What is a Good High Output Bridge Tele SC size Humbucker?

[jerryjg]

What is an excellent High Output Bridge Tele Single Coil  sized Humbucker? I'm looking for something that will fit in the stock Tele route and  Have enuf output to keep up with a Mini-Humbucker, yet retain as much of the classic Tele twang as possible.
I'm guessing i'd be much better off going to a high output tele regular single coil? What  is a good choice for that type  pickup?

 

[Mor Paul]

I'm pretty sure any tele pickup can match a mini-hb in output

Just raise or lower a bit. My stock tele bridge matched my PAF style wonderfully.

 

[jackthehack]

I had thought that SD made a JBJr in a Tele bridge configuration, but apparently not. The Telecaster version of the Lil '59 appears to have a lot more output per spec than the Strat version; you could use one of those and split it for add'l tonality. I've done the same thing using the SD SC-HBs in Strat bridge position and been happy with the result.

 

[tfarny]

I've had the SD lil 59 bridge hb for tele. It sounds ok, it's got enough output, but it sounds nothing whatsoever like a telecaster in any way shape or form. Most mini hums are pretty low output,and you can get a regular tele bridge pickup close to the strings anyhow. In a traditional pup, I'm really happy with my Lollar "special T" but it's not hum cancelling. Maybe look into the Dimarzio Area T or Area Hot T - it's hum cancelling and uses the same tech as the Area 58, 61, 67 strat pickups which are excellent, excellent vintage sounding &  noiseless.
I'll probably try out the Area T on my next tele build (summer project #2)

 

[tfarny]

Hey wait, aren't you the guy who spent decades sawing bits off his guitars, changing the strap buttons and monitoring the change in tone? Who has a warehouse full of antique tube amps? You should know the answer to basic pup questions like this if  you're a real 'tone expert' with 40k of gear.  :dontknow:

 

[Rick]

I'd go either with a full sized humbucker, or,
just use a four way switch with a parallel setting for a humbucker like oomph.  Or both.
If you get the humbucker, for the bridge I'd recommend a duncan distortion.  I know it's a metal sounding name, but it has great sound.

I think it's a mistake to try and make a humbucker (of any type) to try to sound like a tele single coil.  It won't sound right.

As for single coil pups, the bridge pup I got for my tele is steller from Bill Lawrence, I think he's called Wildgate now.  And it has no hum.

 

[callaway]

You want high output but Tele bridge twang? Joe Barden! Seriously, I don't know why every Tele doesn't have these. Same output as the Duncan '59 in the neck position, so I have no doubt it'll hang with a mini humbucker. Trust me on this one---get the Joe Barden... it's expensive, but worth every penny.

Oh, plus the Joe Barden is a silent pickup. It's technically a humbucker---and I've never liked the sound of single-coil sized humbuckers---but this is totally different. It's not trying to be a humbucker, it just happens to technically be a humbucker, but sound just as glassy, clean, and twangy as a Tele bridge.

 

[tfarny]

Isn't the Joe Barden just a Bill Lawrence rails pup at 4x the price though? BL sells the originals on his website for like $40.

 

[jerryjg]

Hey wait, aren't you the guy who spent decades sawing bits off his guitars, changing the strap buttons and monitoring the change in tone? Who has a warehouse full of antique tube amps? You should know the answer to basic pup questions like this if  you're a real 'tone expert' with 40k of gear.  :dontknow:

LOL. I have to have a warehouse for my warehouse.
I once glued a small fuzzy  animal to  a Strat and the tone was fantastic..only trouble was ..ugh, nevermind.
But seriously, how the GFS Little Crunchies compare to the Barden. Some people  on the infamous Harmony Central say they do, others say they don't. As someone once said, and I think it apllies  very well  to H.Central.."A point in every direction is the same as no point at all"
Also real interested in those Bill lawrences at that 40 dollar mark. Man, those bardens are expensive and my wallet is feeling the crunch.

 

[callaway]

Isn't the Joe Barden just a Bill Lawrence rails pup at 4x the price though? BL sells the originals on his website for like $40.

No, they're quite different. Even just looking at the respective websites, you can see they physically look quite different. Not saying anything negative about the Lawrences, but just saying the Bardens are not at all just a 3x more expensive copy. They are... quite a different pickup., which was originally designed for Danny Gatton, probably THE master of the Telecaster, who then used them on all his Teles.

 

[jerryjg]

Callaway, have you ever heard anything about the Barden Copy , i think< that GFS makes called the little , or "lil" cruncher? Thats waht I have , and although youve convinced me to get a Barden, I  will use the GFS as a stop-gap measure.

