Tele bridge pickup

Ryan

Hi guys,
I have a question and I really wanted to ask for feedback on this forum. I got a Fender 52 reissue thin skin tele about a year ago. I love the guitar at bedroom volume, but with my band the bridge pickup is far too bright. The guitar has a maple neck and ash body, so I was thinking of looking for a pickup that is warmer to counter the natural brightness of the guitar and maybe add some thickness. At home I have a Princeton but with my band I use a Fender hot rod deluxe. I've tried everything in terms of setting on the guitar and amp. I was hoping I could get some good suggestions a a possible bridge pickup replacement...... the one in there now is only described as "broadcaster flat pole." Thanks in advance.

usmercury

Ryan, I had a similar problem. My guitar had a Rio Grande, Muy Grande bridge pick up that was surprisingly thin and bright. I changed it to the Seymour Duncan Jerry Donahue and things are a whole lot better. There's more thickness and body to the tone. If you do some research on that pick up, it's hard to find anyone saying bad things about it. I think it's a little bit heavier wound, with Alnico 2 magnets. Good luck.

Ryan

Thanks! I'll look into that one. I have also read that Jason Lollar makes some good ones too. Have any experience with them?

JimCampilongo

I like these...
http://www.curtisnovak.com/pickups/tel_b-v.shtml

ruger9

wow... a Rio Grande Muy Grande that was "thin ans bright"? Mine is just the opposite... that is strange.... I know the guitar (wood) itself plays a roll, but I find it odd that my RGMG is "warm and fat" and usmercury's was "thin and bright"...hmm....

AaronW

There are a lot of great pickups out there. My suggestion is to call some of them up and tell them exactly what you want. My personal two favorite winders are Tom Short (http://www.tomshortshandmadepickups.com) and Lindy Fralin (http://fralinpickups.com). I've called them both up numerous times and told them what I was looking for and they both treat you like you're a Grammy winning artist. They'll get you what you're looking for. 9 times out of 10 the pickups were exactly what I was looking for.

Word of caution though. If you call Fralin and happen to get Lindy on the phone, be sure you've got time, the guy can talk pickups for a very long time

Jeff_Calvin

I can vouch for the Lollar Blues Special, which I put in the bridge of my Strat - lots of body and a very tempered top end, I like it very much.

Ryan

Thanks everyone. But I have decided to not make any changes to the guitar right now. I picked up an Exotic BB preamp pedal and it has solved my issue. It fattens up the sounds a bit and has an eq so I can roll a little of the high end off. This pedal works great with my band, and I can leave the guitar as is how I like it at home. Thanks again.

telemat

I'm searching for a new bridge pickup too...
I noticed that you, Jim, highly recommend the ones Curtis Novak makes... and I know that you went through dozens of pickups in order to find "the one" for your signature guitar. So my question is have you experienced the "Voodoo pickups", TE50 or TE59, of Peter Florance? Can you tell us how they sound (in comparison to Curtis' or to your Fender signature ones?
Thanks a lot!

ruger9

On the subject of bridge pups, the Big-T (Jim Weider helped design, made by Lindy Fralin, sold by Analogman) set has been been getting great reviews, and the description sounds near perfect for me. I had been intended to get the neck pup (which has been out a couple years), but I think now I'll just get the set:

(no affiliation, just passing on info):

http://www.buyanalogman.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=AM-BIGTPickup

JimCampilongo

Hi Telemat- We used the Curtis pickup as the one to beat - and we ended up with a pickup that was a bit more bassy, with a little more output.

Again - I like these...
http://www.curtisnovak.com/pickups/tel_b-v.shtml

AdamG

Ryan, for what it's worth, I tend to roll the top end off on the guitar (a tad?- slight turn) and then at whatever volume I'll use (stage/studio) I set the amp's treble to 12 o'clockish and bass at zero. I then gradually bring in the amp's bass until the low E is bordering on muddy then back it off a bit. Then I play with the treble until the singer yells at me. Everyone's ears are different but that seems to work for me.

Sorry, I don't mean to highjack the thread but Jim, have you heard anything about the Curtis Johnny Smiths? I'm looking for a replacement and was leaning towards the Lollar but saw the Curtis in the link you posted.
http://www.curtisnovak.com/pickups/miniJS.shtml

telemat

Thank you, Jim! What about the neck pickup? Was the Curtis pickup the reference too?

JimCampilongo

yes, that's correct