Humbucker for my tele?

[Andy H]

Hi,
I've just bought a secondhand telecaster. It plays fine, but the pickups stink. It's got a humbucker at the neck and a single coil at the bridge. What replacements would anyone recommend. I want the output from both pickups to be pretty well matched (ie no big jump in volume when I switch to the humbucker).

Musically I'm playing a kind of twangy texas blues style. Think of Billy Gibbons playing La Grange.

Thanks for your thoughts,

Andy

[kmcguitars]

All you have to do is mention Billy G. and the unanimous response will be a Pearly Gates. I just put a PGn in my Tele and I love it. There is a jump in volume from the 54' in the bridge to the PG. But for me it's the best of both worlds. But there are few more hotter Tele Bridge PuPs to choose from. Welcome to the board.

[ArtieToo]

I really love the Stag Mag in mine. I have it wired so that "split" is normal. That gives it that "Strat-single" tone when combined with the bridge, but I can kick it in to bluesy/jazzy mode at any time with a pull of the tone knob.

[gripweed]

The PG neck seems like a natural. If volume matching is a concern, you would want one of the hotter Tele bridge pickups. They won't be as bright as a regular Tele. The hot Tele pickup or the Custom Shop hot Tele. Getting the tapped versions would probably be a good idea. You will want to play with pickup height too.

That having been said, you're never going to get a perfect match when you use a humbucker and a single coil. You may also want to check out the Lil '59 for Tele in the bridge or the BG1400 from the Custom Shop. IIRC, the Rev Billy G had the BG1400 made for his Tele. At 29-30k, you probably won't have to worry too much about output . Stevo on the forum had one and I think he was selling it. If you do a search, I think he has clips of it. The Lil '59 is a single coil size humbucker, so you'll lose some of the single coil goodness, but output will be less of an issue. I hope I've helped and not confused the matter more.

[Kelsey]

The stock SD STL-2 Hot Tele lead will keep up with a neck HB well enough, and the Jerry Donahue Tele lead will come close, too. The 59 or Seth Lover would make an excellent choice at the neck of a Tele. One of the nicest combined/middle position Tele tones I've ever heard was a 59n and a Fender CS Nocaster lead -- of course, they were mounted in a Fender Custom Shop LTD 52 Tele relic, but they sure sounded spectacular together.

[saladin]

I've used both a 59n and a PGn in my Tele, they are both wonderful. The 59n will get you smooth deep jazz tones while the PGn will give you more jangle, it would probably blend better with a single coil in the bridge, the JD would be my pick.

[pixelpusher]

I have a lil'59 in the bridge and a phat cat in the neck on mine and I freaking love that gtr. I liked the tele before the switch but now I think it is my fave daily player (out of my 3 "main" electrics: 'reconditioned '79 "the Paul", '90 PRS Custom 24, and '00 tele deluxe)

[Rich_S]

I have a STL-1 in the bridge with a SM-1 mini-humbucker in the neck. I find the SM-1 gives a lot of humbukerish fat tone, but balances well with the vintage Tele bridge. It's agreat combination.

I got my mini-hum Tele pickguard from Warmoth.