Tele Body - Can You Hide HSH Routs w/ Stock Tele Hardware?

[Masta C]

Looking at getting a new Tele body.  :headbang:

In the interest of future-proofing the body, I was looking at a humbucker rout in the neck and bridge spots with a Strat type single coil rout in the middle.

My question...will a common Tele bridge (perhaps the "modern" version by Gotoh) and stock Tele pickguard hide these larger routs? 

I want to start off with the ability to make it look like a straightforward Tele, with the standard Tele style neck and bridge pickups, but have the option change things up if I decide to later.  I figure the H-S-H routing gives me the most flexibility, but I'm worried about seeing the routs.

Any thoughts or experiences with this?

 

[bagman67]

A standard Tele pickguard and the Gotoh part Warmoth sells will indeed cover the pickup cavities you are describing.

 

[pabloman]

So a single coil tele bridge will cover a humbucker cavity?

 

[bagman67]

Ah, missed that part.  I read it too fast.  I'm not 100% certain about the standard tele bridge covering a HB bridge rout.

 

[Masta C]

Thank you, gentlemen. 

Sounds like I'll have to put in a call to Warmoth to be certain. 

I'll let you know what I find out

 

[Cagey]

Here's a 3 pickup Tele that shows a middle pickup would be covered by the pickguard if it were routed but not used...

And here's the two versions of the Gotoh modern Tele bridge you're thinking about...

It's not perfectly obvious, but if you check the drawings you'll find they're both dimensionally equivalent. So, a standard Tele bridge will cover up the route for a humbucker Tele bridge.

The only time I've had issues with the standard vs. humbucking Tele routes is when I've used mounting rings and some bridge other than a typical Tele bridge. Then, assuming there was a standard Tele hole in place before rerouting for the humbucker, the 'bucker's mounting ring doesn't completely hide the original hole. But, what's exposed is so little that it can easily ignored. 

 

[pabloman]

It's clear in the picture those bridges are NOT dimensionally the same. A humbucker bridge is wider. That is why Warmoth offers a different route on their pickguards.

 

[Cagey]

Holy mackeral, you're right! All I checked was the height, which is the same. The width is definitely different, though.

I've got three Teles that I had re-routed for humbuckers at the bridge position, but only one of them uses the Gotoh bridge. Since it's wider, I never had an issue.

Glad you caught that. Might have caused the OP a problem.

My apologies to Masta C for the misinformation.

 

[Masta C]

Wow!

I'm surprised the two Gotoh bridges are so different, but I guess it makes sense.  Wishful thinking on my part, ha ha!

That pretty much answers my question(s)!

Seriously, I appreciate the help from each of you and hopefully this info might help clarify things for others, as well

 

[pabloman]

I was in the same boat a few weeks ago. I wanted a beefier bridge pickup and I really wanted to try the SD Quarter Pound but if it wasn't enough for me I wanted the option of dropping in a full-sized bucker. In the end I just went with a humbucker route and bridge. On the flipside, if the guitar is first routed for a tele pickup then a humbucker route is superimposed on top of that a humbucker ring won't cover the tele pickup route. There might be some wider rings out there but I don't know. I think we are just stuck with one or the other.

 

[Cagey]

I couldn't find any wider rings, so I had Doug make me one. That was the black Tele with the Scartozi bridge, if you remember.

 

[Masta C]

Looking at the two bridge diagrams above, are the string holes indeed closer on the humbucker bridge plate? 

If so, will that cause an issue on a body routed for a stock Tele string spacing?  It's about 1.5mm difference in width overall, but only 0.3mm per hole.  Does it matter?

 

[Logrinn]

There are also pickup rings that allow you to take a Tele bridge pickup into a humbucker rout:

 

[pabloman]

That's a Strat pickup route in the picture. I've never seen one of those for a tele pickup. Probably because a tele bridge pickup route is a little bigger than a humbucker ring.

 

[Logrinn]

Oh ...
My bad! 

 

[Verne Bunsen]

Guitar Fetish has them:

http://www.guitarfetish.com/Humbucker-Rout-adapter-ring-Fits-Tele-Bridge-Pickup-THREE-COLORS_p_4350.html

I haven't used one myself so I can't vouch for route compatibility, but the picture looks ok... I do notice that the pickup is backwards (two screws toward the neck, one toward the saddles), maybe thats part of getting the fit?

 

[stratamania]

Or it's just mounted the wrong way around ?

 

[thearmofbarlow]

Looking at the two bridge diagrams above, are the string holes indeed closer on the humbucker bridge plate? 

If so, will that cause an issue on a body routed for a stock Tele string spacing?  It's about 1.5mm difference in width overall, but only 0.3mm per hole.  Does it matter?

No. Hell, most manufacturers can't keep .3mm of accuracy anyway.  :toothy12: