Fender Custom Shop Tele Texas Special

Pickup features: Single Coil passive, dipped in beezwax.
Impedence or other specs: Not sure.

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Affinity Series Telecaster
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: stock ones
Other pickups on guitar: n/a
Artists using this pickup: various tele players
You musical style(s): Punk, Rockabilly, Ska
Reason for pickup change: The stock pickups were horrible.

Perceived output level: Warmer and brighter then stock, less noise.
Tone: Fairly balanced for a Tele.
Sonic evaluation: I play through an all tube peavey classic 50 2-12, not sure how old it is, but it has tremelo, and it's black with the cheesey logo. The amp isn't great, but it's a workhorse. With the old pickups the cheap guitar sounded cheap. But it played nice enough for me, so I upgraded pickups. The sound I get now is pretty typical of a telecaster, it sounds good clean especially when you consider that I've only got about $250.00 into the guitar, and that's with the high end pickups that come in the fancy guitars. Put a little bit of reverb and and slap back echo and crank the amp up with some of that natural tube overdrive sound and you've got a really descent rockabilly tone with the neck PU, or fatten it up with the switch in the middle. I've got an old turbo rat distortion pedal that I can set up to get a great clash like early punk rock tone. Has a slight bite which can be sort of annoying on it's own, but with a full band it cuts through and gives you that Joe Strummer vibe. And it does ska great. If I played country it would do that well too.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Punk, Roots Country, Rockabilly, Two Tone Ska.

Comments: I'm over the telecaster thing. So if I lost the guitar I wouldn't buy another. I really don't like the telecaster sound or fell. I've always been a Gibson/Epiphone player, and bought this guitar on a whim because I think they look cool and do have an interesting dynamic that can't be replicated with other guitars. If you wanted to add a tele to your collection but not spend a lot on a high end model, putting these pickups in a Chinese model makes sense.

Pickup features: single coil neck and bridge passive pickups
Impedence or other specs: can't remember

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Standard Telecaster Limited Edition
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Stock Fender
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: come standard on many upper end Fender Telecasters
You musical style(s): Country and Rock
Reason for pickup change: Looking for something a little hotter than stock pickups that still retained the tele sound.

Perceived output level: Hotter than stock pickups but still definately single coil sounding
Tone: A good mix of everything really but not as trebly as some tele pickups. Which is good for my tastes
Sonic evaluation: I mainly play my tele through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and now with these pickups low end licks sound tougher than with stock pickups, clarity is good too. High end still shimmers. Overall though my sound is thicker {not PAF style} with the added mids these pickups posses. These pickups also sound good with a good amount of amp overdrive and they don't feedback. Neck pickup has a warm tubby tone as well and in the middle position, which is a combination of both, they are still very clucky. When used with a good overdrive for clean boost they don't lose any clarity and single note lines aren't stipped of tone.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: If you are into edgier guitar styles that are dirty but clean and retain clarity these are good replacements. I mainly play country ( not the velveta cheese variety of now days) and these pickups with a Boss Superoverdrive make for a very tough sound. Great for Rockabilly and Blues as well..

Comments: This asks, "if these pickups were stolen or destoyed would I buy them again." Well, my answer is yes and no. I am always in quest for great tone, so knowing me I would shop around some other manufacturers, but I would definately go back to them again. I was looking when I tried these ya know. My musical tastes change over time, and who knows, this time next year these pickups might not be what is right for what I am doing. For right now though these pickups do everything I want them to. Pickups are a pain to decide which ones to use, but if your playing covers alot of different genres these pickups cover it all. That was the reason I decided to go with Fender. Like I said earlier these come as standard equipment on some Fender Teles, so with that in mind these pickups have to cover to a wide spectum of tone. That alone makes these pickups more than a one trick pony. Do these pickups excell at one thing? No, but they do a good job at everything. Plus at $89 for the pair, that makes these a heck of a bargain, considering you can pay that much for one pickup from other manufacturers. Besides, who knows the tele better than Fender.

Pickup features: Single coil replacements for telecaster
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Fender 50's Reissue Telecaster
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: stock
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s):
Reason for pickup change: Bought the 50's reissue tele used after using it a few times, it belonged to a friend. Very comfortable guitar, but stock pickups just didn't do it for me, very dull sounding.

Perceived output level: Higher than stock pickups, higher than American stock tele pickups, but not much higher.
Tone: see below
Sonic evaluation: The reviews looked good on these, so I decided to try them. I'll start with the bridge. It's definitely got more mids and less twang than stock tele, but it isn't warm. I like a tele pickup that shimmers (for lack of a better word) and this isn't it. Not really clear. The good points are it doesn't squeal and it isn't brittle like some "vintage" pickups.
The neck pickup is better than any tele neck pickup I've heard. That being said, I simply don't like using the neck pickup alone. I will say that this tele neck pickup is warmer than most and does have some character.
The middle position is where these pickups shine. Without getting into tech talk, I will just say that the middle position with a bit of natural tube drive is a great tone with a lot of personality. I won't say that I can "do" Stevie Ray or "get" B.B. King out of this position. I will say that this tele sounds great in the middle position and that is where I leave the switch, period.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Just rock and roll type stuff.

Comments: I will keep these pickups. I don't like using a lot of effects and the last thing I want to do when I'm playing out is hit the switch more than I hit the strings. I leave this guitar in the middle position send it through one of my OD pedals for clean boost, then straight into a Twin or Deville. It's simple and is great tone. I've never searched for any sound. I happen to like this one. That doesn't mean you will necessarily, but these pickups are worth a try if you like a tele that growls with some drive behind it.