 

[callaway]

I don't have experience with the GFS ones, but I think they're trying to add some humbucker tonal characteristics. The Bardens are just like a pure Tele bridge pickup but with more of everything---more clarity, more definition, more bite, and tighter low end. It's not trying to sound like a humbucker at all, and I think that's the difference. It's just a humbucker in the fact that it's noiseless, but in a blind test you'd swear it was one of the sweetest single coils you've heard. (Of course, a lot of people here like the Kinman single coils as well.)

Anyway, post back if you get a Barden and let us know how it compares to the GFS. I'm sure it will be way different.

 

[whitebison66]

I'd recommend the Duncan Host Stack for Tele. I have one set up with a Stew Mac Megaswitch, and the darn thing is actually louder in single coil than humbucking. It retains a lot of Tele-twang clean, but thickens up with added dirt. I love it!

 

[T.L.]

Dimarzio DP421 or DP381...

 

[tfarny]

Callaway, the danny gatton signature model from Fender custom shop advertises 'bill lawrence designed' pickups. I've never played either set, but just thought I'd throw that out there. I'm in the market for a good noiseless vintagey tele bridge pup myself, but I have a real problem with the $150 range pickups - they never explain why theirs cost twice as much as even the 'regular' boutique ones, and that just bugs me.

 

[callaway]

Callaway, the danny gatton signature model from Fender custom shop advertises 'bill lawrence designed' pickups. I've never played either set, but just thought I'd throw that out there. I'm in the market for a good noiseless vintagey tele bridge pup myself, but I have a real problem with the $150 range pickups - they never explain why theirs cost twice as much as even the 'regular' boutique ones, and that just bugs me.

Trust me, I'm not the type to buy hype. The Bardens are amazing pickups. I can't discredit the Lawrence pickups, but I want to clear up the history. Joe Barden designed these pickups for Danny Gatton (they were both natives of Northern Virginia and met each other there). They are not based on a Lawrence design. For a few years (around the turn of the millennium), Barden went out of business. During this time, Fender had Lawrence make similar pickups to go in their DG signature model. (If you look at the "specs" on Fender's custom shop site, it says "Fender-designed pickups made by Bill Lawrence".) The funny thing is that the picture on the custom shop site shows the Barden pickups. Anyway, a visible look at the pickups---especially the bridge---will start to reveal differences. For example, on the Bardens you will notice that the 2 blades are staggered to match the pickup stagger, such that the outer E strings see the same magnet area as the rest. This is a detail I have only seen on Barden's blade-type pickups.

Anyway, I don't mean to be dissenting, but I just wanted to set the record straight that the Bardens are "the real thing". I know it's a steep price, but it's worth it to me. (Their Strat pickups are also amazing as well.)

To JerryJG---you won't regret it if you get the Barden pickup.

 

[DocNrock]

It depends upon the tone you want.  For my Tele, I wanted hot, non-Tele sound.  I really like the DiMarzio Tone Zone T that I put in the bridge.

 

[tfarny]

I'm thinking I'll go with the Dimarzio area T - I love my area strat pickups so much I'll buy anything with 'area' in the name now. They are the best strat pups I've owned, even if they weren't noiseless. I have to say I was totally wrong about Dimarzio being metal only - both the 'areas' and my PJ pickup set from them are fantastic sounding, and I am really not a high gain guy at all.

 

[DocNrock]

I'm thinking I'll go with the Dimarzio area T - I love my area strat pickups so much I'll buy anything with 'area' in the name now. They are the best strat pups I've owned, even if they weren't noiseless. I have to say I was totally wrong about Dimarzio being metal only - both the 'areas' and my PJ pickup set from them are fantastic sounding, and I am really not a high gain guy at all.

The new sound byte..."DiMarzio...they're not just for metal anymore."  Seriously, they've got pups that run the gamut.  They just get nailed into the metal category because they introduced the Super Distortion back in the 70's.  The majority of my builds have DiMarzios.  True, they play metal, but they play everything else, as well.  My Ibanez Artcore has DiMarzios...an Air Classic in the neck and an EJ Custom in the bridge.  This is the antithesis of metal.  :icon_biggrin:

 

[T.L.]

I'm thinking I'll go with the Dimarzio area T - I love my area strat pickups so much I'll buy anything with 'area' in the name now. They are the best strat pups I've owned, even if they weren't noiseless. I have to say I was totally wrong about Dimarzio being metal only - both the 'areas' and my PJ pickup set from them are fantastic sounding, and I am really not a high gain guy at all.

I love the "Areas" in My Strat...