Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Keven on October 04, 2011, 07:42:20 PM
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So! educate me about telecasters!
i'm in the market for one, eventually. i don't quite care about the stock pickups. however after trying one 60th anniversary (i think?) US in a local shop i noticed that the neck feels really thin and not big. i also tried a roadworn strat and the neck felt bigger and better, but it was all in the blink of an eye.
I want something natural, Ash body and maple fretboard with the classic bridge and neck coil layout. roadworn or not i don't really care, but from what i've read here the roadworns have better planks?
should i be worried about the fact they only have single action truss rods?
i don't have any budget set but i don't think i will object to spend good money on the tele i've always wanted. but i will stay away from the custom shop that's for sure! it doesn't have to be fender either. compound radius would be nice too. somewhere between modern and vintage?
educate me!
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Those with them seem to rate the baja teles.
I've only got a CS nocaster - as I'm a snob - with a neck like a tree trunk. I believe you get what you pay for.
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(http://www.rsguitarworks.net/cms2/images/stories/rsoriginals/teevee/roadwarrior.jpg)
RS Guitarworks Tee Vee?
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I have a BAja. It was ok until I put some BG Flat 50s in it and sanded the finish from the back of the neck. It's pretty good now!
I must say though that Shobets CS Nocaster is significantly better, as are Daves Red Sparkle CS Tele and LPB CS Esquire (which used to be mine).
For Teles I would be a snob on go with the CS stuff if I could afford it.
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The Roadworn 50 tele has a 7,25 radius, the Baja tele 9,5. Both nice guitars for their price and a solid starting point for a little upgrading. - Just to add: I play an 2000 American Series Fender-telecaster (9.5 radius) with a twopiece alder body/ rosewood fretboard that plays and sounds like a dream (BG50's old set). I like the neck better then on my strats. Lots of vibe in this one (selected from several US-tele's).
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I have a BAja. It was ok until I put some BG Flat 50s in it and sanded the finish from the back of the neck. It's pretty good now!
I must say though that Shobets CS Nocaster is significantly better, as are Daves Red Sparkle CS Tele and LPB CS Esquire (which used to be mine).
For Teles I would be a snob on go with the CS stuff if I could afford it.
I can only underline this. I played several CS's and they have some vibe, it's really a step from a US tele to a CS. I'm in love with a 52 relic CS tele wit a Bigsby. The neck is chunky, but plays smooth as butter and the guitar vibes so much musicality, it makes you play different thing and makes you play better. But: I don't have 4000 euro at the moment... :-(
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I don't have 4000 euro at the moment... :-(
That's what credit cards are for!
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I don't have 4000 euro at the moment... :-(
That's what credit cards are for!
Mine is limited at 2000 euro... Anyway sooner or later you have to bleed...
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so i phoned the shop and it was indeed a 60th anniversary i tried out. the specs say a modern C shape and 9.25 radius. feels good enough for me as far as the radii goes, but the back of the neck feels too flimsy!
I've been repairing guitars for a while and setuping them too, if i went the warmoth route (I'm based in canada so it's closer for me than it is for most of you) it would be a pretty decent alternative as well...
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Those with them seem to rate the baja teles.
Bargains (well mine was, bonkers cheap). Bloody good, honest Tele. A few choice mods and I'd say mine is nigh on perfect (BKP'd and lightly sanded neck).
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got to say that the Baja's have really nice necks, would love to find a strat with that neck shape
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I have a custom shop cabronita. I can't put it down. I prefer teles with big chunky necks. I think Tom Jackson's is all parts or warmoth and is proof you don't need to go mental with the cash like me, shobet and a few others on this forum to get a good tele.
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Think it is an Allparts build.
Forgot about your Cabronita Matt, sounds like a belter!
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My Cabronita that WezV built had a Warmoth neck, and that was a great guitar. Warmoth is a great option if you can get the body finished nicely to your spec.
Failing that, the Bajas are the next best bang for the buck as people have already said. I liked mine a lot. Also my Squier Classic Vibe was great, if a little skinny in the neck department.
