Fender Player Series Alnico Humbucker vs the Fender American Original 70's Telecaster CuNiFe Pickup

So up until NAMM 2020, it had been 40 years since Fender produced the CuNiFe Humbucker. But the question is.. was it really different or all just marketing hype? Well, let's find out and pair a Fender Player Series Telecaster Alnico II Humbuckers vs a Fender American Original 70s Telecaster Custom CuNiFe pickup.
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[@SteveTemplePilot]

Alnico sounds like it had a wet blanket thrown over it.

[@dennisberceles7387]

The difference is that you strum stronger on the other and strum softly on Fender Player guitar with alnico humbucker. In short, i prefer the fender player series with alnico humbuckers because it was cheated (asjusted in low volume). So it must be the winner as it was sweater and was far darker in distortion mode.

[@comeback1827]

Thank you for the démo ! Maybe you should compare it to an Alnico 5 neck Fender humbucker or at least their modern wide range humbucker... It would be more fair.

[@bazitube390]

One thing for sure seth knew his stuff! those pickups sound sweet as. Great review

[@bsideguitar]

Thanks, really appreciate it!

[@Analogart66]

That CuNiFe pickup crushes that alnico. This video helped push me to grab an AO 70's Tele for myself. Very happy with it.

[@czechplastik]

Really surprised how much difference there was. The CuNiFe is much brighter and clearer.

[@bsideguitar]

I was as well. Really eye opening.

[@Tsudkyk]

The CuNiFe pickup was designed to maintain fenders signature bright sound- they didn’t want a pickup that simply mimicked the sound of a Les Paul.

[@leoolivero963]

@@Tsudkyk The Wide Range pickup was invented for Fender by Seth Lover, who also invented Gibson’s PAF humbucker. Lover left Gibson for “a better offer” at Fender in 1967. While Fender’s marketing department initially wanted him to make a more or less exact copy of the PAF (the patent was about to expire), Lover had other ideas. He wanted to make a humbucker with a response more like the single coil pickups for which Fender was known. Part of how he did this was to incorporate CuNiFe magnets as pole pieces in the Wide Range pickup. Lover knew that CuNiFe pole pieces had properties that would enable this response,

[@dennisberceles7387]

Its because the demo man strum harder on canife ones, and strum softly on fender player tele with alnico humbuckers. In short, the alnico humbucker was cheated and must be the winner in the duel.

[@-Batou-]

It's clear for me now, the CuNiFe is the best to me : this is what I look for when I buy a fender guitar. The HH has less "personnality", I can get the same sound with any random guitar with HH !

[@Fret-knot]

A good video, thank you. The Player series is definitely darker, but it would be good to hear the coil split in these comparisons as well. From what I've heard, the coil split with these HH Players guitars seem to give a decent tone.

[@christosfragias592]

The ALNICO II in the Player Series sounds noticeably darker.

[@bsideguitar]

It is significantly darker. Was a fun comparison!

[@alexortiz7041]

Wow what a difference! I’ve read somewhere that Alnico II humbuckers in the neck tend to be muddier, so that stands true here

[@Danny-mn8nm]

I have the tele 70's custom. I thought long and hard before buying it. I had a tele before, with single coil pickups, with an extra single coil in the middle, like a strat. I have smaller hands compared to some players, and I learned to appreciate the tele's neck action and feel. If you are a tele purist, and you have multiple guitars, I think it would be a great addition. I wanted a tele that could get the bridge position twang for country, rockabilly, etc. But I also love the cunife humbucker pickup in the neck position. If you want a versatile guitar, I think this has a wide range of tonal possibilities, with separate vol/tone controls like a gibson. I wanted to have one guitar, that has this versatility. I love it!

[@mmatthewias280]

Alnico II sounds like there’s a pillow in front of it. The (CuNiFe) sounds really clear and nice.

[@dennisberceles7387]

Its because the alnico humbucker was cheated, the fender tele was played or strum softly and the other guitar with cunife was played or strum so strongly.

[@christophernoia5197]

What pots are in each guitar? If the American original is true to the 70’s telecaster, it’ll have 1 Meg pots in it, which filter less of the high end.

[@guguslive]

That's where the real difference is... American Original comes with 1 meg pots... while the player HH Tele comes with 500k on the volume and 250k in the tone.

[@alandennis3853]

Thank you for the comparison Bside, the forums are hardly the most objective source of comparison information lol. I liked the CuNiFe better, but that Player HH Tele is sweet, although the coil split isn't very noticeable, maybe in a mix it would stand out more. Love the American Original Custom though especially that Blond color

[@bsideguitar]

Thanks for the comment. This was one of the most surprising comparisons I have ever done. The CuNiFe was so good!

[@beamifrend]

CuNiFe all the way! I will be swapping out my HH Player Tele A2 neck for one of these.

[@bsideguitar]

Now that is a good idea!

[@thomaslthomas1506]

I wonder if the players series you have there has an issue. I have that exact guitar. I have been extremely pleased with it. Mine sounds nothing like yours. Mine is bright and lively. It’s so versatile it’s the only electric I use as a working musician. I do have a couple of steel guitars. But it is my only electric. BTW I only use the bridge PU as a humbucker otherwise I always use the other 2 positions in single coil.

[@bsideguitar]

The bridge pickup sounds much brighter in this guy. I think the neck is just not as bright. It would be interesting to get a hold of another one and test though.

[@thomaslthomas1506]

@@bsideguitar mine are pretty balanced I’d say you got a lemon in that one.

[@diddymies]

this

[@MrPartch]

I believe this is the case. I have the same guitar (well the maple neck version: Player Tele HH) I am having the same problem with my guitar. It is just soo muddy! There is almost no treble in it. And I believe this to be an issue, maybe bad wiring or a bad pot? (a pot that has much less resistance than it is supposed to have?). So my guitar sounds as dark as the one played in the video and I believe this cannot be normal. I will take my guitar to a tech today and will report here what was up.

[@HamzaJamzaFamza]

@@MrPartch any update to the issue on the muddy sounding pickups?

[@stevenhazlewood398]

I just got a Squier Tele Custom. It was ok. Then I completely gutted the electronics. All the way down to the the wiring. CuNiFe in neck and a Lollar vintage in the bridge. 1 meg pot for volume, 500k for tone, with a bumblebee reissue capacitor for the neck. Two 250k pots for the bridge. The difference is undeniably better. That Squier is now way better than ok.

[@Kostyk_Butenko]

comparing these 2 humbucker models is like comparing a 2005 ford mustang to a 1967 dodge challenger. for a car enthusiast it's futile as a car enthusiast will be delighted with each of these cars.

[@soundknight]

Did they fix the pick up design, pole magnets or did they just swap the magnet in the PAF they put in the originals?

[@pharmerdavid1432]

That particular AlNiCo pickup in the "players series" is known to be muddy, sounding like a blanket is put over it, but if you used a good sounding AlNiCo pickup it would be closer, but the CuNiFe wide-frequency pickup still wider frequency with more clarity.

[@EM-km8em]

Isnt alnico just alnico? What type of alnico are you referring to? Sorry noob here

[@maraviyoso8473]

People, the pickups are NOT the only difference. The pots are way different

[@GrumpyOldGit60]

That Alnico pickup is as muddy as any I've ever heard! Yikes... it's bad.

[@bsideguitar]

It was very apparent next to the CuNiFe.

[@smollande]

The player hb was trying to retain more of that traditional mellow tele neck tone, which isnt high output at all. On better MIA pickups, you get a bit more clarity. The cunife turns the tele into something else. It's a great pickup in it's own right and can liven things up for rock. But theres still a place for traditional teles in country and smoother rhythm playing. Just what I think.

[@CraigScott90]

The CuNiFe is a much more musical pickup!

[@jpook730]

Player's Series has a 500k volume with a 250k tone Am Vintage has 1M volume and tone on the neck pickup. Beyond the obvious differences in pickup construction and price bracket, this comparison is apples and orangutans. Now, pop a 1M vol/ tone in the Player's and it will still sound different, but the EQ will be MUCH closer

[@patsandyrankin4274]

Just something to think about. The alnico 2 has a single and double coil tone switch. This could be taking down the pickups ability to sound better through the extra wiring. Think about it? Maybe the pots make a difference. PAT

[@EM-km8em]

How would this cunife compare to a PAF humbucker ?

