Tele help

Mike Bowles · Post by **Mike Bowles** » 9 Jan 2005 9:51 am

I need help with my 52 tele I have a bad hum at times I understand its the pups single coil I found some pups for a tele at zzsounds they are a set they are supposed to be noiseless do they work will they change my sound and are they hard to change maybe someone else has changed their pups and fixed this problem please help this drives me nuts

Larry Robbins · Post by **Larry Robbins** » 9 Jan 2005 12:53 pm

www.fenderforum.com/ [This message was edited by Larry Robbins on 09 January 2005 at 12:56 PM.]

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 9 Jan 2005 2:04 pm

If I had a 52 Tele, it would remain stock - no replacement/aftermarket parts.

Mike Bowles · Post by **Mike Bowles** » 9 Jan 2005 4:02 pm

Jack it is a 52 re issue thanks

Andrew Buhler · Post by **Andrew Buhler** » 9 Jan 2005 4:28 pm

Shielding your tele would help cut down on some of noise produced by single coil pickups. I did this to my Tele and the results were great:
http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/shielding/tele.php

Mike Bowles · Post by **Mike Bowles** » 9 Jan 2005 5:06 pm

Thanks andrew I went to guitarnuts and I might just try that first

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 10 Jan 2005 4:39 am

Mike, Single Coil PUPS on the Tele's and Strats are notorious for giving you unwanted extra noise. The Noisless PUPS are better but still not the holy grail answer. I have them on one of my Tele's and like them just fine.
I believe these have a double reverse winding
in the fashion of a Humbucker.

The overall tone will change , ( less bright) if you like it fine, if not, you will have joined the EXTRA PARTS society that probably all Tele owners are members of.

When you are on the gig, a slight change in where you are standing or by keeping your hands on the fretboard will minimize the hum.Most Tele' players never take their hand off the neck.

My 52RI ( 1989) is bone stock, I do get into the HUM mode now and then but thru the years have learned to live with it..or work around it.

There are some gigs and locations that are just plain indignant when you are playing a single coil Fender..Neons, colored lights, old wiring..etc...

As mentioned above,, sometimes a shielding wiring upgrade can resolve some issues, but I have never seen a stock wired Tele' that was totally quiet...

good luck

t[This message was edited by Tony Prior on 10 January 2005 at 04:42 AM.]

Dave Grafe · Post by **Dave Grafe** » 10 Jan 2005 12:01 pm

All single coil pickups, tele, ShoBud, whatever, are going to be susceptible to magnetic interference. This can come from your amp's power transformer, air conditioning motors, flourescent lighting and most notoriously, cheap lighting dimmers (which introduce spikes into the line voltage) like the kind found in most homes and on stages of countless bars throughout the land.

"Humbucking" or "noiseless" pickups use two coils wired out of phase in order to cancel such interference coming from any significant "equal" distance to both coils while the instrument's strings, which are closer to one of the coils than the other, will not cancel and thus still yield a signal. Unfortunately, no matter how you set them up, some cancellation of string impulses is going to happen, albeit very small. This will change the sound of the P/U and it can't be helped.

Bad as it is for tele or strat players, who can move and change their guitar's orientation in an attempt to find a noise cancelling "sweet spot" it is much worse for the single coil PSG which can't move about and is a MUCH more sensitive pickup to start with. In a really bad location I often use the bottom band on my parametric EQ just to notch out the worst of the low frequency hum but there is no way to kill any high frequency components of the noise that may crop up. There is really no escaping it, as long as I want the sound that my old stock 'Bud delivers, so in the end it's ultimately all in the picking and volume pedal technique. Sound familiar?

Life is all about choices and spare parts are what we have left over to remind us of all the difficult decisions we have made over the years....[This message was edited by Dave Grafe on 10 January 2005 at 12:08 PM.]

