Tele talk

[swarfrat]

Talk to me about Tele's. Been mulling one over for years. Still not sure what I want. I'm drawn to thinlines, but I'm actually thinking that for the full up Tele experience maybe I just want the ash slab. But one thing I am adamant nowadays is noiseless. (which might seem at odds with the previous statement.) It must have hum cancelling of some sort.  Maybe even a minihumbucker in the neck, if it's tight enough.

Is there any merit to the 3-saddle / 6-saddle thing? What else do I need to think about? Does the ashtray bridge thing actually bother anyone? Can I get a tele bridge pickup without it? Help a poor lost soul out. This'll be an old school rock tele. Not that I don't mind mid 80's and earlier real country without the twang (Waylon - yes, Hank Sr - no).  Plugging a Tele into an JCM-800 or an AC-30 - what would you be looking for?

 

[swarfrat]

And oh yeah, it'll also be 7.25" radius. Not that I wouldn't mind a 2-way truss rod. Why is 7.25 not available with modern construction again?

 

[mayfly]

So Many questions!  Here are my answers as best as I'm able:

1 - go with an ash slab.  Pick a light one and have at it.
2 - I don't use noiseless pickups these days, so sadly I cannot comment on a set that would sound like a telecaster.
3 - I like the three brass saddle thing.  To my ears it improves the sound of the guitar and I like the simplicity.  You can get compensated sets from just about anyone.  I'm using the gotoh set on several guitars with great results.
4 - I'm using ashtray style bridges because it allows me to pick up the guitar while playing it to re-position it on my body.  You just kinda put the last three fingers of the picking hand under it and pull up.  I find this pretty handy
4.1 - I typically cut away a small part of the ashtray on the treble side so that it does not interfere with picking.  The Joe Barton bridge already has this done.
5 - Neck stuff is personal choice.  have at it at 7.25"!!!

6 - you didn't ask this, but I'll tell you anyway: telecasters are extremely expressive instruments.  With a telecaster, very nuance of your hands goes out of the speakers Very Loudly.  Kinda the opposite of an old Les Paul for example.  I believe that it's the bridge plus the peculiar arrangement of the bridge pickup that creates this effect.  This can kinda suck if you don't have great technique, but once you get past it a Telecaster can elevate your playing to new levels.  This certainly happened with me.  The down side is that other guitars stop being interesting because they stop being able to do it for you.  If you get me.

 

[swarfrat]

Liking the idea of a minihumbucker in the neck.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riW-cFUYR5w[/youtube]

 

[Sovereign_13]

I've always loved Teles.  I think it's the "simple, reliable, no-nonsense" look and feel about them.  A Tele doesn't hide anything from you.  It's a big square-ish single-cut slab with two pickups, two knobs, and a switch.  If you don't like it, move along.

I know that boutique pickups are all the rage these days, and I can't fault anyone for that.  That being said, I would start my quest for noiseless-but-still-Telecaster pickups with the Seymour Duncan Vintage Stack Set for Tele.  The Vintage Stack sets are, from what I understand, Vintage-spec single coils with a smaller, hum-canceling-specific coil stacked underneath.  So they don't have the extra output of a humbucker but still give the noiseless operation you want.  And they're not super expensive, either.

3-saddle bridges are very definitively "Telecaster", while the 6-saddle flat-plate bridges are a little more generic to my eyes.  With the availability of compensated saddles like Mayfly said, there's no real reason not to go with a 3-saddle unless you just plain don't like the look.

The ashtray takes some getting used to since the edge isn't exactly comfortable to put your hand on.  I'm sure that improved versions of the ashtray are available, but it's been awhile since I looked at them.

 

[swarfrat]

More telegoodness. Some of the higher gain stuff still sounds good, but it tends to wash out the teliness.

I know roundover > 1/8 is sorta heretical but I've been thinking about an EXTREME roundover. Make it mine. Like 3/4 (which is basically a full thickness roundover ala the Ibanez Joe Satriani models) Maybe a  reverse angle bridge pickup.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_J3-FK9pr4[/youtube]
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gILP435ckdM[/youtube]

 

[Sovereign_13]

3/4" roundover?  Reverse-angled bridge pickup?  BURN THE HERETIC!

Just kidding.  Although you'd need some sort of crazy Thinline/Cabronita hybrid-looking pickguard.  And a different option for the output jack.  It would be some interesting cognitive dissonance...a classic shape, but all the details are off.