[@ScottJamesHicks]

You have me thinking I should try that American Original Tele in person.

[@gregdarling8163]

Do you think the CuNiFe neck pickup would be good for jazz or is it too bright?

[@philfischer4115]

how can u compare if its not a true Cunife Tele?

[@codymcgrew4015]

A world of difference

[@heartpath1]

This video underscores how much of a difference pickups make.

[@maraviyoso8473]

That's not the only difference. The rest of the electronics has as much or more difference.

[@heartpath1]

@@maraviyoso8473 do tell…capacitors / resistors / different value pots? I have to disagree. Pickups make the most difference, then the electronics.

[@dalemonaghan]

night and day

[@lueysixty-six7300]

The cunife made the alnico seem like dog crap! Although, to be fair...it was sounding that way before we even heard from the Cunife! I think neck humbuckers are generally more flubby than the bridge, and so it wasn't entirely fair on alnico to only get to test the neck. It's what you had - I get, it's fine. I do really want to hear them both with all stages of gain - especially fully rock distorted (not metal)...but, from the bridge. I have thought long and hard about what tele to get . I don't have any right now...and while part of me feels obliged to get the original tele bridge....that defeats the purpose of me wanting the humbucker tele. I want the fat, big humbucker sound...from the bridge. That said...the Cunife's sound so lovely and "single coil-y"...from neck AND bridge. (I've heard other A-B's. I plan to buy a NIM Deluxe....and to buy cunife WRHB's...perhaps one at a time (depending on price). But I think the cost is coming down...as the initial expense came from resourcing the alloy.. Now other pickup makers are doing it too. I don't know how good they are... Anyway. Thx for the A.B video. It really made the Cunife's sound like the best thing since sliced bread, didn't it?! (It made the alnico's sound like they had the tone rolled completely off...just muddy + woolly + flubby... From the bridge, with distortion, I know alnico's to sound great, tho.. The sound of a hundred thousand rock songs. So I can't help but wonder how great a cunife with distortion in the bridge might sound....)

[@bciecko1]

Dude, these are two totally different pickups. A WRHB isn't a regular humbucker. I was thinking this was going to be a CuNiFe vs an AlNiCo WRHB. Maybe I misunderstood from the title. It's not just the magnets but the construction method. These are completely different pickups.

[@jsmallsawe]

The "standard" wide range pickups they've been using previously are made exactly the same way as a standard humbucker, so the result would the same. The only thing different about them is aesthetic. The difference with a CuNiFe pickups is that the actual rod pole pieces themselves are the magnets, whereas a standard humbucker has an alnico bar magnet under the pickup coils that is in contact with steel pole pieces.

[@bciecko1]

@@jsmallsawe There are other differences inside the pickup as well, such as the bobbin and other elements inside, in addition to the magnet and threaded pole pieces. I took the pole piece out of a regular Fender "Wide Range" and while they look thr part, they're just threaded pieces of steel. They aren't magnets at all. Basically a kit car.

[@jsmallsawe]

@@bciecko1 In the original ones, the pole pieces are the magnets. In the reissue cheap ones, you're right that they are steel.

[@bciecko1]

@@jsmallsawe I know. I see why you mentioned that. I didn't mean magnets and threaded pole pieces. I meant threaded pole-piece magnet. Sorry for the confusion. We are on the same page, I typed it wrong.

[@bciecko1]

@@jsmallsawe I'd like to believe that that Fender reissue Wide Range, not the reissue CuNiFe, are slightly different than a regular humbucker. I had a Tele Deluxe '72 reissue, several years back, and I swear that came with a different set of reissue Wide range than they are using today. The earlier reissues we're more like the Squier with regular poke piece screws, the rounded top and regular, skinny kinda threaded pole piece. The current reissue Wide Range, found in the Vintera and guitars of the like, are different with tht thicker pole piece screws. They look the part totally. Makes me wonder if they're constructed any different inside? I know both would've had the bar magnet too. I could be remembering that older '72 DRI wrong but I swear it was different than the current one. If that's the case I do wonder the sound difference between them and the current ones. If any. But even if the Wide Range reissue is a fake, I do see it being different from a regular humbucker tona degree. There's gonna be more space in there compared to a regular humbucker which can affect the over all tone and characteristic. Like a P90 and a him sized P90. They can be constructed basically the same but the size difference makes a difference and they aren't totally identical as a result. And innth bworkd of pickups; magnets and wire, the differences come from shape and size and construction method above anything else. Materials matter, for sure, but construction method does too and taking the same materials for a regular humbucker and the same materials and making a humbucker that fits into the case of a wide range means that there is going to be difference in the over all construction method for that wide range vs the regular humbucker. I have a real CuNiFe and the reissue from a Vintera. The difference between the 2 is massive. I have a set of MojoTone '72's as well, 2 sets actually, and try sound identical to the CuNiFe version. The MojoTone set doesn't used CuNiFe magnets for the poles though but they are threaded magnets like the CuNiFe which leads me to believe that it's construction type and methodology more than anything else for the biggest difference between the Wide Range models out there.

