Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum

Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: Spitfire on April 08, 2009, 11:50:43 PM

Title: Ska pickups
Post by: Spitfire on April 08, 2009, 11:50:43 PM

im looking for a ska bride pickup for my tele... i love ska but know nothing about the tone of it or where it comes from.. would i be better using humbuckers for ska? or will a single do the job? it should i guess..

cheers guys.

Title: Re: Ska pickups
Post by: Philly Q on April 09, 2009, 12:10:45 AM

I'm no ska fan, but I was unfortunate enough to be a teenager in the days of The Special AKA, The Beat, The Selecter, Madness, Bad Manners etc...  :(

I would say you need a typically bright, low-output, clangy vintage Tele bridge pickup for that sound.  Country Boys or maybe a '55 Stagger Blackguard set?

Title: Re: Ska pickups
Post by: Elliot on April 09, 2009, 12:58:21 AM

Learn to play the trumpet or sax then  :D

Lynval Golding from the Specials and that dude from Madness had 70s telecasters so I reckon Yardirds for the tone is probably nearest to 70s pickups.  That or Blackguard 55s.


except Roddy Byers has always had a Les Paul - but a Tele can do anything a Les Paul can but with more style...

Title: Re: Ska pickups
Post by: PhilKing on April 09, 2009, 05:43:22 PM

Yardbirds are early 60's tele pickups.  I think the Country Boy bridge is the way to go.

Title: Re: Ska pickups
Post by: Elliot on April 09, 2009, 06:21:26 PM

Surely Alnico III doesn't have the hard bright snap needed for Ska?

Title: Re: Ska pickups
Post by: AndyR on April 09, 2009, 06:40:05 PM

Funnily enough, I've just been playing with my new Yardbirds :D

They've been in the guitar for a couple of hours now.

And I can definitely say Yardbirds over Flat 50 Blackguards for ska :lol:

I haven't got the Yardbirds completely dialled in yet, but they were certainly encouraging boom-chick, boom-chick, type playing just now before I read this... And it's the middle or neck, rather than the bridge that does it (ska-type playing) for me. It seems to me that the bridge on its own is too "hard" for that sound.

EDIT: I take that back just tried it again - the bridge is fine too :lol:

Title: Re: Ska pickups
Post by: MrBump on April 09, 2009, 08:30:54 PM

I'd say a low output humbucker for ska. 

A Bridge Mule would be perfect.

Mark.

Title: Re: Ska pickups
Post by: Pierre on April 09, 2009, 08:36:50 PM

I find that it doesn't matter as much. The sound is about percusive, quickly muted chords and I personally usually play only the top three or two strings. I'd much rather focus on my other bits for tone, like leads, open chords and OD tones, and deal with this for the rest. Seems like the logical thing. I'm a big Ska fan and it's the only genre on which I don't really care for tone. A nice clean sound, if possible single coil, a bit of reverb and I'm ready.

Title: Re: Ska pickups
Post by: JamesHealey on April 09, 2009, 08:45:54 PM

Ceramic Warpig..  :shock:

Or a nice quacky single coil like the Mothers Milk.

Title: Re: Ska pickups
Post by: eggman6 on April 10, 2009, 02:05:26 AM

never been a fan of ska or followed it but i saw madness on tv a while ago and their guitarist had (what looked like) a BL (currently wilde) L500. I've heard these can produce some very bright tones.