When talking about the best Tele pickups, you’ll often hear the term ‘Blackguard’ – this simply refers to any first generation Telecaster made up to 1954. Conversely, a ‘Whiteguard’ is one that’s made from 1954 onwards. How much difference there is in tone between those two is widely debated, as Fender’s pickup making process wasn’t particularly consistent at the time.
It’s worth remembering that there are multiple factors that contribute to the sound that you end up hearing. The materials used, the strength of the magnets, wire gauge and number of turns all come together to create your guitar’s tone, and Leo was known for basically using whatever he had lying around!
What we can say though is that those early Tele pickups tend to be fairly punchy, with strong lows, present mids and a lovely, sparkly high end. You also get a lot of note separation and great balance because of how the pickups were made at the time. Many pickup producers offer very similar specs to these early Tele pickups meaning you can get that ‘Blackguard sound’ (if one exists), for a lot less than what a real one would cost you. When people refer to the ‘Whiteguard sound’, they’ll usually mean that they’re a little cleaner, brighter, and twangier.