Jason Isbell and Fender’s electric guitar pickup guru Tim Shaw have put their heads together for a set of signature pickups set to give your Telecaster a new lease of life.
Isbell is one of electric guitar’s renaissance men, a virtuoso player and singer-songwriter who keeps in shape by lifting his numerous (six!) Grammys, a bona fide connoisseur of tone and Fender signature artist, whose collaboration with the Big F yielded one of the coolest signature guitars of recent years – a Telecaster Custom in Chocolate Burst.
Well, the Jason Isbell Telecaster Pickup Set might just be the missing ingredient to give your Tele a little tone pick-me-up, and while there is no confirmation from Fender, these look very much like the same pickups you get on his signature Tele.
At the neck, we’ve got a familiar favourite, the Twisted Tele single-coil, so known because there are more twists on what is a slightly taller bobbin design. At the bridge, Shaw has cooked up something to remind us all of the bridge pickup on his 1965 Telecaster. That, says Shaw, Fender’s chief engineer of guitars, is where it all started, and it is a “duplicate” of the original with vintage specs.
“I’ve long been a fan of Jason’s playing, so it was an honor to work with him on these custom pickups,” says Shaw. “We started with the bridge pickup, which is based on one from one of Jason’s favourite guitars, a gorgeous ’65 Candy Apple Red Tele. The resulting duplicate offers classic fat, full Tele tones. For the neck, we went with a Twisted Tele – my personal favorite Tele neck pickup – which offers Stratocaster-esque sounds; the best of both worlds!”
These pickups are based around an Alnico V magnet. Shaw used plain enamel wire for the bridge pickup design, which, all things being equal, says Fender will introduce some “classic ‘60’s punch and twang” to the party. In other words, classic Tele bridge tone, and the kinds that Isbell has made great use off during his career.
For the Twisted Tele design Fender uses Formvar-coated magnet wire that makes it run a little brighter. In our experience, Shaw is on the money with the Twisted Tele. It sounds incredible and works very nicely in the mix position.
Both pickups are wax potted and like those on Isbell's signature model these have had a little of Fender’s Road Worn treatment so you can throw them into your own ’65 Telecaster and they won’t look – or sound – out of place. DCR readings for these puppies are 6.3k at the neck, 6.7k at the bridge.
All installation hardware is included. Priced £/$149, the Jason Isbell Telecaster Pickup Set is available now. See Fender for more.
