Recommended Tele Neck Pickup

[clark]

I’m thinking of putting a p90 or Humbucker into the neck of a Tele. The body is routed for most anything. When I start looking, it’s overwhelming. Does anyone have any recommendations?

[sal paradise]

PAF 50th anniversary

*edit* A2 version, just in case anyone thought I was crazy

[marqueemoon]

Fralin Big Single

[Embenny]

A vintage-spec firebird pickup will sound amazing and balance well with a very wide variety of bridge pickups.

[Larry Mal]

A vintage-spec firebird pickup will sound amazing and balance well with a very wide variety of bridge pickups.

This would be a great choice.

[JSett]

People use a Tele neck pickup? I thought they were just ornamentation

[sal paradise]

People use a Tele neck pickup? I thought they were just ornamentation

I think it’s only Squier models where the neck pickup actually works

[Professor Bill]

Fralin Big Single

Great choice. Sits somewhere between a Strat and a Firebird pickup.

Maybe also Goldfoil of some kind, like a Gemini.

[sessylU]

I have an Aerodyne Tele with a P-90 in the neck. I recently had custom pickups from Bulldog made for it. Can't recommend enough. I love the combination of the massive, chimey, ballsy neck pickup and the clang and cut of the bridge pickup. I kind of cheated by having the pickups wound so that they can be tapped (with push pull pots) to increase/decrease their output, which makes it easier to get the bridge pickup to stand up to the neck.

Video here, where I've unwittingly recorded the middle positions out of phase:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ1DjFz ... b_imp_woyt

And a thread on shortscale with more details, if you're interested:

https://www.shortscale.org/viewtopic.php?t=70334

[garyfanclub]

TV Jones Starwood - DeArmond Dynasonic in Tele format, around 7k so it's not going to blow away your bridge pickup. I'm assuming you're using a single volume and tone configuration, where having a super loud neck pickup can be a hindrance if your bridge is lowish output.

If you've got LP style 2V/2T controls then I'd go with an old Gibson mini-humbucker, I've loved pretty much every one I've tried. Goldfoil is also a great recommendation if you're looking for a raunchier sound.

[Emanuel]

Why not a Start pickup? The best of both worlds combined with the Tele pickup in bridge position, may look shitty though.
I have a "Graham Coxon" signature Tele MIM that came with a Seymour Duncan humbucker in the neck. It did appear very unbalanced with the single coil in the bridge to my ears.
I went for a set of traditional "51 Nocaster" pickups and I've been very happy ever since. Later I read in a Tele forum that it would be sacrilegious to put this exact pickup set in a Tele with rosewood fretboard and it will never sound proper. It was designed specifically for early 50s models with one piece maple necks...
I also never questioned the sound of a traditional Tele's neck pickup until people told me that it was useless...

[Bradley-Jazz]

Why not a Start pickup? The best of both worlds combined with the Tele pickup in bridge position, may look shitty though.
I have a "Graham Coxon" signature Tele MIM that came with a Seymour Duncan humbucker in the neck. It did appear very unbalanced with the single coil in the bridge to my ears.
I went for a set of traditional "51 Nocaster" pickups and I've been very happy ever since. Later I read in a Tele forum that it would be sacrilegious to put this exact pickup set in a Tele with rosewood fretboard and it will never sound proper. It was designed specifically for early 50s models with one piece maple necks...
I also never questioned the sound of a traditional Tele's neck pickup until people told me that it was useless...

Isn't the Fender Twisted Tele neck a more Strat pickup construction? I like mine in my Baja. In fact I like tele neck pickups generally. My Rexter 62 style partscaster has a 64 Pure Vintage neck (quite bright) and a dark nocaster bridge by a winder called Luker from Wales IIRC, so also sacrilege.

Isn't the great thing about teles that you can mess around with them really easily and they are still great?