The type of Telecaster pickup you use has a significant impact on the sound you get from your guitar. The Fender Telecaster is one of the most recognizable guitars ever made. Take a look at the top 7 Telecaster pickups on the market right now to find the perfect match for your style.
Contents
- The Best Telecaster Pickups
- 1. Fender Tex-Mex Telecaster Single-Coil Pickups
- 2. Fender Pure Vintage ’64 Telecaster Pickup Set
- 3. EMG T SYSTEM Prewired Telecaster Guitar Pickup
- 4. Seymour Duncan APTL-3JD
- 5. DiMarzio DP172C Pick-up
- 6. Fender Generation 4 Noiseless Telecaster Single-Coil Pickups
- 7. Fender Custom Shop Strat Texas Special Pickup Set
- Buying Guide For Telecaster Pickups
- Conclusion
The Best Telecaster Pickups
1. Fender Tex-Mex Telecaster Single-Coil Pickups
Fender Tex-Mex More drive and production can be obtained when the dial is turned up. potent does more of an impersonation of the original Telecaster sound, but will eventually sound more like a pickup. in excess treble increases bass, the clarity of the midrange, and the crispness of the high frequencies. With alnico 5 magnet pickups, as well as a bridge and neck
The Tex-Mex Tele pickups are decent for light and rough Texas amp tones, too. capable of tight, distinct bass, but detailed highs and maximum performance This amp is chock-full of Fender-type distortion.
2. Fender Pure Vintage ’64 Telecaster Pickup Set
The Pure Vintage ’64 is to the player’s liking because it imparts the vivid, bell-like sound of the Telecasters. The Alnico V magnets generate a powerful and accurate response, yet nasal chime, while a copper plate allows for a mellow chime. These period-correct pickups give waxed bobbins and fiber bobbin windings for good Vintage Sound.
They’re wound precisely to true, conventional Fender specifications. vPick up a Tele-style single-coil pickup in the early ’60s sound.
3. EMG T SYSTEM Prewired Telecaster Guitar Pickup
The EMG’s T System from EMG contains neck and bridge pickups and also a switchplate that is already wired. Since the links are solderless, installation is a breeze. There is almost no noise in an active device. By telecaster standards, these pickups are exceptionally hot and quiet.
The EMG T-System is a solderless upgrade for your current Telecaster guitar. EMG’s Quik-Connect header and mating cable are included with each pickup for easy installation. All of the models are planned to fit into most common instruments. Although ‘direct’ replacement is not always feasible, most instruments should only require a minimal amount of work. Pre-wired volume and tone controls, a battery film, an output jack, and diagrams are all included with each pick-up. The EMG T Set has a bright, sensitive, and whisper quiet tone.
4. Seymour Duncan APTL-3JD
The sound of this single-coil is perfect for country, blues, rock, and all in between. This pickup has more sustain and a resonant sound thanks to special wind and Alnico 2 magnets. The pole pieces are staggered to precisely mirror the fingerboard, ensuring excellent string-to-string accuracy. It has a fairly fat low end for a bridge pickup, so your sound won’t be too thin.
5. DiMarzio DP172C Pick-up
The DiMarzio DP172 Twang Kings are ideal for standard Tele tones with a hint of Strat. For squeal-free performances, it has controlled-tension windings and the double wax-potting. With the flick of a pick, you can go from a whisper to a scream. Both a chrome and a gold cover is available.
Clean lows and highs with unrivaled pick attack response. Hard picking produces a stronger, louder, and more complex pitch, while light picking produces a gentle, quiet tone. The DiMarzio DP172 Twang King Tele Neck Pickup captures all of the best qualities of Broadcaster and Telecaster sounds, plus more. It has a chrome mask and is wax-potted twice to eliminate squeals.
6. Fender Generation 4 Noiseless Telecaster Single-Coil Pickups
Noiseless Fender Generation 4 Pickup With a double-stacked coil, you get a perfect retro sound with no noise. The low end is punchy, and the high end is crystal clear. On the inside, shielded wire reduces noise even further. All of the installation hardware you’ll need to get the most out of your Telecaster is included. For those smooth, new, and noiseless sounds, the Generation 4 is a must-have. The fit is typical for any stock Telecaster pickup, but some users have complained that they are a little taller due to the double stacking.
Fender’s latest Gen 4 Noiseless Telecaster pickups provide true vintage tone while being completely noiseless. Crisp, direct cleans as well as massive overdriven tones overflowing with pure rock strength are available from the pickups. They can cut through any mix thanks to their tight low end, well-defined high end, and punchy mids.
7. Fender Custom Shop Strat Texas Special Pickup Set
Fender’s Custom Shop Texas Special pickups that specializes in customizing guitars comes with Alnico V magnets are used in special pickups. They’re wound onto a fiber bobbin with enamel-coated magnet wire wrapped around it. The bridge’s bottom plate is made of copper-plated steel and produces extremely high performance. The neck pickup, on the other hand, is nickel-silver coated for improved visibility.
Buying Guide For Telecaster Pickups
What Makes a Good Telecaster Pickup?
A typical Tele has two pickups: the neck and bridge. Both of them are visually and tonally distinct from one another. The neck pickup has a smaller bobbin and a metal cover, which is typically made of chrome or nickel-silver. For bigger, deeper bobbins, the bridge pickup is significantly larger (and therefore coils)
The Telecaster originally came with two single-coil pickups: a slanted open-pole pickup in the bridge position and a so-called Lipstick pickup in the neck position. The bridge pickup is a regular and conventional slanted Open-Coil pickup, similar to what was used at the time. The neck pickup is a little smaller than the regular single-coil pickup used in most guitars, and it typically comes with a nickel-silver or chrome cover. It has thinner wire and smaller bobbins and creates a much louder and milder tone.
What Does The Sound Like?
The bridge single-coil pickup creates a louder, simpler, and twangier sound with more treble emphasis. On the other side, the neck single-coil pickup is so much smoother and has a much more balanced tonal range. The metal covers are there to muffle the sound and make it more conservative. Most Telecaster players think about swapping out the neck pickup for something more suited to their tastes.
Conclusion
It won’t be easy to upgrade your Telecaster pickups, but the results will be well worth it. A Tele pickup will give you the classic raw tone that is so well-known all over the world. While performing at high volumes or with strong amplifiers, 60-cycle hum can be a concern. If you can’t bear the hum, you can change your guitar with some choices. Single-coils on telecasters are notorious for being fickle, disruptive, and unpopular. However, they can also be delightfully twangy, vivid, and soulful, turning every Tele into a retro masterpiece. It’s just a matter of finding a good pair that can turn a noisy old beat-up Telecaster into a tone monster.
