Telecaster Love Thread, No Archtops Allowed

[neatomic]

Actually, if I ever decide to build myself the best solid body guitar ever, it will be a Telemaster-- JM body (which is so comfortable for sitting down) and tele everything else.

you mean like this?..fender did a limited run just this year-2016



cheers

[neatomic]

as per greentones post



jimmy bryant was the first guy to play leo fenders new invention-

cheers

[neatomic]

always liked the burns version of a tele..with the german carve




cheers

[Hammertone]

Must put a pair of greasy humbuckers on that to take advantage of the drip edge.

It's routed for P-90s. I figure that once it's put together it can double as a cutting board AND a guitar.

[gggomez]

T men, have you heard/seen the video Petros Klampanis did last week with Gilad Hekselman on his Telecaster doing Beatles covers? Is on facebook somewhere.

[jazzbow]

How about one of those?

Attachment 33007

Wow, that bridge. Makes the bridge humbucker placement look right.

For example...


Nope, unimaginative and clumsy looking.


Better. Workman-like and simple.


Close. Aesthetically pleasing and exclusive.


Nope. Too strung out and taking up too much space.


Yes. Simple design and uncluttered.


'Dang! Wish I had thought of that....'

[jazzbow]

Oh, and I found this...


The ultimate archtop Tele.

Perfect balance. It takes the language of Leo's original design aesthetic into a whole new direction.

Person who made this much kudos to ye.

Now I'm sold!

[jazzbow]

And I now have Uber-GAS

I give to you.....

The Banning TeleBacker


Wow.


Check out the tailpiece carve!


The player version @ £980/$1300/€1680.

Banning Guitars

[Drifter]

Very close Drifter, me old pal. The P90's help balance that bridge.

Very true. And it is a string through body bridge. I prefer that on any kind of Tele.

I'd be tempted to get the orange one if I had the money. On the other hand, I always thought some Dutch guy / gal should get it. Best possible guitar for any Jazz party on their queens day.

[jazzbow]

Y'know, in the space of my last three posts I could have all my tonal options covered with guitar design classics beaten into a Tele shape.


Or you could go the other way!

[Groover1999]

Telecasters are the best. Yeah, the sky is blue and waters wet, but I had to say it. Tele <3 thread

[Captain Caravelle]

Brad loves his tele too.
Always wanted a paisley tele......

[50Hz]

Not sure if this counts [seems Tele styled] but I picked this Yamaha SJ 550 HR up recently for a song and I've been loving it. I believe it's an '84. It gets a perfectly usable clean tone w/ the neck p/u and it's much lighter than my '89 Epi Les Paul so it's quickly becoming my go-to when practicing.

Side note: Not sure how to orient the photos as this is my first time posting pics. Bear with me lol.

[Groover1999]

whats the difference between the 52 reissue bridge, and the American Standard? What does it mean for the sound of the guitar?

[jazzbow]

whats the difference between the 52 reissue bridge, and the American Standard? What does it mean for the sound of the guitar?

Oooo! you may have opened up a can of worms there mate.

Basically.....

Saddles different metals means different tonal/sustain quality.

Google image search Telecaster bridge and your head will spin.

The other difference is that the standard has a longer plate than the classic 52 so one doesn't swap properly with the other if you want to change.

But there are conversion kits, google that and your head will spin also.

Another byproduct of Tele bridges is the electrodynamic response of different metals.

Not so simple a guitar now eh!

Here's some info from the late pickup guru Bill Lawrence...

Bill Lawrence Website

Your head will spin!

[Groover1999]

I don´t want my head to spin. I´d like to find that sustained tone that Prince has, when he plays his Hohner I know he uses Boss pedals

[jazzbow]

I don´t want my head to spin. I´d like to find that sustained tone that Prince has, when he plays his Hohner I know he uses Boss pedals

Brass based saddles is your first point of call. It will sound as different as 'Diamonds and Pearls'....

[Groover1999]

3:24

Unrehearsed: “Never really showed us what he was going to do, and he left, basically telling me, the producer of the show, not to worry" Joel Gallen, NY Times article

[jazzbow]

Prince's Madcat Tele had a Strat hard tail bridge with bent saddles. There was no metal plate for the bridge pickup to attach to.


Original Ibanez/Hohner advertisment.

I'm thinking a Strat without the middle pickup.

[MaxTwang]

Another difference is the bridge plate. Vintage Tele's have a very, very thin steel bridge plate and modern Tele's have a thick metal plate (like the bridge plate on a Strat).

[Greentone]

Well, I will be no longer in a Tele-free zone! It's been almost a year since I sold my last Telecaster--a '91 '52 Reissue that I purchased new. I really loved that guitar, but I had to make room for a new archtop that I had been drooling over.

Anyway, the last year has been tough. I have a Strat, but it's not the same thing. Our forum's Hammertone took pity on me and approached me about one of his six Teles:

I bought the neck and body from the guitar above and I am going to build it up next week. (Hammertone had already put the hardware on another Tele he has.) The neck is a Musikraft that is a full 1" at the first fret:

The body is double-bound, two-piece, with interesting grain pattern. I am going to put a white guard like the one that's on it, a Fender bridge plate with brass saddles, Gotoh tuners, 3-way switch, CTS 250K pots, and Fralin Vintage Stock pickups on it. Hmm? Maybe White Ropes instead.

Thanks, Hammertone. Now, I won't have a nervous breakdown playing "Nervous Breakdown" on a Strat...or "Out of Nowhere."

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

^^^ That's a nice beefy neck!

[Greentone]

I was going to try to get a Mechanicland neck/Fender body guitar that a friend of mine owns. Hammertone's offer came up first. The Musikraft carve is as beefy as the Mechanicland neck.

All Mechanicland necks were sold by Canadian dentist Elliot Mechanic. He had them made by Brian Monty. Monty still makes guitars, necks, bodies, etc. The Monty-made necks are ballpark thick.

I have never played a Telecaster that I like better than one with a Mechanic/Monty neck. I have very high hopes for the Musikraft neck--which is carved as thick and with very full shoulders. I find such necks to be both comfortable and sonorous.

The early Esquires, Broadcasters, and Telecasters had very full necks.

[neatomic]

musikraft builds very high quality stuff...out of nj usa!...the neck pictured looks like a beauty..with the grain running straight parallel..beautiful...and louisville slugger beefy for them that likes 'em like that...

glad your back in tele-ville...looking forward to this build

cheers

[lammie200]

musikraft builds very high quality stuff...out of nj usa!...the neck pictured looks like a beauty..with the grain running straight parallel..beautiful...and louisville slugger beefy for them that likes 'em like that.

I just ordered a Musikraft neck last night for my Tele build. Previously I have only worked with Warmoth, but I like the choices that Musikraft affords so I went with them this time. I can't do a baseball bat profile though. Mine will be quite different. 4 lbs swamp ash body from Guitar Mill shipped today. Fralin P-92 pick up will arrive tomorrow. Only things left to order are pots, knobs, caps and tuners. Will probably get it Plek'd at the local shop after the dust settles. I am about as excited as I was when I got my first Tele from Rudy's in NYC 36-odd years ago. Maybe more excited since this one will be such a custom job in comparison. Oh goody!