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What is the difference? Pole spacing? Is that it?

polespacing....and the biggest difference is the metal baseplate......that gives the extra strongness to the tone, and more twang......combined with that fact that the pickup is mounted into the bridge....and you get a real quot;steelyquot; twangy sound with a strongness to the tone

Lew reported great results when putting custom wound tapped Tele bridge pup in one of his strats. I wondered if I should consider doing that. But, it doesn't sound like an easy modification.


Originally Posted by Guitar ToadLew reported great results when putting custom wound tapped Tele bridge pup in one of his strats. I wondered if I should consider doing that. But, it doesn't sound like an easy modification.you have to either open the bridge pup route up a little more, or hope that the guitar is already routed for a bucker, then you have to either mod the guardplate or get a custom guard...I used to have a Strat with a Tele lead coil in the bridge...it's cool

Teles have always sounded like Strats on steroids to me.


Originally Posted by HellionTeles have always sounded like Strats on steroids to me.

IMO, this is mostly due to the string thru body and bridge mounted pickup design of teles


Originally Posted by CurlyIMO, this is mostly due to the string thru body and bridge mounted pickup design of teles

I agree, it's probably not due to the pickup itself, but I think it's more because of the fact that Teles aren't routed out all to hell. Remember how a hard tail sounds more like a Tele?

You can always get a backplate for your strat bridge pickup and see if you like the effect it has.


Originally Posted by CurlyIMO, this is mostly due to the string thru body and bridge mounted pickup design of teles

Thanks for pointing that out and not letting me think it's the pickup!

IMO the strong Tele bridge sounds is due to the string through, the base plate, and the 3 brass saddles also help alot...I think that the 3 brass saddles is often over looked as a key factor in Tele tone. I had an old strat once that I had a Tele lead coil in the bridge, in the same guitar I modded the bridge and put 3 brass saddles on it, and it had a very tele tone eventhough it was not string through. I later put a different Tele pickup in it, one w/o a base plate, and it did loose some Tele twang!

There are differences though. A Tele bridge pickup has a bigger bobbin and some of the earliest 50's versions were wound with 43 GA plain enamel wire from what I've read, although 42GA is more commen. According to Duchossoir's book, 9200 turns was quot;standardquot; in the early 50's Teles, although my own experience is that they can vary alot!

Some early 50's Tele bridge pickups are pretty strong and sound almost like a Gibson P-90 and it's those that the SD Jerry Donahue Tele pickup must be based upon. Others from the early 50's can be alot weaker and might measure under 6.5K.

In the Tele, flat pole pieces were used until about mid '54, then Fender went to thinner polepieces that were raised and staggered and the tone changed to the bright twang we associate with country Tele players. The polepieces in all of the 50's and 60's Strats are raised and staggered...never flat.

According to Duchossoir, the 50's and early 60's Fender Strat pickups were wound with 8350 turns compared to 9200 for the Tele, and then later as little as 7800 turns. Then to 7600 turns in the late 60's and early 70's...Fender's worst and weakest Strat pickups IMO.

Seymour has found that the 50's Strat pickups were wound with fewer turns than the early 60's version. I believe this is true because the pickups in my '63 Strat sure seem a little hotter than the pickups that were in my '54 and '57 Strats.

without going back and looking, I'm guessing that the early pickups evolved out of lap steels, and Leo may have felt they weren't clean enough, and reduced the winds


Originally Posted by Jester700You can always get a backplate for your strat bridge pickup and see if you like the effect it has.

Where do you get these? That sound like cool/easy mod to experiment with?


Originally Posted by Guitar ToadWhere do you get these? That sound like cool/easy mod to experiment with?Fralin has them, Callaham guitars sells them, Lew might be able to get them from Fralin.


Originally Posted by the guy who invented fireFralin has them, Callaham guitars sells them, Lew might be able to get them from Fralin.

Thanks Christian.

I do stock 'em: $10. each for the Bassplate. It's very easy to install.

I start by sticking a piece of 1/2quot; masking tape over the bottem of the pickup so the Bassplate doesn't rattle against the polepieces.

The Bassplate comes predipped in wax. So you just press it tight against the bottem of the pickup and heat it up with your soldering tool to melt the wax. When the wax cools, the bassplate will be stuck to the bottem of the pickup.

Then there is a plain wire that's already soldered to the Bassplate. You solder the other end of that wire to the black or graound wire on the pickup.

That's about all there is to it.
Lew


Originally Posted by LewguitarThanks Christian.

I do stock 'em: $10. each for the Bassplate.
LewHave you tried one Lew? If so, what did you think?


Originally Posted by the guy who invented fireHave you tried one Lew? If so, what did you think?

Does it have a strong influence on the pickup/strat's tone?


Originally Posted by Guitar ToadDoes it have a strong influence on the pickup/strat's tone?GT...I know this sounds crazy but I glued a piece of a hack saw blade under a set of Strat pups one time, and it had a pretty big impact on the tone. It wasn't as fancy as a cut to fit/custom made baseplate but I was young and it did the trick!


Originally Posted by the guy who invented fireGT...I know this sounds crazy but I glued a piece of a hack saw blade under a set of Strat pups one time, and it had a pretty big impact on the tone. It wasn't as fancy as a cut to fit/custom made baseplate but I was young and it did the trick!

That's CRAZY!

The bassplate seems to increase the bass and maybe the mids by 5 - 10%. It's a diff I can hear. I like it! Lew