Advice on pickups please?

yevveh

I've been considering getting a Fender Tele for a while now. I reckon a lot of it is due to how beautiful it is, but I do like the sound a lot. I mentioned it to a friend who said that single coils don't work that well with effects pedals (I'm a bassist first and foremost, currently honing my guitar 'skills' with an electro-acoustic guitar though) and I would be using a few peggles in time.

So would I be better off going for a Tele model with humbuckers or other pickups? I've been looking at some other models on Thomann for ideas and I've found these ones:

http://www.thomann.de/ie/fender_72_telecaster.htm
http://www.thomann.de/ie/fender_spalted_custom_telecaster.htm
http://www.thomann.de/ie/fender_jim_root_telecaster_flat_white.htm

Any advice whatsoever would be much appreciated. Also, any recommendations for a delay pedal?

Doctor J

yevveh wrote: »

I mentioned it to a friend who said that single coils don't work that well with effects pedals

With respect, your friend is talking through his hole. Single coils work fine with effects, just as well as humbuckers. Really, you just need to decide what kind of sound you're going for. To get an idea of it just get yourself into a shop and try out both. If you're going to play metal, ie - a very crunchy distortion - then a humbucker is the way forward, anything other than that and both are definitely viable options. Another option really worth considering is a P90 single coil, Gibson's version of the sinngle coil, which sounds somewhere between the Fender single coil sound and a humbucker and will actually cope well with a lot of distortion. You need to experience them both for yourself and see what you like the sound of most but they'll both work with effects, don't worry.

Paolo_M

Doctor J wrote: »

With respect, your friend is talking through his hole. Single coils work fine with effects, just as well as humbuckers. Really, you just need to decide what kind of sound you're going for. To get an idea of it just get yourself into a shop and try out both. If you're going to play metal, ie - a very crunchy distortion - then a humbucker is the way forward, anything other than that and both are definitely viable options. Another option really worth considering is a P90 single coil, Gibson's version of the sinngle coil, which sounds somewhere between the Fender single coil sound and a humbucker and will actually cope well with a lot of distortion. You need to experience them both for yourself and see what you like the sound of most but they'll both work with effects, don't worry.

+1, obviously no-one mentioned this "single coils don't take pedals very well fact" to Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Johnson, John Frusciante, Mike McCready etc.etc. who all got/get great tones with their various choices of pedals. I've been known to knock out a tone or two myself with a strat, bit of compression, and a level boost.
As the doc said try all options, but the general rule of thumb is you'll get a more twangy, sparkly clear tone with a single coil and a thicker, fuller tone with a humbucker (think Foxy Lady vs Back In Black for an example using a similar amp with similar gain settings) and the P90 falls somewhere in between.

68 lost souls

+1 In my experience single coils sound even nicer with some pedals then a hunbucker. For example I have various pickup configurations on my guitars and compairing a humbucker with an acoustic simulator is nothing compared to a single coil with it. Its all a matter of preference. As would be the advice I give anyone trying to decide on a guitar, try it and see.

punchdrunk

indeed he's talkin sh1t :pac:

yevveh

Thanks for the advice. I probably should have clarified I was referring to distortion, mistake on my part. I gather that so long as it ain't too heavy, single coils should be ok.

About the Gibson P90, I don't like messing with the standard pickups (probably a stupid attitude, but nonetheless). Part of that is probably because the last thing I want is to get the pickups replaced and then decide I dislike them. Eitherway there isn't really any Gibson model guitar that attracts me, I've had a look around online for models with and without P90s. I won't be playing any metal whatsoever. More a nice indie/post-rock sound. Probably funk and rock thrown in too.

Paolo_M, I listened to both those tracks and I reckon I've got a feel for both. Thanks.

I'm leaning towards the clearer sound of single coils at the moment, though the spalted custom tele has two seymour duncan humbuckers and I like the look of it quite a bit. I guess I'll have to go try some shizzle out.