Telecasters and Humbuckers

[blackba]

I have long been curious about this, but I am wondering why it is fairly common to see a Telecaster with a humbucker in the neck and Single coil in the bridge. With a start, a humbucker in the bridge is pretty common. Its been a long time since I have played a proper telecaster (own a dual humbucker Fender MIJ contemporary tele). What is it about the neck Single coild on the Telecaster that makes some want to put in a humbucker in its place?

 

[D-Rock]

I'm not really sure about the reasoning myself. I know that I have a hard time getting a warm Strat like tone from a single coil in the neck of my Tele. Maybe that is a common complaint so that's where the humbucker comes in (?).

 

[rlord1974]

What is it about the neck Single coil on the Telecaster that makes some want to put in a humbucker in its place?

Let's flip this question around a little. Namely, what is it about guitars with two 'buckers that makes people want to get coil taps installed? I believe it boils down to the user's tone requirements and a desire for versatility. Plain and simple.

 

[rlord1974]

Dont hold me to this, but I also seem to recall reading somewhere over the years that, when Fender came out with the Tele Customs and Deluxes in the 70's, they added the humbuckers for the sole reason that they wanted to have a model that could compete (to an extent) with the Les Paul. Lo and behold, what they had on their hands was an entirely different beast in terms of tonal offerings, and we should all be grateful and feel blessed for Fender doing this. Those guitars rock......in their own little way!

 

[racerevlon]

When it comes to Telecasters, I always want good punch out of the bridge and a smooth, glassy tone out of the neck. I've settled on the following combination and it is killer tone: Dimarzio Air Norton T Bridge, Dimarzio Area T Neck. Can't go wrong...

 

[boost]

I think generally tele neck pickups are dark and murky. Nothing strat like at all. I don't really care for them and would rather have a more strat like tone out of the neck pickup. I have a GFS Fatbody in my neck slot and it is much brighter than the stock pickup, but you still know it's a tele. I like the sound of a stock neck tele only when it is used with the bridge pickup, not at all by itself.

I think a Firebird type minibucker would be a better match for a tele bridge p/u. I see more and more people doing this. I was listening to the sound of my Firebird neck p/u (on my Firebird) and I could see how this would be a great match for the tele bridge. This would make the neck p/u much more useful on it's own IMO. All I can hope is it still sounds good with both pickups on since this is the route I'm going.

So I think most people change out the neck p/u on a tele because of the muddy tone. Why do they go with a humbucker and not a strat single??? I don't know. They want to be Keith Richards I guess.

 

[rlord1974]

P90 FTW!

 

[blackba]

What is it about the neck Single coil on the Telecaster that makes some want to put in a humbucker in its place?

Let's flip this question around a little. Namely, what is it about guitars with two 'buckers that makes people want to get coil taps installed? I believe it boils down to the user's tone requirements and a desire for versatility. Plain and simple.

Variety is the splice of life. I am much more familiar with strats than teles. Of my 3 strats, I put a humbucker in the bridge of 2 of them for the SSH configuration. I did so to get a thicker sound out of the bridge. I don't think I have ever seen a HSS on a strat, where the sole humbucker is in the neck. That is why the humbucker only in the neck on a tele left me curious

I know the tele SC bridge pickup is thicker than a strat SC bridge pickup typically. when I have played teles, I have typically stuck with the bridge SC. I do have a real tele on my list of guitars to get.

 

['63-Strat]

Typically the neck pickup in a tele is low output and dark, and matching volumes between the bridge pickup (which is hotter and ballsier than a stock strat bridge pickup) can be tough.

 

[rlord1974]

Typically the neck pickup in a tele is low output and dark, and matching volumes between the bridge pickup (which is hotter and ballsier than a stock strat bridge pickup) can be tough.

You would think that, after 60 years, Fender would have fixed this problem!

 

[Greazygeo]

With teles and sc's in the neck, the magnet pull on the strings is a big deal. In fact some guys like Paisley use teles that don't have a neck pickup at all. When adjusted wrong they kill the string vibration and make the intonation off. But then the output is very low. Going to a hb in the neck allows more output to match the bridge with a wider magnetic field to lessen the string pull/ dampening.

