Looking for Broadcaster style pickups (Mojo, Oil City, The Creamery)

Emiel · April 2018

double post

OilCityPickups · April 2018

Emiel said:

@TheGuitarWeasel : Now I understand where the Fortyniner got its name from! I sent you an email some days ago but maybe its good to put it here as well. What is the (tonal) difference between your Fortyniner and Honkytonk Angel pickup?

The Honkytonk Angel is Alnico 2, so has more 'pushy' mids ... and the Fortyniner is alnico 3, with less string pull and a touch more upper mid compression.

Strat54 · April 2018

TheGuitarWeasel said:

impmann said:

TheGuitarWeasel said:

Can I explode the myth that early Tele pickups were hotter? Yes they have a higher DC resistance, about 9.5k ... however this is a function of their thinner wire, and they don't, in general have more turns on the bobbin than a later 6.5k one ... so as far as loudness is concerned they are exactly the same!
What they do have ... as a result of the thinner wire, is more mids, and less treble, added to this they use alnico 3 rather than alnico 5 as later ones used. Alnico 3 is the lowest magnetic power alnico, and comes with a sort of natural compression, added to a very low string pull.

Erm...

Ok I accept part of that. However, more upper mids actually make the early type Pickup appear louder - in certain circumstances.
The later pickup has more top and a scooping of the upper mids which gives it a lot of twang and zing. But give it a driven amp, you need to dial the treble down a touch or it can be too much (especially in an Ash body). With a Broadcaster type, that harsh top end doesn’t need attenuating and appears louder - hence the concept of them being hotter.
Before the prices went nuts, I had a lap steel pickup from 49 that I bought for 65 dollars... the mids off that pickup would drive an AC30 *beautifully* and it was a phat sound. The perception of loudness from it was far greater than the Fender 1960s US reissue pickup it replaced. I sold the 49 for £300 and thought I was doing well...
Interestingly, some pickup makers have a DC resistance of significantly more than 9k for their ‘Broadcaster’ style pickups.... perhaps, as with many things to do with vintage guitars, there was a degree of randomness in the number of turns crammed onto some old pickups and that has translated into hotter pickups from some makers.

By loudness I am talking millivolts output, not 'perceived loudness'. The type of loudness you are referring to is to do with the transient peaks of particular wind/magnet combination cutting through in a mix/live situation. I have rewound a good number of old 'Broadcaster' pickups, and have never found one over the turn count that would equate to 9.5k(ish), that's why mine hovers around that area. I think some pickup makers add a little extra wire to beef things up ... largely because they think that's what the customer wants. I prefer to keep clarity and avoid over compression.
The Early Tele pickup is actually one of my favorite Fender designs ... and to my mind suits many rock styles better than the later type.
As an aside, this sort of pickup shouldn't be referred to as a 'Broadcaster' pickup ... as it pre-dates the Broadcaster and was first fitted to the Esquire ... the first Fender solid body 'Spanish' guitar. That's why my version is known as the Fortyniner ... not Broadcaster.
:-)

There's speaks the voice of wisdom. This advice is spot on, most winders seem to miss the whole point of these early pickups and guitars. Clarity over compression is what they are all about, boldness but with string definition and not mush. I have a Alan Hamel built guitar that has the most amazing pickups in it (I've owned over 50 other high end Tele's whilst I've had this one to compare to) they give clarity, depth, complexity and authority but without any harshness and over compression. The Fender 'Broadcaster' pickups from the Custom Shop on the other hand were the exact opposite. The Ron Ellis 50B and Mid Tall are great too....but the two year wait for them isn't.

blueskunk · April 2018

Fender custom shop 51 Nocaster pickups are the very best set of tele pickups I have ever had.

Lebarque · May 2020

Any new thoughts on broadcaster sets? I'm thinking of putting some in an alder/rosewood offset Tele.

impmann · May 2020

Mojo

Funkfingers · May 2020

blueskunk said:

Fender custom shop 51 Nocaster pickups are the very best set of tele pickups I have ever had.

I loved them so much in my CS Nocaster that I installed a pair in an AVRI ‘52, hoping it could serve as a back up. This only half worked. The neck/Rhythm position unit lived up to expectations. The bridge/Treble unit never sounded right.

Next, I tried the Duncan ‘53 Tapped Tele Lead and Antiquity 1 neck pickup combination. Bridge - good. Neck - a bit bunged up.

I currently use the Nocaster neck and Duncan bridge position pair. To achieve the correct magnetic polarity relationship, I had to recharge the Fender pickup to the reverse of the stock spec.

•

At the time of this writing, I am getting my Squier Silver Series Telecaster up and running again. I am tempted to combine a Fortyniner or Cirrostratus bridge position pickup with a Stratocaster-voiced neck position pickup and a fancy selector switch to get half-out-of-phase Jerry Donahue tones.

