Fender WIDE RANGE HUMBUCKERS suck ! !

maw4neu

I have a MIM 72 Reissue Telecaster Custom . . the bridge pickup has already been swapped out for one of Jamies Finest Creamery jobbies but the neck pickup is flatter than the flattest botty burp in Flatville . . . To make things worse its MASSIVELY bigger than a standard humbucker which means you either have to get the original pickup rewound by someone who has ears ( unlike the original manufacturer ) or come up with an adapter plate that takes a standard humbucker and picks up on the WRHB mounting holes.

Ggggrrrrrrr Fender, you make me so mad ! !

Rant over . . . . That said though the Mexican 72 Reissue Telecaster Custom's are a fantastic guitar ! ! !

Oh . . . Fender you make me so happy I could smile :-)

not_the_dj

Isn't the one they put on the MIM reissues a bit of a con anyway....some sort of standard HB in the oversized case (or something like that).

 

 

maw4neu

Your spot on . . . a very poor humbucker I might add ! !

not_the_dj

Check out the Buccaneer here (I've not tried one btw, mine was stock then I sold it on)

http://www.oilcitypickups.co.uk/humbucker.html

ThePrettyDamned

not_the_dj;58068" said:

Check out the Buccaneer here (I've not tried one btw, mine was stock then I sold it on)

http://www.oilcitypickups.co.uk/humbucker.html

Do it!

monquixote

There is nothing wrong with Wide Range pickups. 

The problem is that Fender put poor quality PAFs in a Wide Range looking shell. 

Get a Buccaneer or similar. 

JD50

I've had a couple of Fender Japan Teles (Custom & a 72' Thinline) with these pickups & thought they were fine, I know a lot of folk complain they sound a bit dark, this can be easily sorted by swapping out the pots for a value giving more treble. .

carlos

I put one in a strat-shaped guitar and it sounds great on the neck. It's dark but that can be eq'd to suit through the amp. It sounds magnificent when put in parallel with the Duncan Custom in the bridge which is very trebly. Fantastic glass tones.

ICBM

*Proper* Wide Range Humbuckers are great - they're everything that the look-a-like Fender "reissue" ones aren't.

Ask TheGuitarWeasel .

chrisj1602

I have a 72 Custom, I swapped the all the pots for CTS, 250k for the single and 500k for the WRHB, and took out 6 of the screws from the back of it (another trick I read somewhere) and it still sounds like a big muddy pile of shite.  I had a few emails back and forward with Jaime at the Creamery.  I told him I had a BK Brown Sugar in the bridge and he was going to wind me one that would match with the BK output, but I ended up loaning the guitar to a relative so it got put on hold.

OilCityPickups

chrisj1602 said:

I have a 72 Custom, I swapped the all the pots for CTS, 250k for the single and 500k for the WRHB, and took out 6 of the screws from the back of it (another trick I read somewhere) and it still sounds like a big muddy pile of shite.  I had a few emails back and forward with Jaime at the Creamery.  I told him I had a BK Brown Sugar in the bridge and he was going to wind me one that would match with the BK output, but I ended up loaning the guitar to a relative so it got put on hold.

You may have magnet issues ... the CuNiFe magnets are as unstable as bollocks, that's why I won't even attempt to use the stuff (even though I now can get it).
Usually the trouble is that you have to have pretty bang up magnet charges to cope with the sheer amount of wire on a proper WR. The whole thin can go south with age. Better to ... as you say ... either re wind to match the lower CuNiFe output, or replace with a modern replica.

chrisj1602

TheGuitarWeasel said:

chrisj1602 said:

I have a 72 Custom, I swapped the all the pots for CTS, 250k for the single and 500k for the WRHB, and took out 6 of the screws from the back of it (another trick I read somewhere) and it still sounds like a big muddy pile of shite.  I had a few emails back and forward with Jaime at the Creamery.  I told him I had a BK Brown Sugar in the bridge and he was going to wind me one that would match with the BK output, but I ended up loaning the guitar to a relative so it got put on hold.

You may have magnet issues ... the CuNiFe magnets are as unstable as bollocks, that's why I won't even attempt to use the stuff (even though I now can get it).
Usually the trouble is that you have to have pretty bang up magnet charges to cope with the sheer amount of wire on a proper WR. The whole thin can go south with age. Better to ... as you say ... either re wind to match the lower CuNiFe output, or replace with a modern replica.

