[Tone Meister]

Fender FMT Tele with HH configuration, mahogany body, mahogany neck, standard-spaced fixed bridge, 25.5" scale, rosewood fretboard w/16" radius. Global volume and a pull/push tone control for tapping both pickups at once.

Has a SD 59 in the neck and a Pearly Gates Plus in the bridge.  The 59 is good but the PG+ grates on my nerves in the midrange, especially with clean tones.  Need a pickup that will mate well with the 59 and also sound sweet and strong when coil tapped.

Music styles and tones run the gambit from Nile Rodgers to Mark Knopfler to Jeff Beck to David Gilmour to Jimmy Herring to Billy Gibbons to Joe Bonamassa to Warren Haynes ... I hope you get the idea.  I don't do metal, nu metal, or thrash, and I do very little traditional jazz, but all other styles and tones are in play.  I'm mainly a Strat guy, but humbuckers definitely are part of my sound as well.

Not opposed to installing a complete set, but ideally I'd like to find a great, versatile bridge pickup to solder in and call it a day.

Talk to me.

[Tone Meister]

Alrighty then, let me tell you what I have went and did.   

Ordered a Breed neck for the bridge and an Air Norton for the neck.  How's that for getting things bass ackwards?  By Sunday morning I'll know if it's a hit or a miss, but at least I won't have to listen to that dreadful PG+ any more, at least in this guitar.

[darkbluemurder]

I have used both pickups but not together in the same guitar.

The Air Norton in the neck has strong output, a smooth top and a clear midrange. The low end may be overbearing but in a bright guitar it may be OK.

I have used the Breed Neck as a bridge pickup as well but did not like it in that particular guitar. It was quite bright and had an unusual color in the midrange - that is why it did not work well with the guitar it was in.

If you liked the 59 in the neck I would have recommended getting a SD Custom 5 (SH-14 or the Trembucker variant) for the bridge. I have that pickup in two dual humbucker telecasters and love it.

I also used the Air Norton as a bridge pickup in two different guitars, each with good results so that is also something you could try.

Cheers Stephan

[Tone Meister]

I have used both pickups but not together in the same guitar.

The Air Norton in the neck has strong output, a smooth top and a clear midrange. The low end may be overbearing but in a bright guitar it may be OK.

I have used the Breed Neck as a bridge pickup as well but did not like it in that particular guitar. It was quite bright and had an unusual color in the midrange - that is why it did not work well with the guitar it was in.

If you liked the 59 in the neck I would have recommended getting a SD Custom 5 (SH-14 or the Trembucker variant) for the bridge. I have that pickup in two dual humbucker telecasters and love it.

I also used the Air Norton as a bridge pickup in two different guitars, each with good results so that is also something you could try.

Cheers Stephan

Thanks for your comments Stephan.  Gregory had also mentioned the SH-14 as an option to mate with the 59.

I've only had the guitar a few weeks.  She is an all mahogany set neck with a rosewood fretboard and a maple-veneer top.  If the AN produces too much bass in the neck, the first thing I'll try is a .047 cap in series with its hot lead to filter some out.

If worst comes to worst, I can always try the Breed in the neck and the AN in the bridge.  Plus I still have that 59 that sounds pretty good.  But since I'm gonna be in there anyway, I do want to experiment some.  At any rate, the PG+ has got to go from this guitar.

[DarthPhineas]

I've only had the guitar a few weeks.

Consider giving it a little more time for things to settle in.

[Tone Meister]

I've only had the guitar a few weeks.

Consider giving it a little more time for things to settle in.

I got it secondhand and it's as settled as it's gonna get.  I believe it to be several years old, in fact.

[Tone Meister]

OK, the Breed neck pickup came today and I didn't waste any time getting it installed. Pots are both 500K and I didn't glance at the tone cap, but it performs like an .047 on the 500K pot. Here are some initial impressions after about 15 minutes of play time through the Landry LS100G3 without making any amp adjustments.

Really like the clean tones, huge improvement over the PG+ in the clean department IMHO. Nice sweet tone when tapped but with a noticeable drop in volume as compared to the tapped 59 in the neck. Plays very well with the 59 both clean and dirty, the middle position is thick into the gained up Landry while retaining a nice high end bite. Not too awfully sensitive to pickup height, seemingly.

The Breed is harmonically rich in the Yellow channel (max gain channel) in an odd sort of way. Not good, not bad, just odd to my ears. But hey, we're always looking for cool new sounds anyway, so maybe it's something I'll get used to and end up liking. Pinch harmonics didn't come as easily as I had hoped, but then again I made an arbitrary height adjustment and slammed it into the front of the amp.

I have shows all weekend and if the Air Norton doesn't arrive early enough tomorrow then this configurations will get the call. If that pair doesn't work in the positions I had intended, then I'll swap them around and try them that way.

I'll update after a show or two, then again once I get the AN installed.

[DarthPhineas]

I've only had the guitar a few weeks.

Consider giving it a little more time for things to settle in.

I got it secondhand and it's as settled as it's gonna get.  I believe it to be several years old, in fact.

Settle in to you and your ears.

[Tone Meister]

Well, I like the guitar and like the 59 in the neck just fine.  No amount of time would be enough for the PG+ to be usable in this guitar for me because of its resonance peak.  Just too much going on in the midrange, especially for the clean tones I want.

The PG+ could very well be perfect in another guitar, but not with this one, for me.

[DarthPhineas]

Sounds like you already have what you need to figure it out.

[Tone Meister]

Sounds like you already have what you need to figure it out.

I hope so.  For the next three shows it'll have to be the Breed and the 59, so we'll see.

[greenlion]

59 neck in a tele, and you like Jeff Beck. I would think the bridge choice would be obvious. Why not a Duncan JB? It even splits well.

[jazzfromhell]

I have to second the Custom 5 suggestion. I have it paired with a 59 I'm a swamp ash guitar and it sounds really great, I love that combo. Super versatile.

[Tone Meister]

Fender FMT Tele with HH configuration, mahogany body, mahogany neck, standard-spaced fixed bridge, 25.5" scale, rosewood fretboard w/16" radius. Global volume and a pull/push tone control for tapping both pickups at once.

Music styles and tones run the gambit from Nile Rodgers to Mark Knopfler to Jeff Beck to David Gilmour to Jimmy Herring to Billy Gibbons to Joe Bonamassa to Warren Haynes ... I hope you get the idea.  I don't do metal, nu metal, or thrash, and I do very little traditional jazz, but all other styles and tones are in play.  I'm mainly a Strat guy, but humbuckers definitely are part of my sound as well.

Are we taking all this into consideration when making suggestions?  If so, way cool.