Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: rivers3162 on October 05, 2008, 07:30:32 PM
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Hi guys,
I currently have a tele that I'm looking to soup up a bit. I've decided to go with BKPs after hearing lots of good things and after trawling youtube for clips. The problem is I'm not quite sure which set well suit me.
In my tele, I've currently got a SD Hotrails in the bridge and the stock neck pickup. Firstly, I want a new set because the difference in tone and volume between the 2 pickups is too much. Plus, although the hotrail is ok, its output is a bit much for what I want and tbh, I think its probably better suited for metal and heavy rock.
Sound wise, I want something that has a fairly high output without sounding too harsh, which is hum-cancelling and which also sounds good on fairly clean settings. I play fairly modern rock and indie style music but nothing seriously heavy so I suppose I just want the best of both worlds. I've checked on youtube for demos of the Piledriver set but from what I've seen and heard, they're fairly similar to the hotrail. So if anyone has any suggestions I'd be glad to hear them.
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BKP don't do hum cancelling singles - so maybe that ends it for you and you should ask Seymour Duncan or Bill Lawrence to build you a custom set.
Otherwise I reckon the Brown Sugar set for your needs.
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Thanks for the reply.
I suppose whilst hum-cancelling would be a bonus, its not completely essential. Right now, I'd rather have a set of balanced pickups that feel warmer and more rounded and worry about hum later on.
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I can't comment on suitablilty for your application, but we have a set of BlackGaurds in our Tele and they sound awsome. They aren't high output, but you really don't notice any lack.
Worth checking out!
PS. Alwaysask Tim. Send an email to the sales address.
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I thought that BKP Tele sets could be RWRP - thus being hum cancelling in the middle position...
I quite fancy "The Boss" (ooooh, errrr, missus..), but I haven't got a set.
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Replacements for a tele? Have you tried a strat, superstrat, SG or LP?
:)
Roo
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:lol:
Let's hope that rivers3162 has been watching the forum long enough to understand that one Roo...
I'm in the same boat as ailean - Blackguards sound great in my tele. I'm more of a blues-rocker, but my tele is really versatile now. It actually comes across as more aggressive than my strat with Irish Tours, and it certainly handles the more overdriven amp sounds better than the strat does (for my tastes, anyway :) )
Welcome to the forum btw :D
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:lol:
Let's hope that rivers3162 has been watching the forum long enough to understand that one Roo...
I'm in the same boat as ailean - Blackguards sound great in my tele. I'm more of a blues-rocker, but my tele is really versatile now. It actually comes across as more aggressive than my strat with Irish Tours, and it certainly handles the more overdriven amp sounds better than the strat does (for my tastes, anyway :) )
Welcome to the forum btw :D
Even if he hasn't, I didn't drop the bombshell that playing a tele makes you look like a ****, or anything!!
oh wait..
:D
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When are you going to tell us you frustation with Telecaster, Roo???
Seems to me like is something veeeery awful, but you can trust us, tell us what happened and we won't make jokes on you! Suporting team!!!
(did someone abused you telling you he would give you a Tele, when you were young? :twisted:)
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When are you going to tell us you frustation with Telecaster, Roo???
Seems to me like is something veeeery awful, but you can trust us, tell us what happened and we won't make jokes on you! Suporting team!!!
(did someone abused you telling you he would give you a Tele, when you were young? :twisted:)
I don't want to talk about it.
The horror.....
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Sorry for bring those things back :cry:
My feelings are with you now
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(did someone abused you telling you he would give you a Tele, when you were young? :twisted:)
I think it's more likely that someone caught him abusing himself with something Tele-related when he was young... seems to have a big issue about how people look with a Tele, along with casting aspersions on their sexuality...
Come on Roo, get it out in the open!
As it were. :|
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(did someone abused you telling you he would give you a Tele, when you were young? :twisted:)
I think it's more likely that someone caught him abusing himself with something Tele-related when he was young... seems to have a big issue about how people look with a Tele, along with casting aspersions on their sexuality...
