Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted March 21, 2017 Moderators Share Posted March 21, 2017 No.....not the Telenator. There's quite a few mods out there ranging from fitting with Alnico threaded screws, inserts and slugs. Anybody? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 I don't think it would make much of a difference - the magic is in the oversized coils and the magnets they used in the originals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted March 21, 2017 Members Share Posted March 21, 2017 I leave my tele pretty much stock. The only thing I have done is add a 4 way switch so I have the series mode to emulate a humbucker tone.I have enough guitars of all kinds that I can use to get other tones. I like having my tele stock for the sake of getting those stock tones. I did a mod to one of my Strat's awhile back and bought a 3 mini humbucker pickguard for it. I'm thinking about switching it back to three singles. The tone is less focused and overly fat with the minis. There tone differences switching pickups is hardly noticeable compared to singles. I may try adding some coil tap and/or series parallel switching first. I miss the 2nd and 4th pickup tones that a Strat gets. I might get something cool by reversing the phase of the center pickup so its out of phase with the neck and bridge. When you reverse the phase of singles it creates thin quack tones - very cool but kind of weak. I actually have three On/Off/Reverse phase switches on my other Strat instead of a 5 way switch and use it to get some great tones. Reverse phasing a Humbucker has milder cancellations. They wind up sounding more like singles when paired. Even if its only the 2&4 positions that sound more like singles its better then all 5 sounding fat and muddy. I plan on keeping the push/push switch I have in that one and wire it for reverse phasing instead of a coil tape which doesn't seem to do much at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted March 21, 2017 Members Share Posted March 21, 2017 All I know is that I have 3 Tele's with the RI WR pickups and they do need something. Deluxe, Custom and Thinline. Of the 3 of them, the Thinline does the best with the stock RI WRs since the body wood/design adds more top end. I've been leaning towards leaving the Thinline stock since it's not bad sounding out of the box. The Deluxe I hope to upgrade with Lollars some day. But with that Custom, it's a Road Worn version and its RI WR pickup is relic'd so I'd like to have that one modded to preserve the look. A shiny new Lollar in it just would not look right. So I'm interested. I've read about some of the mods on line, but haven't gotten close to taking that leap yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members onelife Posted March 21, 2017 Members Share Posted March 21, 2017 Have you looked at what Chris Kinman has to offer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted March 21, 2017 Author Moderators Share Posted March 21, 2017 All I know is that I have 3 Tele's with the RI WR pickups and they do need something. Deluxe, Custom and Thinline. Of the 3 of them, the Thinline does the best with the stock RI WRs since the body wood/design adds more top end. I've been leaning towards leaving the Thinline stock since it's not bad sounding out of the box. The Deluxe I hope to upgrade with Lollars some day. But with that Custom, it's a Road Worn version and its RI WR pickup is relic'd so I'd like to have that one modded to preserve the look. A shiny new Lollar in it just would not look right. So I'm interested. I've read about some of the mods on line, but haven't gotten close to taking that leap yet. Good article here with both Telenator and Jaime from Creamery Pickups in the UK http://www.seymourduncan.com/forum/showthread.php?218872-Fender-quot-Wide-Range-quot-Humbucker/page2 Phil, I've hear the complete Creamery pickup, and one of the mods, and yes, there is a big difference. The irony is when they were first fitted, the phrase; "Wide Range all right, from crappy to crappier"...I'm just sayin" was frequently heard amongst users after the traditional neck pickups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted March 21, 2017 Author Moderators Share Posted March 21, 2017 No, that not a WRHB a like.....thats just a similar look but wrong mounts. The WRHB has tw screws on each side Curtis Novak was among the first to delve into that particular pot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted March 21, 2017 Author Moderators Share Posted March 21, 2017 This is a great write up from a guy whose structurally backward engineered them http://mojopickups.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/reworking-reissue-wide-range-humbucker.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted March 21, 2017 Members Share Posted March 21, 2017 On the latest Barncaster the owner-to-be requested P90 in the neck and pointed me to Budz pickups http://budzguitars.com/budzguitars/Soap_Bars.html I've hardly had a chance to play it but he grabbed it from me for a recording last week - I'll report back when I've had a bit more time with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted April 3, 2017 Author Moderators Share Posted April 3, 2017 On the latest Barncaster the owner-to-be requested P90 in the neck and pointed me to Budz pickups http://budzguitars.com/budzguitars/Soap_Bars.html I've hardly had a chance to play it but he grabbed it from me for a recording last week - I'll report back when I've had a bit more time with it. That's a soapbar tho......not a WRHB? