20 Best Neck Humbucker For Telecaster (2023 Updated)

This rail humbucker set for the Telecaster platform runs quite hot if you’re used to standard single-coil Tele pickups, but the total lack of line hum and the versatility more than make up for it. They will push your amp into distortion a lot quicker than stock single-coils, but you can still get a good clean tone, though it will be “fatter” than what you’re used to.

You will gain hard rock tones that most Tele pickups struggle to achieve, and your pedalboard will run a lot quieter (if you have a favorite pedal that’s noisy, you won’t be processing pickup noise along with it).

The DIY Tele in which I installed these pickups is now my #1 stage guitar.

First time I heard these was with an old 70s telecaster I bought in 1987 that already had them installed. It was my first Tele and I honestly didn’t know what they were but they sounded great. Well I let a friend of mine talk me into selling it to him and since then I’ve been wanting another Tele like that.

So recently I bought a used telly off eBay for a fair price and then put some new hot rails in there. It sounds great when you want to play a classic hard rock style — I will warn ya that it won’t sound like a Tele anymore –either clean or distorted –but you’ll get smoother, creamier overdriven leads and fuller power chord crunch.

Highly recommended for those who don’t want to take their $2000. 00 Les Paul to a rowdy, smoky gig!.

Bought this as the finishing touch to my Telecaster project. I was given the original guitar which had been left out in torrential rain in someone’s garden years ago. Having refinished the body, replaced the neck and upgraded the hardware I decided to increase the tonal range by replacing the neck pick up with a Humbucker pickup.

This involved some careful surgery to accommodate the new, bigger unit and a replacement, purpose made scratchplate ( customising the original didn’t go well!) The new pickup is a genuine Fender part, substantial and well made.

It’s done exactly what I was hoping to achieve and I now have my perfect electric guitar with a fat, dirty sound option as well as a clean traditional Tele sound.

This pickup is a killer! I replaced a pair of Squire with these in a Starcaster and now I definitely have a new guitar but a much better one!!!!!

This is a great looking Humbucker. This is what I was looking for, for my 72 Deluxe Telecaster build!

I match it in a tap version on bridge, with 2 CS69 on middle and neck on a custom buildt Strat. In tap mode it’s a real vintage single coli, sparkle, bright and wide. In Full Version (13. 2K similar to humbucker output), and sound warm, smooth, bigger and open, perfect for hard rock, punk and many more.

Humbucker output with single coil sound. I tried in the bridge some mini humb and some hot stack of many brand, but this is really cool and hot. HOT STUFF!!!.

Classic late ’50s/early ’60s Gibson Les Paul sound. Split, sounds more like a Gibson soap bar single coil plus a hint of that Tele twang. I anticipated hum, so I put copper shielding tape in all of my cavities.

Very little hum from stock or lil 57 pickups. Playing open G chord with standard tuning, like Honky Tonk Woman, the Tele develops this shimmery, but not microphonic, tone like a finger callus string slide, but from my palm.

Never had that, so the Lil 57 is picking some minute string harmonic up in G adding it to the note, amplifying it, probably a pickup resonant frequency, and passing that to the amp. I have a Lee Jackson Ampeg through a Marshall 1960Lead.

The Ampeg is basically an ’80s Lee Jackson Modded Marshall JCM 800 that Ampeg built. The high gain amp system may build a specific feedback with the Lil 57 resonating the open G to make that harmonic.

Don’t know, but it is definitely there after strumming open G a few times. That is why I gave the pickup 4 stars.

Excellent Tele bridge replacement, massive amounts of drive available, use Your volume pot and there’s still twang aplenty. It’s no chickin pickin special but it’s a versatile rock and crunch machine.

Fitted mine with 500k tone and volume pots and matched it with a warm p90 neck that’s not hooked up to a tone pot. The Duncan quarter pounder is a touch on the dark side so the 500k pots even it out.