EDIT - I was eventually swayed by a clearance sale to chose Alegree pickups - Frigid Haze Telecaster Neck and Tornado prototype bridge/Treble.

I’m glad that I did this because this pair sounds excellent.

Pabcrane · May 2020

I found the guys at Bare Knuckle fantastically great to communicate with when I wrote to them told them what I was after sound and feel wise. They recommended the Flat 52 (bloody great set of pickups by the way), which is of no use to theOP, however it might be worth a shot hitting them up with a few questions about what one is after.

Emiel · May 2020

Thanks for bumping!

Back in the day, my old Tokai Tele needed a refret more than anything, and only recently I started thinking about pickups again.

Anyone tried both the Mojo Broadcaster and the Oil City Fortyniner/Honkytonk Angel?

Johnnyseven · May 2020

Emiel said:

Thanks for bumping!

Back in the day, my old Tokai Tele needed a refret more than anything, and only recently I started thinking about pickups again.

Anyone tried both the Mojo Broadcaster and the Oil City Fortyniner/Honkytonk Angel?

I have, but only the bridge versions. I wasn't keen on the Honky Tonk Angel but the 49er and Mojo are both really good but I preferred the Mojo, I can't remember why though.

guitars4you · May 2020

I've done a few conversions of various Tele's with Honkytonk Angels and each guitar has been better for it after - I like the full throttle body you get from the bridge pick-up - Balls, bite and attack and never clangy or thin - The neck pick-up is smooth with clarity - But never tried the Mojo set

chris78 · May 2020

Someone above mentioned Klein. Apologies for being a Klein bore when a tele pickup thread comes on, but the Klein broadcaster is utterly perfect. Anyone who says they don’t like a neck pickup on a tele should try the set as well as that’s fantastic

Emiel · June 2020

Really appreciate all the comments, thanks! The general consensus led me to order a set of Mojo Broadcaster pickups, now the wait begins!

rze99 · June 2020

flying_pie said:

Oil City 49er is the 43 awg Broadcaster style
It's a great pickup. I love mine.

Me too. Very big and throaty. Great stuff.

Also really like the SD one and CS Nocasters

And QPickups did me really lovely aged one for my Esquire build.

but my new favourite is the one on 70th Anniversary Broadcaster which is wonderful but not available to buy as a unit.

Greatape · June 2020

Around 3:50.

Also
https://youtu.be/7oGz-C3oqrM

The sounds I aspire to. Obviously, massive gulf in ability counts for a lot....

Emiel · June 2020

Greatape said:

Around 3:50.

Also
https://youtu.be/7oGz-C3oqrM

The sounds I aspire to. Obviously, massive gulf in ability counts for a lot....

Lovely indeed!! Thanks!

koneguitarist · June 2020

Finally got my House of tone neck pickup which is their Texas Tea style.
Good chat with guy, talked about my bridge pickup which is a Voodoo 5os which i love but never had a neck pickup that matched it to give me all the tones.
Now i have. Clarity is astounding.

Zoolooter · June 2020

chris78 said:

Someone above mentioned Klein. Apologies for being a Klein bore when a tele pickup thread comes on, but the Klein broadcaster is utterly perfect. Anyone who says they don’t like a neck pickup on a tele should try the set as well as that’s fantastic

I’d be interested in what you tried before settling on the Kleins. I’ve tried quite a few decent brands before being happy with a CS nocaster neck and BKP Country Boy bridge. Putting together another tele and want something similar but different, nothing too loud or harsh.

Emiel · June 2020

Update from the OP:

The Mojo Pickups Broadcaster set has been in my old '80s Tokai Tele for over a week now. It replaced the stock Tokai pickups, which actually were pretty fine sounding pickups.

What I've noticed so far: the output doesn't 'feel' neccesarily much higher, but the overall tone seems to have 'broadened'/extented a fair bit with lots of added clarity. The neck pickup especially is fantastic, very open sounding, and matches the bridge pickup really well. The in-between position is killer and much more usuable. The bridge pickup is quite something, aggressive but at the same time not shrill at all. Almost like a P90, but still a Tele pickup. Well done, Marc @ Mojo Pickups!

I have to mention that at the same time I changed the bridge and saddles too. When I bought the guitar, it had already been fitted with this heavy and thick aftermarket bridge. The new one is a bit more 'vintage correct' (e.g. made from thinner steel) and this has definitely helped to transform the guitar in a more vintage-y sounding Tele. Weirdly enough, the intonation is much better with the new (non-compensated) saddles too. While the saddles on the previous bridge were in fact compensated... 'improved design' does not always equal 'better' I guess...

Thanks for all the help!

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Looking for Broadcaster style pickups (Mojo, Oil City, The Creamery)

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