Telecaster Love Thread, No Archtops Allowed

[lammie200]

Okay I’ll admit I have no love for Telecasters. I don’t begrudge anyone who does like or love them. What I don’t understand is how this thread rates a sticky ?

There is a phrase floating around preschools that is "Don't yuck my yum."

[fasteddie]

There is a phrase floating around preschools that is "Don't yuck my yum."

I have no problem at all with this thread. I Just don’t see how it rates being a sticky thread.

[fasteddie]

Can you point to any other thread more worthy of a sticky than this?


Going strong for 4 years with 1600+ replies

I think a sticky thread should deal with FAQs, but maybe I don’t know the rules for sticky’s on this forum. Really I’m not trying to upset anyone. If the thread is so active it would float to the top anyway, without being a sticky. I just don’t understand. Just seems weird to me.

[zcostilla]

There are a lot of great teles here! I love the idea of the tele, but I don’t care for the 25.5” scale. I started out playing on a no-name Floyd Rose equipped strat copy but once I found a 24.75” I haven’t looked back. Thought about a Warmoth conversion neck partscaster but haven’t convinced myself I need one yet.

[morroben]

I like the bridge - have you tried the toploader option yet? Or mixing the two?

Good eye! I haven't tried the toploader option yet. Maybe on the next string change. Jim Campilongo swears by the toploader so I'll give it a try at some point.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

There are a lot of great teles here! I love the idea of the tele, but I don’t care for the 25.5” scale. I started out playing on a no-name Floyd Rose equipped strat copy but once I found a 24.75” I haven’t looked back. Thought about a Warmoth conversion neck partscaster but haven’t convinced myself I need one yet.

Interesting! I'm the other way 'round. I was wondering why I liked my L5 neck better than my 335, and concluded it was partly the 25 1/2" scale of the L5.

It's harder to find 25 1/2" archtops than it is to order a 24 3/4" Tele conversion neck and bolt it on. It would be nice if Eastman or Godin or Ibanez made an affordable archtop with a long scale.

[Hep To The Jive]

I think a sticky thread should deal with FAQs, but maybe I don’t know the rules for sticky’s on this forum..

Exactly. The FAQs is telecasters are the coolest, so try to come to terms with it, buddy.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Try a fine Scorch Brite pad on the back of the neck if it's sticky.

[zigzag]

Recently installed Fralin Steel Pole 42 pickups into my Tele. Love 'em!

[archtopeddy]

There are a lot of great teles here! I love the idea of the tele, but I don’t care for the 25.5” scale. I started out playing on a no-name Floyd Rose equipped strat copy but once I found a 24.75” I haven’t looked back. Thought about a Warmoth conversion neck partscaster but haven’t convinced myself I need one yet.

Here's Bill Frisell playing a Gibson scale length neck on a Tele. BTW, I love the look and sound of this guitar -- and Frisell's playing is of course ... well, ethereal.

[Alder Statesman]

Here's Bill Frisel playing a Gibson scale length neck on a Tele. BTW, I love the look and sound of this guitar -- and Frisel's playing is of course ... well, ethereal.

Wow! Talk about wringing emotion from a guitar.

[Zzapata]

Hi ! Bill Frisell... what an amazing musicien !
Last year I owned a wonderfull Maybach Teleman T54, much better than all the fender (including custom shop and masterbuilt) I've ever tried. Made in Europe, it goes with Ambers handmade pickups (like the original telecasters) and sugar pine body (like the original fenders !), it sounds great for jazz and so more. A truely wonderfull guitar with an amazing sustain ! My first with a maple fretboard (I usually prefer Ebony)... but I was really captivated.

[mateo2006]

My Thinline:
Attachment 62658

This is an exceptionally attractive instrument. Where did you get the hardware (Bixby/Bridgeplate) for this?

[mateo2006]

Not to be compared with some of the beauties on this thread, I think this CV tele became something interesting once I placed a Lollar CC in the neck.
At this point it had a JAG/Baytone CC bridge pickup in the first position. Great visual match ... but under powered when paired with the Lollar CC pickup in the neck. (The output ratings for the Lollar are only 3.2 K but with its unconventional 38 gauge wire looking to those numbers you end up comparing oranges to apples.) I had to put a SD Quarter Pound for Tele in there before I got the perceivable output close to matching.

With a Lollar Blade Steel pickup in the bridge. Too bright for a excellent match with that neck pickup in my books. Some say that the pickup was made to pair with the CC neck but actually the BS pickup was made first and is just generally recommended as a foil to the CC neck because its output matches.

It IS a great pickup. Loud, clean and bright with some aggressive attack. Sounded great for slide. It would be fantastic in an Esquire where you set up your EQ for this single pickup or on a guitar with a separate tone control to dial it down a bit. But when paired with the CC neck pickup and amp settings that suited it, it seemed like I was always putting on a "different hat" when changing pickup positions.

[6stringjazz]

Here's my "Beach-caster" and my other seafoam green one.

[marcwhy]

Too many sexy teles out there!

Here are a couple chambered, spruce tops by Marc Rutters (from Tenn.), both listed on Reverb right now (no affiliation!):

[Drifter]

Both look fantastic but I can't find them on reverb. Are they sold already or what do I have to search for?

[marcwhy]

Search for "Rutters."

Rutters butterscotch

Rutters f-hole

[Lux]

Assume Esquires are cool in this thread?

Here’s my old 1952, a great one...

[Little Jay]

Assume Esquires are cool in this thread?

Here’s my old 1952, a great one...

1952? Yeah right, you can’t fool me, you bought that last week!

Man, that looks absolutely pristine, gorgeous!

[David B]

My Hahn Model C (post #1615) now sports a TV Jones Filtertron at the neck. Great pickup!

[Stefan Eff]

Telecasters are the ultimate guitars. No other guitar is so direct, responsive and honest:
she forgives no mistake but she sounds just like you- nothing more, nothing less.

[Doug B]

Has anyone tried a Don Mare Big Box Archtop pickup for the neck position?
Supposed to give a sound similar to an archtop. Tim Lerch did a video on it:

[Stefan Eff]

Has anyone tried a Don Mare Big Box Archtop pickup for the neck position?
Supposed to give a sound similar to an archtop. Tim Lerch did a video on it:

I‘ve found classical, vintage type Pickups (Alnico5 neck, Alnico3 bridge), correct outputs and wires work perfect and better than different pickup types. The trick are different picking positions, the use of tone/volume control and dynamic playing- you‘ll achieve that pure special tone you can only get from a (vintage type) Telecaster. Listen to Julian Lage. And check this:

[rhl-ferndale]

Attachment 64484

When I was a child, I spake as a child about the superiority of the Stratocaster. When I was an older man, I put away the Strat.

Spalted maple body, redwood C neck, Biltoft CC pickups.