Well-balanced, great frequency response - they sound like Tele pickups, but the high end is clear rather than that "ice pick in the ear" sound some Tele bridge pickups return. For an added bonus, they're also noiseless (or very nearly so) without doing the balancing or dummy coil trick that invariably affects the sound. Finally, they're reasonably priced at $95/set. Highly recommended.

 

[guitarhack_in_winchester]

I agree with Mayfly on the Broadcaster take. Bridge wasn't really hot, just relatively so because of the extra-weak neck.

I recently built a "vintage" style Tele that I put a set of Bill Lawrence "Microcoil" Tele pickups in. Very nice. Well-balanced, great frequency response - they sound like Tele pickups, but the high end is clear rather than that "ice pick in the ear" sound some Tele bridge pickups return. For an added bonus, they're also noiseless (or very nearly so) without doing the balancing or dummy coil trick that invariably affects the sound. Finally, they're reasonably priced at $95/set. Highly recommended.

My apologies for the hijack - but, I am trying to decide upon the components that are going into my upcoming Tele build.  I've got the body/neck figured out - but, the plethora of pickup options are enough to make your head spin!

I like the way the Mojotone 2-face pickups sound (at least in the YouTube video) - several others sound good to my ear as well.  I want a "Tele Tone" - but, something that will still bark when I dig in w/my picking hand.  The Duncan Antiquity were nice, and the "Hot Tele" were OK, but didn't sound "tele" enough.  The Fender Twisted Tele's are a set I'm considering - but, your description of these "microcoils" work has me thinking again. 

You've had 'em installed for a few months - what are your thoughts, and how would they compare to some of the other known-quantities of single-coil Tele pickups? 

Thanks!

 

[Cagey]

I try to stay away from traditional-style Tele pickups, so I can't really compare these Microcoils to anything other than my memory. I also have a hard time discussing any pickups because as someone once said "talking about tone is like dancing about architecture"  :icon_biggrin:

Objectively, I can say they have a lotta dynamic range, a quality common to many Tele pickups. That is, if you "dig in", you get rewarded with some punchback. They have a wide frequency response, so chords are articulate. That is, you can hear all the strings - it's not just an amorphous sound. They're well-balanced, so you don't get some frequencies dominating the output, which is where that "ice pick in the ear" sound we all know and hate comes from. There's something about the design that's currently a something of a mystery to me, which is how they can be noiseless. Or, more accurately, low-noise. It's still a single coil pickup - there's no balancing pickup coil like you have in humbuckers, or dummy coil like you have in some other designs. But, unless you're right on top of something radiating hard, they don't make any noise.

Subjectively, I think they sound great, but that's just me. Like most single coils, they're fun to feed to sfx as the signal is pretty clean. For what they cost, it's a pretty low-risk proposition to try them. I'd wager you could ebay them for what you paid for them if you had to, because getting them isn't always a reliable proposition, time-wise.

Sorry I couldn't be more help.

 

[guitarhack_in_winchester]

I try to stay away from traditional-style Tele pickups, so I can't really compare these Microcoils to anything other than my memory. I also have a hard time discussing any pickups because as someone once said "talking about tone is like dancing about architecture"  :icon_biggrin:

Objectively, I can say they have a lotta dynamic range, a quality common to many Tele pickups. That is, if you "dig in", you get rewarded with some punchback. They have a wide frequency response, so chords are articulate. That is, you can hear all the strings - it's not just an amorphous sound. They're well-balanced, so you don't get some frequencies dominating the output, which is where that "ice pick in the ear" sound we all know and hate comes from. There's something about the design that's currently a something of a mystery to me, which is how they can be noiseless. Or, more accurately, low-noise. It's still a single coil pickup - there's no balancing pickup coil like you have in humbuckers, or dummy coil like you have in some other designs. But, unless you're right on top of something radiating hard, they don't make any noise.

Subjectively, I think they sound great, but that's just me. Like most single coils, they're fun to feed to sfx as the signal is pretty clean. For what they cost, it's a pretty low-risk proposition to try them. I'd wager you could ebay them for what you paid for them if you had to, because getting them isn't always a reliable proposition, time-wise.

Sorry I couldn't be more help.

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts! 

I have a feeling I'm going to be trying several to get to what I'm after.  That's OK - swaps on a Tele are a lot simpler than on my Gretsch.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Recently, I can't seem to veer away from the GFS NEO Vin Tele set or the EMG Tele Set.
Both are stellar, and noiseless.

Neither are historically part of the tradition of tele pickups, so it certainly does come back to what works for you in your application.

 

[stratamania]

Some may say that Joe Bardens are not traditional Tele pickups, but they themselves have a long tradition and were used by Danny Gatton, who is a part of tele folklore in my opinion. Here they are in use with a beer bottle and a towel.

[youtube]lBGanEveGVc[/youtube]