re: #191 Barefoot Grin

I have bought two MIM Teles. The first I got in the aftermath of the 2008 crisis for $250 and the second a couple of years later for $300. Both off of Craigslist, which I doubt I’d use right now. The pickups definitely all worked, but they were the worst thing about both guitars—both played quite well needing no real modification. The pickups went from shrill (bridge) to dull (neck) to mud (both). I gave one guitar to my son and he still plays the original pups, but through a little Fender amp with lots of preloaded settings that actually sort of ameliorate the problems with the pups; but the other has pretty good Bill Lawrence pups that I put in that chime well and don’t sound awful (the $250 one). I’m thinking of upgrading the pickups in that one at some point, but want to do something about my son’s for when he comes home from college for Xmas. I’ve heard good things about Toneriders. Curious if anyone has used these or knows of good inexpensive pickups for Teles. The Toneriders come in at about $120 for the pair.

I haven’t used those. I think I was maybe a level up from that on my mexico strat. It was probably a precursor to the Player series (it’s been more than 10 years since I bought it.) I did own a Mexican telecaster, I think a kind of reissue of a 72 thinline, and while I can’t remember for certain, I think it had just one single coil pickup. I played it through a traynor amp, and it definitely sounded like a tele :-) I have been told that changing pickups in a Mexican strat can make an absolute world of difference in player satisfaction. I’m watching Bob Margolin on some video from Hal Leonard, and the man’s tele definitely looks like it has been through the wars, and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of being there.