Tried a few bridge pickups with the p90 but the quarter pounder is an excellent match. As long as your not looking for a vintage Tele sound, I highly recommend the Duncan for a storming all round guitar.

the sound is unmistakably fender wide range humbuckers, nothing else like them.

This is a great sounding Tele neck pickup! The fact that it is hum-cancelling is icing on the cake. Output is a little more than a traditional Tele neck pickup. The tone is warm and a bit scooped with some sparkly high end – never muddy and somewhat Strat-like which is OK with me.

Still sounds great for jazz tones with the treble rolled off on the guitar. Very happy with it. I would only suggest to DiMarzio that they use a little heavier gauge wire for the hot, ground, and bridge cover hookup.

Those wires seem a bit fragile, but function fine. Overall, very happy with this pickup, especially for a hum-cancelling design.

I purchased an Area Hot T bridge pup to replace a broadcaster style pickup in a 2013 american tele. I got this to match even though I liked the twisted tele neck pickup tone just fine. Not too difficult to install except that the screws that fasten this Area T neck pickup to the pick guard are too long.

The mounting screws bottom out in the pickup cavity. I tried using the screws off the twisted tele pickup but they were a different diameter (smaller). So i just screwed these down until I took up the slack to the spring between the pickup and the pick guard and chopped off the excess screw end, about 3-4mm.

Not difficult to chop, I just used the side cutters on a pair of large needle nose pliers. It sounds good, but I kind of raised an eyebrow at the tiny gauge wiring off both pickups (like hair thin).

THESE are the Tele pickups that I’ve been waiting for! I’ve always had a soft spot for Teles – I think that they are the most versatile electric solid body ever. However, when I played hi gain distortion, the Teles just couldn’t handle the sound: hi gain makes the original single coils squeal like stuck pigs.

The clean sounds on Teles have always been top notch. Lots of definition and plenty of bite, but man, distorted they were useless. No more. The DiMarzio Area T pickups are so quiet that hi gain players can now add that Tele twang to their palette of sonic colors.

Surprisingly, I’ve found the Area T’s to be really good at getting a very convincing Hendrix sound. They don’t have the quack of the Strat pickups, but they do have a bit extra in the low to mid section without sacrificing the brilliant trebles that really work well with loads of tube distortion.

Even with maximum gain, the Area T’s remain articulate and defined. Tele players can now join the ranks of hi gain distortion without sacrificing that distinctive Tele twang. As matter of fact, these pickups bring a new level of clarity to high gain that most humbuckers simply don’t have.

The cleans sound every bit as good as the original pickups on my ’52 Tele reissue, but I have NO MORE HUM! I wish that I would have had these 25+ years ago. Thumbs up DiMarzio, you guys did a great job with these pickups.

I was looking for pickups that had punch and twang. These brought out the mids and the D and G strings have the snap now that I was looking for as a hybrid picker. Well done Seymour and thank you American Musical supply for making it easy to get my hands on the great tools I need as a musician.

The La brea pickup set seem to be quite ok, but I have not tried these yet. Because the screws that hold the neck pickup in place do not fit, they are too thin and do not grip the lower plate of the pickup.

Happy with the buy. Well presented. Good neck pickup, although just bit dark that DiMarzio tone king neck but just a bit. I like SD better, nicer and clear tone to my ears. Not to muddy, that seen commune of telecaster neck pickup ( according with Seimour Ducan it can be fix additional capacitor between output neck and volume, just check the SD Web side) nice tone and volume as described.

I’ve ending buying the set to have a right output/valance between neck and bridge. You don’t need to set up different parameters in your amp for each pickup, they work well together. Easy to install.

Replaced a stock humbucker on a ESP LTD TE-212. I wanted to get a SD vintage but GC did not have one available so I got the vintage stack. Similar pickup but higher output and noise cancelling. I was not disappointed, Great vintage tone.

I’e seen reviews saying this had a lot of ‘bottom end’ but I did not experience this. Has a great warm Tele tone and not too muddy. Got 4 stars because it only came with screws to screw into the wood of the body, but I needed to screw into the pick guard.

