Rob, are the first person I thought of when I saw this . I hope you try it out . It's cool cause you are only adding something to the guitar , not subtracting .
This "Secret agent" Esquire pick-up is exactly what was needed for that guitar. Most Esquire players got hooked after strumming just 1 chord. Thanks guys.
I did the same thing 15 years ago my own telecaster and I never look back I’m glad to see that Seymour Duncan and Brad Paisley are making it popular now.
I had always thought that the copper Strat Robbie Robertson played on The Last Waltz, with the middle pickup moved bridgeward to snuggle up against the bridge pickup, was for purposes of getting some sort of humbucker sound from a bridge location. Then, more recently, I read that he actually requested it to be moved out of the way because he felt that the middle pickup was physically interfering with his picking. When I noted this on a forum, I was surprised that several players said they too were frequently irritated by this pickup in the middle obstructing their picking hand. So, would a "Secret Agent" middle pickup on a Strat have some sort of market among Strat players eager to have a little more picking room? I wonder.
Probably the reason I've always hated playing strats, especially if you wanna do some aggressive strumming that middle pick-up is right in the way. I have a mustang w a strat neck pickup for them tonez
@@PageandPlant4Life That said, I think the ability to get the "cluck" sounds, without the physical obstructions needed to do so, would be appealing to many players. So a "secret agent" middle pickup on a Strat could have a market.
Fender started development of this kind of pickup concept for an unreleased guitar a long time ago, and it always fascinated me. Glad Seymour figured it out and brought this concept to life!
So true, there's a "conversation" between all the components of your rig. Brad Paisley is one of this generation's guitar heroes. Wouldn't it be cool to see a collaboration between Paisley and somebody like Slash or Zakk Wylde, and Myles Kennedy? Country metal.
That sounds amazing! Would like to see that guitar up close! Is it a roasted maple neck finish sanded off and then tongue-oiled? The neck looks spectacular!
For those curious about installing the pickup.... Most Esquires are indeed routed for a neck pickup. This pickup mounts into the route with a piece of foam (included) under it to keep it snug against the pickguard. The pickup uses a ceramic rail type magnet and is wound to around 9-10k. Not sure what guage wire they're using but the coil itself looks small.
Fender custom shop did this 5 or 6 years ago on a limited run of Esquires, they came with hidden pickups underneath the pick guard. I love the idea, but I don't think that Seymour Duncan or Brad Paisley came up with it. Or if they did, Fender beat them to the punch by several years.
I wonder if this could be used on a Tele with Nashville routing as a secret middle pickup? I imagine you’d have to figure out the phase and wind direction but that would be awesome option to have.
New Brad Paisley Esquire will be released in November with this pickup setup in it. Black road worn similar to his silver sparkle but with different custom pickups. Already have one on order.
I bought his Tele the week they came out in 2017. I’ll have new Esquire as soon as my local Fender dealer is able to get one. I ordered this pickup about a week and a half ago and I’m waiting for it. Seymour Duncan website says it could take six weeks so I should have it in less than a month from now. As far as the Brad Paisley Esquire is concerned I hope the black sparkle looks as amazing in person as the silver sparkle does. I was really surprised when I saw the silver sparkle in person for the first time.
I also own the silver sparkle one. Great lightweight guitar and the pickups sound amazing. Would really love a butterscotch blond signature model of his.
Would like to see a remake of his blue sparkle tele he used many times on songs like Welcome to the future and Water. That was my favorite brad paisley guitar, and the matching blue headstock....
@@itaintmebabe714 I agree. Just installed a Secret Agent in my CS Esquire and the neck position sounds better than my Tele with a Josefina neck pickup. It's clearer and brighter than a standard Tele neck pup.
Just thinking of the wiring :) In order to keep the Esquier-ness, I'd say there is a 4th position (the most forward one) where the neck pickup is wired in series with the bridge pickup. I think the neck pickup on its own would be very weak, but in series (and still being very low) the output would be sufficient and the tone beefy.
The gang at Duncan is so good at what they do that players all the way from Brad Paisley to Mark Holcomb trust them with crafting their sound. Love you guys!
Seymour Duncan is the one who taught me they're official pickups are too expensive and just not that much better than stock, that float in their name !
John English from Fender custom shop already had the idea to make an Esquire with two aditionnal pickups under the pickguard more than ten years ago I had one...very rare and valuable pieces...
It makes sense that Brad Paisley makes sense..love this guitar..and Seymour 's pick up''you see less but you get more...couldn't help it..great job ..enjoy this guitar.
