Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: _tom_ on September 19, 2009, 06:32:45 PM
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I'm back into the idea of getting a tele as my next guitar. Sort of gave up finding "the tele for me" but I think that the American deluxe might actually tick pretty much all the boxes. The only "problem" is the 9.5" radius but with a good setup/fret dress + polish I think it would be fine? This is the one I'm looking at, montego black.
(http://www.reidys.com/images/products/1864.jpg)
(only thing I'm not 100% on is the pickguard but could be easily changed for a bwb?)
Gonna try to play one to see what I think. Generally, what is the QC like on these? My local shops seem to be about £100 more expensive than what I can get online so the preference is to buy online, if its easy to find a "good one".
I was going to get an SG but I allready have 2 Gibson style guitars and I actually liked the last 2 teles I played (the same cannot be said about strats!) :idea:
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9.5" is my favourite radius at the moment.. fender usa do well with necks just now - its unlikely to need extra work, and you'll adapt quickly
edit: oh and stop pussy footing around and just lay the cash down on something ;)
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Changing the pickguard should pose no problem at at - WD music do direct retrofit Fender USA guards.
QC on USA Fenders is fairly good - my US Series Strat and Tele have been fine (apart from the Strat's middle pickup conking out, which was replaced under warranty, hassle-free). They're well screwed together, and the Deluxe should be just that little bit better again.
Go for it, Teles are great (despite what Roo may say!)
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That model has a tummy contour i think, very comfy on a tele. And top binding! Very sexy.
I wouldn't worry too much about fretboard radius, I've never noticed a problem switching from my SG to my tele. As long as the neck feels good overall you should be fine with it.
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You should buy one immediately and then put a black scratchplate on there. Black Teles with black scratchplates and maple necks is definitely where it's at right now. Not that I have a vested interest in saying that of course...
Regarding QC, I bought a new USA Strat last year that was excellent quality wise and the few Fenders I've played in shops over the last year have all been well screwed together. I did find that different examples of ostensibly the same guitar have sounded quite different so, were it me, I'd find the guitar I liked in person and just pay the extra rather than chance it online but perhaps I'm being silly.
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is that one of the new style ones? if so, it has that strat-style bridge... haven't tried them, yet, but it might not sound 100% like a tele (though any change is probably pretty subtle).
what's the problem with the 9.5" radius? too small or too big?
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You should buy one immediately and then put a black scratchplate on there. Black Teles with black scratchplates and maple necks is definitely where it's at right now. Not that I have a vested interest in saying that of course...
haha, well thats probably my favourite colour combination on a tele! Looks classy yet also very rawk :) I see what you're saying about playing the guitar before you buy it, peace of mind and all that.
is that one of the new style ones? if so, it has that strat-style bridge... haven't tried them, yet, but it might not sound 100% like a tele (though any change is probably pretty subtle).
what's the problem with the 9.5" radius? too small or too big?
I thought that, but I'm not really that bothered about it sounding "authentic" - so long as it sounds good and close to how a tele should really.. so long as it doesnt sound thin and has some balls!
9.5" seemed a bit curved/small for me last time I played it but then the guitar wasnt very well set up which may have clouded my judgement somewhat.
gwEm, surely you should know how much of a procrastinator I am by now! There wont be a deposit til next month anyway as I'm eagerly awaiting my student loan :P
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^no problem, just as long as you realise that :)
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PRS are 10" radius for comparison purposes, 9.5 is nice and works well. not as vintagey as it sounds unless you are a player used to 16" flat radiuses
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I think it's a great guitar but at that price there are few other options I'd personally go for first - such as Wez/Feline or usacg etc...
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i was considering that too :) for the price of that guitar + the new scratchplate and getting exactly what you want from the ground up a custom is worth considering
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I have the Strat equivalent and while it's a good guitar, there are several things about it that (in time) will cause me to sell it. The S1 system does work (push the switch in and you are presented with thicker sounds) but the knob is flimsy and doesn't 'feel' good, feels cheap. The neck is the modern 'C' shape and too thin for me but will suit many. The fret work is good, the setup on mine was terrible but that's easy to fix. The noiseless pickups aren't my thing, they are totally noiseless (which is great) but to my ears they are sterile and lose much of the unique strat tone.
IMO the Deluxe Tele is a good guitar (would really suit someone gigging regularly) but won't have much of the classic Tele tone, without mods.
