There's always one . . .

Paul_C

As many of you know, I have one or two Telecasters of varying type.

Not only that, but they also have a wide range of pickups in them, from original Squier to Suhr, Fender Custom Shop, Bare Knuckle etc.

Most sound great, but one or two are not the same. I have a Player Tele in Electron Green, alder body with maple fingerboard and neck, which is now on its fourth set of pickups.

The originals were ok, nothing special, and I decided to try a set of the Cobalt Chromes in it. These were ok, but felt a little sterile.

I replaced them the other day with an Oil City Fortyniner in the bridge and a Bare Knuckle True Grit in the neck, which also sounded ok but still a little sterile, so I've just put a set of Monty's Danish Pete pickups in.

I can't try them until my daughter wakes up but I fully expect them to sound ok, if a little sterile, at which point I might swap them for the Noiseless set in my baritone Player Plus as those are very lively and bright, just to see what happens.

I could (and probably should) be happy with it as it is, but its become something curious to persue now, and it stops me looking at Reverb and the classifieds here for a while

S56035

Maybe the tonewood used wasn't up to scratch so nothing will make it sound good........yeah, I started that debate again! BOOM!

Philly_Q

I think they're all going to sound OK, but a little sterile...

Paul_C

Philly_Q said:

I think they're all going to sound OK, but a little sterile...

That's my guess too, but as the pickups which have been put into it so far have all been ones I haven't tried before I thought it better to try some I have already heard in a guitar using my set up to confirm the the theory.

borntohang

What's sterile to you? I'm pretty sure I have the same thing in mind, but I always find the way guitarists describe tones really interesting. 

blueskunk

Fender custom shop Nocaster pickups should be the next and final stop. 

stickyfiddle

We can all recommend our favourite tele pickups (Lollar Special T FTW!) but if those you’ve tried are already not doing it for you then I’d suggest looking elsewhere in the signal chain - the physical guitar itself, amp, pedals, etc. 

Paul_C

borntohang said:

What's sterile to you? I'm pretty sure I have the same thing in mind, but I always find the way guitarists describe tones really interesting. 

Lacking any pizzazz, which I'm assuming are overtones. So plain food without any spice. 

The Texas Specials in a recent buy (Swamp ash body, maple neck/board) sound so much better compared to anything that's been in this one so far.

The others sound good or great, this one stands out as sounding . . . ok.

Philly_Q

I've never been that fussy about single-coil pickups.  If I had to buy a set, not too hot, not too weedy, for an average Strat or Tele I would probably just go for Duncan Alnico IIs.  I know I like them and they're not too harsh or bright.  That's not a suggestion, it's just me writing something for the sake of it really.

mrkb

Just get a really cheap set that your mind will think are "really sterile" as they were so cheap they cant possibly be good, then all the other ones you thought were sterile will sound "more organic" and you'll be happy. Sound perception is all subjective, so just change your reference point.

timmypix

Finding the best pickups to work with a guitar can be a fun rabbit hole to go down. Pickups that sound wonderful in one guitar can sound lacking in another. But it is very much a rabbit hole!

Paul_C

Philly_Q said:

I've never been that fussy about single-coil pickups.  If I had to buy a set, not too hot, not too weedy, for an average Strat or Tele I would probably just go for Duncan Alnico IIs.  I know I like them and they're not too harsh or bright.  That's not a suggestion, it's just me writing something for the sake of it really.

It's in part "something to do", as all I really need to do is put down the green one and play one I like the sound of better, but just now and again I start to wonder about whether I can find something that will transform it.

I'm going to swap the pots for some 500k ones if this makes no clear difference, and maybe tinker with capacitors on the tone control too, as that's a lot easier than swapping pickups

I don't mind if I never crack it, sometimes it's just fun to experiment.

Kittyfrisk

I think you are overlooking the obvious answer to the tone issue.  It's Electron Green.
Thank me later 

Seziertisch

You’ve tried enough reputable pickups in it to establish that they aren’t the issue.

A change of bridge or saddle might be what you are looking for. Those block saddles can be a bit blah, a set of bent steel ones might be just the thing.

Funkfingers

Paul_C said:

I have a Player Tele in Electron Green, alder body with maple fingerboard and neck

How does it sound unplugged?