I’ve been looking for this exact thing for the past month! I tried a humbucker and it came out muffled, I tried a Strat pickup and it was too thin...finally, right on time!
Back in the mid '60s, Fender made the Marauder model and the first prototype had all 4 pickups hidden under the pickguard: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fender_Marauder
For all the guys who think that middle pickup on a Strat or 3 pickup Tele, this can be a serious concept to explore. Might solve a lot of problems.... I dig it!
No one mentions the naturally huge loss of volume and gain when you switch from bridge (raised pickup) to the neck (obviously lowered pickup). I returned the esquire because of that. Its unusable unless you have a boost to compensate the difference in volume.
I checked the website and it says nothing about it, I wanna know how are you supposed to install it. Do you glue it to the back of the pickguard or what?
Actually had this idea myself some time back since I really like the simplicity of the look of an esquire Glad they did it got one in my future it’s pretty sweet
I mean I’d check out a loaded pick guard with this guy in it. It’s purely aesthetic as far as I’m concerned but hey somebody out there loves the idea. It does sound solid. Put it in a Tele with a Piezo bridge. BAM! Sleeper Esquire lol
Great guitar tone basicaly its a Bridge pickup that emulate an a neck pickup because there's not neck pickup its like a phantom pickup its sound you can't see that but its just sound great.
That secret agent pick up would pair great with my 2013 American tele! Right now its got some no name Mexican made contraption since the "phase selector" shitted out on me and suffered the original n3 noiseless neck pick up. Basically devalued my $1700 guitar 😥 But the secret agent could bring it back to life! Can't wait to buy one!
i think you'd have to check the winding and polarity, bc in a strat or a nashville tele, the middle pickup is reverse wound, reverse polarity, and in a tele it's either the neck or the bridge, so if you just slapped a rwrp pickup in the middle you'd have one hum cancelling position and one not, so you'd have to get another new pickup to accommodate the change so you still have hum cancelling in both 2 and 4 positions
Imagine one with two strat pickups! Considering stealth strat pickups aren’t made, could you just get hot wound ones to compensate for the distance away from the strings?
mike Moe well that’s g&l - a difffent beast entirely. Obviously fender in the 50s and 60s were open to error in manufacturing but I believe they were just tele bodies that were then given a neck and some were given a tele decal and more pickups, some weren’t. Modern ones possibly it’s different as there could well be a monetary reason behind leaving the neck unrouted.
seymour duncan No disrespect Seymour, big fan. I had a John English Stealth. It just sounded like you and Brad were creating something new. Congrats about doing it first for Rufas in the 70’s. It was a great idea!
I'm guessing its a compromise he's willing to make for keeping that "wired straight to the jack" Esquire back position. Esquire guys are nuts for that sound.
Sure wish I would have patented this idea TEN FUCKING YEARS AGO!!!! I couldn’t really get it to work right. I put a hot pickup in the neck position and it was still weak. Hope you guys figured that part out!
I need one of these in my life!
2020 seems to be your Esquire year :)
Heck yea.
Rob, are the first person I thought of when I saw this . I hope you try it out . It's cool cause you are only adding something to the guitar , not subtracting .
Hi robert baker
@@brandonfairchild5340...heck is the "word".😏
This "Secret agent" Esquire pick-up is exactly what was needed for that guitar. Most Esquire players got hooked after strumming just 1 chord. Thanks guys.
You guys have earned your bragging rights, it sounds great and the idea of not having to change the pickguard is genious! Esquire at the ready!
I'm not even a big country guy, but the concept of hidden pickups is something I find appealing. Nice job 👏
You should look into the original Fender Marauder. It also was the last prototype Leo Fender was working on before he sold Fender to CBS.
I did the same thing 15 years ago my own telecaster and I never look back I’m glad to see that Seymour Duncan and Brad Paisley are making it popular now.
I had always thought that the copper Strat Robbie Robertson played on The Last Waltz, with the middle pickup moved bridgeward to snuggle up against the bridge pickup, was for purposes of getting some sort of humbucker sound from a bridge location. Then, more recently, I read that he actually requested it to be moved out of the way because he felt that the middle pickup was physically interfering with his picking. When I noted this on a forum, I was surprised that several players said they too were frequently irritated by this pickup in the middle obstructing their picking hand.
So, would a "Secret Agent" middle pickup on a Strat have some sort of market among Strat players eager to have a little more picking room? I wonder.
