Custom Telecaster: What would give me the right sound?

[JosephM]

Hey y'all,

I'm new to the forum and thought I would consult the forum elders about what they would recommend for my latest guitar project. It is an ash tone chambered telecaster body with a flame maple cap, birdseye maple neck, standard tele routing. It's being finished in nitrocellulose lacquer.

Now, I am looking for that classic  tele twang at the bridge, but I have always hated the neck tone, always sounded muddy to me, doesn't have the punch, the kick, the warmth that I have wanted. So, herein lies the problem.

What would you recommend? Standard 52' style bridge, but what at the neck???

I await your response eagerly,

Joe

[BigB]

Blackguard flat 50s neck. Warm yet clear woody fluid tone. Just so plain marvelous for clean / slight breakup blues-style fingerpicked licks you can't put your guitar down and keep on playing for hours.

Or is it just me ?

[Ratrod]

It's not just you, B.

The BG is the right one for the bridge. Not sure about the neck pickup. Maybe a Yardbird?

[roland_rat]

I have a set of Yardbirds in a maple neck tele. They really are great.  I would think the other Bareknuckles would be better for the tele twang in the bridge.  The guys that posted earlier have  got the brigde choice bang on I imagine.
The yardbirds do lovely sweet cleans bridge and neck.  They distort nicely for a very vintage vibe rock sound.  Metal is certainly not what these are best suited for. The pickups never sound muddy.  Witchever you go for in the end im sure you are in for a real treat.

[BigB]

It's not just you, B.

The BG is the right one for the bridge. Not sure about the neck pickup. Maybe a Yardbird?

Really love my BG neck - but if anyone feels like sending me a Yardbird neck for comparison, please do

[AndyR]

I reckon BG Flat 50 in the bridge for definite.

The BG neck is nice, but I suspect that a Yardbird neck would suit better in this case. My Yardbirds are in an alder body and rosewood board, so slightly mellower, but I can still use the neck for overdriven rhythm tones and get clarity. For me, I can't use the BG neck, in ash/maple, to do the same job (well, I could, -ish, but I've got a Yardbirded tele that does it better :lol:)

Welcome to the forum :D

[gordiji]

welcome josephm, i'm a new member of the 'flat 50' club and agree with big b, the neck is not muddy.i get good tones from both pups clean, crunched or driven.they are sensitive pups though so your style, technique and set up
will have an effect.the bridge is supertwang and can bring your guitar to life .love 'em.
can't comment on the other sets but a pound to penny i'd love 'em too.

[PhilKing]

The BG neck pickup is a little more Strat like than a regular tele, I like it, but then I have a tele with a Slownhand neck and a Tele with a mini-HB neck.  Something that you probably won't know about is the 'Nocaster' new wind of the BG flatpole 50.  This has a 10k bridge matched with a 7.5k neck, both AV magnets.  I love them for blues and rock tones (I have them in a MIJ 62 Tele Custom). 

[Tele52]

I love my brown sugars, the best Tele pickup set that I've ever had. And I've tried a lot of different brands. Great neck