Sorry, I should have been more clear, it is a re-issue with the crap WRHB in it.

OilCityPickups

Ah that explains it ... nasty, cheap ten quid mudbucker in a thirty quid case, surrounded mostly by air.
Taking out the useless threaded slugs does diddly on the reissues really.
Funnily enough on on building WRs today (my pickups get built in batches). When you actually see the size of proper WR bobbins (they dwarf conventional bucker bobbins) you realise why the reissue was never going to sound right.

chrisj1602

TheGuitarWeasel said: Ah that explains it ... nasty, cheap ten quid mudbucker in a thirty quid case, surrounded mostly by air.
Taking out the useless threaded slugs does diddly on the reissues really.
Funnily enough on on building WRs today (my pickups get built in batches). When you actually see the size of proper WR bobbins (they dwarf conventional bucker bobbins) you realise why the reissue was never going to sound right.

If I get this Tele back, I'll give you a shout for a Buccaneer.  The problem is, I've lent it to a young relative who's only 15 but gigging and doing really well, I wanted him to have a decent guitar, so I don't know if I could take it off him just yet!

OilCityPickups

The depressing thing is that Fender are putting the Wide Range 'reissue' in the new Starcasters. Swapping pots and caps will be a nightmare in a semi and the 'sea of mud' sounds will be exacerbated by the hollow construction. Okay so I'll sell a few Buccaneers on the strength of that ... but as a guitarist and guitar consumer I'd really like Fender to get their act in gear and make a proper WR.
Judging by the sounds on this vid they've learned nowt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qCL91xr6oc

ewal

Mojo Pickups also do a WRH pup. I've got a pair in my Toronado build and they sound mighty. Completely live up to all expectations.

OilCityPickups

Myself, Mojo and the Creamery are, I think the players in the UK ... though there are lots more in the States ... though postage and VAT kinda knobbles them a bit.

GuitarMonkey

TheGuitarWeasel said:

Myself, Mojo and the Creamery are, I think the players in the UK ... though there are lots more in the States ... though postage and VAT kinda knobbles them a bit.

Each builder seems to have their own mods to the original design.

With all due respect to @TheGuitarWeasel, Curtis Novak seems to have the most accurate repro. http://curtisnovak.com/pickups/wrhb.shtml

OilCityPickups

GuitarMonkey said:

TheGuitarWeasel said:

Myself, Mojo and the Creamery are, I think the players in the UK ... though there are lots more in the States ... though postage and VAT kinda knobbles them a bit.

Each builder seems to have their own mods to the original design.

With all due respect to @TheGuitarWeasel, Curtis Novak seems to have the most accurate repro. http://curtisnovak.com/pickups/wrhb.shtml

Absolutely, the Curtis Novac is pretty accurate and also, unless I'm mistaken, $190 each (£117.58) ... which will be plus carriage ($40) and 20%vat.
I believe Mark at Mojo and myself are sub £90 each ...

ThePrettyDamned

TheGuitarWeasel;62810" said:

GuitarMonkey said:



TheGuitarWeasel said:

Myself, Mojo and the Creamery are, I think the players in the UK ... though there are lots more in the States ... though postage and VAT kinda knobbles them a bit.










Each builder seems to have their own mods to the original design.

With all due respect to @TheGuitarWeasel, Curtis Novak seems to have the most accurate repro. http://curtisnovak.com/pickups/wrhb.shtml





Absolutely, the Curtis Novac is pretty accurate and also, unless I'm mistaken, $190 each (£117.58) ... which will be plus carriage ($40) and 20%vat.

I believe Mark at Mojo and myself are sub £90 each ...

Bloody hell. I knew they need to be more expensive (only after you described the building process) but 120 quid for A pickup?

You'd need to be slightly anal over it, but if it is the most accurate you want...

GuitarMonkey

ThePrettyDamned said:

Bloody hell. I knew they need to be more expensive (only after you described the building process) but 120 quid for A pickup?

You'd need to be slightly anal over it, but if it is the most accurate you want...

A covered 6-string humbucker from Bare Knuckle is £117 without any options.