Fender’s Wide Range Humbucker: An Under-Appreciated Classic

When you think of Fender guitars, the first thing to come to mind is likely Strats and Teles loaded with single coils. After that, it’s probably Jazzmasters with P90s. Fender’s single coil guitars have been hugely influential and some of the most popular instruments of all time. However, Fender didn’t forget about humbuckers. 

In 1971, Fender released their own wide range humbucker. Though they don’t get as much attention as Fender’s single coils or Gibson’s PAFs, these pickups are unique and have earned their own place in the world of guitar.

Today, let’s take a closer look at Fender’s wide range humbucker—an under-appreciated classic. We’ll cover their history, specs, use, and more. 

The History of Fender’s Wide Range Humbucker

In the 50s and 60s, the electric guitar market was relatively small. Most players were looking at two options—Fender guitars with single coils and Gibson guitars with PAF humbuckers. Other options were around, such as Guild and Gretsch, but Gibson and Fender were the most popular by far. 

However, things started to change as the late 60s came around. Hard rock was becoming more and more popular, and players were looking for thicker, chunkier tones. 

For Fender, a brand known for thinner and chime-y pickups, things weren’t looking good. They were worried that more and more players would abandon their Strats and Teles in favor of humbucker equipped Les Pauls that could provide the hard rock tones they were looking for.

In response to all this, Fender chose the most direct option—make their own humbuckers and release some humbucker equipped guitars. But how could Fender rival Gibson and compete with the iconic Seth Lover PAF? Well, by getting Seth Lover himself to design it. 

Seth Lover moved to Fender in 1967, giving Fender the mind behind Gibson’s PAF. Over the coming years, Fender and Lover worked to create their own humbucker that could stand toe-to-toe with the PAF. 

In 1971, Fender released three guitars equipped with their brand new wide range humbuckers—The Tele Custom, Tele Deluxe, and Thinline Tele. With these guitars, Fender finally entered the humbucker space and were directly competing with Gibson. 

That is the story of how these under-appreciated pickups came to be, born out of a changing market and Fender’s fear of falling by the wayside. However, we have a lot more to cover about these pickups. Next, let’s take a look at what’s going on inside these pickups. 

Under the Pickup Cover

At a glance, Fender’s wide range humbuckers look like any other humbucker. The only noticeable differences are the offset pole pieces and the Fender logo etched in the cover (on some models). However, these pickups are not normal humbuckers.  

When Fender and Lover designed these pickups, they weren’t content with just mimicking the PAF. They wanted their own distinct and unique sounding pickup that was like nothing else. And the construction reflects that as a result. 

Gibson’s PAFs typically use a bar magnet beneath the coils with steel screws. Like Fender’s traditional single coil pickups though, the wide range humbucker uses six individually threaded and slotted magnetized pole pieces. However, they ran into problems with this design. 

Fender was using alnico magnets for the pole pieces in their strat pickups. Alnico is hard to work with and machine though, meaning they wouldn’t be able to use it for the threaded screws. Instead, they used CuNiFe (copper-nickel-iron) magnets that are easier to machine. 

As expected, that impacted the pickups a lot. The CuNiFe pole piece magnets are lower output than Gibson’s magnets and slugs. So to counter that, Fender had to wind the pickups more to get a higher output. As a result of the design and extra windings, wide range humbuckers are noticeably larger than traditional PAFs.  

That is the basic design of a wide range humbucker. Over the years, Fender has released many variations and versions of these pickups. Many of the reissues abandon the individually magenitzed pole pieces in favor of the traditional humbucker design.

Another important distinction between the originals and nearly all of the reissues is the lack of CuNiFe magnets. Fender stopped using them in the 70s due to their high cost and difficulty to obtain. They did reintroduce a new line of CuNiFe pickups this year though.

The Tone: Wide Range Humbucker vs. PAF

Now let’s focus on what really matters—the tone. What does all of that unique construction actually mean in terms of sound? Let’s find out. 

The wide range humbuckers are a unique mix of a classic humbucker sound and the classic Fender sound. They have the thickness and warmth of humbuckers, but they still have the cut, clarify, and range of a single coil. 

For rhythm playing, you’ll have no problem getting chunky and powerful tones. At the same time though, you’ll get a sense of definition you can’t get with a PAF. Chords sound very articulate and full. Players also describe the pickups as being very smooth and buttery. 

For leads, these pickups provide plenty of cut, clarity, and bite. You can stand out in the mix while also not entering shrill or “icepick” territory on the high end. And with their clarity and definition, leads will sound distinct. 

The wide range humbuckers also handle distortion and overdrive well. Their output is similar to a traditional PAF, so they’ll work fine for pushing a tube amp. 

An interesting note is that many pedal-heavy players seem to like these pickups. Their definition and clarity lend themselves well to being used with pedals, as you can still hear your playing clearly—even with a bunch of pedals. Their clarity also means you can use pedals for heavily distorted tones without things getting too muddy. 

Artists Who Use Wide Range Humbuckers

Before finishing up, let’s look at a few artists who have used Fender’s wide range humbuckers over the years.

Keith Richards

Keith has been closely associated with Telecasters his entire career, and he has used Deluxe and Custom teles with wide range humbuckers frequently. The pickups provide the chunk he needs for rhythm, but the clarity and treble needed for leads. 

Also, those guitars were solid workhorses capable of handling lots of abuse. There’s an infamous video of Keith using his guitar like bat to fight off a fan who climbed on stage. The guitar he used was none other than his Tele Deluxe. So it seems like quite the fitting guitar for Keith. 

Thom Yorke

Another longtime user of Fender’s wide ranging humbuckers is Thom Yorke. Though he seems to prefer Gibson’s with PAFs these days, Yorke used a Telecaster Deluxe from OK Computer up through In Rainbows—in the studio and on-stage. 

“2+2=5” from Hail to the Thief is a great example of what the wide ranging humbuckers are capable of. In the cleaner section, Yorke gets a thick and warm sound with lots of clarity. And in the distorted section about half way through, he has a powerful distorted sound with enough bite to cut through the mix.

Lee Ronaldo

Though Lee Ronaldo is known for using Jazzmasters, he’s also known for creating the Jazzblaster—a modded Jazzmaster that features wide ranging humbuckers, as well as other modifications. The wide ranging humbucker equipped Jazzmaster became a key part of Ronaldo and Sonic Youth’s sound. 

His original Jazzblaster was stolen, alongside a lot of other gear. However, Fender has made official Jazzblasters over the years, and Ronaldo still uses them regularly. 

Fender’s Humbucker: Worth a Shot

Fender may be known for their single coil pickups, but their wide ranging humbucker is a unique and versatile pickup that has gone under the radar. While Gibson’s PAFs and Fender’s single coils get most of the attention, the wide range humbucker is a solid workhorse that is often ignored. 

However, it is an incredible pickup that’s worthy of trying out. They have their own distinct sound that is a mix of a classic PAF and the single coil Fender sound. Whether you’re looking for something different, a humbucker with more spank, or want to mod your Jazzmaster in the style of Sonic Youth, the Fender wide range humbucker is worth a shot.