Come on Roo, get it out in the open!
As it were. :|
Ahh, I wish there really were something now, not just the fact that teles look rubbish :( Alas, I speak the truth! :D
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I have a set of yardbirds in a tele of mine. Their very nice though I would think not high enough gain for what your looking for. Maybe Brown sugar would would work for you. That said I have not tryed them myself. Im sure some of the other members of the forum will chip maybe better suggestions.
Good luck in chosing your pickups.
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I am really happy with the PileDriver set I put in my tele. Tons of punch at full volume/gain but really sweet tele tone with volume rolled back a bit.
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I really want a Piledriver Tele - obviously, we all need to hear clips of it now - one of the main conditions of the forum; nothing exists without proof... clips are essential.
Mark.
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I'd done a note a while back about the different Tele bridge pickups (I don't have all the variations of neck pickups because I like the sound of other pickups in the neck position). However, if I just wanted a versatile tele set with a 50's lean, I would go fot the Flatpole Black Guard set. The neck pickup in both blackguard sets is the same and is a little thicker sounding than the usual tele neck (more Stratish), the flat pole has a little more puch and thicker sound then the stager pole. Both sets sound great though (I have the flatpoles in a 57 Tele and at LGS 07 the stagger poles were in a black guard clone). The pile driver is a thicker sounding pickup but works well with my Slowhand Strat neck in my Warmoth tele. The Brown Sugars really get the Keef tone, I have the bridge with a mini-HB neck in a 59 Esquire, and the Yardbirds nail the 62 tele sound (I have a 62 tele and have played the Yardbird set too, they are really close - I suspect they would sound the same as the originals in the same guitar). The Boss is a little brighter sounding 50's style pickup, think Roy Buchanan and you are in the ball park.
I hope this helps, though as I first said, I think the Flat Pole Black Guard set will be the best ones.
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Phil, with regards to the Boss set being good for Buchanan, I've read that he used a '53 Tele which I would of thought would be closer to the Blackguard sound? I havn't tried either but just want to get the differences clear in my head as I'm hoping to buy some soon.
Having looked at some RB clips on youtube recently it's actually his thick neck tone I'm after with a fatter less cutting bridge tone. Do you think Boss neck and BG bridge would fit the bill?
I think the difficulty for those of us with little or no experience of vintage teles is understanding the subtle differences between the years. The names give a clue but different band/artists used diferent amps also, so it's hard to visualise the differences....
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Tom, Phil's actually got more far more experience of different BKP tele pups, but I've been looking at Roy Buchanan recently, and wondering about pups.
All I've got is a BG flat 50 set in a baja, and I think the bridge would indeed get you a "fatter less cutting bridge tone". I'm not sure about the BG neck though (trouble is, the guitar's away getting refretted at the moment, so I haven't been able to use her since I took delivery of my Buchanan CDs, torture!!) - I suspect it's a little too thick/warm for RB though.
I've been imagining Yardbirds on a rosewood board tele - this is because when I went searching for RB clips, I was interested to find that most of the clips I found had him using 60s type teles. I was also surprised a while back to find Steve Cropper was usually playing 60s style teles - so my next tele is likely to be just that: "62 reissue" kinda guitar with Yardbirds in it.
But Phil's said "Boss" before - so it makes me wonder (I've never been a big fan of "the Boss", so I've never really paid any attention to these pups :lol:)
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The reason I said Boss is because I was listening to RB a while back and his tone is quite bright (with lots of nice controlled harmonic feedback), so I was asking Tim about it and he recommended the Boss set for it. I actually don't have a Boss set but have played them at LGS/Music Live a couple of times, though this is different to playing your own guitar with them. Just to also let you know, I usually am helping on the BK stand so I can try the guitars before everyone gets in and get a feel for them. Since I am helping people select their pickups, it is good to hear them first! The blackguards are a little fatter sounding (but still very telecaster), with a slightly brighter bridge sound if you take the stagger poles. Yardbirds are Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page rolled into a tele, as I said before, jsut like my real 62 Tele set.