HD Z-90 in Tele

[sfarnell]

My '52 Hot Rod Tele was listed in the emporium with no takers so I decided to keep it and look for some new pickups because I wasn't crazy about the SD mini hum. In researching pickups for a tele I ran across a thread about the Z-90 and based on that thread, and Dana Olsen's opinion which I respect, I bought a Z-90 for the neck of the tele. I've had it a day and all I can say is it is very unique sounding. I'm partial to single coils and this pickup delivers that single coil sound and has that warm tone great for a tele neck pup when the guitar volume is turned down a bit. With the guitar volume turned up the pickup roars and has more a HB sound. It's articulate and exposes all clams in a big way. I don't think that I've ever heard a pickup like this one. I like it much better than the mini hum, and it looks great too.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g109/sfarnell/Fender52HotRodTelewithZ-90001.jpg

[Dana Olsen]

Hey Steve -

I just happened to see this thread, and this pic - looks great! I'm glad you're digging the Z-90 - and I agree, they're very unique and excellent sounding pickups.

And they can be kinda revealing, too, but I think they respond well to the vol and tone knobs, which makes 'em very 'dial-able' on the fly - an always convenient feature, especially on gigs.

Keep us posted - I hope it does good by you! Your Tele looks really cool w/ the Z-90.

Take it EZ Steve, and you get a huge THUMBS UP for experimentation!

Thanks, Dana O.

[coldfingaz]

I'm still amazed how underrated Harmonic Design pickups are compared to some of the bigger boutique guys.

In my experience, they're absolutely fabulous.

Congrats on giving that nice Tele a second life!

[sfarnell]

Thanks guys. I'm loving the z-90 in the tele. The blend with the bridge pickup is very balanced and beautiful. It's not that noisy either....maybe some changes were made to it because I was expecting a really noisy pickup based on what I read. It's no noisier than a standard strat pickup.

Coldfingaz, I didn't know that the z-90 was underrated. I thought I was buying the boutique of boutique pickups. Oh well. :):)