Tele bridge pickup sound... 12 str

[swarfrat]

Thinking about next decade's project already. There are some threads about 12 string tele bridge options. Which if you want 12 saddles pretty much involves a gotoh bridge. But if you want a tele bridge pickup,you need three screws and many say the bridge plate is part of the sound.

But is it necessary? Is there another option? H-gate humbuckers, mini humbuckers, something in a metal box perhaps? I'm not really tied to it being a tele, other than I think a tele is a good basis for a 12 string.  Do I need an upper horn for the longer headstock?

This is mostly pure conjecture. Which is kinda dangerous, those projects sometimes fly together in a blink of an eye.

 

[TBurst Std]

Well being a fan of the 12 string, somewhat, some thoughts:

90% of electric 12 strings you have heard are Rics.  Some characteristics of them are:
6 saddles for 12 strings (bridge and tp are separate)
Single coil pups
Octave strings are reversed vs other 12 strings

With that,
What’s wrong with the 12 saddle Tele bridge? It’s already differing from the Std 12 string set up of separate bridge and tp.

Use single coil pups.

And yes reverse the strings like a Ric.  It does make a difference.  I reversed them on my Guild Acoustic and it turned a great guitar into a tone monster.

And yes, I own a Ric.

 

[zebra]

As far as pickups, I think P90s, mini-humbuckers, and Filter-tron style pickups could be nice.  While I agree with TBurst Stnd that a lot of classic 12-string tones are made with single coil pickups, there are other great 12 string tones. 

I'm still not sure yet about the whole tele bridge plate material/design thing.  I'd really need to play a tele that checks every box and compare it with one that doesn't to decide for myself if it's actual voodoo or simply some vibe.  But I do think the tele (as a body shape/general concept) is a great platform for different ideas. 

 

[Fat Pete]

...What’s wrong with the 12 saddle Tele bridge?...

Which bridge are you referring to?

 

[TBurst Std]

...What’s wrong with the 12 saddle Tele bridge?...

The one the OP mentioned.
Which bridge are you referring to?

 

[swarfrat]

There is no '12 saddle tele bridge'. It's taking a Gotoh 12 saddle strat bridge and modifying a Tele bridge to hold them.  The holes don't necessarily line up in useful places though.

I know that metal covers on pickup has a similar effect to modifying tone, hence bringing up discussion on this point. Maybe a filtertron or GFS Memphis or Nashville would be a good candidate, alleviating the need for the tele ash tray.

Check out this headstock though - I'm not sure if that's ingenious clever or an abomination. I can admire it while still almost throwing up.

 

[mayfly]

I have lipstick pickups in my warmoth 12.  I like the sound - it's a bit more 'Ric' sounding than my old 12 string rick 360 used to be.  If that makes sense...

 

[Cagey]

I don't know which pickups would sound best, but consider that what makes a 12 string sound as rich/good as it does is all the harmonics it naturally produces. Since all the harmonics are going to be some multiple of the base frequency, it makes sense that you'd want something cleaner and more attuned to mid/high-end response. Hence the single coil/filtertron bias.

 

[swarfrat]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZ4c4m3sJlQ[/youtube]

I'm normally a big GFS Memphis fan (but these aren't H-gate, so I'm not sure if the video is accurate) but they sort of lose out here.:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzjgkQCbMfE[/youtube]

 

[TBurst Std]

On Reverb now.  Also see some on the bay

Reverb item
https://reverb.com/item/6367711-fender-12-string-tele-bridge-2017-chrome?utm_source=ios-app&utm_medium=share

 

[swarfrat]

Cool - too bad it's leo handed.

 

[TBurst Std]

Leo handed?

 

[BigSteve22]

On Reverb now.  Also see some on the bay....

Interesting, does it mount on a standard three screw tele mount?

 

[stratamania]

On Reverb now.  Also see some on the bay....

Interesting, does it mount on a standard three screw tele mount?

It looks like it does.

 

[DaveT]

Check out this headstock though - I'm not sure if that's ingenious clever or an abomination. I can admire it while still almost throwing up.

If you want to attempt making all 12 tuners fit on a standard Tele headstock consider using Steinberger gearless tuners for 6 of them. I like them very much, both my Teles have them fitted.

 

[DaveT]

As for the bridge...
I have a dirt cheap Gear4Music Tele 12 string. The bridge is a cheap Chinese copy of the Gotoh bridge. I dislike it immensely and looking at the genuine Gotoh bridge I am not sure I would like that either. It will have to be very well made to make it work. I suppose being Gotoh it should be OK?

Eventually I too succumbed to stringing it the Ric way!
It sounds better and is easier to play. IMHO. YMMV. etc.

 

[BroccoliRob]

On Reverb now.  Also see some on the bay....

Interesting, does it mount on a standard three screw tele mount?

It looks like it does.

What the fart, there are 3 hole Tele beridges? I thought they was all four screw. Up is down, black is white (not racist that's how the saying goes), I'm lost in the pandemonium. The last time I was this confused was when I watched the history channel for a whole weekend. It's not even history its just ice trucks

 

[Cactus Jack]

Here's my old 12 string Tele.




The bridge is Gotoh and is an awesome piece of hardware. The bridge intonates perfectly, and retains the Tele look and feel. In regards to tone, this guitar has Fender Custom Shop Texas Specials. It's absolutely smoking hot and sounds just like a Tele, but with the added harmonics and chorus that 12 strings produce. It's a great combo.