Gotta love they blaggards...

[AndyR]

Installed my second set of Blackguard Flat 50s at the weekend...  8)

The first set went in my Baja Tele, and that really brought the thing alive for me - I'd been seriously struggling with liking it and with understanding how to play a tele until I put the blaggards in. Apart from when she was away getting a refret, she's been my "go to" guitar ever since.

Then a couple of months back I scored a second hand Japanese 52 re-issue, cheap enough to not be able to say no(!). I believe it had Texas Specials (might be "US Vintage" pickups, though they seemed a bit more powerful in the mids than the Blackguards). These were ok, but not really doing it for me - so I put the Baja's old pickups in for a few weeks to see what I thought. The Baja's pups were a great improvement - more articulate, etc, etc...

But it just didn't sound as good for me as the Baja with her Blaggards...

I debated long and hard - she sounded fine with the Baja's pups, just not quite my kind of tele, not quite enough meat to the tone. The Baja pups are just a little too "polite sounding" for me - loads of top end but no grind. She was sounding light and melodic, and great as a strumming rhythm guitar, but I don't do a lot of the latter, and the BKP'd Baja does all that as well...

I had wondered whether I really ought to be keeping the guitars different, trying different tele BKPs, but the look of the thing was just screaming "give me the early 50s vibe ma-an...", and then the clincher was when I realised I always get the same curry from the takeaway, so what's wrong with me getting the same pickups twice!  :lol:

So I decided to get her the Flat 50s to install after christmas. And then they arrived somewhat faster than I expected (!)...

I put them in on sunday, and the difference is every bit as stunning as it was for the Baja. It's still got all the top end and bite, but there's just a bit more munchiness to the Flat 50s. And funnily enough, I'm also more inclined to strumming rhythm on it now :roll:

I used to pick her up and try to love her, but only play for 5 minutes before putting her down to see how the BKPd Baja compared... I can't put her down now (actually I can, my fingers hurt!)

I can't vouch for the other BKP tele pups - but I love the Blackguard Flat 50s. If you're a blues, country-blues, classic rock, rocknroll, sort of player, who's after a traditional and versatile tele set, with plenty of oommph when you need it - I don't think you can go far wrong with these...

[FernandoDuarte]

:D Still think you need Piledrivers on a tele (hint hint, new one?) 8)

But I would like to try the B.G. :) sounds cool

[AndyR]

I did consider "Esquiring" the thing - in that case the Piledriver bridge was one of the options.

I do actually have an old Korean Squier that needs putting back together one day (scratchplate b*ggered after putting a humbucker in the neck a few years back, and the nut has snapped under the G). I even bought all the bits in February, including new pots/caps, but then I acquired the Baja, and used all the bits elsewhere...

[Will]

If you are calling Blackguards - blaggards, shouldn't you be calling the Baja - Badger? :P

Nice story too

[AndyR]

Er, I did originally  :oops: - try going into a shop and asking "Can I try the Badga, please?" and see how long it is before they start laughing at you...  :lol:

[38thBeatle]

That is cool. If I remember rightly, you are in Surrey and with me in Sussex-maybe we should have a meeting of the Tele's-you could try my Country Boys and I could try your Blaggards( good to see that catching on ).

[tomjackson]

I'm loving mine too Andy, they produce some of the sweetest clean and crunch sounds I've played. 

But more importantly, what curry do you get every time?   

[ailean]

Blackguards really are a great pickup, glad you are liking them :) We have a set of Piledrivers, and while the PD's have their charm, the Blaggards just scream TELE! (sorry Roo)

[Philly Q]

I had wondered whether I really ought to be keeping the guitars different, trying different tele BKPs, but the look of the thing was just screaming "give me the early 50s vibe ma-an...", and then the clincher was when I realised I always get the same curry from the takeaway, so what's wrong with me getting the same pickups twice!  :lol:

I'd have been tempted to get something different (I don't think I have any two guitars with the same pickups), but then again, if it ain't broke don't fix it - it sounds like you've found the perfect Tele pickups for you!  :)

Still not sure the Blaggards would be right for me (although that's what I said about Cold Sweats until I actually tried them).  I'm not crazy about that "neck pickup wound to sound more like a Strat pickup" idea.  I'm leaning towards one of the hotter sets, Boss probably, but maybe with a treble bleed cap so I can roll down the volume for a more vintage tone.

But I'm really not too clear how the BKP Tele sets differ from each other, especially the neck pickups.  I'll probably speak to Tim (eventually) and see what he recommends.

(And yeah, what is that curry?  :?: )

[AndyR]

:lol:

King Prawn Patia with Pilau rice and a side order of Sag (and some of the missus's garlic nan).

For me, Blackguards obviously are the "King Prawn Patias" of tele pickups...

I'm not sure about this "stratty" neck pickup thing Philly - I do see what people mean, and I read somewhere about how he winds the neck so it's more open sounding, etc... but in the long run, for me personally, I think the twisted tele out of the Baja sounds more stratty. I must admit though, if I want to do Ritchie Blackmore impersonations - it's one of these teles with the Blackguards that I reach for now, sounds far more like RB on a strat than any of my strats ever have! (Mainly for the bridge sound, admittedly).

Actually, I nearly considered keeping the Baja neck this time and just ordering the Flat 50 bridge. To my ears, the difference between the Blackguard neck and the twisted tele is not that great. It's just the BKP seems slightly warmer and also the usual "generally more organic" like BKPs always are...

By the way, both the Baja and the 52 reissue had treble bleed caps in them already - I took them off because I always make use the loss of treble with volume roll-off. On the Baja, I only found out it was there when I was putting the BKPs in - I think it's possible I might have liked the Baja with it's original pups a little better if I'd taken the bleed out... dunno? I certainly found them a lot more versatile and open to pickup height adjustment in the 52 than I did in the Baja.

The other thing I'm finding VERY interesting is the comparison between nickel and nickel-plated steel strings. My strat has converted to nickel, and probably won't go back. The Baja has nickel on at the moment, and when I put them on a few weeks back, the loss in volume/power was very noticable, and I wasn't sure I liked it - I'd decided to go back to nickel/steel next set. But the 52 has nickel/steel at the moment - so it's a good comparison. I'm actually preferring the Baja tone - the difference is very small though, mainly in a seemingly warmer neck pickup... I'm still putting nickel/steel back on the Baja next set, to see how they compare with same strings/pickups.

38th - that does sound like a plan, I originally had my sights set on Country Boys, but all this 50s black-guard-type-telecaster acquisition led me in another direction! I reckon Philly could benefit from hearing the Blackguard neck as well - it would at least rule them in/out of the equation :D