Pickups for a Hollow T

[AndyT]

Hello Tom, it's been a while since I posted. I see that you have some new pickups available and thought something might interest me. I have a 10/94 built guitar as follows:

Model - Hollow T Classic
Body Finish - Bora Bora Blue with Binding
Body Wood - Swamp Ash Top on Swamp Ash
Neck Wood - Hard Rock Maple, Rosewood Fretboard
Neck Finish - Matching Headstock, Satin Back
Nutwidth - 1 5/8 in
Frets - Heavy
Back Shape - '62 Roundback
Hardware - Chrome
Bridge - Non-Tremolo Fixed Bridge
Pickguard - White Pearloid
Pickups - TD1- TD3
Switching - 5 Way with Vintage Voicing

I have swapped all the electronics out in the past (was running a Rio Grande Tallboy Tele in the neck neck) but have returned it to the original configuration. The guitar sounds great with any of the pickups, but the TD1 neck PU is a little nasal in the parallel mode and looses some sparkle in the series mode. The TD3 does pretty well.

What magnet material are/were you using in the TD1/TD3 back in '94?

I want a bit more of a traditional Tele sound overall (rounder sounding neck PU) since I have a new love (see below), but would like to keep the humbucking option if possible, in part due to the 5 way switching. Any ideas?

I just scored this baby "used" at World Music in Nashville:

Model - Hollow T Classic Contoured
Body Finish - Translucent Blonde with Binding
Body Wood - Swamp Ash Top on Alder
Neck Wood - Hard Rock Maple
Neck Finish - Satin Finish
Nutwidth - 1 11/16 in
Frets - Medium
Back Shape - Even Taper Oversized .050 inch
Hardware - Chrome
Bridge - Non-Tremolo Fixed Bridge
Pickguard - White Pearloid
Pickups - VA5R VA5 TV3
Switching - 5 Way, Vintage Voicing, Pull VA Booster

It was literally never played. A retired doctor owned it. My wife and I saw it over a year ago when it first came in and she actually called the shop to buy it for me as a surprise, but it was just sold! It's one of the best axes I have ever played. The VA5 pickups sounds great and I can see this one become my main stage guitar. I love all of the newer features. Your guitars just keep getting better!

Thanks

[tom]

are you sure you have parallel on the neck pickup? we may have done some that way but i am not sure. normally the neck position is split which should be a bit louder and have more top and bottom than the series mode.
we don't have many choices other than the TF which would be somewhere between the series and split sounds. you could change out the neck pickup fro a strat sized pickup for a bit more oomph.

[AndyT]

Tom, I'm sure you are correct about the split vs parallel.

I'll probably stick with the TD1. I usually use it in the series/humbucking mode and it does sound great, although a bit mellow, which of course is fitting for a T neck. I have the VA5's in the new Hollow T, so I can get my S tones with that guitar.

BTW: What magnet are/were you using in the TD series in the mid 90's?

Thanks for the the info buddy.

[tom]

all the stacks are and have been neodymium.

[AndyT]

I took Tom's advice about the TF pickups for my Hollow T and ordered a set. World Music in Nashville has a nice Hollow T Classic with a TF1-SF1-TF3 combination and it sounds great. It has a 5 way switch and no splitter, so I could only hear the pickups in the series humbucking mode. The character of these pups is quite different than the TD and SD models. The neck sounded full, but with some real sparkle and the bridge sounded just like a good old Tele. I can't wait to hear how they sound in the single coil/split mode.

Great job on the TF and SF pickups guys!

[tom]

you may not like the split sounds. the pickup was really designed to run humcancelling. in split it may be overly bright. beware as well because it will be louder and will fool you into not liking the humcancelling as much.

[AndyT]

OK, thanks. I tend to like lower output pickups anyway.

Do you wire any new guitars using these pickups with 5 way? Do you think I'd might be better of going back to a "vintage" style setup with 3 way switch with 250k CTS pots?

[tom]

if it's just 2 pu's, we usually do a 3 way. we leave our 500k pots with vintage voicing on all the time.

[AndyT]

In other words, vintage voicing with 500k pots = 250k pots, correct? :confused:

[tom]

that is correct grasshopper.

[AndyT]

Yes master!

[AndyT]

I received my TF1 and TF3 pickup set from World Music Nashville yesterday. The pickups have 2 conductor wiring, so my questions about split sounds are irrelevant, unless I wanted to add the extra lead wires myself! :D I build and wind vintage Tele pickups, so I could certainly do that, but if the pickup was designed for use in series humbucking mode, so be it! My mind has been made up for me, and a 3 position switch will be used.

I'll report back on my impressions of the TF series later today if anyone is interested.

[AndyT]

Today I installed the new TF1 and TF3 pickups and they sound fantastic. They come with 2 conductor wiring, so they are always in series/humbucking mode. Both pickups sound round and full, yet have a nice single coil sparkle. I can't imagine it getting too much better than this.

Compared to the TD1- and TD3 the guitar came with, this was a worthwhile upgrade, and it was money well spent.

Thanks Tom!

[tom]

we did that swap in another customers guitar and i was very pleasantly surprised at the result. it was a hollow basswood backed droptop t, which can be a bit wispy sounding. it sounded really nice and full yet still had a nice soft treble on top.

[pipedwho]

This is a direct comparison between single coils and stacked coils, so it really goes to show how good the 'F' series humcancelling 'single coil' pickups really are. And that isn't even taking into consideration that the hum is gone.

:D