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I did find that different examples of ostensibly the same guitar have sounded quite different so, were it me, I'd find the guitar I liked in person and just pay the extra rather than chance it online but perhaps I'm being silly.
I'm +1 on this. The SG Faded I got a while back was more than if I'd internet shopped, but I tried 4 and only liked one. By the time I have "the one" in my hands it's a bit late for me to start looking at the internet again.
The road worn strat I bought the other day was nearly £100 more than internet deals I can see, and I am human - there is a "hmmm, you numpty" about it :lol:. But on the other hand, what I paid for it was nearly £150 cheaper than what he had on the ticket when I started... And I didn't have to mention internet prices to get there (I personally am not prepared to bash/antagonise the guy in the shop with internet prices - if they're selling on the net for cheaper than their store prices, that's different for some reason, I'll argue and possibly walk away). Anyway, for that specific guitar, I would actually have paid more, so I knew how far I would go, and we got it a fair bit lower than that... I too wonder whether I'm being silly sometimes (I won't buy a guitar on the internet, or haven't done so yet), but there's too much wood and other intangibles involved. I'm lucky that I can afford to do it this way, and that when I'm buying a guitar I can treat it as a single, unique, deal for this specific instrument in my hands.
Tom, I don't know too much about this particular guitar - but I think I'd have the same reservations as Plexi Ken. I have a feeling we're both "retro-men" though :lol:
I do think you need to try one - but then you're risking what I usually get faced with: you end up with the one in your hands, priced considerably more than you know you could get a similar one for.
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My main concern is that it wont sound beefy or big enough for me. I dont care THAT much about the traditional tele tone, so long as it sounds close enough whilst being fat/rock enough for my tastes :) Was concerned about those noiseless pickups as it'd be an expensive swap if I didnt like them.. as the pots/switch would need changing as well because of the S1 system, wouldnt they?
P90s would probably be my best bet, but then you lose the "classic tele look" (no big bridge plate) which I like.
I also looked at this one, but its lacking the bound body and proper bridge :(
http://www.fender.com/products//search.php?partno=0137702306
Does have a 12" radius though apparently. Oh and it looks awesome in walnut!
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My main concern is that it wont sound beefy or big enough for me.
fix that (if necessary) a few months down the line with an appropriate BKP? Boss, Brown Sugar or Blackguard are pure rawk.
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My main concern is that it wont sound beefy or big enough for me. I dont care THAT much about the traditional tele tone, so long as it sounds close enough whilst being fat/rock enough for my tastes :) Was concerned about those noiseless pickups as it'd be an expensive swap if I didnt like them.. as the pots/switch would need changing as well because of the S1 system, wouldnt they?
P90s would probably be my best bet, but then you lose the "classic tele look" (no big bridge plate) which I like.
You can get larger Tele bridge plates cut for humbuckers so you could go the Mississippi Queen route. I considered that before ending up going for a Piledriver in the bridge.
http://www.axesrus.com/Hardware/Bridges/Telecaster/modern/BT004/BT004All.jpg
If you wanted to for for the TV Jones approach they too do a Tele bridge plate called the Telly Savalas if memory serves.
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hmm thats more money to go on mods for it.. I think a feline or Wez would maybe be the best route.. but theres something special about having Fender (then made in america) on the headstock :lol: :oops:
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hmm thats more money to go on mods for it.. I think a feline or Wez would maybe be the best route.. but theres something special about having Fender (then made in america) on the headstock :lol: :oops:
make one from parts?
you still seem worried tele pickups won't be for you.. i think you will really like them - at least try some first.
edit: look at the great rock tone this guy gets from a stock modern USA tele:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5wolOWQyy4
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Sounds alright to me, bit digital/fake though. Its videos like this one that put me off, cos the sound is so thin and horrible - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWoOSyN3wVo
I have played teles before but only through little fender practice amps. They feel much more substantial/less cheap than strats to me which I very much approve of :)
Oh and the making from parts probably wont happen as my parents are hopefully paying for it (minus the deposit) as a birthday present :)
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don't worry tom, you don't have to sound like "The Good Ole Boys" - i thought the same as you about stock teles, until i discovered their hard rocking side.
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I can vouch for a Teles ability to deliver the goods. Mine with Country Boys does the business when called upon.