Compare it to your other T type guitars. Is there any particular wood and hardware combination that you prefer the sound of?

If the Player Telecaster sounds too polite, lacking note separation and twangy bite, consider changing the chromed brass bridge saddles to steel ones (solid or stamped/bent Stratocaster type). This might enliven the guitar.

The nearest I have to your issue is/was a Squier Standard Telecaster. Rosewood fingerboard, maple neck, mystery body wood, budget modern six saddle bridge. My solution was a pair of Alegree pickups. Texas Dust Devil bridge and (T neck position format) Texan Hailstorm. Everything balanced out very nicely. Total outlay, just over £200.

DefaultM

I’ve got a PRS CE that’s like this. I’m not very good at describing sound but I’ve tried at least 5 sets in it and they all sound… rubbery? Mushy?

Paul_C

Seziertisch said:

You’ve tried enough reputable pickups in it to establish that they aren’t the issue.

A change of bridge or saddle might be what you are looking for. Those block saddles can be a bit blah, a set of bent steel ones might be just the thing.

Funkfingers said:

Paul_C said:

I have a Player Tele in Electron Green, alder body with maple fingerboard and neck

How does it sound unplugged?

Compare it to your other T type guitars. Is there any particular wood and hardware combination that you prefer the sound of?

If the Player Telecaster sounds too polite, lacking note separation and twangy bite, consider changing the chromed brass bridge saddles to steel ones (solid or stamped/bent Stratocaster type). This might enliven the guitar.

The nearest I have to your issue is/was a Squier Standard Telecaster. Rosewood fingerboard, maple neck, mystery body wood, budget modern six saddle bridge. My solution was a pair of Alegree pickups. Texas Dust Devil bridge and (T neck position format) Texan Hailstorm. Everything balanced out very nicely. Total outlay, just over £200.

I've got a three-saddle bridge and some compensated saddles I could swap in - I'm not a fan of the bent steel saddles.

I did have a similar issue with a Classic Vibe, which currently has an Oil City humbucker (b) and a Suhr Classic T (n) in and I like that a lot now.

victorludorum

I was going to suggest 1 or 2 humbuckers of some sort.

Seziertisch

Paul_C said:

Seziertisch said:

You’ve tried enough reputable pickups in it to establish that they aren’t the issue.

A change of bridge or saddle might be what you are looking for. Those block saddles can be a bit blah, a set of bent steel ones might be just the thing.

Funkfingers said:

Paul_C said:

I have a Player Tele in Electron Green, alder body with maple fingerboard and neck

How does it sound unplugged?

Compare it to your other T type guitars. Is there any particular wood and hardware combination that you prefer the sound of?

If the Player Telecaster sounds too polite, lacking note separation and twangy bite, consider changing the chromed brass bridge saddles to steel ones (solid or stamped/bent Stratocaster type). This might enliven the guitar.

The nearest I have to your issue is/was a Squier Standard Telecaster. Rosewood fingerboard, maple neck, mystery body wood, budget modern six saddle bridge. My solution was a pair of Alegree pickups. Texas Dust Devil bridge and (T neck position format) Texan Hailstorm. Everything balanced out very nicely. Total outlay, just over £200.

I've got a three-saddle bridge and some compensated saddles I could swap in - I'm not a fan of the bent steel saddles.

I did have a similar issue with a Classic Vibe, which currently has an Oil City humbucker (b) and a Suhr Classic T (n) in and I like that a lot now.

I recently installed a set of Highwoods on a Strat and really like them.

Philly_Q

Not just the saddles, but I think the thin, magnetic steel bridge baseplate on a vintage-style Tele makes a big difference.  I didn't appreciate that until I got a Baja Tele after previously only owning American Standards (or similar) with thicker, heavier baseplates.  Suddenly I understood what the "Tele twang" thing was all about.

Paul_C

Philly_Q said:

Not just the saddles, but I think the thin, magnetic steel bridge baseplate on a vintage-style Tele makes a big difference.  I didn't appreciate that until I got a Baja Tele after previously only owning American Standards (or similar) with thicker, heavier baseplates.  Suddenly I understood what the "Tele twang" thing was all about.

Well this one certainly has a solid baseplate. Having said that, the Player plus with the very bright and zingy sound has the thickest bridge plate I've ever seen.