Somehow I've ended up with too many guitars again :BEER I have a G&L ASAT Bluesboy that is definitely my #1 right now. It just sounds amazing clean, gritty and heavily over driven. The bridge pup has the twang, but it sparkles and rolls off just right. I feel like I might have the traditional Tele thing covered at this point. I have a partscaster loaded body on the way with Fender Reissue '52 pups to install, but I'm starting to think I might want to drop in some type of humbucker style pup (that fits in a Tele bridge space) instead. I have 5 guitars, but their is a HUGE void with no humbucker guitars to be found in the house. I don't want to have to route this body out if I can help it (I don't have the tools). Opinions on the bucker-like bridge pup for a Tele? Someone mentioned harmonic designs S90 or something?
Some humbuckers made to fit in single coil routes sound good, but it's just not the same to me. Full size humbucker are picking up the string from a wider section. The way I see it, a Tele body is a Tele body. You can buy a replacement body if you're worried about routing the original. Or you can put the whole thing together from parts. If you want a humbucker Tele.... just do it! My 1st humbucker Tele started life as a replacement for my 1st regular Tele. I figured, I should get something a little newer to put the wear & tear into. But it didn't take very long before it started evolving. My next one was made from parts, but it was the same basic idea.
If you want to go the whole-hog, shove a non-ferrous bridge (Barden, Glendale, et.al.) in there as well, and I guarantee you will have a Tele that does not sound like your others! A word of warning: the Barden sound is addictive, and you may find that guitar grabbing more and more of your playing time, Listen to Gatton, Bill Kirchen, & Jimmy Thackery to get an idea of what they sound like and can do. Best of luck...ain't it fun?:AOK -db
The HD Super90 is a great pickup - not quite a P90 but definitely not a traditional Tele bridge pickup. It sounds to me a lot like a slightly fatter Broadcaster tone but without some of the high-end twang. IMO, a Super90 balanced against a mini-hb in the neck is a great combination for a non-traditional Tele. I have my Esquire/Tele currently set up that way and love it (the mini-hb is an old SD Firebird pickup). BTW, just picked up a really nice Baja Tele to cover my more traditional Tele needs.
I bought a Joe Barden "Vintage Tele" bridge for this one... would that qualify as non-ferrous, or is that a standard bridge? It's supposed to be pretty nice either way. Specs: "The heavily plated bridgeplate is made of the same material as the original, but slightly thicker, making the plate less prone to unwanted squeal. Using the originally specd material insures that the vintage tone and slightly micro phonic nature of your Tele®. will not be lost. In addition, the Bridgeplate feature a Danny Gatton inspired scoop at the front of the treble sidewall, a tremendous aid to fingerpickers who find themselves constantly hitting the plates while playing. The Bridgeplate has two additional mounting holes at the front edge to provide secure fastening at all four corners, if desired (use of these mounting holes is optional). The new saddles are also made to vintage specs, using the original brass material, but have their adjustment holes drill at three different angles to provide correct intonation for all six strings, each of which requires a different saddle position. As an additional feature, the outside saddles are notched under the E strings, like the vintage 53 saddles. This notch helps correct the loud outside string problem common to many Telecasters, and adds the additional height adjustment capability, while retaining an important and authentic vintage design spec. All screws are original spec 6-32 US thread, stainless steel to insure against corrosion."
Having just put in fred stuart black guard pickups in my ASAT, it is a huge difference from the MFD's. . . I've found that they can better cover pretty much any sound I want. . . blues. . . rock. . . country. . . "the edge". Way better than the MFD's in my opinion. So I guess what i'm saying is that i suggest traditional. . . I had no idea what i was missing til I tried these out.
The HD Super 90 isn't a 'bucker type. It's based on a P-90, and it's actually quite similar in overall sound to the G&L bridge MFD in your Blues Boy.
