Telecaster Love Thread, No Archtops Allowed

[Vladan]

Top loader vs strings through body???


i never played a tele I loved due to the string tension, always thought it was the scale length. However a strat has less tension, yet the same scale. My last ditch effect to love a tele has me thinking it must be the string break angle.


So.....

Anyone have experience with top loaders???

My Squier is toploader. I was told through bodies should have more sustain, but I'm not so sure about that, as it rings for ages. However, I was never into musician's lingo, so "sustain" may be something completely different? To my ears, acoustical sound of my Squier tele is the best there is.

[Cunamara]

I installed GraphTech saddles to my Tele to try to reduce the high frequency spike a few weeks ago. I suppose some people hear that a "sparkle" but to me it just sounds harsh. There's a high end bite on a lot guitars- not just Teles- that I don't like for my jazz sound. So far I like the GraphTechs because they do exactly what a lot of players on the Tele forum gripe about. If I was playing blues, country or rock I might feel differently.

One of the great things about the Tele is that it can cover all of those styles of music so adroitly. I've not got any of the classical repertoire under my fingers but maybe it'd cover that too!

[docbop]

I agree 100%.

I went from grooved steel saddles to brass and the added bell like shimmer is beautiful.

I did have a set of Wilkinson intonated brass saddles which imparted a weird overtone on the D string which I ditched for Kluson harmonic brass saddles.

I had a Wilkinson tele bridge and it was okay, but once I replaced it with a Joe Barton with the round compensated brass bridge piece the whole guitar just woke up.

[Hammertone]

correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the first tele actually a Broadcaster, with only a bridge pickup?

There are no one-pickup Broadcasters. The first teles were labelled as Esquires. They did not have any truss rods, and many were sent back to Fender due to neck problems.
The guitar was reintroduced as a two pickup version, with a trussrod, and that version was called the Broadcaster; then it had no name for awhile (hence the nickname "Nocaster") while Fender responded to a cease-and-desist letter from Gertsch, then it became the Telecaster (2-pickup version) and the Esquire (1-pickup version).

[sgcim]

I tried a Fender Deluxe Thinline Tele a few days ago at a store, and I liked it, but there were two problems:

1) The high E string was very close to the edge of the fingerboard, and I could see that there would be a problem with it slipping off the edge of the fingerboard.

2) Although the action was great on the guitar, the high E string would smack into the frets when I picked it hard.

The guy at the store said it had .010s on it, so maybe using an .011 for an E string would help with #2.

I don't want to raise the action, because I want a guitar that's easy to play, but can still get a good jazz sound.

I don't think I could get the same jazz tone out of it if I bought a Tele without the one F-hole that this one had, plus it had a skinnier neck than the other Teles I tried out, so this would probably be the model that I'd like the best (I HATE fat necks!).

Any suggestions? TIA

[neatomic]

my opinion is, if you find a new guitar that resonates with you..get it..all the fine tunings need to be tweaked anyway..i do my own..but, if that's not your forte..take it to somebody who can..or talk seller into doing set up..i know gc is very flexible this way nowadays

guitar you mention sounds like it just needs a good set up..i never met a new guitar that didn't!

w/o getting technical..sounds like simple stuff..and you'd be happy

cheers

ps- if we were local i'd set it up ..compliments

[Boston Joe]

I've got a Highway 1 Tele (tobacco burst). Not sure of the year, but fairly recent. I never would have thought of playing jazz on a Tele, but I love it. On the neck pickup with the tone rolled off it gives a fairly convincing jazz sound.

It's a great travel guitar, too, being practically indestructible.

[Cunamara]

I tried a Fender Deluxe Thinline Tele a few days ago at a store, and I liked it, but there were two problems:

1) The high E string was very close to the edge of the fingerboard, and I could see that there would be a problem with it slipping off the edge of the fingerboard.

2) Although the action was great on the guitar, the high E string would smack into the frets when I picked it hard.

The guy at the store said it had .010s on it, so maybe using an .011 for an E string would help with #2.

I don't want to raise the action, because I want a guitar that's easy to play, but can still get a good jazz sound.

I don't think I could get the same jazz tone out of it if I bought a Tele without the one F-hole that this one had, plus it had a skinnier neck than the other Teles I tried out, so this would probably be the model that I'd like the best (I HATE fat necks!).

Any suggestions? TIA

It may be possible to adjust the string issue by loosening the neck bolts and pushing the neck towards the high E string, then tighten the neck bolts back down. There is usually enough freedom to center the strings.

[Little Jay]

It may be possible to adjust the string issue by loosening the neck bolts and pushing the neck towards the high E string, then tighten the neck bolts back down. There is usually enough freedom to center the strings.

That was exactly the case with my tele as well, and Cunamara's solution worked like a charm! I actually put the guitar on it's side to set the neck before I tightened the bolts again.

[docbop]

It may be possible to adjust the string issue by loosening the neck bolts and pushing the neck towards the high E string, then tighten the neck bolts back down. There is usually enough freedom to center the strings.

Back in the day music stores did that in-store and would scare the crap out of customers but it worked. They would just grab the guitar by the neck around the nut area, then the body in and smack it down across their knee. Check the neck and smack it again is necessary. Saw Ted Greene to it once too. Old school, but it worked to align the neck.