Sound samples for the Vintage Stack set:
https://www.seymourduncan.com/pickup/vintage-stack-tele-set
Mini-bucker in the neck would be cool.  Or a P90, for that old-school vibe.

 

[Verne Bunsen]

There is something about them, isn't there?

I am also a fan of the 3-saddle bridges. I like the brass saddles for a hard tail configuration or steel in conjunction with a Bigsby. As has been mentioned, intonation compensated saddles can be had in a few different styles from different sources. I've used the Wilkinsons with the beveled surfaces and Rutter's saddles with the grooves and they are both great. That said, I think the intonation issues are to some degree blown out of proportion. It takes a different approach to set-up, but straight saddles can be made to work just fine. Jerry Donahue has insight:

https://www.seymourduncan.com/blog/the-tone-garage/jerry-donahue-on-telecaster-style-bridge-intonation

Regarding the 6-saddle bridges, it is my experience that the "hammer" style saddles are buzzing, rattling, shifting nightmares and I recommend against them. I'm sure the bridges with the Strat style block saddles are much more functional, but I've never used one. I find them off-putting aesthetically...

I've used bridges with the full ashtray lip, bridges with a partial lip (the treble side relieved), and bridges with no lip at all. It's kind of a non issue for me, I've never really found the lip to interfere with picking to any significant degree.

Regarding slab vs Thinline, the good thing here is that your first Tele probably won't be your last. You should definitely build both  :icon_biggrin:

I had a Lollar Firebird pickup in the neck of one of my Teles for years, paired with a Seymour Duncan Jerry Donahue bridge. It was a really killer pickup. Not a mini-humbucker technically, but worth considering if you are looking down that path. I currently have a full size PAF-style humbucker in the neck position of that guitar, also a solid option.

As for amps that pair nicely with a Tele (I think that's what you were asking there?), I personally believe they sound their best in a Fender amp. Blues Deluxe, Deluxe Reverb. Heck, Tele into a Champ is pure magic. That's not to say they won't sound great in any number of other amps, but Fender amps are my favorite Tele tones.

I'm sure you'll get lots of input and opinions, I look forward to seeing what you settle on if indeed you choose to pursue it!

 

[swarfrat]

Yeah, but throw one of these one and stick a horn on and nobody would even know it was a tele.  Except for the gaping hole.  Seriously Leo, what was that about?

As for amps... I'm really liking the JTM45 Tele clips. And I'm a HUGE JCM 800 fan and have never really cared for the JTM45 so much. But the Tele just makes it magical.

Like my "Tele"?

 

[stratamania]

The Ash Tele Warmoth in my signature has the Seymour Duncan Vintage noiseless stacks in it. That has the 6 saddle Gotoh bridge Warmoth sells.

But I have another tele I put together from a Fender replacement body and neck. It is my favorite tele I think and one of the guitars I play a lot. It has a set of Joe Barden Nashville pickups, which are basically a set of Danny Gatton's with an S Deluxe pickup in the middle. I also used a Callaham bridge on it with three compensated saddles and a flat stainless plate, so no ashtray for me.

I have another idea for a tele brewing when funds allow which will be different again.

 

[rgand]

I have been a Tele fan my whole life. They have a sound like nothing else. They're simple and straight-forward to play. My current build is basically a Tele with a couple changes that I find less than optimum with the Tele design. It won't look like one but it will be pure Tele at heart except for a P-90 in the neck position. If that doesn't work, I'll swap out the P-90 for a Tele neck PU.

And yes, it will have the three brass saddles. :icon_thumright:

 

[Sovereign_13]

stratamania, I read that build thread shortly after joining this forum.  I think it came to my attention because of the updated pictures.  A fantastic Tele, for sure!  :icon_thumright:

Yeah, but throw one of these one and stick a horn on and nobody would even know it was a tele. 

I guess I don't understand this.  Do you not want people to know it's a Tele?  I understand messing with the Telecaster form a little (more roundover, custom p/g, reverse-angled bridge p/u), but that mock-up to me looks like you had a Strat and tried to make a Tele out of it without reworking the body.

But hey, if you like it that's all that matters.

 

[swarfrat]

Nah. Thats just goofing around while waiting on the compiler at work. Reductio absurdum. Although the strat body DOES yield a horn for balance.

 

[MikeW]

I built a Tele for a friend not too long ago. He started out wanting to keep it very '59ish; three barrel ashtray bridge, classic single-coil pickups for that spanky Tele tone.

