Tele custom build coming, need pickup recommendations!

[Frank]

Hello people

I've heard nothing but praise for these Bareknuckle pickups but never got a chance to try them myself. I'm speccing a custom tele build at the moment and it's probably going to be fitted with Bareknuckles so I could use a little advice on pickup selection. Of the pickups I've used so far I've probably liked Fender Noiseless the best, possibly Texas Specials too.

I'm looking for bite and lots of it. I want a tele that has that springy attacking sound, not a hint of stratocaster politeness. I use 10 or 11 gauge strings, like to bend them all over the shop but for this project I want to be able to hit an open A chord and have it sound pokey, powerful, raucous, chaotic, chunky, stop me when you have enough adjectives. I'm not interested in mad wig-out distortion for this guitar, it's got to sound good clean and mildly overdriven.

So ... what's on the menu, pickup-wise? I'm planning for three pickups here so a bridge and two neck units, definitely single coils. My current telecaster just doesn't cut the mustard as a rhythm guitar. Blame S*ym**r, they're his pickups.

Thanks in advance,
Frank

[Ratrod]

Welcome Frank.

I'm not completely sure yet but you should put the Blackguard 50 and the Yardbird on your list of options.

[Frank]

Thanks for that, any idea where I might find any soundclips of those?

These will be for an ash bodied tele with maple top and rosewood fingerboard, if that influences the choice at all

[AndyR]

Welcome :D

Out of the tele sets I've got (Blackguard Flat 50s & Yardbirds), I believe the Blackguards would better fit what you're describing. The BGs are in my "hairy", rock and roll, blues, etc, "roots" teles (ash, maple one-piece necks). The YBs are in my all-rounder tele (alder, rosewood board) - sweeter sounding, more useful for layering multiple guitars.

I think I've posted recordings containing both in the Players section - usually my stuff is a bit "over-produced" to hear individual guitar tones though :roll:

I've just got a funny feeling that Piledrivers (not actually tried them) might be the ones for you though?

Like the signature by the way, "A man can never own too many Stratocasters", I had to use this very phrase to the missus the other week :lol: (luckily she'd been vaguely surprised that I hadn't bought it already...)

[Frank]

The YBs are ... sweeter sounding

Oh lord no, I don't want this to sound sweet. I've got a room full of strats if I want sweet. I want it to sound raucous, even through a clean amp.

I've found a few clips on Youtube with a few BKP pickups but no one is really playing in the style I want to hear - which is hammering the living daylights out of chords. Everyone's too busy showing off their chops, it's depressing. Piledrivers are added to the list then, thanks for the input there.

Edit: ok, I'm a moron, I totally missed the "Players" section and waded straight in with a question here. I'll do some digging there.

[Ratrod]

These are my findings about the Blackguard.

If you plug it in the first time, clean, low volume, no FX, you'd almost think they sound generic. They're not. They're well balanced and what you hear is your blank canvas.

Set the amp a little louder and add a slap echo and play 'Folsom Prison Blues'. You'll notice it's dead on. There's a mean undertone going on.

Add some dirt and you can do some really mean, raucus rockabilly.

Exit the echo and add crunch and hit those strings like they're Tina and you're Ike. There's your sixties garage rock and Hives.

Back off the tone a notch and you'll hear a hint of P90. Add overdrive or distortion for punk.

It's a versitile juvinile delinquent.

[badgermark]

Searching youtube for bkp piledriver brings up my little demo. Not a solo in sight! thought the sound is a bit iffy. I miss those pickups.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3OxE1hPYy8

[Zaned]

Sounds to me like you'd need a bit of midrange grunt aside that bite. Maybe 8) That's what I would do. Midrange weight and serious bite on top of it.

What are the woods? If it's (swamp) ash + maple, there's that springy sound. Add some midrange to it and clear, biting top, you've got a winner. Anyway, I'd give Tim an e-mail or a phone call. Anyway, vintage hot section is my suggestion. The Boss?

To the bar ->

[Frank]

Thanks again for all the input people, I'll probably drop a quick email to the man himself.

Although watching badgermark's video has pretty much pushed me in the direction of the Piledrivers, they sound like they have a fair bit of raunch to them.