Pickup features:
Impedence or other specs: Neck: 3.3H, 9.5kOhms; Bridge: 4H, 10.5kOhms

Model of guitar or bass: 1952 Vintage Telecaster Reissue
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: stock Vintage Telecaster pickups
Other pickups on guitar: n/a
Artists using this pickup: Joe W. Gorman, myself
You musical style(s): rockabilly, rock & roll, blues
Reason for pickup change: I was searching for a pickup with a little more bite, twang, and output to overdrive my amplifier.

Perceived output level: These babies have a lot more output than the stock pickups
Tone: The neck pickup is fantastic - very well-balanced and smooth (perfect for blues). The bridge has a trebly edge to it - like it should!
Sonic evaluation: I play this Telecaster through a Fender Concert Reverb 4x10 - no tone-sucking effects in the loop. I should also mention that I have rewired this Telecaster to be like a '51 Fender Broadcaster. So, she has the deep rhythm, neck, and blend switch settings. The pickups sound exactly like I need them to - the neck pickup has the sound that Jimmy Page had on "I Can't Quit You Baby". Nice smooth blues sound - very cool. The bridge pickup is very good blended or stag. The blend is nice and twangy and by itself it is good for leads.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: These pickups suit my musical style very well. I don't think that Death Metal would work well with these pickups.

Comments: I would absolutely buy these pickups again if they got stolen. They sound fantastic. I've only been playing for about six years but I know the sound that I want and these pickups deliver. I've got 3 other guitars besides the Telecaster (ES-295, Les Paul Standard, and '57 Stratocaster Reissue) and these pickups give me the sound that clearly distiguishes it from the others.
One thing to note: as with my Stratocaster, I found that I have to back these pickups off the strings quite a bit to get them in the sweet spot for the best sound and output.

Pickup features: Single Coils
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: '89 American Standard Telecaster
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Duncan Hot Rails
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Almost everything
Reason for pickup change: Hotrails are cool, because of the output and the lack of background noise, but they don't sound like a Tele.

Perceived output level: Much hotter than stock, but not over the top. Very, very usable.
Tone: Bridge pickup has lots of bite, but is well balanced. I'm told it's the hottest single coil Fender makes. I believe it. Neck pickup is mellow, but not wimpy.
Sonic evaluation: I used to play through a Marshall JCM 800 1/2 stack. The Tele was the only Fender that didn't sound silly through it without cheating (stacked humbuckers). With that setup, usuing the back pickup, you could pull off a reasonable "big rock" sound. It wasn't a match for the Paul, but miles ahead of the Strat (also w/ texas specials). Lately, I play through a '90 Fender Blues deVille 2x12 and a Mesa Tremoverb Dual Rec 2x12. Through the Fender, the Tele has a very good balance of twang and bite. Finger-picked chords sparkle and growl, and with the volume backed off just a hair, full chords jangle nicely on both pickups. And nothing gets dirty like the bridge pickup with an overdriven clean sound. Not so much country, as alt-country. Through the Mesa, on the infamous Red channel, the tele doesn't sound silly, even with ridiculous amounts of gain, so long as you don't stray from the back pickup. The neck pickup gets a fabulous sustained, overdriven sound on the blue channel. Again, these are remarkably adaptable, usable pickups. One last thing - I just got and fixed up a 1966 Fender Tremoluxe head and matching 2x12 cab. The tele sounds absolutely wonderful through it. I'm in love with these pickups all over again.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable:

Comments: If I lost the guitar, I'd immediately find a suitable platform for another set of these pickups. The best compliment I can give them is really that surprised look people get when they play this guitar the first time. They don't Look aftermarket, but they sound like it. They don't make it sound untelecaster-like, they just give it an appropriate amount of oomph. If you're after a 1950's telecaster sound, these are not what you want.. they have too much output. I somewhat jokeingly call my guitar the "supertele," but I've never had anybody contradict it. You really can't go wrong with these. If I had to take one guitar (and I have toooo many) to a gig without knowing what kind of music it was, I'd take that telecaster, and I'm fairly sure I wouldn't make an ars out of myself.

Pickup features: single coil
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: '83 standard tele
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: ??stock fender pickups??
Other pickups on guitar: I had EMG tele pickupsin it for a while...too hot...didn't sound like a telecaster.
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): blues, honky tonk, rock
Reason for pickup change: I was getting significant buzz and hum from my neck pick up. I was going to try to re-pot it, but found out the spindle was pretty badly cracked...so it had to go. I bought the texas specials without even hearing them. Kinda risky, but I lucked out.

Perceived output level: Definitely hotter than what I had...but not over the top. Way more definition and voice.
Tone: Another reviewer said it makes the tele sound more like a tele. That is true. The other pickups I've had in this guitar made sound...in some cases really good sound. These pickups have a mcuh more complex voice and incredible responsiveness. Super twangy clean, and when touched with a little gain, you automatically become an honorary good ol' boy. In the middle position they will darn near talk to you, and the neck pickup, especially when the over driove is cranked, can get big and creamy and growl with the best of them.
Sonic evaluation: For sitting around in the living room, I run through a 40 watt Marshall valvestate. Yeah, I know, I like tube amps better too, but this little thing has balls and can get pretty dirty. Best sounding voice I've heard from these pickups was through an older 4 X 10 Blues Deville. Also palyed it through a guy's 100 watt fender head. It was in a funky Eagles' hall and was so loud who the hell knows what it really sounded like?

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I also have a strat deluxe plus and a Parker fly classic...so my tele doesn't have to do it all. But I must say, with these new pickups, if I was to have to choose just one guitar, I'd probably take the tele.

Comments: If you like the tele sound, vibe and feel, you'll love this pickup. I said it earlier in this review, but the best desciption is the beautiful and versatile singing voice (not sound) of these pickups. I couldb't be happier. Good job Fender Custom Shop!