Tele pickups experts...Highway One needs a new bridge pup!

[Pierre]

I'm hesitating between a Boss, Piledriver or blackguard 50 for the bridge pickup... The guitar sounds a little thin unplugged, but nothing too bad. The pickups don't thicken the sound as much as I'd like though on the bridge position. So I'd like a tiny bit more output, balls, bass, muscles, etc...
I called in and they said BG50, Boss, or if it's the guitar, perhaps even the Piledriver... I quite liked the PD's description, I like playing with the volume pot a lot on this guitar. Soundclips didn't help much... I really, REALLY want to avoid bridge thinness though. I want a thick, big Tele tone.

The BG50 would probably be the more vintage one, the Boss the more versatile and the PD the more 'in your face' but I've got no practical experience with any :(

Basically with my current bridge pickup, I always have the tone pot on 8/10 to compensate for a the thinness, which works very well but I don't need the extra bite if you see what I mean...

Thanks!

[PhilKing]

The Boss can be a little bright, so I would lean towards the Piledriver for power or BG50 for an all round great Tele sound

[Pierre]

Argh... not sure...

Ok... I do a lot of chicken picking, but I'm mostly a Blues player, and I'd use the Tele for hard rocky stuff too...


So it's probably going to be the Piledriver it seems...

[AndyR]

I've been thinking about this since reading about it in your NGD thread earlier this evening...

I'd agree with Phil on BG50 for all-round tele bridge - I'd regard that as the "safe" option for you, and the Piledriver (though I've not tried one) if you want power.

I think you're heading for Piledriver - I understand they still sound "tele", and are very good for volume control work (and Fernando is bound to come in with "Piledriver  :twisted:" :lol:)

I've been wondering about an "Esquire" with just the bridge pup myself (I have an old Korean Squier tele in the attic not doing much, no nut and no scratchplate) - I'd be going Piledriver for that.

[CaptainDesslock]

Well if you want a tele bridge with a lot of bite the piledriver is certainly a good choice, I had the set for a tele I used to own and they were amazing.  The bridge had a great RARRR too it but the matching neck pickup was so clear and articulate. That being said, the only thing I couldn't get on with was the single-coil "quack," but that's what you get for being a Muse fanboy with telecasters!

[FernandoDuarte]

(and Fernando is bound to come in with "Piledriver  :twisted:" :lol:)

:lol:
I'm so predictable...

I've been wondering about an "Esquire" with just the bridge pup myself (I have an old Korean Squier tele in the attic not doing much, no nut and no scratchplate) - I'd be going Piledriver for that.

FOR THE VICTORY!!! :twisted:
:lol:



Serious, Piledriver can sound EVIL, as you can see:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCK7oHgmv7M

But it has a good clear tone, etc... The teacher I went once played some nice jazzy/brazilian music things on it (and got completely :o He said: "This has tone, not those cr@p guitars the students bring here" 8) )

[Tellboy]

I have a Piledriver and Boss set. I love both but if I had to choose between them it would probably be the Piledriver - Yes you can get a great meaty overdrive sound when wound up but once you start winding the volume control back below 3/4 you certainly get good tele sounds (especially around 1/4 volume).... perhaps not quite as traditional as the lower output sets (BG, Country Boy) but still excellent  . I am always amazed at the variety of sounds I can get from my Piledriver tele with just the volume and tone controls ..... if only I could master that huge 50s neck  :(

[tomjackson]

The BGFlat50 bridge is fat in a vintage Tele sense but I think you will probably want something with a thicker tone. I use the word fat to mean fat cutting twang, but this pickup will not thicken out a thinner sounding guitar that much.  I only have Blackguards so can’t comment about the other models.

Something else that would beef things up would be a Callaham Bridge, they are made of thicker steel that the Fender units and seem to smooth things out a little.
Of course if you want microphonic properties (that kind of edgy squeal that you can get with a classic tele bridge) and twang, this may not be the way to go but if you want a bit of a thicker smoother Tele this would really help.

Here's a shameless plug of my own clip to demonstrate the pickup, I use the neck as well but you can clearly hear when it's on the bridge:-

http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=15614.0

[Pierre]

I guess it's the piledriver then... If it's really not for this guitar I guess I could always swap it anyway :) Thanks y'all!

EDIT: just ordered it :D

[AndyR]

Nice one...

Fernando will be a very happy man :lol:

(Hopefully you will too!)

[Philly Q]

I have a Piledriver and Boss set. I love both but if I had to choose between them it would probably be the Piledriver - Yes you can get a great meaty overdrive sound when wound up but once you start winding the volume control back below 3/4 you certainly get good tele sounds (especially around 1/4 volume).... perhaps not quite as traditional as the lower output sets (BG, Country Boy) but still excellent  . I am always amazed at the variety of sounds I can get from my Piledriver tele with just the volume and tone controls ..... if only I could master that huge 50s neck  :(

Just out of interest, do you have a treble bleed cap on the volume control?

[PhilKing]

[Just out of interest, do you have a treble bleed cap on the volume control?

Remove all treble bleed caps - they steal tone!

[Philly Q]

[Just out of interest, do you have a treble bleed cap on the volume control?

Remove all treble bleed caps - they steal tone!

It's just that I've always had an (untested!) theory that they'd be good on a Tele with hot pickups, as you'd be able to roll down the volume and get a less-powerful but still bright, more "vintage" tone.

[PhilKing]

I've found with BK's that if you have good pots you can use the volumes without losing tone.  In fact they seem to make the pot more 'linear' because they keep their tone at lower volumes.

[Tellboy]

Just out of interest, do you have a treble bleed cap on the volume control?

Just checked  - yes there is a treble bleed cap on the volume pot which appears appears to be original (this is a Japanese 50th anniversary model). I would tend to agree with what you said about a cap on teles with hot pickups - it does appear to give the Piledriver a more traditional tone at lower volumes - I think it would be a different story with the lower output tele pickups.

P.S. Just been looking at the Tele Guitar Forum - opinion seems to be split 50/50 regarding the treble bleed cap. In any case it's a very simple thing to do/undo - might try disconnecting mine to see what it sounds like.