The Steel Guitar Forum

I'm thinking about changing the pickup in my Excel U-12 . Its starting to sound a bit bright and if you tap around the pickup it seems a little microphonic.

I'm trying to figure out what is the best road to go down when buying a new pickup. I quite like 70s steel guitar sounds and using valve combo's rather than solid state amps.

I've checked out some videos of the Telonics pickups and they sound great but, not sure if they'll be the sound i'm after installed into my Guitar etc. Also Telonics & George L's are humbuckers, my Excel pickup is a Single Coil so, i'm wondering if either of them will get me the sound i want? Maybe i could coil tap them though?

Has anyone modified an Excel with either pickup and use a rig like mine? My other idea is to get a custom wound pickup.

Cheers
Chris

If I knew that the single coil sound was the sound I wanted, pretty much everybody makes a humbucker that they claim is "as close to single coil as you can get". And they never sound like single coil.
I chose to compromise because I will not live with hum (and I'm ok with the sound of a good humbucker). But if the sound in my head was definitely single coil.....in my experience there's only one way to get it.

I like Alumitone pickups as they are crystal clear with no hum.

My second choice is the George L E66 humbucker

I can't give an opinion on any of the other pickups in your list, as I have never tried them.

Another option could be a Jerry Wallace custom wound single coil

On 2 of my Excels I use Telonics and on 1 a BL710.....all humbuckers and sound great...

Hi Christopher
As per a great friend, mechanic and player. Different guitars are going to sound different with the same pickup. A pickup can sound terrible in one guitar, and great in another! Each guitar has it's own tone which transfers differently.
The best way to know for sure what YOUR guitar is gonna sound like, is to try different ones. Just like playing a PSG, getting the sound you want can be almost as difficult! Buy & sell, & keep the one that works. I've been through it myself as have many others.
Best of luck in your search!
Pat

I'd say buy everything you can and try it all out. The Telonics Co. are very receptive and responsive to specific tone questions as well-

I would call Dave Beaty at Telonics. For my Zum he suggested a X-10. I have installed it . Very little adjustment and sounds perfect. Telonics knows there product and are very helpful.

i like single coils the best, but you never know when you're going to have to play under a fluorescent beer sign and buzzzzz all night long.

i've bought a ton of pickups including george l and lawrence, but all the telonics pickups i've had have sounded great. they may not sound exactly like single coils, but they always sound very musical to me.

I've had 2 Excel U-12s, and ended up with Alumitones in both. The first guitar originally had an Excel single coil, and like yours it got microphonic over time. The Alumitone helped a lot. The second actually came with an Alumitone on it, and I like it.

But neither guitar has the 70's sound that I hear in my head (I hear Sho Bud...). Excels are great guitars, but to my ear they are on the bright end of the scale. There's not a whole lot of wood in an Excel, and I think that's part of what makes them bright--same thing with the non-current Sierras and for the same reason I think. I don't consider this to be a downside--it's just a different sound. When I want the old Sho Bud sound, I play my Jackson with its Jackson single coil.

Anyway, the Alumitones are dead quiet, very balanced from string to string, and work well with tube amps. They are capable of a very close to single coil sound but without the noise. They also fit Excels very well physically.

Dave