Irish Tour Strat Neck Pickup versus Yardbird in a Tele

[danny82]

Hey guys,

Maybe you can help please.....  Wanting a new neck pickup for my tele, (mexican, with maple neck, poplar body with a maple cap) I have a piledriver in the bridge which is staying.
The neck had a mule humbucker in it which i moved to my les paul and honestly it has now a much better home.

Now i know i can fit a strat pickup in the cavity..... ..tim suggested for my sound and to match the piledriver either a irish tour or a yardbird without the cover. Now I don't have a strat but one of my favourite tones is the strat neck pickup, sweet bell like cleans and then when you turn it up and hit with a tubescreamer the srv hendrix kinda texas blues tone is what i want.

Does anyone have any experience with a strat neck pickup in a tele? Is there anything i should know about pole pieces not matching, i will use the 4 way switch will that still work, and I think i will have to purchase a standard tele pickguard and then cut a bit out so a strat pickup fits? Hard to decide between the yardbird or irish tour?

Thanks for any suggestions or help is greatly appreciated.

Danny

[itamar101]

Id get the yardbird. It'll got you needs really nicely and it'll suit the piledriver very well.

[Telerocker]

The IT covers Hendrix and blues very well. Cleans up great. Mine is a strat  :)

[AndyR]

I love the Yardbird neck. I also like the IT neck, in a strat, not tried it in a tele.

I think I'm with itamar, personally I'd stick a tele neck in a tele - but there's nothing to stop you, and I reckon the IT would work out fine as well :D

[TheyCallMeVolume]

Yeah I think too that Yardbird would be best.

[danny82]

Thanks for all your suggestions.... But I think I'm going to give the irish tour a try. I have asked a few people and looked online and heard some good things. I know i won't get a true strat sound
from a tele but thats ok, close will do for me and if it doesn't work out then well I just have to buy a strat then  :D

[TheyCallMeVolume]

Will a strat pup work well in a tele?

[gwEm]

I have a strat with a Blackguard '52 bridge and a Irish Tour neck.

I feel the Irish Tour works well with the tele bridge pickup.

[TheyCallMeVolume]

I wouldn't have really thought taking tele and strat pickups and putting them in the other guitar would work. Learn something new every day!

[Telerocker]

Thanks for all your suggestions.... But I think I'm going to give the irish tour a try. I have asked a few people and looked online and heard some good things. I know i won't get a true strat sound
from a tele but thats ok, close will do for me and if it doesn't work out then well I just have to buy a strat then  :D

I think you'll get close. Btw I have the neck-Blackguard 52 (the old 50-set which is now the 52-set to make things complicated)
and particularly this teleneckpickup is quite stratty. You could look at that one too.

[Guitardoc]

Hi there, I'm new to the forum (this is my first post!!) having used both the yardbird and Irish tours I can safely shout about both. The tours are quality in my component strat the bridge pup is wired straight threw and at full throttle could cut the head of a donkey without sounding piercing but back off a little for country tone in buckets.
The neck is as you say is huge and bell like. Sings for an age without any techno help and without sounding processed.
If you use it on your tele I would love to read a good assessment!
Cheers guys.

[danny82]

Yeah i emailed Tim about the blackguard 52 neck pickup (current model) and he said that in my guitar it would probably be to bright and I should just stick with the yardbird or irish tour as they are both better options for my sound and also to match the piledriver. He seemed to favour the irsih tour and I do too. From your descriptions sounds pretty damn.

The pile driver is awesome btw too and if you wanna hear it (albeit a very poor sound from a cr@ppy dig camera)  here is a clip from my band 5 years ago , before i knew what phrasing in a guitar solo was and when i used to play at a million miles per hour live. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z82DX4d6Wnk&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PLF60A4BB35F7CC1A9

It will be a little while till i get the pickup (next month) but have already decided on it probably.  But i will write one anyways..actually I'm just awaiting my Nailbomb neck pickup in the post I can't wait to get that installed in my old ibanez 550.

[Telerocker]

Yeah. get your point. IT will do it nice.

[gwEm]

Have been thinking about this a bit. I still think you should first go with the Irish tour, since thats the recommendation for your sound and so on from Tim.

But if you find the IT isn't quite keeping up with the piledriver i would suggest a slowhand. i have a boss+slowhand in a fender cyclone which balances well. furthermore philking has a piledriver+slowhand combination in a fender telecaster which also balances well.

the boss and the piledriver are obviously more gainy pickups than the blackguard 52 I have paired with my irish tour.

[PhilKing]

I have a Piledriver with a Slowhand neck in a tele.  They work together well but you will have to rout out the pickup cavity to fit the Strat pickup (at least I had to in my tele).  You will also need to open up the pickguard hole.