Hi guys,
I have a Telecaster custom with 2 humbuckers that looks & sounds lovely that I can't stop playing... But, I do like to play a bit of funk & my humbuckers are a tad ringeee! I took it apart to maybe coiltap but looking at the hum it only has 2 wires not 4??.. Plus the hum's looks like they are filled with wax???? Do I need to buy new humbucker or can these still be coiltapped? Plus is there any other way to make a humbucker sound cleaner?
Cheers guys.
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Comments
Your pickup *could* be converted to 4-conductor in order to be coil-tappped but it's a very complicated job for a wax-potted pickup like yours.
The easier option would be to buy some replacement pickups with 4-conductor wires that can be tapped.
Alternatively.. If yours is a Fender Tele custom with the "wide range" style pickups you could send them to someone like Tim at Bareknuckle Pickups and have them rewound to original specs. The pickups in modern tele customs are generic humbuckers, but the old style "Wide Range" Fender humbuckers have a different, far more interesting sound. It would be cheaper than new pickups too
By the way, the wax is supposed to be there! It's the result of a process called "potting" that's designed to stop loose wires in the windings of your pickup vibrating and causing microphonic feedback, which is a very high pitched sound that's generally agreed by all but the most experimental musicians to be pretty unpleasant.
Are you saying that your pups sound muddy? If so, try raising their height. In fact, freely experiment with the height of your pups to get what you yourself perceive as the best tone. Generally, humbuckers can be raised closer to the strings than single coils.
Are you saying that your pups sound muddy? If so, try raising their height. In fact, freely experiment with the height of your pups to get what you yourself perceive as the best tone. Generally, humbuckers can be raised closer to the strings than single coils.
...or are you saying that they sound too distorted? Frustratingly, the way to get less output and therefore less distortion would be to lower the pickups away from the strings
The guitar looks & plays sweet, the only thing when the amp is clean the neck hum sounds muddy & bidge sounds abit ringeee which is great!! But, when playing funk!!!Hmmmm not right?
I'm trying the low guitar volume & upping the amp at the moment.... cheers for that Bob!! Also I'm gonna try adjusting the pickup hight.
Any other tips guys.... I know I'm taking liberties!
Cheers
If adjusting the height of the neck pickup doesn't work, new pickups might be the answer, since the pickups on lower priced guitars don't tend to be amazing. Replacing them is a job that you should be able to do yourself, assuming you're competent with a soldering iron and you switch one wire at a time or follow a wiring diagram.
The usual caveat applies- don't bother spending more money on modifying a guitar you don't like that much to begin with- you'll get better mileage from selling it on and starting over with a guitar you *do* like. Doesn't sound like this is a problem in your case...
Short lived but great while it lasts.
https://www.taplature.com/
But hey, next time I wanna do somethink odd I keep you mind!
https://www.taplature.com/
I was going to reply but clearly not much for me to add!! lol
Assuming it fits in the body rout (the space that's drilled out under the scratchplate for the pickups and electrics) it should work, although it'll look pretty ugly.
You might consider getting a humbucker sized P90 or single coil instead- it'll be a simple "drop-in" replacement that'll get you closer to the strat sound without making your guitar look quite so strange. GFS do some reasonably priced and unusual ones.
Alternatively, you could get a new pickguard cut with a single-coil sized pickup hole in the bridge position.
...or, having now considered changing *both* pickups to single coils, would you be better off leaving your guitar as it is and getting a second Tele with single coils?
I will look into single coil humbuckers or p90 humbuckers!