Neck Humbucker in a Tele

[Kmaz]

How do you like the combination of a Tele bridge pickup with a neck humbucker?

[Rock Johnson]

I had one, I loved it. It was the '72 reissue - two volumes, two tones, neck humbucker. Really versatile.

[Jahn]

Nothing says I love you like a firebird in the neck and twang in the bridge!

[jazzguitar14]

Seth Lover in the Neck and a Duncan '51 in the bridge... This is the setup in my #1 go to guitar. I play Jazz, classic country, blue/newgrass, and an assortment of hippie-rock.

Very good setup for my needs.

[JimH]

I like it. takes the ice pick out of the bridge and creates a great tone that can still cut through. It's the sound I use the most on my fat tele.

[Justa]

I have have a late 60's Tele Thinline that I have owned since the early seventies. When I got this guitar I immediately discovered the beauty of the single coil sound. Since I have always played fairly clean the open harmonics provide by single coil pick ups allowed me to hear things I never could hear before playing humbuckers. The one thing that bugged me about the neck single coil on this guitar was the volume loss when switching from bridge to neck position. The neck pick up failed on this guitar so I replaced it with a single coil with more output. I use the neck position on this guitar more than the bridge.

The Tele and Strats to me are the statement of what single coil sound is all about. One of my Strats does allow switching between single and (stacked) humbucker at each of the three pick up positions. I never use the humbucker position on this guitar. I do like humbuckers too but would rather have them on a Gibson, especially like a 335.

All that said I do not disagree with any of the other posters that like humbuckers on a Tele as I am sure it works for them. I will leave them off my Teles though.

[Jim S]

How do you like the combination of a Tele bridge pickup with a neck humbucker?

I don't.

Every time I switched from bridge to the neck, it sounded too full and woolly. I always anticipate and prefer to hear the neck single coil tone and response when playing a Tele. On a sophomoric level, I wanted to dig it since one of guitar heroes, Andy Summers, carved his sound with a Tele Custom and Albert Collins got fantastic sounds with his guitar.

.

[JMO]

I personally like my tele w/ a humbucker in the neck. I have a 5 way switch so its tapped, and it gets a pretty convincing single coil sound. My only beef with it is that when you switch to the humbucker from the single coil setting, the output is considerably louder and vice versa, which is understandable. It sounds great when the amp is dialed in for it, but most of the time I end up tweaking the treble on the amp if I switch to it, otherwise it can sound too muddy, especially on clean settings. I also have a TBX tone circuit which helps. However, I have found it gets a pretty cool round fat fuzzy tone if the tone is rolled down, and you drop the volume on the guitar a notch, say from full out to 9 or so. Long story short, I like it because it makes the guitar more versatile, but can be a little hairy if you like to switch from bridge twang to fat neck tones mid songs because of the volume boost. I have gotten used to it and can get most tones I need by just fiddling w/ the volume and tone knobs on the guitar.

[diego]

I think it's a great sound. Recently I really liked a Suhr SSV in the neck position. I also like mini-humbuckers in the neck. It's a giant-sized tone.

Jim S has a point, because you do have to re-think your tone settings on the amplifier. The neck pup has to be set lower than normal if you want the neck and bridge to have balance, and it better be a low-output 'bucker... like a lot of people are recommending.

It's a fantastic tone for jazz and lots of other things.

[OM Flyer]

I like that sound, but I vastly prefer a P-90 in the neck, like the Aerodyne Teles have. Pure tone bliss.

[kludge]

Nothing says I love you like a firebird in the neck and twang in the bridge!

+1. That's my #1 gtr.

[duckbunny]

The Barden Tele neck pickup is to die for.





-db

[Boris Bubbanov]

I have have a late 60's Tele Thinline that I have owned since the early seventies. When I got this guitar I immediately discovered the beauty of the single coil sound. Since I have always played fairly clean the open harmonics provide by single coil pick ups allowed me to hear things I never could hear before playing humbuckers. The one thing that bugged me about the neck single coil on this guitar was the volume loss when switching from bridge to neck position. The neck pick up failed on this guitar so I replaced it with a single coil with more output. I use the neck position on this guitar more than the bridge.

