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Post by newey on Apr 29, 2019 21:48:30 GMT -5
I have this Tele/Esquire-ish guitar:  Which has a GFS dual-rails pickup at the bridge, wired in classic Esquire fashion, with a tone-control bypass setting and a cap/strangle "Tone at 0" setting. Ever since I built the guitar, I have disliked the pickup. It was my first experience with the 'dual rails" HB-in-a-SC-form-factor" type of pickup, and after playing with it for a number of years, I'm not a fan. I like a nice clean SC sound, and the dual-rails was rather "crunchy" sounding for my tastes. So I have decided to swap the pickup for a std. Tele bridge pickup. The guitar is a cheap POS, so I don't want to break the bank, but it does play pretty good, so I'm willing to spring a bit of $$ so long as it's not hundreds. I see a lot of so-called "hot" Tele bridge pickups, but those who know me know I'm "Mr. Clean" tone-wise, so I want something more traditional. So, a couple of questions: 1) Any recommendations for a reasonably priced, vintage-sounding Tele bridge pickup? I want nice and twangy without a huge outlay . . . 2) Question that I don't know, historically, was there any difference in Fender OEM Esquire pickups vs. OEM Tele bridge pickups? If there was, I'd like to get an Esquire one just for historical craps 'n giggles . . .  |
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Post by b4nj0 on May 9, 2019 1:53:56 GMT -5
GM Newey.
It's only one man's opinion and you may not thank me but I'm pitching for a Joe Barden pickup here.
So far as the Fender pickups goes, according to Nacho's bible there isn't any difference. I have a 1955 bridge pup in a home assembled Esquire dating back to the late 1970s. Some hapless fool swapped it out for a DiMarzio back in the day and I was the right-place, right-time beneficiary. It's a good pickup but no holy grail. Again according to Nacho, on my pickup the only tangible difference I can establish is the diameter of the pole pieces which vary by a couple of thou'. This implies that mine is probably from a lap steel but I may have misinterpreted The Blackguard book?
e&oe...
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Post by reTrEaD on May 9, 2019 8:59:54 GMT -5
2) Question that I don't know, historically, was there any difference in Fender OEM Esquire pickups vs. OEM Tele bridge pickups? If there was, I'd like to get an Esquire one just for historical craps 'n giggles . . . That sounds like a good question for antiguaFrom reading one of his threads, it seems early Tele pickups are a bit different from those which came later. He didn't mention whether Esquire pickups were the same as the early Tele bridge pickups, though. But I'm not so sure the 'vintage correct' target is necessarily something you would want to shoot for. I'm guessing the very early version of Tele pickups were duller sounding. 1) Any recommendations for a reasonably priced, vintage-sounding Tele bridge pickup? I want nice and twangy without a huge outlay . . . Again, antigua would probably be a good source of info. He's tested pickups from Donlis, Tonerider, etc. Those tend to be at the low end of the price spectrum but not low in quality. If he hasn't tested a GFS rails for Tele bridge, maybe he would be willing to trade something he has tested for your rails pickup? idk. Worth asking. |
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Post by antigua on May 10, 2019 14:35:29 GMT -5
I've never seen any mention of Fender changing the way they made the bridge pickup for the Tele as opposed to the Esquire, and the pickups are interchangeable, as far as they screw mounts go. I've read conflicting opinion about the specs of early Tele bridge pickups. In Fender's reissues they assert that they were around 7k to 8k, but a pickup winder on another forum who claims he's come across them says they sometimes has a much lower DC resistance, 5k to 6k. One thing that is for sure is that Fender's reissues are more about marketing and less about historical accuracy. Some pickup winders offer an "Esquire" bridge pickup, but that's probably just marketing. I doubt they have special insider knowledge about the pickups that were loaded into Esquires, and it's not falsifiable, so they have no obligation to be accurate or truthful. The BS works both ways though, if you ever go to sell the guitar on ebay, and you can boast that it has an "Esquire" spec bridge pickup, you'd probably fetch more for it.
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Post by b4nj0 on May 11, 2019 8:43:59 GMT -5
I have measured my 1950s Tele bridge pickup. It's 6.6K. If there is any ageing effect I wouldn't like to guess but I imagine it'd go higher than when fresh wound?  Doesn't help Newey much. It's obvious to many, but does clarify that if you judge pickups only by resistance, there's quite some disparity. e&oe... |
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Post by ziggystardust723 on Jan 27, 2021 2:55:03 GMT -5
Hello guys,
Sorry to answering latter,
- I'm new on this Forum..
I answer cause Nobody told difference between:
- Esquire from 1948, with Awg43 kind of wire (0,056 mm, near 6,9 0hms/M)
- & Tele bridge pu Who had Wire been Changed since 1953 for Awg42 (0,063mm & near 5,47 0hms/Mtr),
> to have more Presence: cause fitted just near the End of Strings Vibration ..
> The 'Dual Coil' I think is made with Awg45 wire: 0,044 mm & near 9,70 0hms/1Mtr..
= It's as Simple..
- The Sounds can't be the same..
- 7ender Esquire/Tele in Awg43 are wound for 10/11k 0hms,
- 7ender Tele 'After '53': in Awg42 is wound around 6,5/7,5k 0hms..
> So you see more the difference.
- Bye, Ziggy (France. 8h54..)
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