Mark Hammer Good thought. The middle pup can be annoying, esp when hybrid picking..
Probably the reason I've always hated playing strats, especially if you wanna do some aggressive strumming that middle pick-up is right in the way. I have a mustang w a strat neck pickup for them tonez
@@PageandPlant4Life That said, I think the ability to get the "cluck" sounds, without the physical obstructions needed to do so, would be appealing to many players. So a "secret agent" middle pickup on a Strat could have a market.
I'm a Strat guy but that is gorgeous. Riviera Paradise comes to mind with that pickup❤️🎸
I used to be a strat guy. But now I can't put down my tele. It's all good!
Fender started development of this kind of pickup concept for an unreleased guitar a long time ago, and it always fascinated me. Glad Seymour figured it out and brought this concept to life!
The Marauder. It was featured in the 1965-66 Fender catalog, it then faded into obscurity.
Noah Juan yup that’s the one! They ended up bailing on the hidden pickup design of it on later prototypes if I recall.
So true, there's a "conversation" between all the components of your rig. Brad Paisley is one of this generation's guitar heroes. Wouldn't it be cool to see a collaboration between Paisley and somebody like Slash or Zakk Wylde, and Myles Kennedy? Country metal.
John 5 would be the go to guy for that. Tele on Tele action!
Can some one gimme a "Hee-Haw"?!
That sounds amazing!
Would like to see that guitar up close!
Is it a roasted maple neck finish sanded off and then tongue-oiled?
The neck looks spectacular!
For those curious about installing the pickup.... Most Esquires are indeed routed for a neck pickup.
This pickup mounts into the route with a piece of foam (included) under it to keep it snug against the pickguard.
The pickup uses a ceramic rail type magnet and is wound to around 9-10k.
Not sure what guage wire they're using but the coil itself looks small.
Sounds killer. To me this is one of the best sparkling clean tones.
Fender custom shop did this 5 or 6 years ago on a limited run of Esquires, they came with hidden pickups underneath the pick guard. I love the idea, but I don't think that Seymour Duncan or Brad Paisley came up with it. Or if they did, Fender beat them to the punch by several years.
Fender considered hidden pickups on the Marauder prototype back in the 60s. Not sure if they were the first back then even.
Just another reason why Seymour Duncan is THE monk on the mountain of pickups-brilliant idea!!!
That is very cool! Fender just released their 70th Anniversary USA Esquire. How do you NOT throw a stealth pickup into that?
Sounds great, similar to the Fender Stealth Esquire, without the middle pickup.
In all the years I've been playing guitar and bass, I've never actually seen Seymour Duncan himself. Very cool!
I wonder if this could be used on a Tele with Nashville routing as a secret middle pickup? I imagine you’d have to figure out the phase and wind direction but that would be awesome option to have.
You could use this to turn your current tele into an esquire too 😆.
Great Tele tone going here. SD does it again.
New Brad Paisley Esquire will be released in November with this pickup setup in it. Black road worn similar to his silver sparkle but with different custom pickups. Already have one on order.
I bought his Tele the week they came out in 2017. I’ll have new Esquire as soon as my local Fender dealer is able to get one. I ordered this pickup about a week and a half ago and I’m waiting for it. Seymour Duncan website says it could take six weeks so I should have it in less than a month from now.
As far as the Brad Paisley Esquire is concerned I hope the black sparkle looks as amazing in person as the silver sparkle does. I was really surprised when I saw the silver sparkle in person for the first time.
I also own the silver sparkle one. Great lightweight guitar and the pickups sound amazing. Would really love a butterscotch blond signature model of his.
kfkm2955
That would be nice, too. If they make another one maybe it will have a string bender.
Would like to see a remake of his blue sparkle tele he used many times on songs like Welcome to the future and Water. That was my favorite brad paisley guitar, and the matching blue headstock....
Need a lefty BP Seymour!!!
So it’s a two pickup Tele, like the one I have now.
It actually sounds better in my opinion
@@itaintmebabe714 I agree. Just installed a Secret Agent in my CS Esquire and the neck position sounds better than my Tele with a Josefina neck pickup. It's clearer and brighter than a standard Tele neck pup.
Just thinking of the wiring :) In order to keep the Esquier-ness, I'd say there is a 4th position (the most forward one) where the neck pickup is wired in series with the bridge pickup. I think the neck pickup on its own would be very weak, but in series (and still being very low) the output would be sufficient and the tone beefy.
Had a local winder try this a few years ago and it didn't work out so great...