[@frankiedrocks765]

Alnico is much darker! Sounds like it has a blanket over it.

[@jeffreyburton7284]

The wider range sounds almost like a Jazzmaster pickup. They should make a Jazzmaster sized version.

[@LTDudzek]

The Creamery make these.

[@YouTubeHandlesAreMoronic]

As presented in this video, the alnico pickup is so muffled and dull as to be useless.

[@kenelkins1841]

No comparison. I have the Jones for a nice Tele. Custom Shops are out of the question. So I'm torn between the 60s vs. 70s American Originals. Any suggestions out there?

[@bsideguitar]

If you like the humbucker in the neck, the 70s original is you answer. If you want more traditional, the 60s. I’ve played both and you can’t go wrong either way.

[@kenelkins1841]

@@bsideguitar thanks so much for responding. My concern is that the traditional Tele pickups are very noisy. I played an Amercan Original Thinline at a local store, and the pickup was so buzzy. Could have been the room I was in with a bunch of amps plugged into the same power source.

[@zx4race31]

Check your pots to see if they are the same

[@josemiguelgonzalez7257]

I'm very interested in this Player Telecaster HH but I'm a person who plays a lot standing up. I have searched in internet and have no found exact data about the weigth. Can someone tell me how much this guitar weighs exactly?

[@albertogargallo5552]

3,6 kgr

[@TH-gu4wj]

the AO70s is so much better there's not really a comparison. crazy

[@ammx8492]

Are all pots 500k?

[@clairejenkins7958]

I think there is something wrong with your new player strat. I have the same hum bucker and it’s much richer

[@amirhosseinmashaherifard9852]

You can't compare 2 different pickups on 2 different guitars. Different bridges, different necks, different electronics...

[@MinivanMegafun100]

I disagree. The comparison is two guitars in their stock form.

[@amirhosseinmashaherifard9852]

@@MinivanMegafun100 of course you can compare two guitars together, but he is comparing two pickups. Check the title.

[@WRCzATL]

Of course, it helps the Cunife WRHB that Fender's attempts at conventional humbuckers are almost always mediocre.

[@jackblack2321]

That blew the player away. The player is absolutely a piece of crap. Granted the 70’s cost twice as much. You know what they say about cunife

[@rickyl9540]

A single coil PU needs a 250k pot but a humbucker needs a 500k or it will sound dark and muddy. I suspect the guitar just has a 250k pot to suit the bridge pickup so the humbucker suffers.This is the case on my G&L bluesboy tele.

[@vdubguy7917]

I have the players series HH (exactly as the one in the video) and it has a 500k volume pot and a 250k tone pot... not sure if that is what makes it sound darker. I have been thinking of replacing the tone pot with a 500k. I wonder if they used a 250k pot because of the push pull split...

[@rickyl9540]

@@vdubguy7917 I didn't know you could have both

[@r.parker1933]

This. I've built a 70's Custom inspired Tele, and I had to mod it from one volume, one tone to two volumes, two tones so I could easily get the different pot values for single coil and HBs. Any HB will sound lifeless through a 250k pot. That said, I'm a huge WRHB fan, so I want to believe it would be clearer anyway!

[@MrPartch]

@@r.parker1933 right but, it does have a 500k pot!!!!

[@bapt_andthebasses]

NOT THE SAME PICKUP. NOT THE SAME PLACEMENT. Useless video, sorry.