Baritone Telecasters, with their extended low-end growl, are perfect for delving into heavier music genres like metal, djent, prog-metal, and stuff like doom and stoner rock.
But to truly tap into their potential, choosing the right pickups is crucial. Most baritone Teles come with either single coil pickups or P90s which means plenty of noise. If you want something cleaner, you’ll need to use humbuckers.
And like Adam Jones from TOOL, I’m a massive fan of Seymour Duncan pickups. Especially when I’m trying to dial-in some low-end growl on a Tele baritone.
Best Pickups For Baritone Telecaster
1. Seymour Duncan Black Winter
- Description: A high-output humbucker known for its tight low end, aggressive mids, and searing highs.
- Why it’s perfect for baritone Teles: The Black Winter excels in downtuned settings, retaining clarity and articulation even with the extended low B string. Its aggressive nature complements highly distorted tones, ideal for metal and other heavy styles.
- Price: $109.00
2. Seymour Duncan Distortion
- Description: Another high-output humbucker, offering a scooped midrange, powerful attack, and smooth sustain.
- Why it’s perfect for baritone Teles: The Distortion’s scooped mids carve out space for the low-end growl of the baritone, making it suitable for palm-muted riffs and chugging rhythms. Its smooth sustain delivers rich and creamy lead tones for solos.
- Price: $99.00
3. Seymour Duncan Sentient/Nazgul (Set)
- Description: A matched set of humbuckers, with the Sentient offering a warm, articulate tone and the Nazgul delivering a more aggressive and percussive character.
- Why it’s perfect for baritone Teles: This versatile set provides options for both warm cleans and heavy distortion. The Sentient is great for clean passages and bluesy leads, while the Nazgul shines in high-gain situations, offering clarity and bite.
- Price: $239.00
4. Seymour Duncan JB/’59 (Set)
- Description: A classic PAF-style humbucker set, offering the JB’s tight bottom end and aggressive midrange and the ’59’s warm and smooth character.
- Why it’s perfect for baritone Teles: This set offers a balanced and versatile tonal palette. The JB provides the necessary punch for heavy riffs, while the ’59 adds a touch of warmth and vintage character, perfect for classic rock and blues-influenced metal.
- Price: $99.00
I’m a huge fan of the standard Distortion and JB/’59 pickups. They’re relatively cheap, they sound incredible, and they deliver spades of depth to your sound.
For anything remotely resembling stoner / doom / shoegaze-style stuff, these are the best value and, in my humble opinion, the best sounding too.
Things To Keep In Mind
- Experimenting with different pickup heights can significantly impact your tone.
- Consider trying coil-splitting options for accessing a wider range of sounds from a single pickup.
- Don’t be afraid to mix and match pickups from different sets to create your own unique voice.
And if you need an assist on what baritone guitar to buy, here’s my top picks for the best baritone guitars of 2024 so far.
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