Tele Jr. perhaps?

[llmtelecaster]

Just ordered this bad boy on Friday  :toothy10: Swamp ash, black-brown-yellow burst, narrow strat flat mount bridge.

Got the idea for it from the Les Paul Jr. guitars. I always liked the simplicity of them, but since Les Pauls feel heavy and uncomfortable to me, I decided to incorporate the idea into a Tele. I've been wanting to do a Tele build for a while now anyway.

It's going to be paired up with a maple/rosewood neck. Straight 12" radius, SS6100's, 22 frets, 720 mod, vintage tuners.

What I'm not even close to being set on is which humbucker to go with. Since the guitar will only have one, I need something versatile even though all I really play is blues. The tone that I'd like to be able to get out of the guitar, if possible, is something close to Robben Ford's tone on the Handful of Blues album. I know much of his tone is coming from those amazing Dumble amps, though. I've gotten in touch with Ken from Roadhouse Pickups and he's going to see if he can come up with something. I've only heard great things about his pickups.

More pictures and updates will follow.

 

[tfarny]

I'm pretty sure you need a P90 to make a Jr. - don't think a Humbucker will work in there. Also, what is that second knob for? A tone control?  :dontknow: :dontknow:
Ken can make a great P90, too.

 

[llmtelecaster]

I think the humbucker should work. The bridge is the narrow strat bridge with humbucker spacing.

You're right about the Jr.'s having the P90. I thought about going with a P90 but I want something with a little more bite to it. And yes, pot 1 is volume and pot 2 is tone.

 

[rockskate4x]

WIN! I still think this effectively has the spirit of the junior. The HB rout is the way I'd do it, especially since there is no neck pup so you can't have any noiseless positions when using true 90's. If you decide that you do want a real 90, then you can always get a hb sized 90 (roadhouse  :headbang: roadhouse  :headbang: roadhouse  :headbang

 

[tfarny]

The Tele Jr. Has one true configuration and it shall not be tampered with. Harumph. An open mind is a dangerous thing.

Late edit: Just realized you've already ordered this. Ignore my whining, I wanna see what you come up with.  :icon_thumright: :icon_thumright:

 

[llmtelecaster]

I will say that I do think the P90 looks cooler and has more of that classic look. Maybe after I finish this one I'll order a sister guitar with the P90 config.

 

[Cagey]

I've always liked the looks of P90s, too. But, theyr'e such noisy bitches I just can't tolerate 'em.

The last guitar I had over here wth P90s on it drove me nuts. It was an old Gibson Les Paul of some sort, and stupid me, I had the thing half apart looking for a broken ground wire before I realized it had P90s on it. Put it back together, and back into the case it went. Every guitar I've ever played that had those things on it has been that way. They're not only single coils, they're wide, flat single coils. They pick up noise kinda like Strat-style single coils sitting on a bar stool with their legs spread and no panties.

 

[anorakDan]

How about a SD Phat Cat or a P-Rail? One of those should stop the whining, er humming. <grin>

I had a P90 on my SG Jr. Swapped it our for a DIMarzio P90 size HB and LOVED IT!

 

[tfarny]

Fralin's noiseless P90s are supposed to be good. I'm waiting for a dimarzio Area P90 to come out, too. But yes they are the noisiest pickups around due to relatively high output for a single, and their wide flat design.

 

[DangerousR6]

The Tele Jr. Has one true configuration and it shall not be tampered with. Harumph. An open mind is a dangerous thing.

Late edit: Just realized you've already ordered this. Ignore my whining, I wanna see what you come up with.  :icon_thumright: :icon_thumright:

 

[reluctant-builder]

The noise is only a bother when not playing, yet plugged in, right? If it's an issue of being on the stage and the hum is bugging you, why not just rig a kill switch that you could push between songs? They sound great when played and the interference they pick up isn't noticeable, at that point, from what I've heard. So just kill them when not playing and reactivate them before diving into the next tune.

 

[Cagey]

You're thinking of a volume control. Only kids put "kill" switches on their guitars (because 48 triple-purpose knobs and switches aren't enough). Everybody else just turns the volume down to 0. Only take a fraction of a second.

You make a good point, though. The loudest bitchers about noise, and I have to include myself in this group, are those who generally only play at home in relative peace. You get out in front of a crowd of drunks and sluts, and a little 60hz+harmonics hum is the least of your worries. Rack it up and start the intro to "Cat Scratch Fever", and you're golden <grin>

 

[Tipperman]

Looks sexy! Can't wait to see it finished. I'm the only person I know who doesn't give a shizzle about 60 cycle hum. It doesn't bother me because I've learned how to control the uncontrollable and get it to a desired level. With my strat I have zero hum with my compressor on, plus a modded TS9 and an overdriven amp. But then I turn the volume up from zero and it buzzes, and I don't mind. 6230s, buzz... I must be crazy.

Anyways, I absolutely adore this LLM. I may steal this idea for a bass build (the single pickup deal anyways.)

 

[reluctant-builder]

I like the 6230s on my Strat and will order them with my replacement neck, so you're not crazy enough to be alone, in that regard. As for the hum, I didn't much care with my stock coils, but the sounds they made when they weren't humming bugged me to hell and back, so I upgraded. Now I've got silent as death when not being played and amazing tone when playing, from my Texas Specials ... and Matt Brewster's exemplary wiring and set-up skills.