Mike Bowles · Post by **Mike Bowles** » 10 Jan 2005 12:44 pm

Thanks guys for the help I will probably just live with the hum at least for now Tony my mother in law lives in concord nc I like it there we played in Charlotte last year at a church there

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 10 Jan 2005 1:00 pm

Hey Mike, if you come to town again give me a shout..and..bring your Tele' !

t

Mike Bowles · Post by **Mike Bowles** » 10 Jan 2005 4:14 pm

Thanks Tony I sure will

Ken Fox · Post by **Ken Fox** » 10 Jan 2005 5:31 pm

I have three Teles and one only has single coils, my 1983. It all has a Strat pickup in the middle and a 5 way switch and a push-pull pot for 7-way total switching. In positions 2 and 4 the hum is almost gone and I get a grat usable tone.
I also have a 1997 Telcaster Deluxe with 3 Vintage Noiseless pickups. Again an excellent sounding set of pickups.
The other is a new Japanese model with a Bigsby. I had it routed for a middle pickup and got rid of the pickups, too much noise. I load it with Bill Lawrence and I am pleased with them as well.
All three guitars have their own tone for sure. The Vintage Noiseless are closer to to traditional Tele Tone.

James Quackenbush · Post by **James Quackenbush** » 10 Jan 2005 6:44 pm

The Bill Lawrence 280's and 290's are a humbucker pickup in a single coil mount , that really has a very traditional Fender single coil tone to them
They're not hard on the wallet either !!
I highly reccomend them , and I don't care much at all for humbuckers....These are definetly an exception .....Jim[This message was edited by James Quackenbush on 10 January 2005 at 06:44 PM.]

Peter Siegel · Post by **Peter Siegel** » 13 Jan 2005 2:56 pm

Check out Seymour Duncan. I knew him long ago, when he was still living in his shop. He has forgotten more than most will ever know about Telecaster pickups and associated electronics.
-Peter[This message was edited by Peter Siegel on 13 January 2005 at 02:57 PM.]

Thomas Bancroft · Post by **Thomas Bancroft** » 14 Jan 2005 8:13 am

I put Fender Noiseless pickups in my 62 RI Tele and I like them a lot. I don't think I lost much in terms of Tele Twang. I also put a new 6 piece bridge on as the 3 piece made in impossible to set the intonation anywhere close to usable on the low E String. I think that a lot of the Tele twang comes from the stamped sheet metal bridges that are used on them.

------------------
Mullen D-10, Melobar Rattler, Nashville 1000, Alesis Midiverb, Too Many Guitars!

Ken Fox · Post by **Ken Fox** » 15 Jan 2005 5:32 am

I agree about the fender Vintage Noiseless as well! The Lawrence are also as stated. Bill Lawrence has moved to California and is building pickups for Fender now! I think that says a lots for his design.

Bill Yoder · Post by **Bill Yoder** » 19 Jan 2005 3:26 pm

Mike,I have a 2000 teleddeluxe,a 2001 nashville tele,and a "95" strat.all are loaded with dimarzio p u,s.except,the nashville has a lindy fralin in the neck pos.all are virtually noiseless.I love em.they sound like fenders too.I also have a BMI s10 with a stock p.u.and it hums but it sure sounds good.oh well we can,t have everything.If you don,t already have it,try running a groung to the bridge.Hope this helps you some.Still pickin lead at 75 yrs young,keepin up with the kids and lovin the expression on there faces.Keep it in front of you. Bill

Mike Bowles · Post by **Mike Bowles** » 20 Jan 2005 12:39 pm

thanks guys for all the help I will probably go noiseless

Geoff Brown · Post by **Geoff Brown** » 20 Jan 2005 6:40 pm

I like P90s in some of my guitars, and they are probably the worst for 60-cycle hum. I just turn the guitar volume down if I'm not playing, or keep my hand on the strings as someone else mentioned. A properly grounded guitar shouldn't hum when you're playing it. But...if ya gotta have noiseless, I'd check out Kinman:
http://www.kinman.com/

He's on the cutting edge, and his pups have a great reputation.

Joey Ace · Post by **Joey Ace** » 21 Jan 2005 12:08 pm

Concerning the six saddle vs three saddle bridge intonation issue:

I like the sound of the three saddles. Something about the greater mass, and the sympathic vibrations. Or maybe it's just the vintage vibe.

To get proper intonation it is necessary to bend the saddle screws, or as shown in this picture of my Tele, install saddles that are drilled at an angle.

I no longer have the conatct info, but mine were purchased from Jay Monterose, Danny Gatton's tech.

The modified plate, with metal removed near my picking fingers, is also a Gatton influence.