[Butch Snyder]

Hi all, I have an HSS guitar.  I have a Fred in the bridge pickup.  I bought it because, at one time, I had an OLP (remember those) that I put a Fred in and it sounded like a Tele bridge pickup.  So, I bought it again and installed it in my Schecter HSS guitar.  It's basically a Strat (alder body, wenge neck, ebony fretboard, vintage type tremolo).  The Fred sounds good, but I'm wondering if there might be something else better.  I have 5 Telecasters, but I really like this Schecter.  My main gig is Country so a good Telecaster bridge pickup is a must.  I was thinking maybe Bluesbucker?

[gregr]

I’d say that, a humbucker-sized P90 or an adapter ring so you can install a single coil or an actual a tele bridge pickup.

[Butch Snyder]

I’d say that, a humbucker-sized P90

Isn't that what the Bluesbucker is?

[gregr]

Not really, no. Put simply it’s a split humbucker with an inductor in series. This assumes no signal is generated from the coil that has dummy slugs, though this is not strictly the case and the small signal generated by the coil only serves to make the pickup sound less like a single coil. More importantly, the geometry of the coils are that of a humbucker as opposed to a single coil or P90. The magnetic field is the same as a budget single coil that employs a pair of narrow opposing ceramic bar magnets centered under the screw coil. What the Bluesbucker does offer is versatility, assuming you like the sound of the pickup when split. It purportedly has DiMarzio’s virtual vintage tech which will lower the resonant frequency, helping it to sound better than a typical split humbucker with a similar coil (~6.7k of 43(?)AWG).

[darkbluemurder]

FWIW I do not hear anything P90 in the Bluesbucker, even though it is often mentioned.

With the coils wired in series, it resembles a PAF in tone, although it is slightly tighter in the low end. With the screw coil active it sounds like a single coil which is close in volume to the series wiring, thus eliminating the usually weaker split tone of regular PAF type humbuckers.

If you want true tele tone I do not know of any normal sized humbucker which does that. The best option would be an adapter ring but you may also have to enlarge the route in the body to make the tele bridge pickup fit.

Cheers Stephan

[Butch Snyder]

Not really what I wanted to hear, but I appreciate your replies anyway.  The only other option I was thinking was to find a replacement pickguard that is an SSS configuration.  Schecter won't sell them and they say nothing really fits.  My thought is a Warmoth or even Fender pickguard would probably fit but the screw holes may not line up.  That's usually the issue.

[gregr]

You may still like the sound of the Bluesbucker. I think it sounds much more like a single coil than a PAF, as it has more of a pure bell-like tone all the way through the midrange, where humbuckers tend to sound scooped due to frequency cancellations because the string is being sensed at two different locations.

If you want the sound of a P90 look at the Fantom P90, Seymour Duncan Phat Cat, Phat Cat Silencer or P-Rails. The Phat Cat Silencer and P-Rails offer vintage and hot versions. Another option could be a Lace Sensor Purple/Emerald Dually giving you both Texas Strat and P90 tonality (I wouldn’t bother with series or parallel wiring where both pickups are combined, though I would experiment with the orientation).

[gregr]

The Lollar Novel T completely slipped my mind before. It isn’t cheap but it’s a better solution than the others I mentioned previously.

Edit:
It looks like there are other manufacturers which I’ve heard of that make the same thing.

https://magnetodesignlab.com/store/tsc-h

https://revelcustompickups.com/revel-guitar-pickups/revel-telecaster-pickups/the-six-t/

https://www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-other-single-coil-pickups/novel-t