Tele Humbucker Neck (yes again)
Nick Brown
Jap Fender 'Micawber' tele - which is basically a '52 tele with a Fender
'Dragster' humbucker at the neck (- like the ones that Keith has been
schlepping around the globe for the past 140 years-)
Anyway - the postee was complaining about 'mudiness' and how the pickup in
isolation was almost unusable...;
Some of the answers passed on to him included :-
1.Switching to 500k pots (wouldn't that make the bridge pickup a bit
shrill?)
2. Turning the pickup around so that the pole pieces are closer to the
bridge (one of Keith's is like this I think - wouldn't have though it would
have THAT much effect?)
3. (and this was a new one on me) - screwing the pickup right down
(scratchplate height) but then raising the pole pieces significantly higher
out of the pickup) - I think someone had taken it to the extreme - decased
the pickup - screwed the pole pieces out by about 8mm and then re-cased the
pickup with a lump of blu-tak between the top of the coils and the underside
of the cover.........;
I'm asking because this will impact on my next building
project...........................Whilst we are at it - anyone got
experience of the 'Dragster'? - can't seem to find any reviews...;
TIA
AJ
nick...@btinternet.com says...
typical 50's vintage style Tele bridge pickup is a lot hotter than a
Strat pickup, but it won't keep up with a higher output full-sized
humbucker. I don't know what's in that particular Tele, but for most
50's style Tele bridge pickups and the slightly warmer 'blues' versions,
a normal PAF-type humbucker such as the Duncan '59 or the Gibson Classic
'57 is a reasonably close match. Lowering the pickup will reduce the
output and raising the screws will make it brighter, Gibson players have
been doing that on Les Paul neck pickups for years, but don't expect
miracles with a shred type humbucker.
Pots have a tolerance of 20% and typical CTS 250K pots will be anywhere
from ~220K up to ~290K, and the difference between the extremes is
significant. A 290K actual volume pot or a Gibson style 300K linear
volume pot should work better than going all the way to 500K, but those
have tolerance as well. A no-load type tone pot that takes itself out of
the circuit would solve that part of the problem.
Another alternative a lot of Tele players like is a Gibson-style alnico
mini-bucker as used on the old Firebirds, some Gibsons, and many
Epiphones. The Custom Shop Hot Rod Tele uses a Duncan version of the
Firebird pickup. These have less output and are brighter than a full
sized humbucker and work really well with a Tele bridge pickup. Flush
mounted to the pickguard, at first glance they look almost like a stock
neck pickup. Custom shop Hot Rod Tele's are pretty common at most Guitar
Centers that carry custom shop Fenders, try one out if you can.
Squier
say what? just change to a pickup better suited for the tones
the person wants - AND - can get along with 250k or 300k tone
pot shared with the single coil bridge pup.
DiMarzio EJ neck pickup (humbucker that has a very single coil vibe to it
and works perfectly with 250k or 300k tone pot). You could also install
the DiMarzio Humbucker from Hell (hey - that's the actual name of it)
which has even more of a treble snap to it.
Dump the "Dragster" and get yourself a lower wound neck humbucker.
The DiMarzio EJ pickup is a little more than 7k or so and the H from Hell
is a little under 6k. I have used the EJ neck pickup and it solves any
sort of mud probs with neck position. Nice chime but can also grind.
that's my 2 cents. I mean.. why fight with a dragster pickup when
it's not the right tool for the intended tones to begin with.
(unless you want to commit to always using a range master or treble booster pedal
whenever you swtich to neck pup alone).
guggenh...@gmail.com
The Dragster pickup is a stock pickup for some Japanese Fenders; I
recently purchased a black Jaguar Special HH(the one commonly imported
to the US) on ebay, which comes with two dragsters, and have been
going through all holy hell trying to modify my guitar so it sounds
good with or without those pickups. They sounded actually pretty good
but i was looking for more of a classic Jaguar sound.
That dude that was talking about tele pickups is right, its higher
output than a single coil but lower than most humbuckers, ie it would
be considered a vintage output pickup. Unless you want to buy one off
of me, or anyone for that matter, you really aren't going to have a
Dragster as an option in your guitar.
He/you could use two pots, one for each pickup, as it appears Keef
did. My experience with the bridge Dragster is that it sounds ideal,
really fantastic, with a 1m pot (stock in a Jaguar), or use the same
pot and darken the bridge by wiring in a ceramic disc and an elemenco
capacitor (or whatever cap he bloody well wants) after the bridge
pickup. Or he can go somewhere (i suggest Guitar Fetish because its
inexpensive AND good) and get the Fender split coil like Keef has in
his neck position. I just switched mine out because they were too low
output for my taste, but if he has a tele then he won't feel the same.
I'm not sure what your project is, if its building a guitar like Keef
then you might just want to get your hands on a split coil, and that
should do well for you.
Also, this is a wild variation on option 3 that you proposed, but
couldn't he just lower the pickup? That would clear it up quite
nicely. Raising the pole pieces, from what i've read, is the same as
raising the entire pickup.