Single Silver Lady-vintage Telecaster NZ$139 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas it’s GST free; NZ$120.87
Set Silver Lady-vintage Telecaster NZ$269 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas it’s GST free; NZ$233.91
Alnico III, Bridge 5.9 KOhms, 3.18H, Neck 7.25 KOhms, 2.39H
Silver Lady-vintage Telecaster pickup set is designed for the traditional telecaster player. The bridge pickup has plenty of Tele attitude but is never harsh. The neck pickup full, clear and perfectly balanced with the bridge pickup.
They are my take on the Fender Tele pickups found on 1950-1954 models, although are far from being clones. They reflect my experience with pickups of this era. They have a “sweeter,” less aggressive sound, distinct from the tighter, sharper tone of post-1955 Telecasters. They have a warm, sweet, and articulate sound with soft attack.
Table of Contents
For that Tele twang I recommend my ‘Duchess’ set.
If you want a fatter Tele tone that will push your amp harder look at the ‘Cruel Mistress’ set.
Telecasters are brutally honest guitars. There’s no hiding behind fat mushy tones . If you can do it on a Telecaster then you really can really do it.
This pickup set is primarily for clean Telecaster players. They are ideal for those classic country tones or for textural rhythm players. They’re great for giving a pure signal for modulation effects.
I wanted to make a Telecaster set that would reflect the clear honest tone of an old Tele. It’s a delicate balance to get enough treble and for the top end to have sufficient warmth to be usable. But there can’t be any hint of woof or boom in the bottom end. The bottom needs to be full and clear with no muddiness. The bridge needs a twang but a warm twang without being over harsh.
Alnico III Telecaster Pickup
I’ve used Alnico III magnets with a vintage style wind on both these pickups. Alnico III are the lowest power of the Alnico range. Lower than Alnico II (strange but true). These lower powered magnets smooth out the attack giving a more gentle Tele twang than the more common Alnico V.
Alnico III have low string pull which increases sustain. The lower power magnets let the strings ring more clearly. As a result, here is less aggression in the treble and less bass punch than with alnico V.
All my magnets are specially made for me, they need to be just right.
Development
I was a guitar repairer and maker for many years before specializing in pickups. Through my repair work I came across a lot of old Telecaster pickups. Many of these pickups were faulty and needed re-winding. I’ve re-wound a lot of old Tele pickups. There is always a lot to learn from existing designs.
This is invaluable experience for designing my own version of this classic pickup set.
For this Telecaster set I enlisted the help of a couple of experienced Telecaster players as test pilots. I really needed plenty of opinions and testing through a variety of amplifiers to get this one right. It’s essential to get the treble right on a Tele pickup. Strong without being harsh.
Description
Here is my thinking behind this pickup set:
I’m really happy with the warm classic tone of this set, clear and chiming with just the right twang. So I have given them a classic name – “Silver Lady”.
Available with chrome, nickel or gold cover.
https://www.youtube.com/c/MrGlynsPickups/videos
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