I haven't spoken with Joe in over a decade and actually don't even know if he is still in production other than for his existing clients (that I know he does still from talking with Jimmy Thackery, another Barden pup fanatic) but these pups must be played to be appreciated. Danny insisted to Fender that his signature Tele would be an actual clone, with the 1-2 string bridge saddle merely bent to get a proper 'B string' intonation and must have real Joe Barden pups. Joe's bridge pup is potent so it might not be the best choice for someone who prefers stock output with just a wee bit less screech than stock, but as Joe says, his replacement neck pup is a perfect drop-in replacement that is nearly impossible to discern from a single coil tonewise except that it doesn't hum. Be that as it may, nobody but Joe worked with Gatton, a dyed in the wool Tele player (he only flirted with Les Pauls for a couple years, a mere 5% of his playing history, sadly cut short by suicide) with great respect for The Fender Legacy and the distinctive tone of single coil pups. He claims he did it long before Bill Lawrence and Seymour Duncan and has some documentation that shows he is right but they had wealth and influence and knew more about The Biz and beat him to that punch. Joe realized that the greatest difference between a Gibson style/size was the magnetic sensing window and rather than place single alnico poles in proper orientation (alnico was already getting rare) he settled on blades. Danny wanted a Tele pup that would be a drop-in replacement, sound like the original single coil but have no hum problems. Once he found he could copy he looked for someone who could and would create.

He also being a lifelong serious Hot Rodder (literally of cars and also guitar gear) together with Tex Rubinowitz created a Charlie Christian pickup clone that was spot on.

The reason he is not to well known is that he was so wide The Biz were at a loss to categorize him and the title of one of his recordings 'Redneck Jazz' (not my favorite but certainly telling) gives a clue - he mixed genres and had a sense of wry humor not everyone gets. The reason he was a candidate for 'greatest' is he was obsessed with intervals and created his own chord structures and then played 'outside' them He played convincing banjo licks on his Tele and I saw him several times outplay pedal steel players like Buddy Emmons with just a Tele and amazing technique with both left and right hands. If you're not familiar with Danny Gatton, the guy Guitar Player called 'The Greatest Guitar Player You Never Heard' then you simply need to.

Tele single coil vs humbucker