As you can tell, I've had a few Teles (and sold them) but I still have the only two Fender Custom Shop guitars I've bought. That says it all really :)
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Quality wood and meticulous craftmanship pays off. A lot of these CS's play different though. Some necks I didn't like, most of them were great.
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so i phoned the shop and it was indeed a 60th anniversary i tried out. the specs say a modern C shape and 9.25 radius. feels good enough for me as far as the radii goes, but the back of the neck feels too flimsy!
I've been repairing guitars for a while and setuping them too, if i went the warmoth route (I'm based in canada so it's closer for me than it is for most of you) it would be a pretty decent alternative as well...
The only downside of the Warmoth approach is that you don't know whether the neck and body will play nicely together until you get and assemble them. If you buy an off the shelf Tele you can make sure you get a really good resonant one. When I got my Dubreuille Tele (this one (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_atrocity/sets/72157625819361721/)) I tried CS, Nash and McGuire ones that were as expensive or more so and, to my hands and ears, the one I bought was the best of the lot. So I put a lot of store by being able to actually go and play an instrument before I buy it. If you want something a bit oddball though, Warmoth and DIY might very well be the way to approach it.
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I've got an American Standard with an ash body. Great guitar, but like with American Standard Strats the pickups lack character. I replaced them with a set of Dimarzio Area T's and I can now indulge in my Roy Buchanan fantasies whenever the mood strikes me :mrgreen:
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I've got an American Standard with an ash body. Great guitar, but like with American Standard Strats the pickups lack character. I replaced them with a set of Dimarzio Area T's and I can now indulge in my Roy Buchanan fantasies whenever the mood strikes me :mrgreen:
Exactly. They're well made and the used woods are good. Just the pu's were a little thin and bland to my ears.
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Mine is a humble MIM 1950's r/i. It has been somewhat neglected-at least until about a month ago. At the moment it is the guitar I play the most-the tone is superb(the Country Boys help in that regard).
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i do have plans to treat it with a proper '' the boss'' set :) so stock pickups don't bug me. i just want a good plank! but it's true that trying out the guitar will help with an educated purchase!
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Definitely try out the guitar. If the basics are there acoustically, a new set of BKPs will only enhance the experience. I'm interested in The Boss set and nearly bought these until I was talked down by my fellow BGF50 BKPers.
I tried a few Bajas and some Classic Players before settling on my Baja. There was a definite difference in acoustics on them - I went for the one with the clearest, springiest tone. I didn't even try it through an amp in the shop.
Happy hunting!
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i do wish they still made the richie kotzen telecaster. i got my paws on one and the neck was perfect!
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Try the Vintage Hot Rod '52 model if you get a chance.
It's like a '52 reissue, with a good chunky neck, but with the 9.5" radius and big frets. It has a minibucker neck pickup, but of course that's easy to change if you want.
http://www.fender.com/en-GB/products/search.php?partno=0100232850 (http://www.fender.com/en-GB/products/search.php?partno=0100232850)
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hey! now that actually looks pretty decent!
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Any thoughts of the MIM teles. There seems to be a good deal in a town not too far from me?
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I like the vintage hotrod 52. Not a cheapo though, but quite versatile.
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i say go to Warmoth. They've been licenced by Fender to make their guitars so you'll get the perfect Fender, with your specs, for a great price. You can also get compound radius :) nothing like customising your own fender to your exact specs. Check it out www.warmoth.com
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If you plan on changing pups, MiJ / CiJ Teles are usually a very safe bet - good woods, nice workmanship, and really consistent quality - and can be found for a decent price tag around here in Europe (can't tell about your local market). The necks are supposedly a bit thinner than US ones, but if you go for a 50s RI (ash / maple) model this shouldn't be such an issue, these are way thicker than the 62s.
Warmoth might still be a good option if you know exactly what you want and don't have too much shipping and tax fees.
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If you plan on changing pups, MiJ / CiJ Teles are usually a very safe bet - good woods, nice workmanship, and really consistent quality - and can be found for a decent price tag around here in Europe (can't tell about your local market). The necks are supposedly a bit thinner than US ones, but if you go for a 50s RI (ash / maple) model this shouldn't be such an issue, these are way thicker than the 62s.
