Now look what the (brown) cat dragged in..

[Mor Paul]

I like it with the pickguard more

Sorry, Nando  :icon_jokercolor:

 

[nathan a]

I vote pro-pickguard. It completes the look. Seems naked without it. I can appreciate wanting to show all the beauty of the wood, but to me the lines of the guitar look very incomplete without the guard. The bridge looks bulky and silly without.

 

[Mor Paul]

Well, Nathan, we seem to agree a lot.

Now how about logging on IM?
Nobody's online worth talking to  :laughing7:

 

[Nando Vallart]

Sorry, Nando  :icon_jokercolor:

tsk tsk tsk :sad:

Do I need to say the one I choose? :laughing7:

 

[DocNrock]

Its your guitar, and you have to like it, but I personally find the pickguard on that horrific. JMHO.

 

[Tempest]

+1 to pickguard.  :icon_thumright:

 

[OzziePete]

My opinion:
Put a nice fat hybrid pickguard on it and it will look good. Not  a flimsy one ply pickguard, one that looks like the old fashioned ones.

Sorry Fernando, the Tele in this case looks unfinished without the PG. I agree that some Teles look better without PGs, but this one needs one I think.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

That is a Hybrid PG, and not a flimsy single ply.

 

[DangerousR6]

My opinion:

No pick guard and wood mount the pup, no trim ring (those Tele trim rings look bad IMHO). Looks great just like it is.  :headbang:

Ditto.... :icon_thumright:

 

[DangerousR6]

Its your guitar, and you have to like it, but I personally find the pickguard on that horrific. JMHO.

Ultimately Doc is right, it's your guitar. So it should be they way you like it. The way I look at it is the top is freakin' sweet for one and two there's no rout to hide so why cover up the wood... :dontknow:

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Most Teles and J-Basses don't need pickguards, but they still look nice.

 

[Dazkeirle]

Let me just say, I hate tele's. I hate almost everything about them, however......


I just love your guitar. She may have turned me. Without pickguard without a doubt, why hide that awesome bengal?

Thanks for bringing the tele to the table. The only other tele i liked was a Chavel.

Beautiful.

 

[blue313]

Its your guitar, and you have to like it, but I personally find the pickguard on that horrific. JMHO.

Ultimately Doc is right, it's your guitar. So it should be they way you like it. The way I look at it is the top is freakin' sweet for one and two there's no rout to hide so why cover up the wood... :dontknow:

I'm thinking the same thing.  Whatever looks best for you is what should do it.  But you're right in that once drilled,  the holes are there.  Fixing those is touchy work to say the least.

Other than that, are you rough enough on other guitars that you may want a pickguard?

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Double-sided tape the hell out of the pickguard so you can use it w/out drilling screwholes.  You can take it off later.  Also, Jaco took the PG off his J-Bass and left the holes and it looked fine.

It looks great either way, but I like it with the PG.  With the Hybrid PG, there's still plenty of Bengal to go around. 

 

[tfarny]

Looks great, I like the PG but I generally think that most teles benefit from the pickguard - it's part of the look, and balances out the huge shiny bridge. The hybrid is an interesting choice. I would postpone the decision (ie leave it off) as long as possible.

 

[riverbluff]

+1 for no pickguard

 

[shagga]

Thanks for your opinions guys, appreciate it!  ccasion14:

I made my decision finally, and the "Bengal Beauty" will have a pickguard, once it's done.  :headbang:

 

[shagga]

It's almost done, already had my first band practice with it on last thursday and this thing is pure awesomness!!  :headbang1:
It looks so great and feels just so!
Such a great, big fat tele tone, though a good touch warmer than your usual tele. (no wonder with the les paul'ish wood combination used!)

The Humbucker / Singlecoil switchable Ray Gerold pups are just the bomb btw., never heard such good sounding switchable pickups in my life, and i had a lot of different pups already..
In Singlecoil mode, you get very nice cutting tele tones, and with the flick of a (mini)switch, you get a fat, warm, very dynamic humbucker sound, that is not necessarily louder, just fuller.. awesome!
Should you ever be able to try these, go for it by all means! You won't be disappointed!
(Greg Koch plays them in his Teles too btw!)

Now i only need to attach my own decal to the headstock and wait for the glendale bridge & saddles to arrive, which i ordered two days ago!
The Gotoh modern bridge is good, but the glendale stuff is supposed to be so much better, so just jumped in on these.

Will take new pictures and do some soundclips once it's all done, so bear with me folks!

Aaaah, me just loves the warmothing..  :icon_thumright:

 

[shagga]

Here are a few new pics from the current state of the "Bengal Beauty":

 

[Death by Uberschall]

Sweet!!! Love the back on that Tele as much as the one on mine. How does it sound and play?