Robben Ford Discussion

tle · Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2004 5:35 pm Post subject: Robben's Tele tone

What do y'all recomend for getting Robben's Tele tone, pick ups wise? I do have a 60's Reissue CIJ Fender Tele, and I'm going to replace the neck pup soon. Been looking into the Fralins Vintage as well as the Lollar Charlie Christian, but haven't made a choice yet.
Robben has an awesome Tele sound that cuts through with all the spank, but it has that jazzy fatness to the mids as well. I know a lot of that has to do with his snapping technique on note articulation. Also can't afford a Dumble at this point Sad

TLe

kirk95 · Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2004 8:03 pm Post subject:

Don't even waste your time looking any further...just buy these! The best pickups I have ever heard...bar none!! Cool

tle

Thanks for the heads up. My tech has been really high on the Fralins as well, he recommends the Fralins Vintage.
The only other one I want to consider is the Lollar Charlie Christian. Ed Bickert is also a big influence on me to play a Tele in the first place. He has the Gibson humbucker in the neck and yet it still has the Tele spank and bit to it.
I'm trying to find THE TELE pup that will do the trick: Bickert' warm jazz tone and Robben's bite and spank on the Tele. The fralins seem like the way to go.

BTW my online buddy Scott Lerner told me to check your site out. Really enjoyed the mp3s and great tones!
TLe

kirk95 · Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2004 10:36 pm Post subject:

Callaham can get you any Fralin model you want. Then he deep freezes them and has them made with extra wax. I'm telling you the Callahams are different than the standard Fralins....more mids....less highs. I use the same amp setting with my Tele and my Les Paul...no change...no rolling off all the highs on the Tele.

Scott is a good friend of mine as well!

Thanks for checking out my stuff...... Very Happy

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tle · Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2004 2:33 pm Post subject:

you really hit the nail on the head with the tone thing. It seems like on all my Fenders, Strats and Teles, you have to turn the tone way down to get a good warm midrange tone, not just for jazzy box tones, but for open distortion as well. I find that on my 60'sCIJ , I have a little bit more room for that, i don't have to turn the tone down as much.
I think the trick to get a full tone with the bite is being able to have the tone control up a bit, without sounding thin and honking. Thanks for the Callahan recomendation, I'll check it out for sure , especially the Fralins.
Do you think the cryogenically waxing process really contribute to the pup's improve frequency? I had the pup on my 7-string done a few years back, and it didn't really make much difference, other than the fact that it's now much quieter and less feedback problems.
TLe

Aeolian · Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2004 4:49 pm Post subject:

Duncan makes a mixed magnet Tele pickup as well. I tried it but didn't like it at all. The bass strings sound like a Tele but the top 3 sounded dull and lifeless. I have a Texas special that I've yet to get around to putting in there. One thing with the American Standard is that the bridge plate is brass. Great for sustain and the natural tone of the guitar but it doesn't have the magnetic focusing properties of the steel plates. Try a Jerry Donohue Strat which has a copy of a Tele plate embeded in the pickguard to see how much this affects the solidness of the Tele bridge PU. I've got a piece of steel to cut out and put under the bridge but there's so many other things to do.

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tle · Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2004 9:05 pm Post subject:

According to my tech, the bridge has a lot of affect on the bridge pup, but it doesn't really matter on the neck pup. My 60 RI comes with a Bigsby, and that supposedly kill a lot of the twang in the bridge pup. That's not a huge issue for me because I'm a neck pup player. I actually only use the bridge for certain type of rhythm, like crunchy gain rock.
Would be interesting to hear your brass bridge in comparison to the chrome. I do noticed the brass bridge on my SRV Strat, it has a really cool growl which I don't hear from a lot of Strats, but the pup response is exactly like you said, it is not as responsive and can be dull if the amp set up is not happenning. I'm looking for a repacement pup for my SRV neck pos. as well , still searching Sad

TLe