[floatingpickup]

I recorded a video of me playing my new tele today.
Keith

[jazzbow]

I had a Wilkinson tele bridge and it was okay, but once I replaced it with a Joe Barton with the round compensated brass bridge piece the whole guitar just woke up.

Wilkinson intonated saddles don't do wound G compensation, I needed 2 sets.

Then they left that weird overtone. I broke the wind on a Thomastic flatwound D string trying to wrestle out that awful overtone. I was not happy.

The Klusons are boss mate, and less coin in blighty.


Brass distressed the good old fashion way!

[Jazz_175]

Very nice playing, Keith!
A beautiful tone, as well.

[christianm77]

Well my missus loved my Tele American deluxe so much she went and bought one in the January sales:

So the Butterscotch one is mine - a 2005 (I think) American Deluxe
Hers in Silver and Tortoiseshell is the 2015.

They are strong differences in character between them... And it's not just the pickups or the rosewood.....

[Jazz_175]

Is there anyone playing Suhr Telecasters?
I am thinking of trading my Fender American Vintage 52 reissue for a Tele Suhr...

[christianm77]

Is there anyone playing Suhr Telecasters?
I am thinking of trading my Fender American Vintage 52 reissue for a Tele Suhr...

I don't think you would be disappointed by the upgrade. The Suhrs are better than the sub 2000USD Fenders from my experience. I couldn't afford a Suhr though, and the butterscotch Fender was the guitar that came closest - not far off... I think I'd tried pretty much everything non-Custom Shop.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Well my missus loved my Tele American deluxe so much she went and bought one in the January sales:

So the Butterscotch one is mine - a 2005 (I think) American Deluxe
Hers in Silver and Tortoiseshell is the 2015.

They are strong differences in character between them... And it's not just the pickups or the rosewood.....

Does that new Tele have tortoiseshell binding? Those are sweet!

[docbop]

I don't think you would be disappointed by the upgrade. The Suhrs are better than the sub 2000USD Fenders from my experience. I couldn't afford a Suhr though, and the butterscotch Fender was the guitar that came closest - not far off... I think I'd tried pretty much everything non-Custom Shop.

is the 52 the one with the Deep U shape neck? If so how do you like it?

[Illuin]

Here are some old shots of my US Deluxe Tele (and a couple of my US Tele in Cherry Red).

Sorry for spamming with so many photos...

[Illuin]

^^I wanted to go into photography at one point...

[Illuin]

And a few more (because I'm Tele obsessed)

[Hep To The Jive]

I was at the guitar shop the other day, and tried a few teles. I thought I'm gonna like Vintage 52 RI the best, but... and I'm only talking about the feel of an instrument, not the sound, I found my perfect neck in Vintage 58 RI ! It felt absolutely perfect, and only thing I would change is rosewood instead of maple fretboard.

The reason I was trying them out, I'm planning one day to built my own tele from parts, either from Warmoth, or Musikcraft, All Parts, or any of those builders.

After I figure out what neck I need, I immediately looked up Fender specs on 58 RI, and it says the D-profile! Nice, but nobody knows what D- profile is, it's never been in Fender catalog seems like. All those builders offer C, V, U, Soft V, but no D in sight!

Btw, to describe it, I guess it's not as deep as U, but has a lot of shoulders. Accidentally, the same neck profile (I'm pretty positive) was on Guild X175 Newark Reissue, made in Korea hollowbody I used to own.

well, at least I know what I want, because only recently I realized how much a neck specs affect playing!

[docbop]

I was at the guitar shop the other day, and tried a few teles. I thought I'm gonna like Vintage 52 RI the best, but... and I'm only talking about the feel of an instrument, not the sound, I found my perfect neck in Vintage 58 RI ! It felt absolutely perfect, and only thing I would change is rosewood instead of maple fretboard.

The reason I was trying them out, I'm planning one day to built my own tele from parts, either from Warmoth, or Musikcraft, All Parts, or any of those builders.

After I figure out what neck I need, I immediately looked up Fender specs on 58 RI, and it says the D-profile! Nice, but nobody knows what D- profile is, it's never been in Fender catalog seems like. All those builders offer C, V, U, Soft V, but no D in sight!

Btw, to describe it, I guess it's not as deep as U, but has a lot of shoulders. Accidentally, the same neck profile (I'm pretty positive) was on Guild X175 Newark Reissue, made in Korea hollowbody I used to own.

well, at least I know what I want, because only recently I realized how much a neck specs affect playing!

Did you check Warmoth I was on their site a month or so ago and they had similar necks. I think one was called the Clapton then another once a bit larger. I think All Parts has the Lindy Fralin neck which is big and can be shaped down to what you want.

[Hep To The Jive]

Did you check Warmoth I was on their site a month or so ago and they had similar necks. I think one was called the Clapton then another once a bit larger. I think All Parts has the Lindy Fralin neck which is big and can be shaped down to what you want.

Clapton is V neck, thats exactly opposite I think, no shoulders at all. I actually email most of those guys, they all told me they are not sure what the D profile is in connection to Fender tele, they never heard of it.

I'm also considering just buying 58 RI neck, I saw it on Ebay, licensed Fender. But ideally I want rosewood, so I dunno...

[Illuin]

^^Somewhat of a countrified Wayne Krantz thing going on.

Compositionally, it reminded me of some of the stuff from the Jimmy Chamberlin Complex (ex-Smasing Pumpkins).