Thank you Seymour!!! I'll be grabbing one of these soon.
The gang at Duncan is so good at what they do that players all the way from Brad Paisley to Mark Holcomb trust them with crafting their sound. Love you guys!
Seymour Duncan is the brand that taught me after market pickups are great ❤️
Bill Lawrence too.
Let's not forget Larry DiMarzio.
Seymour Duncan is the one who taught me they're official pickups are too expensive and just not that much better than stock, that float in their name !
John English from Fender custom shop already had the idea to make an Esquire with two aditionnal pickups under the pickguard more than ten years ago I had one...very rare and valuable pieces...
It makes sense that Brad Paisley makes sense..love this guitar..and Seymour 's pick up''you see less but you get more...couldn't help it..great job ..enjoy this guitar.
Brad, you’ve definitely inspired me dude! And I’m a metal head!
I’ve been looking for this exact thing for the past month! I tried a humbucker and it came out muffled, I tried a Strat pickup and it was too thin...finally, right on time!
Just picked up an Esquire and this is definitely on my list now
Will this pickup be compatible with a squier classic vibe telecaster?
Nice! Been thinking about this for years but never could decide on what pickup to use
What about a middle hidden pickup for the teles that have the middle route? Can get strat like tones in a tele.
Now you’re talking! I’m trying to find out if anyone has tried it with this yet. If not, I may have to myself...
i want to do this soooo bad. getting the fourth position funk tones would be amazing. tho Nashville style wiring and a 5 switch would be needed
Great. Now I need a Esquire and this pickup installed in it. Here we go again
But then, is it an Esquire?
🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️
Nope
Double Esquires did exist
You could order an additional pickup back then from Fender, so yes, it's still an Esquire.
Fender cut out a spot for a pickup in the Esquire even though they didn't put one in.
Did you go to a 4 way switch? I still like the #3 neck position with cocked Fuzz Wah. Can I have the SA pickup and my #3 capacitor tone intact.
I was dreaming about this solution for years. Thank you!
What a great concept! Especially for fingerstyle players!
Could you use this as a midle pickup on a regular telecaster so it has the same pickup options as a strat?
Now that's an idea! If you sneak a secret agent into a "normal" Tele...you'd have a Nashville spy!
What was the bridge pickup in this setup? Obviously, Stealth in the neck, but what about the bridge? Fantastic pairing!
someone needs to install one of these under the soundboard of an acoustic. That would really be slick.
Back in the mid '60s, Fender made the Marauder model and the first prototype had all 4 pickups hidden under the pickguard: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fender_Marauder
For all the guys who think that middle pickup on a Strat or 3 pickup Tele, this can be a serious concept to explore. Might solve a lot of problems.... I dig it!
Bridge pickup sounds killer too. Which one is it?
Dang Seymour! You are gonna make me have to get a Fender Esquire, just so I can get one of these “Secret Agents”
No one mentions the naturally huge loss of volume and gain when you switch from bridge (raised pickup) to the neck (obviously lowered pickup). I returned the esquire because of that. Its unusable unless you have a boost to compensate the difference in volume.
I’ve been wanting Bill Crook to build me an Esquire recently. Looks like I now have a pickup.
I kinda want to stick this next to a strat bridge pickup to use in series as a stealth humbucker
So is this guitar gonna be released with a BSB finish, or just the sparkly black? I hate the sparkle but I'd buy one of these...
I checked the website and it says nothing about it, I wanna know how are you supposed to install it. Do you glue it to the back of the pickguard or what?
Actually had this idea myself some time back since I really like the simplicity of the look of an esquire
Glad they did it got one in my future it’s pretty sweet
Seymour and Brad: Now there are two guitar monsters right there!
I mean I’d check out a loaded pick guard with this guy in it. It’s purely aesthetic as far as I’m concerned but hey somebody out there loves the idea. It does sound solid.
Put it in a Tele with a Piezo bridge. BAM!
Sleeper Esquire lol
That's what I assumed they would do, I feel like that's such a cooler idea too...
What !,,, is this a set?... i dont understand,,what play in the bridge? i understand the hidden pick up?...but do it need to be hidden?
Can I put 3 of these on my strat and get a good neck and middle tone?
Brad is the Eddie Van Halen of country music
I must get this
Great guitar tone basicaly its a Bridge pickup that emulate an a neck pickup because there's not neck pickup its like a phantom pickup its sound you can't see that but its just sound great.
