Which Telecaster pickups?

[offguitar]

Hey there everybody.

I've been working on deciding the specs of my first Warmoth build and I'm currently having trouble deciding on what pickups I want.
The woods-
Swamp Ash body
Maple/Rosewood or maple/ebony neck (or padouk, if i decide to go exotic)

My first build is a telecaster, alder body with a thin nitro finish and maple/rosewood neck from a 60s classic series tele. The pickup is a Seymour Duncan Broadcaster in a top-load bridge. It's a pretty good setup, and I can mix between 50s and 60s telecaster sounds. It keeps me pretty happy.

For my Warmoth build I want to stick to the tele design, but I want a richer, punchier, more powerful sound overall. I'm debating whether or not I want a classic tele pickup configuration, because I've been becoming more intrigued by humbuckers.  :icon_scratch:

So... any suggestions?

 

[m4rk0]

but I want a richer, punchier, more powerful sound overall. I'm debating whether or not I want a classic tele pickup configuration, because I've been becoming more intrigued by humbuckers.  :icon_scratch:

So... any suggestions?

Here is a nice compromise,  IronGear sells a stacked Tele bridge pickup, so it is technically a humbucker, but looks like a sc. it sounds pretty bright (like a tele should) but extra powerful and without the hum. it is pretty tall, so you may want to ask W to rout the bridge pickup cavity a little deeper.

It is sold as a set (Steel Twins)

It is pretty cheap, even with the shipping from England.

http://www.irongear.co.uk/irongear_026.htm

 

[mayfly]

My vote is a set of lollar special Ts.  Big and punchy, but still has that tele top end if you want it.

If that's not powerful enough, you can get the Lollar "J-street" bridge pickup which has so much power it almost does not sound like a tele anymore.  The "J-street" is a good match for a p-90 - that should give you an indication on what it's like.  BTW the "J-street" is not a standard Lollar pickup - you need to phone them to order it.

 

[dNA]

Check out Roadhouse Pickups. http://roadhousepickups.com/RH_Tele.html
Ken's a valued forum member here, and more importantly he's a stand-up guy and takes a lot of pride in the work he does. Treats customers like kings. Hit him up

 

[AutoBat]

Seymour Duncan Hot Rails for tele?

 

[offguitar]

Seems like everyone really likes stacked pickups/single-coil sized humbuckers. I've honestly never thought of trying either of these options. I know that SD does a stack pickup set that's similar to the IronGear ones Marko mentioned, and they do the Hot Rails/Little '59s/etc. To be honest whenever I see a dual rail pickup I immediately think of Kramer (and not the cool 70s and 80s ones), so I've always made an effort to avoid those. But I'm willing to try anything, what do the Hot Rails sound like?

Another thing I started looking at was Quarter Pounder pickups, I've never heard these or tried them before. So many choices!

 

[lafromla1]

Check out Roadhouse Pickups. http://roadhousepickups.com/RH_Tele.html
Ken's a valued forum member here, and more importantly he's a stand-up guy and takes a lot of pride in the work he does. Treats customers like kings. Hit him up

+1 on the Roadhouse Pups  :icon_thumright:

 

[dNA]

Another thing I started looking at was Quarter Pounder pickups, I've never heard these or tried them before. So many choices!

I've heard really mixed reviews about the Quarter Pounder pickups. seems like people either love em or hate em. which means they're probably doing something right.

still, reasons for picking Roadhouse:
1) For a comparable price, you get pickups hand-wound to spec
2) Seymour Duncan's the biggest manufacturer of aftermarket guitar pickups. Support a small business entrepreneur!
3) 60 day money back guarantee - This alone makes me think there's no reason not to buy these, because I don't know any other manufacturer that will do a full refund.

 

[Jusatele]

I put a set of Lollar p 90s in Barn Door and was very worried until the first time I fired her up on stage and just got down and nasty with her.

My fear was I would lose the vibe of a tele or would not get that classic P90 sound

wow was I blown away when I got finished, first 2 songs I was playing through a miked Blues Jr and she barked and snarled like I had just reincarnated a roadhouse country player from the 60s, I cut the reverb and we did a few numbers where she sang like a bird. I then put her into a Vox and we did a few classic rock songs that she pulled off real well, I switched to my PRS for a few numbers but was so impressed with Barn Door I had to switch back. Not fat like a LP running PAFS through a Marshall but she does Tele all the way and can do decent service on classic rock.

 

[Damon]

Another thing I started looking at was Quarter Pounder pickups, I've never heard these or tried them before. So many choices!

I had a MIM Tele years ago that had Quarter Pounders in it. They're not very Tele-like. Really kinda their own thing. Almost like a high-output humbucker without the humbucking. More mid-scooped than a humbucker, but not nearly as much as you tend to think of with single coils. I think the "love 'em or hate 'em" statement is pretty accurate. At the time, I thought they were pretty cool. Gave the Tele a somewhat unique tone that was good for hard rock, as long as you could handle the 60 Hz hiss. Now, I probably wouldn't want them as my tastes have changed and I've moved away from high output pickups.

 

[offguitar]

Well hearing the responses I got about QPs I decided to not go with that. However, my interest is peaked by Roadhouse. The Tele set seems pretty sweet. P90s, however, sound surprisingly good (at least the clips on their website). Maybe that would be the route to go...  :icon_thumright:

 

[Jusatele]

the only thing about P90s is the rout, it is a P 90 hole,nothing else so you need to be sure

 

[drewfx]

the only thing about P90s is the rout, it is a P 90 hole,nothing else so you need to be sure

FWIW, you can use mini-HB's in a P-90 route as well.

 

[kboman]

As well as several, if not most, of TV Jones' pickups I believe.

 

[tfarny]

Well if you are building a tele I recommend a tele-sounding bridge pickup, I mean, why not? For the neck a p90 or a humbucker will do the trick just right. I love the lollar special T too, that is a really great pup. Dimarzio area T if you need to go noiseless.

 

[Stew]

Wilde pickups by Bill Lawrence ... ?

I'm putting a set in my new strat ... I hear the tele ones are pretty cool too. What's more, the price is very good  :icon_thumright:

 

[bagman67]

Well if you are building a tele I recommend a tele-sounding bridge pickup, I mean, why not? For the neck a p90 or a humbucker will do the trick just right. I love the lollar special T too, that is a really great pup. Dimarzio area T if you need to go noiseless.

I just played a set of Area T's in an  axe built by a Warmoth "ghost builder" in Los Gatos, CA - fella name of Keith Holland - and the Area T's sounded really nice to my ears.  And they were, indeed, pretty close to noiseless.

 

[jay4321]

If you want a humbucking bridge pickup that looks like a "normal" tele bridge pickup, there's the Seymour STK-T3b for one. Dimarzio has the Area T as mentioned too, but also the Area "Hot" T.

And yes the rails look silly

 

[Strat Avenger]

Dimarzio area T if you need to go noiseless.

+1  

 

[riverbluff]

Bare knuckle piledrivers.  Got a set in my tele and they are great. Great snarl with gain but clean up really nice. Can go from Metallica to ZZ Top just by rolling off some volume