As there are different ways to mount this type of PUP it would have been nice to have the option for both, seeing as screws are cheap. overall Great pickup.

I never thought I’d get my volume this equal across all 6 strings. The half-and-half design really appealed to me, but there was no way of knowing until I actually bought and installed it. It’s just as effective as the design implies, it’s not a novelty! I play a lot of complex chords using all 6 strings in a high gain setting, and every note cuts through, retaining touch sensitivity all the while.

There is an inherent compression in the pickup which might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but in a mix it’s not a problem, if anything it’s a benefit. The harmonic content is rich and musical, the high output is assertive without being abrasive, the bass response is fantastic, the highs are pleasing although subdued, which is ok with me because with normal pickups I usually dial the tone knob down to 6 or 7.

I keep it wide open with the Railhammer and it sounds awesome. I can’t recommend them enough if you want to generate a rich wall of sound with one guitar. I’m surprised this company hasn’t become industry standard!.

I put this pickup in a cheap HSH Strat that I’ve had sitting around since the early 2000’s. The stock pickups were too thin and sharp sounding–except the middle single coil which sounded okay. I was deciding between this Railhammer pickup and humbucker sized widerange pickups from several manufacturers.

I’m glad I picked Railhammer. This neck pickup is exactly the fat noiseless single coil sound that I was searching for. It sounds thick with just a touch of hair in the mids. The clarity across all strings is the best I’ve heard.

I also put a Cleancut pickup in the bridge position but I didn’t like that as much as it sounded a little ***** on my Strat. I added a cool rails (humbucker in single coil size) to the middle position–but I wired it in series–so that the low end rounded out the ***** bridge pickup.

This is a great sounding set up and maybe one of the best for clean and spanky tones of any guitar that I’ve had yet (I’ve owned Les Paul, Hagstrom, Strats, Tele, PRS, Dan Electro, etc. ).

I dropped a set of these into a Hagstom Ultraswede about a month ago. Seems to be a good replacement for the so-so sounding pups that the ultra had in it. It was an easy swap, and these pups have a pretty high output.

I have never been a fan of active pups due to the need for batteries, these are a good balance between the sound of an active with the ease of a passive pup. Eventually, I will probably put these into one of my down tuned guitars as I believe they will be a better match for that sound.

If you like to tinker around with your guitars and have the ability to change pups from ax to ax you may find that the anvils are fun to play around with. They are pretty heavy (sound wise), but they can also clean up nicely too.

For the type of playing I do, stoner, doom, and heavier sounding tunes, these pups perform. They came with some swag as well, nice little bags, which are always useful for keeping other “stuff” in, and some stickers.

Gotta appreciate a company that gives you freebies!.

I have been building custom guitars for years. When the opportunity came for me to build a Heavy Metal Telecaster the only pickup I had in mind for the bridge was the Super Distortion. I have used it on several Strats and as a middle pickup on some Ibanez RG’s.

It is clean, loud, and have great pick qualities.

i love this one! i needed something to really push my tele into overdrive and not sound super cheap. this thing really holds it’s own weight and isn’t to shabby on the eye. cut that garbage stock telecaster pickup out and put this one it! you won’t regret it.

It will give a meatier sound to your Tele!!!!

I ordered the little 59 for the bridge of my Sherwood Green American Special Tele. I went into this new to me mini version of the classic 59 humbucker. First thing I noticed about it when I had it put in is holy SMOKES this little 59 is one HOT mini humbucker.

I am talking Slayer hot. Just keep that in mind if you have not tried one of Seymour’s mini humbuckers that they have very different characteristics vs their full size versions. But wait there’s more! Thankfully the little 59 does indeed clean up well.

It is more than capable of many shades of overdrive. From barely breaking up all the way to flamethrower. I am pleasantly surprised at how capable the Little 59 is.

Installed this in my stock mim Standard Tele with the stock neck pup and 250K pots. FYI, make sure to swap the green & black leads on the Seymour, otherwise the stock neck & the seymour will be out of phase (unfortunately resulting in some bad reviews by the uninformed).

