Esquire Project - Which of these 3 BKP vintage output pu's?

[Philly Q]

Ah!  I didn't realise The Little Bitch had Esquire wiring, I though it was just vol and tone with no switch.  :)

[WezV]

vol and tone with a push/pull switch for the tone preset ;)

[Philly Q]

Ah-ha!  :)

I suppose I could've gone back and read that thread, but it was 20-odd pages wasn't it?! 

[Twinfan]

Just for Edgie's benefit...  ;)

[edgie]

Just for Edgie's benefit...  ;)

Twinfan, thanks for the pic, so this is La Cabronita..what a great-looking guitar that is! Probably the best degree of blue I've ever seen on a guitar.

 You won't believe this but the color that I was thinking for my esquire project is also blue. But mine would be whale blue(like the PRS cu24 models) and it would have a matte finish with the grains still showing. Like a mary kaye finish but it's blue and not glossy. I'm not really sure how it would turn out but the luthier says it can be done. I'll also have a tummy cut and forearm contour to go with it since I'm really a strat guy.

 I also requested with an almost unfinished neck, where the finish is just there to prevent dirt and dust from seeping in to the wood grain upon use. I hate glossy necks.  And also just like yours, I'm planning to install a half pickguard if i can find one or it it can be made by the luthier, something that I saw from Southern Ill Guitars(His works actually triggered my desire for an esquire).

[Twinfan]

Sounds like a great guitar Edgie - there's quite a lot of folks producing similar things.  If Fender made a reasonably priced version, they'd make a killing!

[AndyR]

Philly, neck pickup warmth:

I'd say Blackguard is warmer. The Yardbird neck is sweeter and more bell-like. I can even use the YB neck for crunchy rhythm parts if I want, usually I find a neck pickup (tele, strat, humbuckers, whatever) a bit lacking in definition for that sort of thing... The YB neck still sounds like my idea of a tele neck, just more usable.

Having said that, my favourite "middle" tone is the BG Flat 50 neck and bridge together. I don't tend to use middle on my YB set that much - might be that I haven't fiddled with relative heights enough yet though.

Twinfan - that blue beastie is really growing on me. The whole look of the CS shop ones etc didn't grab me at first. And when you started out on the project for this one it was "yeah, each to his own, it'll be lovely I'm sure..."

But a couple of months on, it's looking better and better :D

[Philly Q]

Thanks Andy, it's looking ever more like the Blaggards for me, unless I go for something hotter.  :)

[edgie]

Sounds like a great guitar Edgie - there's quite a lot of folks producing similar things.  If Fender made a reasonably priced version, they'd make a killing!

I agree. Given that Fender makes the MIM esquires in old, unexciting colors, I couldn't see paying that much for an Esquire. Custom shop prices are crazy. IMHO, the moment you reach the 1.2k usd plateau, things just get different, not necessarily better.

[Twinfan]

I couldn't see paying that much for an Esquire. Custom shop prices are crazy. IMHO, the moment you reach the 1.2k usd plateau, things just get different, not necessarily better.

Oooh, controversial.  I personally think the Team Built Custom Shop guitars are worth it for their tonal benefit when compared to USA/Mexican/Japanese models, and I love my two.  Masterbuilts, however, are for the well heeled collector only.

This post is useless without pics, right?  ;)

[Philly Q]

Oh, now he's just showing off! 

[Twinfan]

:oops:  Sorry.

I do absolutely adore these guitars, and the Fender Custom Shop really does know what it's doing.  The blue Esquire is an absolute belter of a guitar, and it really works in my rock covers band.

[edgie]

Wow, so you really do love Esquires. Sorry about the Custom Shop comment, not really trying to stir up trouble, maybe it's just because I also tried a lot of boutique guitars that are quite hard to connect with and downright disappointing for what their price. For some reason, they just feel strange sometimes. Though there are some "perplexingly beautiful" ones like the Don Grosh strat I recently tried. It's so light(even lighter than a basswood Ibanez RG I suppose) and yet it rings out beautifully.

[tomjackson]

:oops:  Sorry.

I do absolutely adore these guitars, and the Fender Custom Shop really does know what it's doing.  The blue Esquire is an absolute belter of a guitar, and it really works in my rock covers band.

I agree. I think Fender Custom Shop make the best Telecasters available.  The few I have tried lately in Sounds Great have just made me grin when I've hit the first chord.  The Vibe, the feel, the tone....I think Fender have really got their shop in order....

I think I'd always go far a partscaster rather than anything in the mid range but if I had the money I'd probably go for a CS Tele over any alternative....

[shobet]

I have to agree with twin, the Fender CS does seem to churn out very good guitars from my experience of them. I think the next thing coming to live with me will be a CS strat of some description.