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Post subject: Baja Telecaster - Need pickup suggestions
Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2017 4:21 pm
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Joined: Wed Sep 07, 2011 8:56 am
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Hello everyone,

For a while now I've been struggling to make my Telecaster sound good. I find the hardest part about playing guitar is to get a sound of your own, a sound with which you are happy.

I'm playing a Baja Tele through a Mesa Boogie F50 amp. The problem that I'm having with my Tele is that it PLAYS great, but I just cannot seem to make it SOUND great. The neck pickup is the position that I play most, but the guitar seems to lack any character in this position. It makes the typical neck position sound, but it does not sound like a crystalclear Fender. In the bridge position it sounds downright harsh. It's harshness and brightness seems to overpower any chance of giving the guitar a good punch. With gain I have to roll down the tone knob at least halfway not to make my ears bleed.

My favourite guitars are the Strat, Tele, and Jazzmaster.

I play mostly blues and jazz. I also like some harmonic jazz, and some loungy sounds in there. I guess what I'm looking for is mainly a very nice clean sound. Even though I rarely dial in a lot of gain, I'd like a bridge pickup that is not as harsh as the stock pickup, and can pack a punch.

I'm not a good tech, so I plan to buy the parts, and have a pro install them for me.

The reason I sold my Strat (50th anniversary MIM), is because it had even weaker pickups than the Tele, and the Baja Tele just plays so good. I do plan to sand the neck to get the thick gloss layer off of it, after having been playing a Les Paul for a while now. So I decided to keep my Tele because it plays so easy, and to modify that one.

My dream guitar would be a Jazzmaster, just because that guitar has all the sounds I'd like to get out of a guitar, but they're too expensive and rare where I live. If possible, I'd like to get some of that DNA into my Tele. Grant Nicolas is a childhood hero for me. I've pretty much grown up to listening to Feeder, and I've always thought Grant's Jazzmasters sounded awesome. (Yesterday went too soon, Echo Park era)

As for the pickups, I've no idea where to start. I've been listening to the Twang King & Chopper T p-ups, and they sound pretty good. But it seems to me that every Tele I listen to on YouTube sounds great. Texas specials also sound pretty nice. Meanwhile the shop I take my guitar to is recommending Bare Knuckle p-ups. I'd never even heard about them, except that Chapman guitars uses them.

I was hoping that maybe you guys could point me into a direction, or maybe at least point out which p-ups to stay away from if the guitar is to serve for clean sounds mainly, with the option to pack a punch with an overdrive pedal.

I'm sorry for my rambling, but it's doing my head in that I love my Tele so much, but it just doesn't sound good.


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Post subject: Re: Baja Telecaster - Need pickup suggestions
Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2017 7:41 pm
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Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2007 6:51 pm
Posts: 25350
Location: Witness Protection Program
bramturismo wrote:
Hello everyone,

For a while now I've been struggling to make my Telecaster sound good. I find the hardest part about playing guitar is to get a sound of your own, a sound with which you are happy.

I'm playing a Baja Tele through a Mesa Boogie F50 amp. The problem that I'm having with my Tele is that it PLAYS great, but I just cannot seem to make it SOUND great. The neck pickup is the position that I play most, but the guitar seems to lack any character in this position. It makes the typical neck position sound, but it does not sound like a crystalclear Fender. In the bridge position it sounds downright harsh. It's harshness and brightness seems to overpower any chance of giving the guitar a good punch. With gain I have to roll down the tone knob at least halfway not to make my ears bleed.

My favourite guitars are the Strat, Tele, and Jazzmaster.

I play mostly blues and jazz. I also like some harmonic jazz, and some loungy sounds in there. I guess what I'm looking for is mainly a very nice clean sound. Even though I rarely dial in a lot of gain, I'd like a bridge pickup that is not as harsh as the stock pickup, and can pack a punch.

I'm not a good tech, so I plan to buy the parts, and have a pro install them for me.

The reason I sold my Strat (50th anniversary MIM), is because it had even weaker pickups than the Tele, and the Baja Tele just plays so good. I do plan to sand the neck to get the thick gloss layer off of it, after having been playing a Les Paul for a while now. So I decided to keep my Tele because it plays so easy, and to modify that one.

My dream guitar would be a Jazzmaster, just because that guitar has all the sounds I'd like to get out of a guitar, but they're too expensive and rare where I live. If possible, I'd like to get some of that DNA into my Tele. Grant Nicolas is a childhood hero for me. I've pretty much grown up to listening to Feeder, and I've always thought Grant's Jazzmasters sounded awesome. (Yesterday went too soon, Echo Park era)

As for the pickups, I've no idea where to start. I've been listening to the Twang King & Chopper T p-ups, and they sound pretty good. But it seems to me that every Tele I listen to on YouTube sounds great. Texas specials also sound pretty nice. Meanwhile the shop I take my guitar to is recommending Bare Knuckle p-ups. I'd never even heard about them, except that Chapman guitars uses them.

I was hoping that maybe you guys could point me into a direction, or maybe at least point out which p-ups to stay away from if the guitar is to serve for clean sounds mainly, with the option to pack a punch with an overdrive pedal.

I'm sorry for my rambling, but it's doing my head in that I love my Tele so much, but it just doesn't sound good.



Give Aaron a call at:

http://rumpelstiltskinpickups.com/store ... duct_id=86 :wink:

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