This is just a wonderfully balanced, phenomenal sounding pickup. Everything is audible and clear. Warm minus the mud, bright & clear minus the single coil shrillness. Cleans on the bridge are nice & bright, but not over the top.

Rolling off the volume knob a bit yields some solid country pickin tones. Distorted, it sings lound & clear with a clarity you just cannot get from most standard humbuckers. The highs have a sweetness that I thought only alnico magnets could produce so I’m shocked that this is a ceramic pup.

Lows and mids are both very present as well but you never get the sense that any 1 frequency overshadows another. Like I said, it’s all about BALANCE! Compared to about any Gibson I’ve ever had, the Little 59 makes my Tele sound just like them, minus the ‘blanket’ that you wouldn’t know is there until you hear this thing.

Also sounds great combined with the stock neck up (when installed correctly). This is the 2nd lil’ 59 I’ve put in a Tele & I’ll do it again. This isn’t just for those who want to play rock & metal, this pickup is versatile enough to deliver tones across the spectrum.

Cannot recommend enough!!.

I put this in a cheap tele and wow was I amazed! It sounds so good that everyone that tries it wants to put it in one of their guitars. Compared to “other big name” dual blade single coil size pickups, this one takes the cake every time.

In a tele with the tone at 10 its has serious bite but you can slowly roll off the tone for a huge array of tones. Its a 4 conductor pickup so you can tap the coils if you want true single coil tone.

Very sensitive to pick attack and to rolling off the volume to clean up a gritty tone. If you play sparkly clean or want heavy rock tones, it will deliver in spades. Very clear and articulate even when its pushing a high gain amp.

I like it paired with the DiMarzio True Velvet T in the neck position. Ive used it live and for recording. Its quiet in the studio and can really wail for live rock shows. I don’t play country but it will deliver that true Tele spank and because its a humbucker, no 60 cycle hum and its warmer and fatter than a regular single coil.

I bought this pickup to replace a Seymour Duncan hot rails which I thought was a bit muddy. The Tone Zone has a much fatter, cleaner humbucking sound. Dimarzio rates the highs of this pickup a bit less than their chopper, and the mids and lows a bit more than the chopper.

I have one of these Tone Zones in my strat as well and it sounds great! I installed a tap switch in both guitars that allows single coil use. This pickup in single coil mode, is as good as any Tele I have ever heard.

Lots of Twang! It does help to use a No-Load tone pot for the true tele snap. Without a no load tone pot, the highs are not quite as crisp. No-load tone pots are cheap ($8. 00) and easy to install. I would highly advise using one, as well as a coil tap.

This pickup is very fat when not tapped, but not muddy like the SD. I would highly recommend this pickup for anyone who wants a beefier Tele, but wants to have the Twang available if needed.

As my title states, this is a perfectly wound pick-up for your Tele, and really for any use. Super-versatile and nice output. Split it, and the versatility doubles. I originally installed a full DiMarzio Area T pick-up system on this one, this one being a made in China 50’s vibe (which incidentally in and of itself is an outstanding instrument for the price, or any Tele price tag for that matter) and although it REALLY beefed up my sound from the original factory set-up.

I was looking for juuuust a bit more mid and (when needed) crunch. Playing alone with the neck pick-up adds a great nasally tone, almost like you bumped up your reverb a bit. This was the perfect fix, I am finding myself playing this more so than my LP.

THAT says a lot! LOL.

This pickup is not for everyone. But if you like a lot of punch and a well balanced pickup this may be what you are looking for. The notes are clear and ring out well. It should cut the the mix just fine.

As of yet I have not played the guitar with this pickup in a band setting. But I am happy with it.

Just installed these in my 2015 Gibson SG Special and I am very impressed. The guitar came with Gibson 61 Zebra hum buckers and sounded a bit harsh and thin. Then the PCB wiring went bad on one volume pot so I pulled the whole board out and rewired without it.

