Pickups for tele?

Tempest

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Alright.  The time has come for me to start wrapping up the final details for my tele build.  I've had it routed for P90 in the neck and HB in the bridge.  For the neck pup I've narrowed it down to Fralin and Lollar P90's.  I have a feeling most of you will recommend the Lollar one, and that's what I'm leaning towards at the moment.

For the bridge spot I'm looking for something that can go from lighter, bluesy style stuff to more like a Rush, ZZ Top style distortion.  I'm pretty open to suggestions.  I've been looking at Bare Knuckles a little but they are a little bit more pricey than I'd like.

These are going into a swamp ash, chambered tele with a goncalo/ziricote neck.  I don't want it to be mushy sounding,  I've noticed the neck can get a little muddy with the BBQ bucker in the strat that I have the neck on right now.

Thanks,
Tempest
 
If you are looking for "affordable" pickups (I'm guessing about the $80 range), you might want to consider a Duncan Jazz, 59, or Custom.

As far as your P-90 choice, I have a swamp ash jazzmaster-style home creation with dual Fralin P-90's. Reading the description of Lollar P-90's makes me wish I had tried them. My Fralins just seem a little harsh on the high end, whereas the Lollars claim to have that edge taken off.
 
Bare Knuckle Mule or Riff Raff on bridge and P90 on neck  :glasses9:
They're not that expensive for those who earns in dollars, euros and pounds... IMHO
 
NonsenseTele said:
Bare Knuckle Mule or Riff Raff on bridge and P90 on neck  :glasses9:
They're not that expensive for those who earns in dollars, euros and pounds... IMHO

They would cost me about $130 USD which is really more than I'd like to pay.  But they sound so good.  I'll have to think more about them for sure

callaway said:
If you are looking for "affordable" pickups (I'm guessing about the $80 range), you might want to consider a Duncan Jazz, 59, or Custom.

I've never been very interested in SD's for some reason.  They seem too...boring I guess.
 
I had always felt the same way about Seymour Duncans, but those 3 models are actually quite good. I especially like the 59, as it just sounds like what a humbucker should sound like. I'm not a fan of much of their other pickups though, and I definitely would not recommend anything from DiMarzio.

As far as boutique "interesting" humbuckers go though, you are going to pay quite a bit for whatever you choose. You might as well just order some Lollars (or whoever you get your P-90 from).
 
I'm really starting to lean towards the Mule from Bare Knuckle.  It sounds so good from the clips I've heard.  Looks like it really fits the bill for me.  When you consider that I'm building a custom guitar, money shouldn't be too much of an object really. 

So for those of you who have one, how does the mule handle higher levels of distortion?  Hows the bass on it is it tighter or looser sounding?
 
Alright I sent Tim an e-mail last Friday and still haven't got a reply.  How long do they usually take to reply?
 
I sent BKP a question via their Myspace page, and they took a little over a week to reply.  :dontknow:
 
I must have missed this before, and if you are already going for the BKs, just ignore me, but I have a Thinline with a P-90/humbucker setup, and I went with the Lollar for the P-90.  I'm sure you may have already heard me gush about that, so I'll move on to the hum.  I was looking for something that would balance well with the output of the P-90, and on the advice of Jackthehack, I went with the Rio Grande Genuine Texas Humbucker.  I'm really glad I did, it matches output quite well, and is a phenomenal sounding pickup.  No mush there.
 
guitlouie said:
I must have missed this before, and if you are already going for the BKs, just ignore me, but I have a Thinline with a P-90/humbucker setup, and I went with the Lollar for the P-90.  I'm sure you may have already heard me gush about that, so I'll move on to the hum.  I was looking for something that would balance well with the output of the P-90, and on the advice of Jackthehack, I went with the Rio Grande Genuine Texas Humbucker.  I'm really glad I did, it matches output quite well, and is a phenomenal sounding pickup.  No mush there.

Yeah, well I just put a BBQ in the bridge spot of my HSS strat.  And I kinda want to try some different brands.
 
Alright.  So I'm about to order my Riff Raff from Bare Knuckle.  Which spacing of the coils should I order.  50mm or 53mm?  I'm using the Gotoh humbucker tele bridge.

Thanks,
Bob
 
Tempest said:
Alright.  So I'm about to order my Riff Raff from Bare Knuckle.  Which spacing of the coils should I order.  50mm or 53mm?  I'm using the Gotoh humbucker tele bridge.

Thanks,
Bob

53mm is Fender's standard and Warmoth makes their guitars by Fender's standards so 53mm.
 
I have a BKP mule neck Pup installed in my LP and a Riff Raff set installed in my VW.  I would highly recommend the Riff Raff Bridge pickup.  I think it will give you the tone you are looking for.

With the current exchange rate you can order them directly from Tim for a VERY reasonable price.  I just ordered a calabrated set for 275.  All the US dealers are still selling them for 375. 

V/R
Bill
 
riverbluff said:
I have a BKP mule neck Pup installed in my LP and a Riff Raff set installed in my VW.  I would highly recommend the Riff Raff Bridge pickup.  I think it will give you the tone you are looking for.

With the current exchange rate you can order them directly from Tim for a VERY reasonable price.  I just ordered a calabrated set for 275.  All the US dealers are still selling them for 375. 

V/R
Bill

You should read the thread because thats what he's getting, the riff raff.
BTW, I'm looking at the Mule for my HSS Strat build and was wondering how it is, the tone I'm looking for is something like the sound in Won't Get Fooled Again by The Who, do you think the Mule would be suitable? The body is Swamp Ash, and the neck will be Bloodwood.
 
Rouse said:
riverbluff said:
I have a BKP mule neck Pup installed in my LP and a Riff Raff set installed in my VW.  I would highly recommend the Riff Raff Bridge pickup.  I think it will give you the tone you are looking for.

With the current exchange rate you can order them directly from Tim for a VERY reasonable price.  I just ordered a calabrated set for 275.  All the US dealers are still selling them for 375. 

V/R
Bill

You should read the thread because thats what he's getting, the riff raff.
BTW, I'm looking at the Mule for my HSS Strat build and was wondering how it is, the tone I'm looking for is something like the sound in Can't Get Fooled Again by The Who, do you think the Mule would be suitable? The body is Swamp Ash, and the neck will be Bloodwood.

Kind of the wrong guitar for The Who.  And it's Won't not Can't btw.

Rouse said:
Tempest said:
Alright.  So I'm about to order my Riff Raff from Bare Knuckle.  Which spacing of the coils should I order.  50mm or 53mm?  I'm using the Gotoh humbucker tele bridge.

Thanks,
Bob

53mm is Fender's standard and Warmoth makes their guitars by Fender's standards so 53mm.

Yes but the spacing in the Gotoh humbucker tele bridge's space is less than 53mm, so I'm worried that it would not fit.

Okay my bad guys, it's just the string spacing that's less than 53mm. 

Am I right in saying that both sizes would fit in the Gotoh bridge?
 
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