If an esquier had a fight with a Tele, the esquire would win. Single pickup guitars are great
That secret agent pick up would pair great with my 2013 American tele! Right now its got some no name Mexican made contraption since the "phase selector" shitted out on me and suffered the original n3 noiseless neck pick up. Basically devalued my $1700 guitar 😥
But the secret agent could bring it back to life! Can't wait to buy one!
Want!!
Obviously its voiced for a neck pickup but could you also use this to hide the middle pickup of a Nashville tele?
i think you'd have to check the winding and polarity, bc in a strat or a nashville tele, the middle pickup is reverse wound, reverse polarity, and in a tele it's either the neck or the bridge, so if you just slapped a rwrp pickup in the middle you'd have one hum cancelling position and one not, so you'd have to get another new pickup to accommodate the change so you still have hum cancelling in both 2 and 4 positions
This Sounds Incredible
Seymour!! Yes!
Didn't Fender do a Stealth Esquire a while back that had a hidden pickup under the pick guard? I seem to recall Andy doing a demo for PGS.
I love Brad, Seymour Duncan and Teles.
But it just sounds like a regular Tele. 😂
Fantastic sound. A perfect invention. Well done!
Sounds good,I appreciate what they are doing here, Boddy Fultz has been doing this for the last 10 years in Hudson North Carolina
Just ordered mine!
Which Dr Z combo amp is that?
I’m thinking of installing this to my Tele as a middle pickup so I could get the position 2 and 4 Strat sounds.
Imagine one with two strat pickups! Considering stealth strat pickups aren’t made, could you just get hot wound ones to compensate for the distance away from the strings?
Id love to play at the Ranch. 2 Deluxe Reverbs in Stereo looking out at St Augustines. 😎
So, under the pick guard in that spot, there is normally a cavity area?
Sounds great👂🏾👍🏾
I dont get it...there is no route for a neck pickup on an Esquire. How does it fit under the pick guard ?
Enquires are pre routed under the pick guard (the old ones were anyway, and I assume the new ones too)
@@Candyskullguitars G&L has an Esquire guitar and they told me no neck pickup route. I say that cause I'm looking to get one soon .
mike Moe well that’s g&l - a difffent beast entirely. Obviously fender in the 50s and 60s were open to error in manufacturing but I believe they were just tele bodies that were then given a neck and some were given a tele decal and more pickups, some weren’t.
Modern ones possibly it’s different as there could well be a monetary reason behind leaving the neck unrouted.
How much????
An Alnico V variant would be nice.
Nice idea! Perfect sound! :)
I am getting one of those.How?
I need one
holy hell this sounds good
Not a country guy at all. But Brad paisley is a boss.
Ide like teles, but this is beautiful
@seymourduncan you are a legend and your products are proof!!! SD customer for life!
WHAT PEDALBOARD IS THAT?
Behringer PB1000?
🇧🇷🇧🇷 Nice Brad Paisley , fantastic , Brad Paisley seus Fãs Brasileiros quer você aqui , seja bem vindo , 🙏🙏🎸🎸🤘🤘
Great guitar player.
Imma seriously investigate this
John English at Fender made those for years. Respectfully I don’t believe it’s an original idea. ( sorry if someone has already pointed this out.)
I made the hidden pickups for Rufas in the late 70's...
seymour duncan No disrespect Seymour, big fan. I had a John English Stealth. It just sounded like you and Brad were creating something new. Congrats about doing it first for Rufas in the 70’s. It was a great idea!
Pretty sure most the tone coming out of this demo is Brad's fingers and that Dr Z, change my mind.
Jonathan Rottmann facts. He could make anything sound good.
Paisley could get a country tone out of a broom. He is just an animal on guitar
But there's no neck and bridge sound? Just bridge with tone bypass, bridge, and neck?
Thats what I'm thinking...but could you do a 4 way switch???
@@jeffreymatz yeah you could. I would've thought Brad Paisley wanted that tone available on his guitar.
I'm guessing its a compromise he's willing to make for keeping that "wired straight to the jack" Esquire back position. Esquire guys are nuts for that sound.
Fantastico !!!
So it djents?
Why stop there? Does a stealth coffee machine fit with the spirit of an esquire?
Sure wish I would have patented this idea TEN FUCKING YEARS AGO!!!!
I couldn’t really get it to work right. I put a hot pickup in the neck position and it was still weak. Hope you guys figured that part out!
This is genius!
Finally !!!!
So basically it’s a Telecaster not an Esquire!!
Imagine an hsh set of pickups with a secret agent as the middle