All new pots and 50s wiring so why not some new pups too? I chose the Duncan Phat Cats but was unhappy with the exaggerated upper midrange that P90s exhibit. Really nice pups but not for me. Put the Gibson 61s back in but still the thin and unpleasant sound.

So the next move was these Duncan APH-1 alnico II pros and they are delightful. Very alnico II sound and I like it but they do have some body that Seth Lovers and Antiquities do not have. Perfect for an SG, which does not have the inherent “body” of a true Les Paul.

Really quite pleased with these pups!! Been playing since 1969 so lots of guitars and pups have passed thru these hands and ears.

More than I expected and I had really high hopes for the pup. Paired it with a 59 in the neck and I’m getting all kinds of tones, from classic tone to modern and everything in between. just fantastic.

I really don’t see what more you could want out of a pup. It does “all things humbucker” and then some. I don’t know what else to tell you other than get one and see for yourself, especially if you’re on the fence about buying one of these.

I doubt you’d be disappointed. recommended for sure. Happy picking! Also, I swapped out some DiMarzio evolutions I’ve had for 20yrs just on a whim,which were great,but I’m glad I did. both are good but these have something special about them I really enjoy.

As you can see the 59 neck is covered,but I don’t mind. lol.

This s my 3rd Hybrid just love these pickups!! Feel MUCH hotter than the specs show but still have that PAF clarity and dynamics. Split these are fantastic in particular with a nice single coil. Have one in a old KOA Carvin and can get from face melting metal tones to with the Hybrid split with a Sentient Duncan also split a GREAT Country lead tone! Harmonics are down right EXPLOSIVE with these.

Big fat chewy tones that are super expressive, holds up very well at high gain and doesn’t get loose or sloppy.

The Nazgul is by far the best metal bridge pickup I have personally used. I had the Nazgul/Sentient combo put into a 1990s Japanese Ibanez S-Classic SC220. Amazing guitar if you can pick one up for under $600.

00. The luthier who installed them told me even before the install that he had put a few of these sets in other guitars and they sounded pretty nice. So I was excited to hear them. When I went to pick up my guitar he stated how much he liked my guitar.

Well built with an awesome neck. Nice to get compliments on a guitar few people know anything about. So I went home plugging into my Blackstar HT 60 combo on the OD 2 and immediately I knew I had a massive upgrade from the Dimarzio pickups I had in it.

Clear note separation. Tight chugging and a nice open sound to my ears. The Sentient neck pickup is very smooth but I rarely use it so not going into detail on it. I have played a slew of Duncan’s and Dimarzio and a few EMG pickups.

I have yet to try Bare Knuckle yet. So as far as my experience I am super happy with this combination and I would definitely recommend it to anyone. The price which is just under $200 is very reasonable to me.

Bought these after all the good reviews. These are the best Tele replacements that I’ve tried so far. The neck pickup is a bit on the dark side but that is a nice contrast to the bite of the bridge pickup.

And in the middle position, they balance perfectly. Now the downside. I went to thread the neck pickup holes with the provided screws. The screws just went right through the holes without touching the sides of the holes.

The screws looked like every other Tele neck pickup screw that I have used in the past so I believe that they were the correct size. I just think that the holes were predrilled too large. The package was sealed and there was wax from the potting in the holes so it just looks like it was a manufacturer issue.

I had to use Strat pickup screws to mount the pickup. Doesn’t look good because the screw heads are larger and the holes on the pickguard are not countersunk so they sit up a little high. But, if you’ve ever swapped pickups, you know that there are occasional issues.

Maybe this was just a one off issue, but be prepared with a couple of Strat mounting screws ( or larger diameter Tele neck screws ) just in case. For me, the pickups sound so good that it was worth the extra trouble to mount the neck pickup.

I’ll probably buy a second set for another Tele that I have. I write this not to knock the pickups or Musiciansfriend – looks like a manufacturer issue. Just wanted to allay any issues for first time pickup swappers.