Adjusting Pickup Height on a Stratocaster. Visit our website today for wide selection of Telecaster pickups! On the Telecaster side of things, you'd want the DP381 in the bridge and the DP417 in the neck. Undeniable Tele® muscle. This isn't particularly necessary for humbucking pickups but you may still notice it from time to time purely for aesthetics. Tech Support: (718) 816-8112 General: (718) 981-9286 Toll Free: (800) 221-6468 Fax: (718) 720-5296 By 1952, Fender settled on the name Telecaster for its two pickup solid body. The vintage pickup has a very sharp yet clear sound. By adding a middle pickup in between the Neck and Bridge pickups of a Telecaster, you can get more of that traditional Strat ‘Quack’ out of your Telecaster. ... Strat and Tele-Style Pickups. Our philosophy on Telecaster pickups is to open up their potential. Submitted by gpadmin1 on Thu, 04/28/2011 - 22:10. 2 screws. Voice 2 – Black-Guard. The neck pickup is based on a '54 Strat pickup with oversized alnico 3 magnets. Measuring pickup height in relation to the open string may result in certain notes fretting out in the higher frets. Hang on… it seems Leo Fender did something right from the get-go after all. Fender Custom Shop Twisted Tele Fender’s own solution to getting Strat-like clarity from a Telecaster neck pickup involves a taller bobbin, alnico V magnets, 42 AWG wire and a nickel silver cover. The Alnico II Pro Tele Lead uses a vintage coil wind, and sand-cast Alnico 2 rod magnets for a vintage Telecaster pickup sound and vibe, but with a smoky sweetness on the high end. For the sake of this demo we’ve shown you how to solder a plastic baseplate lead pickup … and we’re upgrading to some swish ’64 Telecaster pickups. Each pickup is unique in structure and performance. Fender Telecaster - Position of the Pickup Height Adjustment Screws . On the High-E, we might suggest you move it just a tad closer (say 1/64" on each pickup). Once your guitar pickups are installed, the last thing you’ll need to do is set the pickup height. Removing the pickguard to access the Tele pickup height adjustment screws. It's been in production ever since. The bridge pickup is where you get the true Tele sound. Adding a Strat middle pickup. The other, it raises. PICKUPS. Nashville Telecasters are an interesting hybrid of two of the most popular guitar styles out there. Brent Mason did this on his No. Once again, many folks do it the other way around, but I believe my setting results in a much more balanced and uniformly useable bridge-position. 2.” Though these guidelines were ostensibly written for Stratocaster pickups, they apply perfectly well to Telecaster pickups too. I've heard, however, that Fender's instructions regarding proper pickup height is incorrect. My 1997 Fender American Classics Custom Shop Stratocaster is fitted with Kinman noiseless pickups. The standard way to measure your pickup height is to fret the guitar at the highest fret and measure from the top of the pole piece to the bottom of the string. The patient of choice is a Fender ‘Tele-bration’ Bamboo Tele (a bit of a rarity!) Another good way to access Strat tones from your Tele is to install a third pickup in the middle position. Tue … Here are our picks of the best Telecaster neck pickups that are ideal for vintage-voiced chimes, that P-90 bite, or heavier modern tones. Use the figures above as a guideline for minimum string-to-pickup distance and adjust things according to what you hear. You’ll still feel the Tele snap and twang, but with a nice, round warmth added in. Mon Open. To my ears, Tele single coils ( like Humbuckers ) seem to sound best with this gap. Telecaster® Adjustment And Care. I really don't understand were guys are coming from say they are thin or weak. Telecaster Pickups Scatterwound and wax potted on authentic recipe Alnico magnets, our Telecaster range use the best materials possible – right down to the vintage braid hook-up wire. The neck pickup is a little underwound so it isn't as dark as some tele necks. They are a touch darker in the bridge and a touch brighter in the neck, which closes the disparity between the two pickups … I just received a set of Fender Vintage Noiseless pickups for my birthday. But specs change and sometimes change means design compromises. Well, it’s all reasonable on a vintage-style Tele. Pickup height can determine how much, or how little, distortion your guitar receives. Set too high, pickups can cause myriad inexplicable phenomena. Set of automotive feeler gauges (.002-.025) (0.05–1 mm) 6" (150 mm) ruler (with 1/32" and 1/64" increments) (0.5 mm increments) Never one to waste a thing, Leo snipped the Broadcaster part off of his headstock logos to produce the '51 era guitars Tele geeks describe as "Nocasters". Pickup Height Screw (2) For Stratocaster and Telecaster. As far as "general" pickup height is concerned, I like to set mine up so it "pushes" the amp a bit. It's a given that the bridge will be the heart of the sound, but our Telecaster pickup sets are designed to give you an additional tonal counterpoint in the neck and middle positions. It can also add or subtract noise, change tone, and do a number of other things. Fender basically used 42 gauge wire for everything but the Telecaster neck pickup (43 gauge). Stratocaster/ Telecaster Pickup Height Adjustment Screws. Nashville Teles offer a Telecaster body and feel, and Stratocaster pickup layout. Fender Vintage Noiseless™ Tele® pickups produce the brilliant single-coil clarity, definition