Guitar q: top loading tele... does it affect the tele character?

[cstar]

I have an older Samick ash bodied tele knockoff.

Overall, it's a killer guitar for the cash.

Admittedly though, in terms of tone it is a bit un-tele like. The pickups have ceramic magnets and are a bit too bright for my taste (even for a tele). They are a tad bland and yet overly bright, and lack a certain kind of tele character. It sounds like it's trying very hard to be a tele and not quite making the mark. It sounds great and all (doesn't really sound cheap), but I would love a little more tele character.

I'm planning on putting some mighty mite pups with alnico magnets in place of the stock pups, and upgrading the pots, switch, jack, etc which I hope might help a little.

The bridge on this guitar is top loading (non string through). Do you guys think that is also causing this tele to be a bit un-tele ish? Do you think the strings being strung through the body is part of what makes a tele sound like a tele? Should I consider changing the bridge and making this a string through?

 

[walterw]

the top-loading thing is gonna be a very subtle difference either way; jimmy page back then and jim campilongo these days made good tele music with top-loading '59 teles.

the key ingredients are the pickup itself like you surmised, (alnico mags yes, but be sure it also has the steel bottom plate) and that (top-load or not) the bridge is itself ferrous steel (a magnet should stick to it). these two steel plates shape the magnetic field of the pickup, and are where the twang comes from.

i myself like brass saddles (3, please, not 6) but there's plenty of legit twang to be had from steel saddles, too.

 

[96tbird]

Not really: to your thread title. You might consider GFS pups, a lot of good comments in TB about them. I haven't heard much about Mighty Mites here. I have to assume the same applies to their six string pups.

 

[StarbardGuitar]

Thanks for the help guys.

To be honest I didn't realize Fender ever made top loading teles years ago.

Walter, your answer makes a ton of sense. Thanks for schooling me on teles.