He was playing through a Vox (AC30 I think) and wasn't liking the sound he was getting out of the neck pickup. The bridge was still good, but he was looking for more punch from the neck position. We routed it for a TV Jones Filtertron, and Wow(!) did that make a difference.

 

[Cagey]

Bloody compilers. No matter how powerful your computer gets, the damned compiler wants more. I used to drive the secretaries nuts, wandering around the office like a homeless whelp with nothing to do because my machine was tied up apparently contemplating its navel...

"Buy me a better machine, and I won't waste so much time!"

"Write better code, and you won't have to compile so often!"

"Bite me!"

"Whip it out!"

Hehe! They loved me. I think. Gave me lotsa money, anyway.

Anyway, back to the subject at hand: the dreaded Telecaster. Let me just say this about that: if you don't have one, you're missing out.

I hated the things until about 10 years ago. Up until then, I swore to Christ and all that was holy that I'd never own one. Hillbilly rag rides, if you asked me. Absolutely useless. But, that's judging them on Fender's offerings, which are less than stellar. Even their "Custom Shop" models leave a lot to be desired, even though they cost 8 times as much as they're worth.

What's truly cool about them is their simplicity. It's a slab guitar. Put whatever bridge on there makes you happy. Anything  will fit, up to and including the most ridiculously complex Floyd Rose. Put whatever pickups on there that make you happy. Anything will fit. Get whatever neck floats your boat, and you've got something you can live  with. It'll play/sound fantastic. No idiosyncrasies, just a simple bare-naked, no-frills guitar. Get a forearm cut/belly cut/neck heel cut/carved top if you want, it'll be more comfortable, but it's not necessary. There's a lot to be said about a plain ol' slab body. It's like when you were little, and you found a Good Stick. You knew it when you had it. It was easy to wield, had a good grip, could be whittled, you could poke/beat/leverage things with it, on and on. Nothing fancy, just utilitarian. Wanna beat the snot out of it? I defy anyone to find a guitar that'll take more abuse than a Tele and still come out swinging.

As far as sounding like a Tele but being noiseless and not jamming white-hot radioactive razor-sharp ice picks in your ears, look no further than Bill Lawrence's "Microcoils". Not humbuckers, no "dummy" coils, just a magical design. Absolutely wonderful pickups, and surprisingly inexpensive. Only problem with them is availability. Order them today if you think you might be building a Tele in this lifetime; you'll likely be waiting a while on delivery. Good ol' Becky, God bless her, does a fantastic job. But, lead times are atrocious.

 

[swarfrat]

Swarfrat's 1st law of computing. No matter how powerful our computers are, we will always load them down to the point where we can barely tolerate it.

I hear you on the initial dislike. I remember one of my high school teachers (22 yo straight out of college, I was about 16 - so the music/age difference wasn't huge) when I was looking for my first guitar telling me naww you don't want a telecaster - that's a hillbilly thing.  Now that I'm 47, I realize there are far far worse things, even musically speaking.

Even the brightness thing - I still don't care for painful bright, or thin, but I do like a nice tight stinging guitar tone nowadays. It's not really something I'm worried excessively about on initial go around. Also - I hear you on the filtertrons. I love love love the GFS Memphis. Have 3 of em in two guitars now. Probably because I was unaware I wanted a tele.

 

[TBurst Std]

Teles aren't just for country

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5aWd88rs6JE

 

[TBurst Std]

Oh and if you ever get a chance, go to see Jeff.  After an hour or so you'll be done though. 
Not much of a stage prescence and after a while it all starts to sound the same.  But on some songs, as a guitar player, you will just shake your head and go what? How did he do that? 
This song along with Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and Where Were You will haunt you.
Have seen him 3x. The second time was a double billing with SRV (right before his death).

 

[stratamania]

stratamania, I read that build thread shortly after joining this forum.  I think it came to my attention because of the updated pictures.  A fantastic Tele, for sure!  :icon_thumright:

Thanks Sovereign_13. There are one or two things now I would do differently but that's part of the process. The end result would probably have been the same.  I am actually thinking of thinning down the 59 neck on that Tele, as I find it a little thicker than I would prefer.

 

[Verne Bunsen]

Like my "Tele"?

Keep in mind that being mounted in the metal bridge plate plays a key role in the characteristics of the Tele bridge pickup sound. A Tele bridge pickup mounted in a pickguard won't sound the same as one mounted in the bridge plate.