Fender "Yosemite" Pickups...who has tried them? (2024)

2HBStrat said:

Has anyone here tried the new Fender Yosemite pickups, designed in collaboration with Tim Shaw and standard in the Fender Performer line of guitars, and now offered separately? Thoughts?

Click to expand...

I briefly tried an American Performer in my local Sam Ash, HSS. The guitar sounded OK, but did not impress me. Not exactly Apples to Apples, but after I put it back I tried an America Professional Telecaster, that impressed me.

I didn't try the Performer side by side with the Special, but from what I recall I liked the Texas Specials better than the Yosemite.

toomanyamps said:

I briefly tried an American Performer in my local Sam Ash, HSS. The guitar sounded OK, but did not impress me. Not exactly Apples to Apples, but after I put it back I tried an America Professional Telecaster, that impressed me.

I didn't try the Performer side by side with the Special, but from what I recall I liked the Texas Specials better than the Yosemite.

Click to expand...

Thanks! Texas Specials were another Fender pickup set that I have been considering for my Tele. I like them in my Strat.

John C said:

I have the American Performer Mustang and I like the Yosemite pickups on it, but I didn't care for either the Strat or the Tele when I tried them. Of course I've never owned a Mustang before so I don't have a frame of reference to compare to the Mustang versions. Also I should say that my favorite pickups on Strats were the CS Fat 50s and on Teles were the CS Twisted Tele/Broadcaster set - both as found on American Standards from 2012-2016.

Click to expand...

Yeah, the Broadcaster bridge/Twisted Tele neck is what I really want, but afaik they aren't available as a set...

I found an article with Tim talking about them and the comments here are about what I'd expect given what he says.
https://guitar.com/features/intervi...-the-new-american-performer-yosemite-pickups/

I just bought the Tele Hum on Monday and am now traveling so I only have a few hours playing time. This is my first Telecaster, so take my impressions with a grain of salt. Before purchasing I compared it to the CV, Baja and American Special. Of course the Performer was the only one with a Humbucker. I found the CV to be to bright and the Special a little dark in comparison but not overly so. The Baja was my second favorite of the four, having a balanced sound, but I wanted the versatility of the Humbucker and wasn’t that thrilled with the 4 way switching on the Baja.

I find the Yosemite pickups to give me the Telecaster sound in my head. It’s bright but not ice picky and very easy to control. The tone control does a good job of rolling off treble and the Humbucker adds some warmth to the tone. I’m very happy with the pickups and the guitar in general but check back in 6 months or a year.

2HBStrat said:

Thanks! Texas Specials were another Fender pickup set that I have been considering for my Tele. I like them in my Strat.

Click to expand...

I put Texas Specials and a 4 way switch in my 52 reissue Tele ages ago (easily 15 years) and haven't looked back since.
Didn't like them in a Strat, but in that Tele they are everything!

2HBStrat said:

Yeah, the Broadcaster bridge/Twisted Tele neck is what I really want, but afaik they aren't available as a set...

Click to expand...

That looks right - Fender has a Twisted Tele set (neck and bridge) and a '51 Set (neck and bridge) but not the Twisted Tele neck/Broadcaster bridge. Maybe Stratosphere parts still has some left-overs from parting out American Standards?

I’ve only played the Tele from the American Player series, but I found that:

1) the bridge pickup was ok at best, definitely not reaching the level of “good”; and
2) the neck pickup was positively transcendent. I can’t explain why the quality was so different between the two, but it’s similar to how the old (‘08-‘12) American Standard neck pups were SO MUCH better than the bridge pups from the same era.

Basically I want a Yosemite neck pup with a vintage-styled bridge pup. For a Telecaster. I’ll find a way to make it work...but if it takes mixing a vintage and modern set of pickups, I’m game.

stilesg57 said:

I’ve only played the Tele from the American Player series, but I found that:

1) the bridge pickup was ok at best, definitely not reaching the level of “good”; and
2) the neck pickup was positively transcendent. I can’t explain why the quality was so different between the two, but it’s similar to how the old (‘08-‘12) American Standard neck pups were SO MUCH better than the bridge pups from the same era.

Basically I want a Yosemite neck pup with a vintage-styled bridge pup. For a Telecaster. I’ll find a way to make it work...but if it takes mixing a vintage and modern set of pickups, I’m game.

Click to expand...

That sounds like a good plan for these - replace the bridge pickup with your favorite vintage-flavored pickup. That Fender Broadcaster bridge pickup that they put in the March 2012-2016 American Standards would be nice if you can get the pickup separately. Fender paired it with the Strat-like Twisted Tele neck pickup, which I always liked as a Tele pickup combination. Or try to find a similar bridge pickup from Lollar, Duncan, etc.

As I mentioned earlier I've played the American Performer Strat (HSS and SSS), Tele (HS model) and the Mustang. I own the Mustang, but just didn't care for the Strats or the Tele at all. I figure I just don't have any frame of reference to compare the Mustang pickups to because I never really played them before (and hadn't even plugged one in since the late 80s). But for Strats and Teles I liked the old AVRI pickups, and I liked the March 2012-2016 American Standards with the Fender CS pickups (Fat 50s on the Strats and the already mentioned Twisted Tele/Broadcaster Tele set).

2HBStrat said:

Yeah, the Broadcaster bridge/Twisted Tele neck is what I really want, but afaik they aren't available as a set...

Click to expand...

If you wanted the Custom Shop Twisted Tele Neck and Broadcaster bridge, check out the MIM Classic Player Baja Tele (the 50’s style one with the maple fingerboard). I believe it’s what is in it. If you don’t like the finicky S1 switch and 4 position switch, get a luthier to help you wire it to standard tele wiring, or better yet, do it yourself! (costs less )

*Edit: I realised after reading the OP that you may not be interested in buying a whole new guitar, but I am a firm believer in just getting the real deal instead of looking for alternatives and perhaps spending more in the long run. If you want it, go for it! A telecaster is a versatile instrument that would serve anyone well on their musical journeys!