YetAnotherWhichPupsForThisTele(tm) thread

[BigB]

So, the axe is a japanese Fender Custom '62 RI - alder body, (thin) maple / rosewood neck. Nice acoustic sound - resonant, open, well balanced, nice singing tone, good fast attacks and more than decent sustain. A die-hard tele-fanatic friend found it to be way above average, and I think he knows what he's talking about.

But - as I expected - the pups are, well, not really bad, but nothing you'd remember of, and - to my taste - way too wimpy. Ok, I like that telecaster twang and bite and roar and sing, but being first a humbucker guy with a taste for hotter pups - I mean, on the "hot vintage and then some"  side :mrgreen: -, I'm looking for something way more beefy and meaty - like, more low ends, way more grunt and way less shrill, but with still that rock'n'roll cutting bridge tone. Kind of a tele on steroids...

As far as I can tell from descriptions and samples, I think I want a Piledriver bridge. Now I don't know if I should take the whole set, or go for something else on the neck - perhaps a yardbird or a brownsugar ? FWIW I heard some good things about the PD bridge / yardbird neck combo, but while I like the Crawler's alnico IV neck - alnico V bridge contrast on my Vox Custom 24, I'm not sure I'm after the same combo here.

If that may help, I'm playing anything from blues to classic rock to old hard rock to early punk-rock to fusion to grunge to  modern hardcore punk, my current band being mostly about the four last items.

So ladies and gentlemans, any hint and advise welcome  - Mr Tim will have the final word, as usual

[AndyR]

I think you're looking in the right directions :D

My Fender Japan Custom has Yardbirds in. They are extremely tasty and "more" than the stock pickups were, but they are not that much more powerful.

I think a Yardbird set actually would suit you, but you'd need to get used to it and get the amp to work a bit more maybe? I find this set to be really flexible, it handles any style of music and amp settings I put it through. Add a four-way switch to give you the "both in series" option, and you get a psuedo humbucker tone.

However, for what you describe, I personally would be tempted to go Yardbird neck and then Blackguard Flat 50 bridge.

This is because:

a) The BG bridge gives more "hair" than the Yardbird - with the tone rolled off to "fatten" it a bit, I find it competes quite well with a humbucker guitar going through the same amp settings.

b) I find the YB neck to be sweeter and clearer than the BG neck, and is the main reason I find the Yardbirds so flexible. I can actually do crunchy or even distorted rhythm work with the YB neck. I can only use the BG neck pickup for that if I'm after the traditional "lumpy rhythm played on a tele neck" sort of sound (I hope that makes sense! It's not a bad tone, but I rarely use it, I like a bit more cut and definition from a crunchy rhythm part :lol:)

I have been wondering about the Piledrivers myself. I was originally worried they'd be a bit too much, and would lack some of the tele character that I want. However, other people's reports suggest that the bridge is that "tele on steroids" you're after... and that if you roll off the volume then you're into classic tele bridge territory.

So a PD bridge with YB neck does actually sound like an interesting combination to me. You might even be fattening up the neck slightly because you'll be able to get it slightly closer to the strings when balancing output with the PD bridge.

Can't comment much on the alnico IV-V bit, as far as I'm aware all my sets are the same magnet between bridge & neck.

Hope that helps :D

[hunter]

Complete it yourself:

P_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ R

[gwEm]

predictably, i'm going to push the boss here :) way less compressed than the piledriver, but as meaty as you like. it works nicely for punk and hardrock, use it for that myself, with a bit of metal.

lets us know what tim reckons!

[Philly Q]

I still don't have any BKP Tele sets so I should probably shut the hell up...

We often hear about the BG50 set for vintage-with-balls, the Piledrivers for maximum grunt, and gwEm always mentions the Boss as a good set for rock.....

But what about the Brown Sugars?  I know there's the instant Keith Richards association, but I imagine they'd be hotter than the BGs (or maybe not?) but with a bit more spank than the Boss.  Good for blues and slightlier edgier rock sounds, perhaps?

All this is pure speculation.  Maybe I should just put together 6 or 7 Teles and get every pickup set then I'll know what I'm talking about. :?

[BigB]

predictably, i'm going to push the boss here :)

Thanks gwEm - yet another option to consider as just what I needed  :mrgreen:

way less compressed than the piledriver, but as meaty as you like. it works nicely for punk and hardrock, use it for that myself, with a bit of metal.

lets us know what tim reckons!

