US standard tele owners - anyone swapped pickups for Brown Sugars/owt else?

[noisepolluter]

I do keep on pondering posh pickups - the bog-standard fender tele pickups aren't anything to grumble at, they're nicely balanced and articulate and all that, but they aren't what you'd call gutsy.

I'd like to get a set that can still do really nice cleans, but have a bit more poke and warmth when required. I suppose I'd also be looking for a really nice volume pot/cap etc with a more gradual sweep in the top third.

Any BK-brown sugars users?

I've also noticed that Bare Knuckle are bringing out mini humbuckers soon which is rather tempting for the neck, but I do still really like a good tele SC neck pickup sound.

[stickyfiddle]

I've got Sugars in my Jap Paisley. They're lovely. Proper "classic" tele sound, nothing more and nothing less. They're probably about the same output as the Standard's pups, but with a lot more subtlety. If you want a bit more punch without going crazy try the Boss set.

Or if you want to be radical, get Bardens, as my other Paisley has. They're AMAZEBALLS.

[joesa]

They're not exactly boutique but I had a set of SD Hotrails in my USA Standard Tele and they turned it into a proper blues/classic rock machine. Slightly thicker cleans than standard so if you wanted the typical Tele twang they're probably not for you but I much preferred them to the standard pickups and they're not a lot of dosh used.

[TheGuitarWeasel]

My thoughts on Tele replacement: Firstly I tend to like a little more power than stock. I am about to use resistance as a guide ... I know it's not a true indicator of power but most people understand it as an abstract so here goes. 6.5/7k for me handles all the clean tele bridge sounds fine, but just hasn't the 'girth' (and I can't think of a better word) to push an amp as hard as I like for crunch or lead. I love the more beefy earlier Broadcaster sound that comes from having 9 or even 10k at your disposal at the bridge. My own solution on my Daphne Blue Tele was to go the tapped single coil route ... twin outputs at 6.5 and 9k.
For the neck pickup ... the first thing to do is find out if you have a brass cover ... and ditch it in favor of a nickel one! You may find the pickup is fine after that!

[tbm]

The stock pickup in my tele died a few years back, and I dropped a Rio Grande Halfbreed in there. Loads of twang, but definitly a little darker then the stock one. A more rounded overall tone. I'm really happy with it.

[frankus]

I've got an MJT finished tele with a very light ash 1-piece USACG body.

The neck is a Lollar Charlie Christian p90 Pickup which is maybe a bit too warm.
The bridge is a Bareknuckle Pickups Country Boy and frankly I love that sound!

The selector is a five way working like this:

1 Neck with a 0.047uF cap
2 Both with both caps
3 Bridge with a 0.015uF cap
4 same as above
5 Bridge with no tone

Volume is a linear 1meg and tone is 250k log

[noisepolluter]

My thoughts on Tele replacement: Firstly I tend to like a little more power than stock. I am about to use resistance as a guide ... I know it's not a true indicator of power but most people understand it as an abstract so here goes. 6.5/7k for me handles all the clean tele bridge sounds fine, but just hasn't the 'girth' (and I can't think of a better word) to push an amp as hard as I like for crunch or lead. I love the more beefy earlier Broadcaster sound that comes from having 9 or even 10k at your disposal at the bridge. My own solution on my Daphne Blue Tele was to go the tapped single coil route ... twin outputs at 6.5 and 9k.
For the neck pickup ... the first thing to do is find out if you have a brass cover ... and ditch it in favor of a nickel one! You may find the pickup is fine after that!

I've also been having a squizz at your website, as it goes.

I have a Schecter strat which has tapped single coils (monstertones) - almost into P90 territory when full-up untapped, but I do have to work with them to get properly decent twangy sounds. Very little info about these available but the magnets are huge.

I have sometimes wondered about a similar tele set but reining in the power a bit in favour of more twang.

[TheGuitarWeasel]

I've also been having a squizz at your website, as it goes.

I have a Schecter strat which has tapped single coils (monstertones) - almost into P90 territory when full-up untapped, but I do have to work with them to get properly decent twangy sounds. Very little info about these available but the magnets are huge.

I have sometimes wondered about a similar tele set but reining in the power a bit in favour of more twang.

Indeed, Schecter Guitar Research used to be the kings of the tapped single coil till the format seemed to fall out of favour. My designs are somewhat different than Schecter's: my bobbin heights and specs are tuned to keep more of the treble at full bore ... as are the base plates which are laser cut to our own pattern and thickness. I also use standard diameter magnets that, again, help keep the Tele sound intact. I'm a complete convert to tapped SCs in my own rigs, having a Strat with a 7k/11k bridge and my trusty Tele, that now sports a 6/9.5k HardMan in the bridge and a special 6k/9k neck HardMan with extra tall magnets in the neck. A pickup that's a prototype for the Diesel Tap Tele Neck that should be out after Christmas.
In the US there are more companies doing tapped Tele pickups and seemingly more interest ... with companies like Klein Pickups and Don Mare producing tapped Tele offerings.

[guitarfishbay]

How gutsy do you need? This was a stock Baja with the stock custom shop Broadcaster bridge pickup.

http://soundcloud.com/maxmoujaes/baj...asterrocktrack

They now put that pickup in the 2012 USA standards. I think it sounds good for rock tones, and it still does a nice clean too IMO. I preferred it to the tone of the old standards when I bought the Baja. I don't have it anymore, but sometimes I miss the bridge pickup tone, it kept twangy under high gain but thickened up nicely.

[ICBM]

When I had my one I put Duncan Antiquities in it. It was almost funny how shockingly shit they made the Fender ones sound afterwards, even though they hadn't sounded "that bad" before. I think a lot of Tele purists criticise the USA Standard Tele for the bridge, but by far the biggest problem with them is the stock pickups. Mine became one of the best Teles I've ever played. I sold it to a good friend when I wasn't using it any more - recently I had it back to do a minor repair on it and I was amazed how great it sounded.