tele pickup help- Yardbird , Flat 52?

[liftman]

I just bought a Fender custom shop tele with alder body and rosewood board. It's second hand and the guy wasn't sure what the pickups were but a bit of research suggests they're custom shop 63's. I really like the sound but would prefer the neck pickup to have a bit more volume to match the bridge. Looking at the tone charts for Bareknuckles, I'm edging towards Yardbird or Flat 52 but on the DC rating the 52 looks like it's not a loud pickup, is that true?
 I guess the sounds I'm most going for are  Cropper/ jazz/ indie.   
Also while I'm here, how's the Yardbird bridge for clean twang to Cropper-type sounds? cheers.

[AndyR]

Hi, I've got both (or, at least I have the "old" Flat 50s which I believe are now marketed as the 52s).

I think you want Yardbirds for my understanding of what you describe.

The BGs are thicker and more aggessive sounding in my hands. Great for when I want a guitar that is playing the only guitar part.

The Yardbirds are sweeter without getting too polite. I can use that guitar for general rock, pop, and virtually anything. It's excellent for layering guitar parts without getting muddy, and for jangly stuff. It's also the one I reach for if I want a "telecaster" lead-break.

Both would probably do you fine, but I think Yardbirds is what I'd recommend.

(btw, in my experience, the BG bridge feels somewhat more powerful than the Yardbird - drives my amp settings harder)

[Telerocker]

I can only speak for the BG52's. The neck pickup looks low output, but matches nice with the bridge. The overal vibe of the 52-neck is quite stratty. The bridge pushes an amp really nice, it's thick for a telebridge, but has enough twang too. Use the toneknob and you have a lot of sounds on tap.

[AndyR]

Ah! I misread :lol:

Yep, the BG neck pickup is fine ouput-wise. It's a really nice match for the bridge. Gives a really tasty middle position. (If you use a 4-way switch, the two pickups give a REALLY good both-in-series tone as well)

[BigB]

wrt/ BGF52s : Just what Telerocker and AndyR said  :lol:

[liftman]

Thanks for the replies. I just phoned up BK and spoke to Ben who said they'd been talking about the Cropper sound  earlier today with a fellow Cropper fanatic, he recommended the Yardbird so I've ordered one. cheers!
 

[liftman]

Put the Yardbird in last night and it's a great improvement! Compared to the original Custom 63 there's more volume and body to the sound. The 63 is more airy and sparkly ( very good sound) but is thinner, Yardbird is more dynamic and bluesy. I reckon it has more mids in it but still very clear. Funny but I can hear a similar character to my BKP90's.
So now I'm thinking about the bridge of course.  Again the 63 sounds great but I would say is a bit on the thin, bright  side. I'm wondering whether to go with the Yardbird or The Staggered 55 'cause I like the string balance with the staggered poles. Any opinions on these two?