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Telenator Posted April 20, 2017 Members Share Posted April 20, 2017 There are a lot of people offering WRHBs these days and they sound quite good. Most sound better than the current offering from Fender, although even their latest model is much better than their first re-issue. It's all well and good because we now have a much wider sonic palette to choose from where this unique, over-sized pickup is concerned. That's good news for everyone!We just built a custom guitar for Jim Weider with our Limited Edition CuNiFe WRHBs in it and Jim talks about it in The ToneQuest Report, follwed by an interview with me. Rather than me re-typing the whole thing, you can read it here. http://colbyamps.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/TQRJan-Feb17_Web.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 Phil, I've hear the complete Creamery pickup, and one of the mods, and yes, there is a big difference. The irony is when they were first fitted, the phrase; "Wide Range all right, from crappy to crappier"...I'm just sayin" was frequently heard amongst users after the traditional neck pickups. I had a '73 Thinline when I was in high school. I recall very clearly how much those 70s era Fenders were dissed by many players at the time who considered them far inferior to the 50s and 60s models... of course now they're all going up in price like crazy. But there's still something really special about the sound of those original WRHBs. Very distinctive. Yes, as Telenator points out on their site, the 1meg pots are part of the equation, but so are the original pickups. I have not heard all the mods and clones that are now available, but Fender's RI's don't sound anything at all like the originals to my ears. Again, I suspect it's due to the larger coils and the CuNiFe magnets of the originals. The Fender RI's I've seen / heard are more like regular humbuckers with AlNiCo magnets hiding under the oversized WRHB covers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted April 20, 2017 Members Share Posted April 20, 2017 You might want to check out the differences The reissue pickup uses steel screws, and sits on a bar magnet. (Left) The Vintage uses CuNiFe threaded rod magnets. (Right) This makes a SERIOUS difference in tone. Other than the 3x3 pole pieces it is a Gibson style humbucker, and NOTHING like a vintage WRHB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted April 21, 2017 Author Moderators Share Posted April 21, 2017 There's not much magic in CuNiFe, just another alloy that is magnetic, irritating to reproduce, and not even that unique sounding. There's quite a few anecdotal tests to see if people can pick CuNiFe out of some other other magnet alloys...guess what? IMHO, I'd say the construction, ie coil sized and magnetised slugs and screws etc accounts for the majority of the sounds. The magnetic alloy FeCrCo is easily available and makes gorgeous noises, as do AlNiCo 2 slugs and threaded inserts etc.. I think our Telenator friend has done his research well, and his own experience is that most people have different experiences with CuNiFe.....it's no Holy Grail.....a bit like a PAF really Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 That illustrates what I was talking about very well - see how much wider the coils on the original WRHB on the right are? They have lower, flatter and wider coils than the "standard" humbucker on the left. Toss in the CuNiFe magnets and 1 meg control pots and you get a noticeably different sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bucksstudent Posted April 21, 2017 Members Share Posted April 21, 2017 This is the most interesting thread in a while. I found the stock pickups in the Tele Deluxe Reissue I owned to be the guitar's weakest point. Fender was trying too hard to capture both the Tele and Les Paul sound. With upgraded 500k pots, it actually sounded too bright on the bridge pickup for my taste. But I'm of the mindset that if you want a LP tone, get a LP. Want a Tele, get a Tele. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Telenator Posted April 23, 2017 Members Share Posted April 23, 2017 I don't think Fender was after the Les Paul sound at all. Original WRHBs sound light Tele pickups on steroids. It's a very unique sound that fills a part of the tonal spectrum no other pickups can. Good stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted April 23, 2017 Members Share Posted April 23, 2017 Its been awhile since I've played one, but I've played a couple of the originals and they did have a unique sound. My buddy had a reissue and the pickups in his sounded like weak/muddy humbuckers in comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bucksstudent Posted April 23, 2017 Members Share Posted April 23, 2017 I don't think Fender was after the Les Paul sound at all. Original WRHBs sound light Tele pickups on steroids. It's a very unique sound that fills a part of the tonal spectrum no other pickups can. Good stuff! That's exactly why I put "Tele Deluxe Reissue," because I wasn't talking about the original pickups from the seventies but rather the reissue. Anyone I know who likes the reissue says they like how it's a cross between a Les Paul and a Tele. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Telenator Posted April 24, 2017 Members Share Posted April 24, 2017 I agree with you. Fender has never been known for their humbuckers and understandably has pursued the market more aggressively in recent years. Back in the 70's, there was a lot of fuss about Fender having an answer for the popularity of the Les Paul, but I'm not so sure the WRHB was the answer. It sounds so uniquely Fender, but, then again, that would make perfect sense. I know I don't want a Tele that sounds like a Les Paul. If I want that sound, I reach for a Les Paul. Nothing else sounds like a Les Paul. It's very unique. Nothing else sounds like a Tele Deluxe with WRHBs. It too is very unique. That's good stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted April 24, 2017 Author Moderators Share Posted April 24, 2017 I'd like to know exactly what Seth Lover set out to do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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