and twang of a vintage 1960s Tele without the hum. Chris Kinman has a great pickup height adjustment guide on his website, make sure to check it out. With this twister pickup you can give out a much powerful sound that will add to the general energy of the music. If you want Strat pickups with way more output and a decidedly "growly" sound to them, Fast Track pickups by DiMarzio work great. The TL;DR story on pickup height is don’t put them too close to your pickups. Attention has been paid to the typically Telecaster top end but the neck pickup, with its nickel covering, produces a warm, rich sound. I'm going to swap them into my '88 MIJ Strat. Tools Needed. That’s it! Adjust the pickup height. Welcome note from the LAMBERTONES family. LAMBERTONES, LLC. Turn the adjustment screw one way and the pickup drops. Electric Guitar Pickups Designed for Clarity and Dynamics. Hours. Les Paul Some other effects cannot be described using this … Because the magnetic pull is fairly low (in the 300-Gauss range compared to 1100 for a typical Strat pickup), you can get by with placing the pole-screws very close to the strings without worry about it sacrificing string resonance. These pickups are overwound to give a fatter sound with more attack. 1” and “Adjusting Stratocaster Pickup Height, Pt. Testing and Adjusting To start with all you are going to really need is a Phillips head screwdriver. Fat & punch, searing sustain. Say, for instance, your customers are shouting for a twenty-second fret. Knowing all of this, setting you pickup height can be a bit unnerving. Used by leading custom guitar makers, these pickups are now available direct from our site, and from dealers worldwide. The final thing to consider when ordering a new set of Tele pickups is combining alnico V slugs in the neck with alnico III in the bridge. However, there’s obviously a bit more nuance here and you should trust your ears. Note the actually outside diameter (OD) varies slightly even though it's the same gauge. Fluence Signature Greg Koch Gristle-Tone Pickup Set features: 1 lead and 1 rhythm direct replacement pickups for Telecaster® guitars; Completely assembled, pre-wired, drop-in control plate that includes: – … Depress all the strings at the last fret. Sold as a pair. And so, setting the height on a P-90 is a lot more like setting a humbucker than it is a Strat/Tele pickup. We demystified pickup height adjustment in “Adjusting Stratocaster Pickup Height, Pt. This will allow for proper string clearance on every fret and string. 509-426-5151 hello@lambertones.com. That way when the volume on the guitar is wide open I can vary my picking attack as I please so that even the lightest picking results in subtle but profound nuances, but then I can also back the guitar's volume off as I hit the strings harder (especially for all out strumming). You could also request 43 AWG wire for the bridge pickup, along with flat slugs for an even frequency response with fuller bass. There's a lot more to pickup height adjustment, however, than merely maximizing volume while avoiding problems, and a look at some of the other variables can provide a new tweaking tool in your tone arsenal. Below are two videos outlining both Les Paul pickup height adjustment and Stratocaster pickup height adjustment. All you need is the appropriate ruler and a Phillips-head screwdriver. The copper plated bottom plate is made from steel and has height staggered magnets. Adjusting height is easy. That combo will turn any Telecaster into a … The vintage tele pickup gets its name from the sound that it produces, that is the classic 60s sounds. The middle pickup, based on a '63 Strat pickup, uses specially treated alnico magnets and is reverse wound to cancel hum when used with the neck or bridge pickup. Using a 6" (150 mm) ruler, measure the distance from the bottom of the first and sixth strings to the top of the pole piece. I don't have B.K.P in my current Telecaster ( a Baja ) - but a gap of 1.6mm ( between low AND high 'E' string held down at the 21st fret and the top of each pickup ) - always worked magic for me, on whatever Telecaster - and whatever pickups. buildyourguitar.com - The Secrets of Electric Guitar Pickups by Lemme - “If you know the resonant frequency and height of the resonant peak, you know about 90 percent of a pickup’s transfer characteristics. As the gauge number increases, the OD of the wire decreases (42 gauge wire is thicker than 43 gauge wire). Contact Us; DiMarzio, Inc. 1388 Richmond Terrace PO Box 100387 Staten Island, NY 10310 USA. Neck Pickup: Low E: 5.00mm / 0.198" Hi E : … In this article, we are going to help you to find the best pickup height for your specific needs. Fender Tim Shaw V-Mod Strato Pickups. Built with alnico 2 magnets and enamel-coated magnet wire, and ideal for blues, rock, pop and country. Note: These specifications are meant only as a guide; they should not be construed as hard and fast rules, as we realise that every player's subjective requirements often differ. 12 Staff Sgt Pendleton Way, Yakima, WA, 98901, United States. The ’64 pickups feature a copper backplate on the rear of the lead pickup, which saves a step. As with all truly fine Tele sets, my pickups certainly do NOT suffer from this lack of Tele bridge spank! The specs that Fender, Gibson, and other brands publish in the manual or online are good starting points, but the best way to set up the pickup height is to use your ears. 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