The magic of the tele is the sc bridge pickup.

 

[blackba]

With teles and sc's in the neck, the magnet pull on the strings is a big deal. In fact some guys like Paisley use teles that don't have a neck pickup at all. When adjusted wrong they kill the string vibration and make the intonation off. But then the output is very low. Going to a hb in the neck allows more output to match the bridge with a wider magnetic field to lessen the string pull/ dampening.

The magic of the tele is the sc bridge pickup.

Thanks. Learning alot in this thread....

And Gasing more for a Tele

 

['63-Strat]

With teles and sc's in the neck, the magnet pull on the strings is a big deal. In fact some guys like Paisley use teles that don't have a neck pickup at all. When adjusted wrong they kill the string vibration and make the intonation off. But then the output is very low. Going to a hb in the neck allows more output to match the bridge with a wider magnetic field to lessen the string pull/ dampening.

The magic of the tele is the sc bridge pickup.

Sure, even on my strat I have to keep the neck pickup LOW to prevent that, it's interesting how humbuckers don't have as much string pull. I fully buy that too, just not real clear on the science behind why.

 

[Greazygeo]

With teles and sc's in the neck, the magnet pull on the strings is a big deal. In fact some guys like Paisley use teles that don't have a neck pickup at all. When adjusted wrong they kill the string vibration and make the intonation off. But then the output is very low. Going to a hb in the neck allows more output to match the bridge with a wider magnetic field to lessen the string pull/ dampening.

The magic of the tele is the sc bridge pickup.

Sure, even on my strat I have to keep the neck pickup LOW to prevent that, it's interesting how humbuckers don't have as much string pull. I fully buy that too, just not real clear on the science behind why.

Yep sc's are very easy to get adjusted badly....and trying to get three adjusted just right is even that much more fun!

I read somewhere that the sc pickups magnetic field is very narrow and focused up towards the strings. There must be something to that. Its crazy how you can feel the vibrations damp when you get them to that "just too close" point.

 

[Greazygeo]

With teles and sc's in the neck, the magnet pull on the strings is a big deal. In fact some guys like Paisley use teles that don't have a neck pickup at all. When adjusted wrong they kill the string vibration and make the intonation off. But then the output is very low. Going to a hb in the neck allows more output to match the bridge with a wider magnetic field to lessen the string pull/ dampening.

The magic of the tele is the sc bridge pickup.

Thanks. Learning alot in this thread....

And Gasing more for a Tele

Funny how that works.

 

[SFW]

Single-coil pickups traditionally have magnets for pole pieces. Unlike humbuckers, that have steel slugs and filster screws (or hex poles) with a bar magnet underneath the coils. SCs effect the string vibration when too close to the strings because the magnet pole piece is attracting the metal from the string. Thereby pulling the string toward the pickup magnets, and causing the strings to vibrate off "balance."

Hope that makes since...

 

[blackba]

Single-coil pickups traditionally have magnets for pole pieces. Unlike humbuckers, that have steel slugs and filster screws (or hex poles) with a bar magnet underneath the coils. SCs effect the string vibration when too close to the strings because the magnet pole piece is attracting the metal from the string. Thereby pulling the string toward the pickup magnets, and causing the strings to vibrate off "balance."

Hope that makes since...

Makes perfect since. Which is why for SC's you have to watch putting the pickup too close to the strings. My friend called this 'stratitice'. Since a humbucker has a bar magnet, that is one of the reasons that when you split a humbucker, that it doesn't sound just like a single coil.

So back to the tele, since the neck pickup is usually pretty weak, are people prone to putting it too close to the strings and thus getting the magnetic field to greatly affect the strings? Hence the neck humbucker....

 

[grooveHT]

For a good mix, try a mini-humbucker in the neck. To complicate matters a bit, there are LP-Deluxe style minis and Firebird mini's; due to construction, the Firebirds are more like single coils, and LP-D's are just smaller humbuckers. I dig the Seymour Duncan SM-1...output-wise, it might match up a little better with a tele bridge, and its more single-coily while still being hum cancelling. AWESOME!