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Post by skydog958 on Jan 14, 2007 11:59:12 GMT -7
I've seen several tele guitars with Charlie Christian pickups in the neck. I know Lollar has one specifically designed for teles. Anyone have experience with these pickups, in teles or in general? What does it sound like clean, overdriven, etc.?
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Post by tele1962 on Jan 14, 2007 13:19:03 GMT -7
They're a fairly flat response PU, mellow and a bit indecisive. Sound a bit like a Duncan with a bout a 3db high cut. They're not new. I've put those types in Teles before, and it's mainly guys who think they want to play more Jazz on a Tele than they have any right to. I won't say how many exactly, but let's say if 4 got put in ( that I did) 4 came back out and usually the original went back in. That's a judgement the customer made, not me.
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Post by zdogma on Jan 14, 2007 18:17:24 GMT -7
I always wanted to try the Lollar CC, but it looked like it would be a pain in the butt to cut a new pickguard to fit.
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Post by billyguitar on Jan 14, 2007 19:25:41 GMT -7
It would be tricky to get one to match up tonally to a bridge pickup. If I was going to try one I would get a matched set. One reason Danny Gatton wanted Joe Barden to make a blade pickup for the Tele is because he said he didn't feel right routing out blackguard Teles to accept a real CC pickup. The original Bardens were a single blade pickup. It would take a huge bathtub route to mount a real vintage CC in a soilid body because at the time they were made in the 1930s they didn't have small strong magnets like they do now. Look at any guitar with a real CC pickup and you'll see three screws between the pickup and the bridge. Those are the heighth adjustment screws and they mount in the metal work that is holding the bar magnets. I have a 1939 Gibson ES150 with that pickup. Mine is anything but dark. I would love to have a solid body guitar with that sound. I can see why Jimmy Rainey, Barney Kessel and Howard Roberts all had that pickup retrofitted to there guitars.
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Post by skydog958 on Jan 14, 2007 19:48:28 GMT -7
Well the Lollar is specifically designed for a tele...I assume that the size of the magnet or the overall package was shrunk to accomadate but I don't know for sure. Michael Detemple uses it with one of his bridge pickups for a jazz oriented tele, and his big deal with his pickups is even and balanced output from pickup to pickup. I would consider buying the Lollar to match the Detemple bridge pickup I already have.
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Post by skydog958 on Jan 14, 2007 19:54:18 GMT -7
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Post by billyguitar on Jan 14, 2007 20:09:16 GMT -7
Looks really good to me but like I said a match can be very difficult. I'm not trying to rain on your parade just saying different pickups from different makers can have quite different sounds. Matched is the best way to go. You could always try it but you may end up ordering a Lollar bridge pickup to get the sound match.
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Post by skydog958 on Jan 14, 2007 20:21:42 GMT -7
You're right, of course. I still have time before I have to make a decision, so time will tell. Thanks for the advice!
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Post by tele1962 on Jan 22, 2007 7:00:02 GMT -7
And remember most of all...not much beats a Tele PU!
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Post by billyguitar on Jan 22, 2007 7:24:59 GMT -7
He's talking about the neck pickup, I'm sure.
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Post by skydog958 on Jan 22, 2007 15:15:06 GMT -7
I am, but I know Tone Quest had a 'custom' tele style guitar with two CC pickups. Mahogany chambered body with some sort of exotic wood top.
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