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Post subject: Fender Hum Buckers and the Telecaster
Posted: Fri Oct 11, 2013 5:57 am
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I've been taking notice to how popular the Telecaster has become these days, in a wide range of musical styles, everything from Jazz to Heavy Metal. Currently, the Tele is very popular with indi-rock and pop rock (I'm not sure what it's actually called).

Anyway, this got me thinking—and looking. I've noticed that many of these Teles are of the '72 Tele Custom and Tele Deluxe persuasion, and I think I know why. It's those Fender hum buckers. I believe this for two reasons.
1. They don't sound like the current thick muddy Gibson style HBs.
2. They don't sound like Strat pups.

They are unique and older sounding. What I mean by this, is that the current Gibson Les Paul pups don't sound like the ones from yesteryear. The tone of older HBs, and P-90s for that matter, sound smoother, a little cleaner; less dark. Many players who heard Freddy King’s “Hide Away” didn’t know that his Les Paul had P-90s and not HBs, to include Eric Clapton. Those older Gibson pups were smoother sounding and had cleaner tone to them.

In the last year, I traded my '04 Les Paul Std. with a AAA Flame top Ice Tea burst for '98 PRS McCarty 10 top, because the tone sounded like what I wanted. I played my Les Paul’s very little, but my PRS has been played more than all my Les Pauls combined.

Now I had been a predominantly a Strat player for almost 20 years, but lately I've been favoring my home built Tele (see profile photo), with its SD Jazz hum bucker. It doesn't sound like any other guitar I own.

My conclusion: Players are looking for a new and different sound. We've been playing Les Pauls and Strats for so long, that I think that many people are trying to find something they have not heard before.

I still play my PRS and I just used my beloved Clapton Strat in church, we play modern Christian rock, but this Tele has become my new right arm.

This posting may wrinkle some noses, but know that is my own humble perspective, and is as subjective as which guitar is the best—it’s up to the player. Let me hear your thoughts on this and feel free to comment. I’d like to see what others have to say on this topic.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Hum Buckers and the Telecaster
Posted: Fri Oct 11, 2013 6:13 am
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paris wrote:
Anyway, this got me thinking—and looking. I've noticed that many of these Teles are of the '72 Tele Custom and Tele Deluxe persuasion, and I think I know why. It's those Fender hum buckers. I believe this for two reasons.
1. They don't sound like the current thick muddy Gibson style HBs.
2. They don't sound like Strat pups.

They are unique and older sounding.


The original Wide Ranges had their own unique persona because of the CuNiFe magnets.

Replicating those humbuckers is a tedious job as CuNiFe is hard to find.

Telenator replicas are pretty close to the originals construction and sound-wise.

Totally different animals as opposed to Gibson's PAFs.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Hum Buckers and the Telecaster
Posted: Sat Oct 12, 2013 4:19 pm
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Another totally unique humbucker is the mini buckers in the solid body Rickenbackers. Significantly clearer then the ones in either my Gibson LP or my Epi Dot. I have one in a drawer that I took out of my Rick 650F which I replaced with a Rick "Toaster" pickup.

I am searching for a screaming deal on another Mexican Tele that I can mod and slip this into the neck position. Then I want to do an early Broadcaster "blender" wiring scheme.

More to come.........

-Harry


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Post subject: Re: Fender Hum Buckers and the Telecaster
Posted: Sat Oct 12, 2013 9:42 pm
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The 650s were the first "cresting wave" Rickenbackers to feature a full 2-octave maple fretboard and a pair of hot humbucking pickups.

Image

These guitars sported a totally different bridge assembly as opposed to their much popular traditional stoptail designs.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Hum Buckers and the Telecaster
Posted: Sun Oct 13, 2013 1:00 pm
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Man I had a chance to snatch one of these for 350$ on ebay one time and I hesitated ..stupid I couldn't find one for less than 500 now

Its a fender FSR Telecaster Deluxe w/tele neck candy apple red no sparkles. I played one once and it was sweet totally different more balanced sound than that of gibson buckers.

http://www.peterboroughmusicltd.com/ima ... 748000.jpg

But I'm pretty content with my traditional mexi/american tele.
IMO you just can't beat the sweet sound of that mid position on a traditional tele.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Hum Buckers and the Telecaster
Posted: Sun Oct 20, 2013 3:31 pm
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Sadly, the vintage Fender humbuckers are so large, they won't fit in a standard humbucker hole, in particular the hole in Tele bridges, which is why they had them in thinlines or with bezels and strat bridges. Strat bridges are ok, but I hate bezels on pickups.

This is why I'm trying to dig up a used Modern Player Tele right now, but will change the bridge to a traditional with HB cutout to lose the bezel. Then you have the best of every world, 7 different positions for Strat sounds, Tele sounds or LP sounds. Humbuckers sound thicker/meatier in a Tele than a Strat, perhaps since there is more wood behind them.

There is something appealing about switching from jazz to country twang to clean middle pickup strumming, to thick metal without changing guitars. Can't do that with a LP or Strat.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Hum Buckers and the Telecaster
Posted: Sun Oct 20, 2013 5:46 pm
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Note that the current Fender Wide Range Humbucker are several very different pickups. The MX one is twangy and bright, the Custom Shop one is dark and seductive. (I have both).
Neither of them are much like the original. I'd still take the new CS one any day - for me, it's about good sound, and not mimicking old history.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Hum Buckers and the Telecaster
Posted: Mon Oct 21, 2013 2:16 am
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Reissue WRHB pickups are little more than a normal Fender humbucker with an oversized cover.

http://mojopickups.blogspot.co.uk/2012/ ... ucker.html

This guy does a pretty good job of reproducing the sound of the CuNiFe WHRB's - and he can do them in standard humbucker size. He even does the annoying Fender 3-screw humbucker design if you ask nicely.

http://www.creamery-pickups.co.uk/custo ... ments.html

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Post subject: Re: Fender Hum Buckers and the Telecaster
Posted: Wed Oct 23, 2013 11:20 am
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Wow, $400 for a pair of pickups is pretty steep. I'm sure they are as good as he says, but I've never payed that much for pickups. I've owned several really nice used guitars over the decades and paid less than that for the entire guitar. Hard to get my head around it. But if you want perfect duplication of that tone, I suppose that is the way to go.

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