The Tele and Strats to me are the statement of what single coil sound is all about. One of my Strats does allow switching between single and (stacked) humbucker at each of the three pick up positions. I never use the humbucker position on this guitar. I do like humbuckers too but would rather have them on a Gibson, especially like a 335.

All that said I do not disagree with any of the other posters that like humbuckers on a Tele as I am sure it works for them. I will leave them off my Teles though.

You have just disagreed with them, but you did it very nicely, and without being disagreeable.

I have a couple Teles with humbucker in the neck. I like what I can do with them; certain combinations of one particular Tele with this pup in the neck and that one in the bridge.

But, I think the default choice on a Tele is still 2 single coils, and a neck 'bucker if chosen should generally be tappable or fairly low output if that choice is made. I don't tolerate volume imbalance so well, neck to bridge, like I once did.

The ballsyness of a Twisted Tele neck matched with a Broadcaster bridge, or the use of a P-90 or Strat single coil pup in the Tele neck spot are good compromises instead of a humbucker, I think.

[studiodunn]

I like a HB in the neck, but I like a CS twisted tele neck pup even better. Still get that great neck growl but it plays with the bridge much better.

[205]

I'm not a huge fan of the neck humbucker/bridge single coil combination, unless there's a matching bucker in the bridge position, there is way to much of a shift in tone for my liking. For me it makes more sense going the other way, single coil at the neck with humbucker in the bridge.

[Jammin'John]

I like P-90 neck & sigle coil bridge.
If I went with a neck 'bucker it would be low output and bright sounding.

JJ

[amc]

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q199/amc115-photos/IMG_0522.jpg

My old tele ('58) has an early 60's pat.# humbucker in the neck position

[gtraddict]

My favorite guitars has those combination and they cover a lot of ground

[62Tele]

Had a mini in the neck of my tele for several years and it can be great, but I agree wholeheartedly that it can also have some issues. I usually had to reach back and tweak my Vibrolux for either pickup to get the best out of them.

Give serious thought to a Filtertron (really like TV Jones, no affiliation) since you get a tone half way between a bucker and a single coil and the balance is a lot easier to work with. Another viable option if you haven't tried it is a four position switch - not really a bucker, but can get pretty darned close.

[omboy]

I like a 'bucker in the neck, but rarely use it alone. The middle position is where having that neck hummmer shines, imo. Adjust the height to get the blend you like. YMMV

[operanonverba]

Gotta 57 Classic in the neck of my Muddy Waters Tele. Good combo with the stock bridge pup. Love it.

[tjmicsak]

I have a '59 HB in the neck of my Strat, which the single in the neck for those who haven't done a side by side, is pretty darn close to a Tele if not the same being in the same location and single coil. It does have to sit (low) about 1/8" up from the pickguard due to the output matching issue, but that just makes it sweeter when combined with the bridge Pup for that juicy hollow LP middle tone. WHen I put it in my strat 25 years ago I had no use for a single in the neck, looking for that warm LP tone, hence the choice of the SD '59, which was perfect and has aged well in the guitar, but if I was not so happy with that tone, I would consider a splittable HB to also have that bluesy soul you get from the single in the neck on the Teles and Strats.

[elkym]

I've got a minibucker in the neck of my homebrew tele... It's great.

[daddyo]

I like the Seymour Duncan Vintage Minibucker in my ash tele.

[Dale]

I have a US Fat Tele and I like it. It is a guitar you like or you do not. Stock DH-1 neck (Fender).

http://drpietrzak.com/music/teles.JPG

[bbrunskill]

I love it because you can be playing rythmn with overdrive on the bridge, then flick over to the neck and you have an instant fat lead tone!

[RadackGuitars]

I use a Lollar minihumbucker in the neck and a Lollar single coil bridge and I NEVER leave the middle position.

[samarshll]

I have a 57 in the neck, coil tapped with a Anderson TD3 in the bridge with individual volume controls and a three way switch. It's an 80's partscaster. I have had many offers to buy it, It's one of those guitars that you would never sell. Maple neck and alder body. Best sounding guitar I've ever owned.