Too much to ask for?

[WillRTR]

Hi all
my band (Rise To Remain) have been in the studio for a few months - while we were there, I found my love with an old Fender USA Telecaster. I literally went giddy with its clean tone in the neck position ahaha :)

My problem - all my guitars have 2 humbuckers, but I would LOVE to get something even just close to that tele neck sound in my guitars for live, and I'd rather buy a new neck pickup than a new guitar!

So, from your experiences, does anyone have any suggestions on what humbucker (preferably BKP obviously!) could be closest to reaching that luscious clean tone? Or am I hoping for too much and should stop being a cheap bar-steward and buy a damn tele haha :P

WillH

[Twinfan]

I would say a Mississippi Queen would be the closest to the original dark neck tone of a tele, or a VHII if you want something a bit more stratty and spanky  :)

[Matt77]

Is that you playing the solo on your band's track "Bridges Will Burn?"
If so. Nice chops  :)

[Telerocker]

I would say a Mississippi Queen would be the closest to the original dark neck tone of a tele, or a VHII if you want something a bit more stratty and spanky  :)

Yes, think that's the way to go.

[WillRTR]

Twinfan & Telerc--ker - thanks guys, I'll deffo be checking that pickup out when I next make a purchase! I've been told by my producers (oh, and by Andy Sneap, hah) that EMGs are the only way to go (to quote Mr Sneap - "I $%&#ing hate those Bare Knuckles"), especially with studio stuff, but I'm determined to try and fly the BKP flag, even if its just live!! But I don't get enough time to try stuff out, hence why I have to ask you guys haha :P

Matt77 - nah, thats my lead guitarist Ben, he's a beast with his shred, being a determined metalhead stuck in a boarding secondary school does that to ya :P
He's written a riff thats as much of a bugger as he is with his shred - check out the lead part from 1:33 in this video that he plays...the part you see him playing is what I have to learn. Its a dual harmony. I hate him... :)

[MDV]

hehehe

as much as I cant match Mr Sneaps AE and mixing capabilities, I do often find his guitar sounds very sterile...

I digress, and speak above my station, but perhaps for those of us that have only played a few teles (I avoid them like the plague personally, and have only played the ones that I've worked on, and have found them all to be very tonally different) wahat, exactly, sonically, it is that youre after.

[WillRTR]

I agree, the EMGs are quite sterile, and tbh while I do think they're great pickups I just don't like the sound...I don't know what it is. Although they have stepped up their game a bit with the X-series, I actually quite liked those. Both the 81 and the 81-X sat best in the recording mix when we were tone testing amps & guitars for the album, but live I like my guitar to be able to cut through, especially with a beast of a lead guitarist on the other side who, luckily for me, is playing EMGs and Seymour Duncans (the stock sets they put into ESP/Ltd guitars).

With the tele tone I'm after, its just a really pretty clean that isn't bright (or at least not overly bright), the sorta thing to make the ladies swoon ahaha. I'm guessing its lack of brightness would be its neck position... gotta admit, I'm terrible at explaining tones, but the closest tone clip I can think of [without posting album clips] is the clean guitar tone that rings throughout the first part of Deftones' "Sextape" (It's here if you haven't heard it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b92EKemUA4A). I know Stef plays EMGs but Carl Bown, one of the gents producing my band, is pretty sure that a tele would've been used for that clean tone.

And that link for my last post, with the stupid lead part - 1:33 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5p0BiXGd-8
Also, I did spell 'Telerocker' wrong ahaha, what a ridiculous typo :P

[WillRTR]

Oh, and congrats on getting The Aftermath as a production pickup, it sounds awesome!

[MDV]

:)

I can only take the honour of having named it, I'm afraid. It was already a product of tims evil genius when it was a nameless prototype I was offered >1yr ago.

But, from that song, if you want that in a neck from a humbucker, the best chance you have is the aftermath, IMO.

That may seem odd, from the clips of the bridge, but there you go. Its a really chimey, open sounding humbucker.

[WillRTR]

Still a badass sounding name, I'd still brag to my mates if I got to name a product that one of my favourite companies sold haha!

Really, an aftermath for the neck?! This is madness!!
I should prolly point out it won't be going into a 2HB tele btw, it'll be going into a mahogany bodied/maple-topped superstrat, Ltd MH-1000NT to be precise (may get one to whack in my LTD les paul if it rocks), going either into a 6505+ or an AxeFX (using the 6505's poweramp).

I'm only so shocked by that answer because of nolly & misha's clips btw hah

[MDV]

And you should be, but the necks clean is a VERY different beast. In that its not a beast at all. Its $%&#ing beautifull.

[WillRTR]

Ohh really? Hmm, you've got me curious now, mainly because a pickup that's persuaded Nolly enough to get one installed into his custom which can do both ferocious and do stunning neck cleans is something that interests me.

I've had a listen to a few clips of the MQ and I gotta say that I do like it quite a fair bit, but then I'm actually shallow enough to wanna hear what the aftermath sounds like in the neck because of its badass name :P yes that is a very dumb reason to wanna hear a pickup but its still a reason!!