+1 on that... I have a 2006 MIM Tele '72 Deluxe replica.
I've modded it with good wiring and 500k pots, and left everything else stock.
It sounds awesome to my ear. These p'ups are not like the old ones with CUNIFE magnets.
They are more like normal hum buckers with a Fender bright sound in them.
So that characteristic is what attracted me as soon as I heard about the replica reissue.
You can get plenty of brightness out of these pickups, but they also have a great hum bucker
growl to them, just by turning the tone controls... what a concept!
I like a guitar that sounds unique, or at least unusual. So I'm perplexed by guys who spend
(not just too much but) way too much money pursuing the same old same old. '59 Les Paul,
yeah yeah... Maybe I'm interested in something else. I don't disagree... classic Les Pauls
do sound awesome. But so what? Gibson made only 1702 of those. The rest (tens of thousands
of guitars) are simply chasing something that will never exist for normal guys like me.
I never even think about it. I just play the ones I have. I own one: my '06 SG special with
'57 Classic and '57 Classic plus pickups... that chases the old 'woman tone.' (and nails it,
IMHO). The rest of my guitars are chasing something else... Which is alright with me.
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And that hum bucker Tele can lead the pack, or play a supporting role... that hum bucker Tele is
versatile... which is one of the characteristics I really admire in any guitar. Fender did a radical thing
in the early '70s, trying to invade Gibson territory. It didn't work, but the legacy is the '72 Tele deluxe,
and the versatility she brings to the 21st century. Alongside her hard working sisters above.
