Fat Tele Advice Please?

kedsoft · September 2023

Hi - looking for some opinions! I've exclusively played teles for the past 10 years or so, most recently a G&L ASAT Classic. I bought an Eastman T59v with Sunbear humbuckers a few months ago, out of curiosity mostly, and I was suprised how much I liked the fatter sound I got and using it live I got some great feedback. So I started using the Eastman live but a few days ago I picked up the G&L and really liked the feel of it! Obviously they are both nice guitars but I'm now wondering if I could get the best of both worlds by buying a tele with a humbucker neck pickup. I thought about trying to get a second hand Suhr T but you don't see many of those with humbuckers in the neck. Anyone have any recommendations or ideas.

theatreanchor · September 2023

Buy / use a Tele you like and route it for a humbucker.

Whitecat · September 2023

If you like the overall feel of the G&L then a Bluesboy might be worth a look.

lewisanderson · September 2023

Lollar Special Ts are pretty thick sounding.

spev11 · September 2023

rail humbucker in the neck? Dimarzio do one as do seymour duncan and i'd imagine loads of others

mo6020 · September 2023

Not sure on your budget but as you're talking about Suhr I'll assume it's fairly decent...

I would go and play a few 70s Tele Customs - the wide range humbucker they have in the neck is orders of magnitude better than the current reissues, and the middle position they can offer is the closest thing you'll get to tonal nirvana imo.

They can be picked up for reasonable prices, too, because everyone thinks that CBS era Fenders suck.

CavemanGrogg · September 2023

Have you perhaps considered empty carbs? I hear actors swear by pancakes for when they need to pile on the pounds for movie roles.

Pd1020 · September 2023

Check out the G&L ASAT Deluxe - Tribute or USA both are great.

spev11 · September 2023

or one of these https://www.charvel.com/gear/shape/so-cal/style-2/pro-mod-so-cal-style-2-24-hh-ht-cm/2966551568

kedsoft · September 2023

Thanks for all your responses:

theatreanchor / spev11 / lewisanderson - I want to be able to hear the guitar before purchasing it and I wouldn't want to have all the hassle of routing and choosing a pickup. I've been down the rabbithole of choosing pickups before and it's not something I want to do again!

Whitecat - The bluesboy might be a good solution. I mentioned the Suhr as I tried one before and preferred it to the G&L I've got.

Mo6020 - I'll have a look at some 70's custom teles - if/when they come up.

CavemanGrogg - Pancakes would a much cheaper option ...

PD1020 - The G&L Classic I've got has the same MFD pickups as the Deluxe but in a smaller format no?

Spev11 - if it was a tele it would need to have the single coil bridge pickup

Anyway - thanks for all your replies - much appreciated. Gonna try and find stockists for G&L Bluesboys, Suhrs and 70s teles now!

Pd1020 · September 2023

MFD pickups are ceramic single coils. The ASAT Deluxe has 2 humbuckers (plus a coil split) & is pretty much G&L's answer to a TeleGib with a flame maple top, mahogany back, 12" radius with a 25.5" scale length. If you need a single coil in the bridge then @Whitecat suggestion of a Bluesboy is a good choice.

GoFish · September 2023

Seconded the Bluesboy reccomendation to try. Have you considered the ASAT special? They have the proper large MFDs in both positions. They won't be humbuckers but with the tone system can get much thicker sounds than normal Tele pickups, or even those in the classic.

spev11 · September 2023

kedsoft said:

Thanks for all your responses:

theatreanchor / spev11 / lewisanderson - I want to be able to hear the guitar before purchasing it and I wouldn't want to have all the hassle of routing and choosing a pickup. I've been down the rabbithole of choosing pickups before and it's not something I want to do again!

Whitecat - The bluesboy might be a good solution. I mentioned the Suhr as I tried one before and preferred it to the G&L I've got.

Mo6020 - I'll have a look at some 70's custom teles - if/when they come up.

CavemanGrogg - Pancakes would a much cheaper option ...

PD1020 - The G&L Classic I've got has the same MFD pickups as the Deluxe but in a smaller format no?

Spev11 - if it was a tele it would need to have the single coil bridge pickup

Anyway - thanks for all your replies - much appreciated. Gonna try and find stockists for G&L Bluesboys, Suhrs and 70s teles now!

That’s far, although the fluence pickups do a really good single coil impression, if you near Swansea you welcome to try mine

dcg · September 2023

lewisanderson said:

Lollar Special Ts are pretty thick sounding.

And Lollar Charlie Christians also take some beating in a Tele...for my money, the Lollar BS is the very best bridge pickup available for a Telecaster. The neck pickup is extraordinary too, although does require some routing.

kedsoft · September 2023

spev11 - thanks for the offer but too far away!

dcg - Charlie Christians sound right up my alley! Will do some research - thanks.

theatreanchor · September 2023

I only have Lollars in my guitars. I’m a total Lollar nut. There’s an excellent vid on YouTube comparing all the Lollar Tele pups.

https://youtu.be/o6Re0__rBNE

Funkfingers · September 2023

Pre-owned Fender Hot Rod '52 Telecaster. Hot "Broadcaster" single coil bridge/Treble pickup. Seymour Duncan SM-1N mini humbucker neck/Rhythm pickup.

The Firebird-esque pickup provides sounds somewhere between a traditional neck position single coil and a full-sized humbucker.

The 9½" radius fingerboard and medium jumbo fret wire provide a modern playing feel.

If your budget will not stretch to an American guitar, the MIM Standard model would be easy enough to modify. Just the minihumbucker and a new pickguard.

Likewise, the G&L ASAT Bluesboy already suggested above. In this instance, replace the stock humbucker with an Oil City Pickups Winterizer II. Order with four-conductor + shield output cable. This would enable phase reversal and series/parallel interconnection wiring options.

guitarmanessex89 · September 2023

I have an LSL Tele with a neck humbucker. Killer. I’ve owned 4 Suhrs now, but for a T style with mojo, I really like like LSL.

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Fat Tele Advice Please?

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