Another "what telecaster pickups" thread

[uncle psychosis]

Hi guys

Long time pseudo-lurker, first time poster. I'm seriously considering gutting the electronics from my Japanese '62 Telecaster and putting in some BK pickups. Thing is, I'm not entirely sure what I want and at these prices I don't want to get it wrong (even if Tim does have what seems to be a great returns policy... :lol:)

Here's my spiel:

The stock pickups in it just sound a bit "meh". They're ok, but the bridge tends to be a bit ice-picky when playing at band levels and the whole instrument doesn't really "cut" when the bass and drums are wailing. The neck pickup is ok, but nothing amazing.  I tend to use the middle position a *lot* and I'd like this to continue.

Now, the problem is that I have quite a lot of tonal "wishes". I play pretty much all sorts of stuff---the other day whilst bored I ran through some Pulp, The Clash, Rage Against The Machine, some Reggae, REM, Mogwai, Black Sabbath, some Jazz and funk, and some Cure. Thats a lot of sounds! Now, obviously one guitar can't *quite* do everything. And luckily I have a semi-hollow body thats loaded with humbuckers, so thats a lot of bases covered. So, I'm not quite looking for a humbucker sound but I do want the ability to bash out some RATM or some heavier sounds without the guitar either sounding too weedy or squealing uncontrollably. I also want to be able to clean things up and get a nice clean sound for funk/jazz/ambient. Probably not your standard "vintage tele" pickups required then...

I've been considering putting a Piledriver in the bridge, and a Boss in the neck. I'm slightly concerned though that since I use the middle position a lot that this combo won't work so well. Thoughts?

Also, is it worth doing the 4-way switch mod for added middle position versatility? And, finally, what value pots would you use for this combo?

Thanks

Sam

[Plexi Ken]

Hi, welcome to the forum  :D

I don't use the 4th position much on my tele but I know plenty of other who couldn't live without it. You can see a 4-way diagram in Tim's post in this tread, http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=18476.0

If you're worried that Piledrivers can't produce a heavy sound, check this,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCK7oHgmv7M

[AndyR]

I'm not exactly doing the same sorts of things as you, but I would suggest you add a Yardbirds set to your considerations.

I'll tell you about both tele sets I have:

I got my Blackguard Flat 50s first, they're in maple-boarded ash-bodied teles. They are what I'd regard as "vintage tele" - but they're pretty hairy (eg I find them more aggressive than the Irish Tours in my strat). They're great for the rock/blues/blues-rock stuff I fiddle with. The middle position is fabulous, and the extra series option on a four-way switch really works for me with BGs. Unlike the standard and distinctive "middle" sound on a tele (which I love anyway), the series option "just" sounds like bridge and neck added together, you can hear both pickups, it's more powerful, and it has the bottom and the bite all at once...

I would almost have suggested you look at Blackguards for what you want, until I got Yardbirds...

I've got a Japanese 62 as well (mine's double bound alder body, rosewood board) - I got the Yardbirds because of the BKP range they're the "correct" ones for a 60s tele. I wasn't really too sure what to expect - I imagined "vaguely like the stock pickups in it already, but better..."

They are a bit like I imagined, but LOADS better! :lol:

The Yardbirds are extremely versatile pickups. Sweeter sounding than the Blackguards, but still with tele bite on the bridge. I think they're lower output - they certainly feel less "hairy" when playing them - but they work far better with more distorted "rock" tones. They're a bit more "focused" is how I'd describe it.

I can't speak for the other BKP tele pickups, but if you're after an all-rounder tele with standard single coils, that is versatile enough to cover a wide range, will take effects well, etc, etc... the Yardbirds can do the job. Before I got them, I read someone else raving about them in the same sort of way... I have to say I didn't really believe they could be that versatile for me - but it turns out they are :D

[99_not_out]

I can't really comment on the pickups only owning a BG set (and only for two weeks at that). The BGs are very good though!
But the 4-way switch mod is definitely worth it - and I have the Fender S1 mod too, that allows the parallel / series modes to be in / out of phase. Its *really* flexible, and even more so now I have some BKPs in the guitar.
So I'll leave the pickups to the better qualified, but go with the 4-way switch! You have nothing to lose (apart from soldering frustration due to the fiddliness!)

[uncle psychosis]

Thanks guys.

I was looking at the Yardbirds too. I'm just not sure that "vintage" is the sound I want. Bah, too confusing!

Cheers

Sam

[roland_rat]

I have yardbirds in a guitar of mine and out of all pickups I have these are either my favourite or second favourite (mothers milk strat strat pickups are the others that its a toss up with as my fav). 

I have to agree with Andy for a versitile vintage sounding tele pickup these really are superb.  He describes them very accuratly and fa better than I could so im not going to repeat the speil.

I have not tried some of the other tele pickups but you could do far worse than a set of yardbirds :D

[uncle psychosis]

After much discussion with Tim (the hype really is as good as the reality with BKP customer service it seems  :D ) I think I'm going to go with a Piledriver in the bridge and a Yardbird in the neck. Tim thought the YB would match up better with the PD.

Now I just need to wait for pay day (and hope that moving house isn't *too* expensive...)