Warmoth might still be a good option if you know exactly what you want and don't have too much shipping and tax fees.
I'm actually curious about this. I know Warmoth P&P is like $100 to the UK. But do you have to pay anything extra to have it shipped to the UK in terms of import fees, etc?
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I think a Warmoth Partscaster has the possibility of coming out better than an american Fender if done right.
I'm waiting for Roo to find this thread and call you a ****
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Yes if you import stuff to the UK from Warmoth you will probably incur import duty plus VAT.
Someone asked about the MIM Tele's- in my opinion they are pretty damn good. I am not saying that because I have one-ok well maybe I am but when I bought mine, it was from an idiot who wanted a stupidly low price for it. I didn't spend too much time thinking about it as I figured that for that money, I could probably spend cash fixing it up and still be quids in. In fact, I found it to be a well made guitar with great finish and playability. A pickup swap was all it needed to turn it from a good guitar to a tone beast.
I used to use it for noodling around on at home-as often as not it was played acoustically and then I recently bought a small 10 Laney Cub amp and wanted to try all my guitars out on it.The Tele sounded so damn good that I took it to a gig that night and I wondered what the hell I was doing leaving it at home. Since then, it has been to every gig and I am doing a small solo spot of original material next week and the Tele is lined up to be my weapon of choice.
In conclusion, a MIM Tele is good value and I think would hold its own against a Japanese model- certainly mine does and I have played many Teles over the years-maybe not quite as many as I have Strats but a very close second.
One final point(and I think I may have mentioned this before) is that I blind tested my Tele against an old one a few years back- where I recorded both in a studio I was working in. We had a hard time telling them apart when listening back- that was shortly after the Country Boys were installed.
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I'm actually curious about this. I know Warmoth P&P is like $100 to the UK. But do you have to pay anything extra to have it shipped to the UK in terms of import fees, etc?
Having bought a LOT of Warmoth parts ( :lol: ), I can safely say that yes, you will have to pay VAT at 20%, plus import duty and the courier's admin fees.
If you buy a neck that's, say, £200 including shipping, the import costs will add nearly £50 on top of that.
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I wonder how warmoth works for canada. it's not like the wood goes overseas when going to me!
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I wonder how warmoth works for canada. it's not like the wood goes overseas when going to me!
Do you normally have to pay import taxes/charges if you buy from the US?
I may be wrong, but my impression from studying (mostly) Japanese dealers' ads on eBay, reading forums etc is that people in the USA don't normally have to pay any charges on imports? Which, if true, is surprising.
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it all depends. i've had to pay import for my biasrite which i bought from the us but was delivered through ups. I've had to pay duty on my first BKP order which also had t-shirts. but on my subsequent 2 orders it all went through easily.
i bought quite a bit of parts and kits to build effect pedals and never had to pay duty. just shipping.
i think it has to do with the size of the package. one small box won't do much, but a bigger thing like a guitar might attract attention and thus duty charge?
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i humbly suggest giving tommy over at usa custom guitars a call. quality of wood and workmanship is top notched plus they believe in tap tuning the body and neck wood to ensure nothing goes out of whack.
did i mentioned tommy is a really nice guy to work with?
alternatively, i will choose to go with mij fenders if brand name is a must. more consistent in workmanship over the mia or mim.
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i humbly suggest giving tommy over at usa custom guitars a call. quality of wood and workmanship is top notched plus they believe in tap tuning the body and neck wood to ensure nothing goes out of whack.
did i mentioned tommy is a really nice guy to work with?
alternatively, i will choose to go with mij fenders if brand name is a must. more consistent in workmanship over the mia or mim.
Does he only do the body shapes he's advertised on his website? Or does he do other body shapes like the soloist, etc?
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i did forget about USACG!
thanks!
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@ nephilim: i believe that is all they do but give tommy a call and see if they can cut what you want.
@ keven: no worries buddy. glad to be of help.
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@ nephilim: i believe that is all they do but give tommy a call and see if they can cut what you want.
@ keven: no worries buddy. glad to be of help.
I've just emailed him since being in the UK. Its just more of a Soloist shape that I wanted to improve upper fret access, so it's nothing like a really complex design. Cheers neways :)