Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: Peter Krasov on March 23, 2010, 10:55:16 AM
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Hi there!
I need a tele bridge pickup for darker, but still vintage sounds. Which one will be better? I'm trying to choose between Piledriver and PAF-style humbucker.
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Hi there!
I need a tele bridge pickup for darker, but still vintage sounds. Which one will be better? I'm trying to choose between Piledriver and PAF-style humbucker.
Didn't tried it myself, but from reports and clips I don't think the Piledriver really qualifies for the "vintage" bit. Also and FWIW, "darker Tele bridge" looks like an oxymoron to me :mrgreen:
Now there's a very simple way to get darker tones from a Tele bridge : roll off the trebles with the tone pot. Another possibly worthwhile trick is the 4-way switch - position 1 (neck+bridge series) is darker and fatter, and very different from the standard n+b parallel position.
My 2 cents...
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Thanks BigB!
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Thanks BigB!
Not sure I deserve it - my answer really wasn't that helpful :? Hope someone else will come with something better...
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If it's a good Tele pickup, it should respond well to the tone knob.
Some Tele pickups are like cartoon versions of what a Tele should sound like and can be quite piercing in the treble. Sometimes so much the tone knob won't do much good.
In that case you need an upgrade. I won't recommend anything yet. Too little info.
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If it's a good Tele pickup, it should respond well to the tone knob.
Then the BGF50s is a good Tele pickup, CQFD :wink:
Some Tele pickups are like cartoon versions of what a Tele should sound like and can be quite piercing in the treble. Sometimes so much the tone knob won't do much good.
Kind of reminds me of the stock cr@ps that were on my '62RI... Add "muddy as sewer" for the neck and you're spot on :(
I know I shouldn't care, but I don't even want to try&sell them on evilbay - some clueless newbie might buy them, then pity the poor guy.
@ Peter:
Agree with Ratrod : you don't give enough informations on what you have (guitar and how it sounds - plugged and unplugged), what you don't like with it exactly, and what your looking for (tone, style, etc).
My first answer was half-joke, but it's a fact that (now that I have great vintage-sounding pups on my Tele) when I want a darker sound, I just roll off the tone pot and get exactly what you asked for : a "darker, but still vintage (Tele bridge) sound". Now is it even close to what you mean by "darker but still vintage", I just can't tell...
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@ Peter:
Agree with Ratrod : you don't give enough informations on what you have (guitar and how it sounds - plugged and unplugged), what you don't like with it exactly, and what your looking for (tone, style, etc).
My first answer was half-joke, but it's a fact that (now that I have great vintage-sounding pups on my Tele) when I want a darker sound, I just roll off the tone pot and get exactly what you asked for : a "darker, but still vintage (Tele bridge) sound". Now is it even close to what you mean by "darker but still vintage", I just can't tell...
Yeah, you're right, I've given no info.
Well, it's a Japanese alder tele with maple+rosewood neck. I has 'woody' sound when unplugged. It's difficult to say about the character of plugged sound, because the guitar has cheap and poor-sounding pickups in it.
I need the sound that lies somewhere between P90, tele single and PAF humbucker. I've managed to get the closest sound from DiMarzios Virtual Hot T and Virtual Solo. But I don't like the stacks. In fact I want less trebles, more bass and low-mids and increased output (in comparison to traditional tele pickup).
I play rock, garage rock or power pop styles. All my guitars are tuned a step lower.
Thanks.
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I'm thinking Piledriver.
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Yep, I'm thinking Piledriver too (but only based on what I've read on here, never tried one myself...)
At the start, I was thinking Blackguard Flat 50 might not be a bad move, especially if you go for a 4-way switch... but with your last post, I think I'm with Ratrod on this one :D
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Well, it's a Japanese alder tele with maple+rosewood neck. I has 'woody' sound when unplugged. It's difficult to say about the character of plugged sound, because the guitar has cheap and poor-sounding pickups in it.
I need the sound that lies somewhere between P90, tele single and PAF humbucker. I've managed to get the closest sound from DiMarzios Virtual Hot T and Virtual Solo. But I don't like the stacks. In fact I want less trebles, more bass and low-mids and increased output (in comparison to traditional tele pickup).
Hmm... Kinda reminds me what I get from the additional position on the 4-way switch. It's "both pups, series", which is part of the humbucker spec (2 coils series), but it's not quite a 'bucker tone, because here we have coils that are differently voiced and more distant from each other.
With the BGF50s, the resulting tone is indeed darker (less trebles and some comb filter effect in the mids) and fattier (more lows, more overall output level), resulting in a tone that really "lies somewhere between P90, tele single and PAF humbucker".
So it somehow seems to fit your bill - and the good news is that you get this tone as a bonus to the standard vintage Tele tones. OTHO, you only have one fatter tone - not a fatter bridge + a distinct fatter neck, so I can't tell if such a solution would work for you - nor even if you'd like that tone.
I don't have any even half-decent recording gear yet so I didn't post any clip, but if you're not in a hurry I could eventually try to borrow some stuff from a friend to record a quick demo of the different tones I can get with this setup. Now don't expect anything until next week... So let me know.
Can't comment on the Piledriver - at least not from direct experience. General consensus is that it has a more modern edge, and Tim kind of implied I'd rather avoid it if I was after that OneTrueVintageTeleTwang(tm) tone - but since going for a PAF was one of your options I guess you don't care that much, so well, why not ? At least there are a couple PD clips around. And it might work better with downtuned guitar, don't know...
