Members SPONGEBOB Posted February 12, 2009 Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 It was MANY years ago, but I seem to recall glueing an iron baseplate onto the bottom of a tele pickup and it really improved the sound IIRC.. I know tele pickups come with copper, steel. aluminum and fiber plates, but I haven't checked the Duncan that came standard in my Washburn USA tele.. I like the sound but feel it could use a touch more twang and beef, so I will check it out when I change strings.. Has anyone done this lately?.. I seem to recall just using some silicone and an appropriate size piece of flat steel and getting good results, but that was decades ago.. I could be mistaken,,, any thoughts?..bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaleH Posted February 12, 2009 Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 The one on my GFS Fat TC is not glued but has a ground to it. I think most are glued. A spot of hot melt just to hold them in place untill you get the screws through is all it needs I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scud133 Posted February 12, 2009 Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 i thought that piece of metal was one of the key components of the pickup's sound (seriously). i know i've seen that before, somewhere... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaleH Posted February 12, 2009 Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 Some tele bridge pickups dom't have plates. The Highway One tele does not.It depends on the winder and what trhey are looking for out of the pickup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members maravich Posted February 12, 2009 Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 i stuck some coins to the bar magnets of my pickups. will that yield the same effect? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members uOpt Posted February 12, 2009 Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 It is my understanding that correct vintage is a steel base plate that is copper coated. That makes it magnetic and highly conductive. A magnetic baseplate reshapes the magnetic field of the pickup, and of course in a Tele the bridge steel plate does more of the same. This pancakes the magnetic field and gives the sound more balls because the flatter magnetic field can see how of the strings and hence picks up a higher portion of low harmonics than a Strat pickup. Even if it not magnetic, just a conductive baseplace (e.g. pure copper or aluminium) will change the sound, because there will be Eddie Currents in the baseplate which dampen the resonance peak of the pickups, aka mellow it out. And of course it will still be mounted in the magnetic bridge unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Angry Tele Posted February 12, 2009 Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 Im pretty sure they are just waxed together...from what I gather the plate has 3 functions: the mag feild 'boosts' ouput, acts as a sheild, and ground..I have no doubt the design of the pickup with baseplate contributes to the Tele-ness but you can get a Tele tone without it and many do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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