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Myself and MartinW will tell you how good my stock Fender Tele is for hard rock too.......
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Allright well next time I go to a shop I'll have to ask them to plug me into a proper amp!
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Allright well next time I go to a shop I'll have to ask them to plug me into a proper amp!
amen
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I'm back into the idea of getting a tele as my next guitar. Sort of gave up finding "the tele for me" but I think that the American deluxe might actually tick pretty much all the boxes. The only "problem" is the 9.5" radius but with a good setup/fret dress + polish I think it would be fine? This is the one I'm looking at, montego black.
(http://www.reidys.com/images/products/1864.jpg)
(only thing I'm not 100% on is the pickguard but could be easily changed for a bwb?)
Gonna try to play one to see what I think. Generally, what is the QC like on these? My local shops seem to be about £100 more expensive than what I can get online so the preference is to buy online, if its easy to find a "good one".
I was going to get an SG but I allready have 2 Gibson style guitars and I actually liked the last 2 teles I played (the same cannot be said about strats!) :idea:
outta curiosity do you prefer the vintage 7.25 necks? Cause if you don't like a 9.25 neck your just screwing yourself in the long run and its gonna be wasted money to replace it ON TOP of the fact your probably gonna get BKP's as well.
If its simply about the neck (again not sure if you prefer vintage or not) you could always get the classic 60's which are half the price, swap in some bkp's and they'll sound twice as good.
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Everyone seems to love teles... why don't I? It looks fantastic, but I can just never get them feeling right. Weird.
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Everyone seems to love teles... why don't I? It looks fantastic, but I can just never get them feeling right. Weird.
Ask Roobubba to drink some beer... You 2 will talk for HOURS about how much you dislike it... :P
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I don't dislike them... it's why I keep buying them. I just can't play them! Maybe I'm just not good enough. shite happens.
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outta curiosity do you prefer the vintage 7.25 necks? Cause if you don't like a 9.25 neck your just screwing yourself in the long run and its gonna be wasted money to replace it ON TOP of the fact your probably gonna get BKP's as well.
If its simply about the neck (again not sure if you prefer vintage or not) you could always get the classic 60's which are half the price, swap in some bkp's and they'll sound twice as good.
No I prefer flatter like my Les Pauls have. The Pearls is a bit more rounded than the Epiphones. I have no idea what measurements they are though, I guess the Pearls about 10" and Epiphone about 12"? Neither were as flat as my Charvels which was 16".
I had a 7.25" neck for a while but I found it made bends too much of an effort! Put a 9.25" on and it was better. Ended up selling that strat as I could never get it to play how I wanted it to! Looking back/knowing how much a good fret dress and setup works now, I think thats probably all it needed.
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outta curiosity do you prefer the vintage 7.25 necks? Cause if you don't like a 9.25 neck your just screwing yourself in the long run and its gonna be wasted money to replace it ON TOP of the fact your probably gonna get BKP's as well.
If its simply about the neck (again not sure if you prefer vintage or not) you could always get the classic 60's which are half the price, swap in some bkp's and they'll sound twice as good.
No I prefer flatter like my Les Pauls have. The Pearls is a bit more rounded than the Epiphones. I have no idea what measurements they are though, I guess the Pearls about 10" and Epiphone about 12"? Neither were as flat as my Charvels which was 16".
I had a 7.25" neck for a while but I found it made bends too much of an effort! Put a 9.25" on and it was better. Ended up selling that strat as I could never get it to play how I wanted it to! Looking back/knowing how much a good fret dress and setup works now, I think thats probably all it needed.
Tele deluxe baby- 12 inch radius and a big meaty neck. If you wanted the tele bridge you could easily keep the neck pickup but use a deluxe guard and the normal ashtray arrangement. Sounds like a good idea to me.
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Got a link to that one? The deluxe on the Fender site is that horrible looking one with 3 pickups, modern c shape neck and 9.5" radius :?
I'm gonna go to Reverb and Sheehans some time this week hopefully, to have a go on some teles :)
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Got a link to that one? The deluxe on the Fender site is that horrible looking one with 3 pickups, modern c shape neck and 9.5" radius :?
I'm gonna go to Reverb and Sheehans some time this week hopefully, to have a go on some teles :)
BOOYA! (http://www.fender.co.uk/products/search.php?partno=0137702306) Just like mine, and i think they have just came out in a natural finish.
