Tele Pickups

[Blueflowerpower]

Hi hows it going. Hopefully somebody will be able to help me with a recommendation. Playing a MIM tele for the 6 months as a backup to my strat (Irish Tours). I've been playing the tele more and more over the last few weeks and its time to upgrade the pups.

My problem is that I need my tele to be super versatile, covering everything the that the strat cannot. I need to achieve everything from steve cropper tones to rage against the machine. I also need to use it for *cough* indie *cough*, arctic monkeys etc.

I'm also a big fan of early mike bloomfield and albert collins, and I'm gonna need to whip it out for everything up to zeppelin, the stones and AC DC so I need real power.

Wow, I know thats a tall order, I don't know if its even possible with any one specific set, so i would be open to mixing and matching.

Thanks guys, any help appreciated

[Twinfan]

Blackguard Flat 50s set and a 4-way switch.

That'll do you perfectly I think  :)

[Blueflowerpower]

Thank you sir, I'll check em out. :D

[badgermark]

I loved the Piledriver set, got rid of them due to my amp at the time being cr@p and the guitar being a bit of a dog. Best bet is to contact BKP directly, not many of us on here seem to have extensive knowledge on the tele sets, with Phil being the exception.

[Twinfan]

I should maybe qualify my previous post  :)

The Blackguard Flat 50s set appear to be classic Tele with a bit more beef.  Not too much, just a hint of more power.  That'll work well for indie, blues and the clean Cropper stuff.

The 4-way switch can add the "two pickups in series" combination, giving a powerful humbucker-type sound.  This will be great for heavier blues and for rock.

I personally would avoid going too hot with the pickups if you sometimes need clean and sparkly.  I find hot pickups sacrifice clean sounds.  I would rather have lighter pickups and use pedals for boosts/fatness.

Hope that helps!

Whichever set of BKPs you decide to go for, if you mention in the order that they will be used with a four way switch the BKP folks will add the extra grounding wire you'll need for the neck pickup at (I believe) no extra cost.  The four way switches are also available in the online shop.

[PhilKing]

Twinfan gave you the answer I was going to give.  The flat pole black guard tele set is a great all round set with a lot of the 50's tele classic tones. 

[38thBeatle]

I reckon Twinfan has probably got it right too-I definitely agree about not getting too hot pickups. I am dying to try a set of blackguards. I really love the tone from my Country Boys though and I cannot see me changing them-far more likely that I'd get another Tele and if I did, the Blackguards would be the choice judging by everything I have read about them. The 4 way is also a must have.

[Blueflowerpower]

Cheers for all the advice lads. That sounds like it would suit me just fine. i definitley agree with you about the lower output pickups. My strat with IT's is an absolute demon, and I love it, so now I need something a little more traditional, but that still kicks ass.

The 4 way switch is a cool idea too,  I'd never heard of that before. Would you say its punchy and aggressive like a bridge pup, or creamy like a neck pup?

Either way I think I'll get it, versatility is paramount for this guitar as I've already mentioned. Thanks again

[AndyR]

I'm with the boys above - Blackguard flat 50s, I put them in my Baja two weeks ago.

I didn't like the 4-way switch until I put the Blackguards in, seemed a bit of a "no-man's-land" with the stock pickups for me. But with the new ones- wow!

Sound wise, I would say position 4 is both - you can actually "hear" the bridge and the neck at the same time as it were. You get the bite and grit of the bridge, with an underlying bass from the neck. And it's a bit hotter. Depends what mood you're in (you can imagine it either way) but for me generally it feels like a souped bridge.

Pickup height makes a big difference with these ones - nearer the strings "fatter", more bassy, and more output obviously - further from the strings gives you more clarity.

Hope that helps :D

[Elliot]

I'd agree with all of the above - 4 way and Blackguard flat 50.  The 4 way gives you the power for heavier stuff.