Well... My die-hard-tele-fan buddy and coworker  just asked me if could install a set of "the boss" on it's own tele, so I should probably wait a few more days so I can test the boss by myself - specially since I'll be able to hear the "before" and "after"...   Yeps, probably the best thing to do.

Thanks to anyone for your kind advices BTW - I'll keep you informed.

[gwEm]

But what about the Brown Sugars?

I like the Brown Sugars alot. Apparently The Boss is a Brown Sugar with a hotter wind. I have a Brown Sugar and Boss here and am able to confirm the tones are in the same vein, but the Brown Sugar is noticeably more open, and a little more vintage.

If I was going the authentic-tele route, I'd go for a Blackguard 50 or Brown Sugar for sure.

The Boss is great for rock, it does a very good George Lynch impression, but you can get nasty and punk too. Very punchy. As I said once before, it sort of like the Holy Diver of tele pickups. I tried to get on with the Piledriver, but it wasn't for me.

[Philly Q]

I like the Brown Sugars alot. Apparently The Boss is a Brown Sugar with a hotter wind. I have a Brown Sugar and Boss here and am able to confirm the tones are in the same vein, but the Brown Sugar is noticeably more open, and a little more vintage.

If I was going the authentic-tele route, I'd go for a Blackguard 50 or Brown Sugar for sure.

Thanks gwEm, useful info.  :)  I was looking at the specs earlier and wondered if the Brown Sugar and Boss have the same neck model.

[Antag]

The Boss is ... sort of like the Holy Diver of tele pickups.

Oh great.  You just had to make me want something else didn't you :roll: :)

[Philly Q]

The Boss is ... sort of like the Holy Diver of tele pickups.

Oh great.  You just had to make me want something else didn't you :roll: :)

I can't remember - have you got any Teles in that armoury of yours?


(Apologies for repeated thread hijacks!  :oops: )

[BigB]

Apparently The Boss is a Brown Sugar with a hotter wind. I have a Brown Sugar and Boss here and am able to confirm the tones are in the same vein, but the Brown Sugar is noticeably more open, and a little more vintage.

If I was going the authentic-tele route, I'd go for a Blackguard 50 or Brown Sugar for sure.

The Boss is great for rock, it does a very good George Lynch impression, but you can get nasty and punk too. Very punchy. As I said once before, it sort of like the Holy Diver of tele pickups. I tried to get on with the Piledriver, but it wasn't for me.

I listened to the one and only sample of the Boss I could find, and it sure sounded fine - huge yet still open tele tone. I'm starting to reconsider what seemed an obvious choice  :?

Don't you have any sample available ? I'd really like to hear what you're getting out of this pup...

[Andrew W]

I have a Piledriver bridge paired with a Mississippi Queen neck in a weighty Mexican Tele and I love them.  I have to say that in my guitar it's not very Tele-ish: I like the sound, but you wouldn't immediately think "Telecaster" when you heard it.  Here's a clip I recorded with the guitar played through a Cornell Romany Plus.  The rhythm is Piledriver and the solo part is with the Mississippi Queen.  I added some chorus to the solo as I was mucking about with trying to recreate 80s Z Z Top type settings.  Anyway, it gives you a bit of an idea of what Piledrivers can sound like:

Link

[BigB]

I have a Piledriver bridge paired with a Mississippi Queen neck in a weighty Mexican Tele and I love them. 

Hi Andrew.

Yeps, I've already seen this clip - and I had read the topic somewhere in this forum too. Was quite impressed by the rythm tone, and that's possibly because of this that my first idea was the piledriver. But OTHO, playing the stock pups, I'm starting to remember why I wanted a tele at first, so I'm now in doubt... But well, I'll wait for my buddy to get his boss set so I can try them out, and then I'll ask Tim !-)

[FernandoDuarte]

But well, I'll wait for my buddy to get his boss set so I can try them out, and then I'll ask Tim !-)

That's a good idea, if the friend is not going to do this in long term...

[Andrew W]

BigB, please let us know how your friend finds The Boss in his Tele.  I'm having the same dilemma as you at present as I need a pickup for my Jazzmaster/Tele/Strat hybrid thing I'm building and I think I've narrowed it down either another Piledriver or The Boss.  Ah decisions, decisions. :)