Also, since you seem ok to do some rerouting for a PAF, you could as well think about a MQ (PAF-sized P90-like) ?
My 2 cents...
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Thank you all gentlemen!
So it somehow seems to fit your bill - and the good news is that you get this tone as a bonus to the standard vintage Tele tones. OTHO, you only have one fatter tone - not a fatter bridge + a distinct fatter neck, so I can't tell if such a solution would work for you - nor even if you'd like that tone.
I don't have any even half-decent recording gear yet so I didn't post any clip, but if you're not in a hurry I could eventually try to borrow some stuff from a friend to record a quick demo of the different tones I can get with this setup. Now don't expect anything until next week... So let me know.
Also, since you seem ok to do some rerouting for a PAF, you could as well think about a MQ (PAF-sized P90-like) ?
My 2 cents...
I've got Blackguards with 4-position switch in my Squier Classic Vibe Tele - right the combo you're talking about. Thank you very much, but there's no need in demo, as far as I'm familiar with blackguards.
The sound of two pickups in series is fatter and darker indeed, but in this case I need darkness and fatness in bridge position only.
I've decided to act that way: first I'm trying Piledriver, and then (if I don't get desired sound) - Stormy Monday or maybe Mississipi Queen. Hope that will work.
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Thank you all gentlemen!
I've got Blackguards with 4-position switch in my Squier Classic Vibe Tele - right the combo you're talking about. Thank you very much, but there's no need in demo, as far as I'm familiar with blackguards.
Ahem.. You could have told us sooner, don't you ? Now I feel kinda stupid :?
Anyway... Please tell us about the Piledriver.
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We've been talking about BGs right here :) http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=20608.msg277669#msg277669
Sure, I will tell about this Piledriver bridge as soon as I get it (in a week).
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:lol:
I saw that other thread after I'd posted my reply - and I suddenly realised that you knew exactly what the BGs would do :lol:
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We've been talking about BGs right here :) http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=20608.msg277669#msg277669
Great, go on, make me feel even more stupid :oops:
Oh, well, I guess I just need some more brain cells :lol:
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BTW, who remembers the BG50 specs? They're missing at the website. http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/ZT-teleseries.html
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Great, go on, make me feel even more stupid :oops:
Oh, well, I guess I just need some more brain cells :lol:
:)
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BTW, who remembers the BG50 specs? They're missing at the website. http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/ZT-teleseries.html
Don't have the exact specs at hand, but IIRC the neck is about 5.0k and the bridge about 7.1k. Also the neck is using heavier gauge wire, cf
http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=18476.msg247786#msg247786 (http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=18476.msg247786#msg247786)
HTH
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Yes i would steer heavily away from the BGF50's i just got one after much debate and quarrel on this site and couple calls to Tim. Im going to get it professionally set up with a 4-way switch but at this point i would DEFINITELY push you away from them. I was gunna get both the BGF50 and the piledriver but didnt and just got the bgf50s man was i wrong. Although the BGF50s has alot more balls and sustain then most any tele bridge ive heard it still doesnt have that UMPH i want or am looking for, does the piledriver have too much umph and is too dark? i couldnt tell ya, i shoulda freakin ordered it...c'est la vie! I'm not counting this pickup out till it's fully set up but im almost certain im gunna have to swap it out. Could also be my tele which makes a pine tele look like a mahogany les paul ( or rather sounds like lol 0=) ). It's just SO FLIPPIN BRIGHT and i cant do a darn thing about it. lol The neck pickup sounds like a bridge pickup, a middle position at best lol So could just be me but i'd suggest highly against the BGF50, and i dont even play hard stuff. Like i said, though its got umph its still a vintage voiced tele ( due.. the year 50 is in the name ). I'd go (and shoulda went with my best judgement) with the Piledriver. Unless you just want an all out humbucker then go that direction. I personally love the twangy tele bridge sound but just wants balls behind it lol =) ya know?
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I have both Piledriver and BG50 sets. As I've mentioned before in this forum I think it's very difficult to convey accuarately to someone the exact characteristics of a pickup/guitar/amp etc without actually hearing it - one man's top end is another's ice pick/brittle, one man's bottom end is another's mush etc. so this is my opinion on them.
The Piledriver has more umph than the BG50 - it can get in humbuckerish territory and when wound back can get in tele-ish territory. The BG50 is what I would describe as giving a real tele sound with a bit of balls/grit (if you want it). Although the Piledriver can give humbuckerish sounds, I have (in my opinion) better guitars/pickups for doing this (Crawler, Cold Sweats, Mules) and the BG50 definitely gives a more authentic telecaster sound.
I personally don't see the point of buying a tele and then trying to make it sound like something completely different when there are much better alternatives available. I know individual teles can vary because of woods/construction etc but I think the basic sound is defined by Leo's original design ( bridge, pickup/baseplate etc) - if you want something completely different I would look elsewhere.
P.S. I've read the Dimarzio Chopper can be quite good in very bright teles but would imagine you loose some of the tele sparkle (though Richie Kotzen seems to get some great sounds out of his signature tele)
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Yeah spot on man! Thats the best description ive heard yet " The BG50 is what I would describe as giving a real tele sound with a bit of balls/grit (if you want it). " It is a proper tele sound without being obnoxious and without being ice picky, i just want more punch i guess im just worried the piledriver is gunna be too ballsy and lose the tele-ness. But the BGF50 is a really nice pickup i really like it just not what i want ya know? thas all =)