How to pimp a baritone Blacktop Tele...

[dvorak]

I recently bought a baritone Blacktop Tele.

Cool guitar, but there were some things that could be done to make it a great guitar.

First, the setup was terrible. Second, the pups were lacking. Third, I didn't like the black pick guard (first worlds problems right here!)

So I took care of those things! Pickups are a black dog with two slow hand single coils. Maybe the best set of pups I have tried yet from BKP! Really clear and articulate, and the blackdog has some nice bite going on. The whole guitar sounds much more like a strat now though in the 2 and 4 position.

I'm thinking I want to try a set in a mahogany guitar. One of my favorite pickups right now is the PRS 59/09, and the Blackdog might be an improvement of that one. Really cool!

Here it  was stock:



I got myself a Nashville Tele guard. I bought a standard sized HSS set which meant I had to enlarge the neck pup hole for a strat sized pup.


Spill its guts!


I was kind of ambitious, tried the Suhr wiring that puts some resistors and caps so the singles only see 250k. Clever, but it didn't fit the cavity with the superswitch etc. 4 hours wasted 


I simplified it in the end running two 470k resistors parallel for the single coils, works very very well. Also install a high pass filter/treble bleed mod.


And here is how it turned out:


It's difficult to capture the colour, but the orange is really nice. Especially now with the parchment pickguard.



Man, there pups sound so good. I must say that BKP makes some incredible stuff. The pups really made this guitar come alive, I can't believe the difference. Normally when I change pickups I notice a slight difference, and you learn to play it. So after a while it's really obvious. But compared to the stock Fender pups, it was like night and day. Never experienced it like that before. The cool thing is that the split sounds still sounds like split sounds even running full gain. Often they just get muddied up, but these pups still retain all the clarity and definition (I do think the resistors helped here too). It's cool to be able to switch and hear a difference.

I'll get some sound samples up next time I'm in the studio. I have already recorded some things with the stock pups so you can hear the difference.

[Kiichi]

Oh cool! Congrats! One of those guitars I have my eye on. Brilliant pickup choice, for a baritione those PUs with extra midrange are simply amazing.

Is the build and wood quality woth the price in your mind? Basecally asking if getting one is worth it.

[dvorak]

Oh cool! Congrats! One of those guitars I have my eye on. Brilliant pickup choice, for a baritione those PUs with extra midrange are simply amazing.

Is the build and wood quality woth the price in your mind? Basecally asking if getting one is worth it.

Good question, I think it it worth it.
I did however buy mine when I was on holiday in the US, so it cost me $500.

If I were to buy retail here in Europe I would also look at the Hagström Viking Baritone. But anyway, the black top is a cheap guitar, you can't go wrong. The orange and silver colours are much better looking in person than you see in photos.

The Tele is cool, quality is good, but the intonation is a little bit difficult on the low B. It seems like the bridge should have been mounted a few more mm. I removed the spring and got it close enough, so it's no biggie. It also has a baseball neck sized neck, but I like that. Frets are good and it was easy to get a low action on it (I don't play super low). The setup when I bought it from the shop was really bad.

Thanks anyway, the blackdog is a VERY cool pickup. And so are the slow hands!

[Philly Q]

Nice work!  :D

[Lew]

I really like the look of that. I'd put proper tele knobs on it and have the control panel the other way, though.

[dvorak]

Thanks fellas!

I really like the look of that. I'd put proper tele knobs on it and have the control panel the other way, though.

New knobs are coming, and a PRS pickup ring. That's the closest match to the parchment white.

I tried switching the control plate, but the routing in the body interferes with the 5 way switch. In other words, it doesn't fit! I'm getting used to it, and it's pretty nice having the volume knob so close. I use the volume quite a lot, so it suits me

[Lew]

Well, the plate that way round suits the hot rodded look I guess. Definitely needs those new knobs, though  8) Going for straight domes?

[dvorak]

Well, the plate that way round suits the hot rodded look I guess. Definitely needs those new knobs, though  8) Going for straight domes?

I am indeed!

I'm still amazed with these pickups, I can't believe the difference they made.

[metale]

Guitar looks great, man. Congrats.

And sounds like a terrific pickup combination.  :guitar4: