The Steel Guitar Forum

If you were gonna build (or have built) the Telecaster of your dreams, what pickup(s) would you install? And why.

Bill Lawrence

a wide range humbucker, because I love the sound of them. With the stock vintage in the bridge. Or you could just get a Thinline or Custom that already come that way I guess.

I'm definitely not the typical Tele player. I only have ever owned one, a custom thinline I built with an overwound Fralin tele bridge pickup and a slightly underwound alnico polepiece P90 in the neck position (also Fralin). Nice guitar...used mostly for funk, rock, and some occasional bad attempts at country...

Never played one with a vintage Fender pickup (unless my Stringmaster counts? But fretting that one is a huge pain I can tell you)

Bill Lawrence

Don Mare, probably the same Broadcaster pickups that are in my blonde Telecaster now. Model number 0038, modeled after actual Fender guitar serial number 0038.

http://www.buckcannon.com/ttypeguitarpickupsets.html

On someone else's recommendation, I bought a set of Fender's custom wound Jimmy Page pickups, and I just love them.

I don't think I can explain why, but I've tried a bunch of PUs and these just seem to do the vintage Tele PU thing very well.

Lollar Vintage Tele. Bridge & Neck p/ups

this is an interesting question, which pups are best ?

I've been around the block with many and always come back to Fender Vintage , sometimes called No Casters or 52's

I can tell you this, If I can't hear the strings snap, the pups are the least of my concern. The guitar is dead !

Over and out Happy New Year !

G AND L asat MFD

Not sure about a Tele, but I do know the best pickup to put on a banjo is a Ford F-150.,,

Lollar Charile Christian

Fralin overwound Blues Special in the bridge, Lollar CC for the neck.

I have had a few sets of pickups made from a company called "Planet Tone" They are very helpful in answering questions. There are many variables such as different values in alnico magnets, ohms output, etc.

Lots of good pickup manufacturers today with their ear to the ground listening to what players want.

This is a huge topic. No simple answer could possibly address the scope of the issues. IMO, a Tele is the most versatile electric guitar ever made, and can do so many things well, depending on how it's configured. The guitar features matter a lot, and also inform the choice of pickups.

So - what do you want to do with such a Tele? What kind(s) of music? What kind(s) of tone? A do-everything Tele or a one-trick pony designed to do something very specific very very well? Classic vs. modern Tele sound? Country, blues, rock and roll, jazz, ...? Any particular Tele players in mind? E.g., Buchanan, Gatton, Collins, Lee, Mason, Burton, Nichols, Rich, Robertson, Anderson, Donahue, Ray, Jorgenson, and so on?

Yes...It is a monster topic. I love Telecasters, and over the years I've built quite a few. It amazing to me how any choice of component(s) change the whole character of the instrument. But to address the topic of pickups...my current favorite neck pickup is unusual because this maker is more known for bass pickups. I'm using the Nordstrand NVT A3 in that position. Very versatile neck pickup. The bridge is a toss up depending on the particular guitar. I usually go with something that not wound to be "hot". I've wanted to try a Don Mare set, but the wait is pretty long and people scalp used ones for huge bucks.

Fender Original Vintage Telecaster ('52 Reissue)

or...

Tonerider Vintage Plus TRT1