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Well I just had a go on a few teles, a Baja and some American Standards. Definitely preferred the feel of the American Standard to the Baja, the neck felt nicer. Pretty good feel overall, much better than a strat. However I thought the sound was utter shite on all. Really thin an horrible. I didnt try it through the best amp (Fender Hot Rod Deluxe) but I tried some humbucker guitars through it and there was none of that thin filth!
Gonna have to try those humbucker ones, or its going to be a Gibson for me!
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Don't rule them out quite yet Tom.
I played a few Mexican Fenders recently as I was checking some out for a mate. Nearly all of them were dead and unresponsive. One Baja was quite zingy, and pretyy good, but not even close to the CS Tele I compared them too.
I don't doubt you can get good Mexica and US made Fenders, but I think you need to try quite a few out to find "the one". The right Tele can be a beefy thing!
Oh, and it's easy to get a fat tone out of a humbucker LP style guitar. Doing it with clarity is the trick ;)
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Doing it with clarity is piss easy with a Pig 90 or MQ though :D
I just dont think teles (at least singlecoil ones) are for me. These ones felt nice and sounded fine when unplugged (didnt sound dead) but when plugged in they sounded atrocious :\
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Did you try the clean sound, Tom? Nothing sounds better clean than a Tele does.
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Sounded ok but again very thin and not really my kinda clean sound.
I guess it could just be the amp not getting on with singlecoils though (but that seems odd as it was a fender) so I'll give it another go through a better amp next time.
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Did you try the clean sound, Tom? Nothing sounds better clean than a Tele does.
i prefer strat cleans :lol:
but yeah, a good tele doesn't really sound thin. it still sounds like a single coil, of course. if you don't like single coils, though, that's fair enough.
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Uh-oh Andyr rambling essay time :lol:
There's something about teles, Tom.
I got my Baja 18 months ago because it felt the closest to whatever it was I thought I was after from a tele. But I only got glimpses of this. I really struggled to love it. I even remember asking "who's replaced pickups on theirs?" on here, and got a fairly comprehensive "not us" back.
Eventually I went - feck it, I want to own a set of pickups called "Blackguards"...
The minute I put them in, it was stunning. For me personally, the Baja's stock pickups, even the apparently divine twisted tele neck, are pretty much @rse - they just don't do it for me (I've even tried them in other guitars later, they "do the job" but they're not magical for my tastes).
What the Blackguards did for me was "unlock" what all this tele mystery is about - suddenly I loved the guitar, suddenly I could "feel the part" when playing the thing, suddenly I bought another two teles...
It happened to be the BGs in that particular guitar that unlocked it for me, it'll be something different for everyone. But once you've found out what teles can do for you, it actually sounds "thicker". It isn't thicker at all, but it feels like it is, or you dig more out of it yourself, or whatever (eg. I'm happy playing the stock pickups now I've found out how to do this).
I actually have to go through this transformation every time I pick up a tele after I haven't played one for a while. Remember I've had a couple of months where I got a new SG (all single coil guitars sound sh1t after playing that for a week or so!), and then a new strat. The other night I picked up the BG'd Baja, and it was AWFUL, utterly awful, but five/ten minutes loosening up, and there it all was again (even with dead strings on it) :D
And then when I put the strat/SG on again, I'm playing those better...
Btw - I find it easier to do the switcheroo if I pick up my rosewood boarded tele instead - that feels nearer to the other guitars, and the transition isn't so stark. Have you tried rosewood boards?
There's something really weird about teles. I fully understand why some people adore them, and then other people absolutely loathe them - I was really interested in this apparent contradiction, I felt that both sets of people are right. I can't explain what it is I've learnt or found out exactly, but I do know both are right - I'm capable of feeling both in the same 30 minutes!
I think you will own a tele one day, but when you do it'll have to be a "leap of faith" on a particular specimen that hints at what maybe it could do. And then you'll learn to love it over a period of time (or not!). That's kinda what I've done in the last couple of years :D
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Inspiring stuff, Andy! :)
I'm thinking it could be the amp, as I've heard from some people on HC that the HDRx doesnt work well with singlecoil guitars. I never tried mine with em so I cant say for sure. I've heard so many great clips of the Baja that it seems odd that the one I tried sounded so bloody awful!
I havent tried any rosewood ones but tbh I hate the look, its all about the maple-on-black look on teles!