Tele bridge pup in Strat body

Sorry if this question comes up every two weeks, but a friend is interested in doing a strat with a tele bridge pup, trying to capture the Lowell George slide tone.

Will a tele bridge pup fit a strat body with a humbucker route or is additional routing required. If anyone knows where to find the pickguard, I'd like to know about that as well.

Thanks - Ed

I just did this in a bored few minutes...

Yes I did have to do some routing as the bass plate of the Tele pickup needs it. Actually I used a chisel as this guitar is used to chisels. I messed it up a bit and split some wood but it's all hidden by the pickguard.

I enlarged the pickup hole on the scratchplate using a Dremel and various files. I also had to drill new mounting holes and of course you are then left with the two old Strat pickup holes. This was a test bed scratch plate so no problem about yet more extra holes.

You might find that Warmoth or someone like Pickguard Heaven can make you a guard. I would recommend trying it out on an old or cheap guard first though to see how you like the sound - I didn't like it! I should add though that it's a pickup I have never really loved, so a better one may have worked out fine.

Custom pickguards can cost 35 dollars or more so you may actually find it cheaper all round (unless you already have the Tele pickup) to get one of the 'Tele pickups in a Strat size' things, like the Twangbuster from SD, which sounds pretty good in the clips I have heard. This would also avoid the need for the router.

I bought a single/single/tele guard off kenny blue ray a while back - its a Warmoth guard. Dropped in a Duncan Donahue - love it!

EDIT: I think the the bridge PU is spaced slightly differently from where a strat bridge PU route typically goes.

I enlarged the bridge PU route strat guard on a beater guitar years ago, and recall needing to route outside the bucker route underneath.

Sorry to mislead with my original post... I should have remembered this!

My Strat was swimming pool route and needed routing for the Tele pup. Maybe 'it depends' on the body? Also if a specialist pickguard was ordered maybe the bridge pickup space was moved a bit further forward than the usual Strat position?

Isn't it easier to fit a Seymour Duncan Twangbanger? It gets close to the sound of a Tele bridge pickup but it fits a standard Strat pickup slot. OK, it doesn't sound exactly like a Tele, but then a Strat neck pickup on a Tele doesn't sound exactly like a Strat - the two guitars will always sound different even with identical pickups.

I was pondering this for one of my Legacies and came up with this idea; cut down a Tele bridge plate so it covers the HB hole in the pickguard without getting in the way of the bridge. I really need to try this. Seems like the interaction of the steel with the pickup is part of the sound.

My Strat was swimming pool route and needed routing for the Tele pup. Maybe 'it depends' on the body? Also if a specialist pickguard was ordered maybe the bridge pickup space was moved a bit further forward than the usual Strat position?

Actually, I think this may be accurate - looking at my guard now, the bridge PU route does seem farther away from the bridge! Will edit my post above as to not mislead...

Hmm, interesting discussion. I noticed in the new Crossroads 2010 DVD that Sonny Landreth was using a couple strats with the full tele bridgeplate, saddles, and pickup. First I'd ever seen that, and thought what a great idea. Personally, I tend to use positions 4 and 5 on mine....mostly due to the anemic tone my bridge gets. This may be the solution :idea:

Go for it!

I have a pool rout and it worked fine for me like this...

http://marksmitchell.home.mindspring.com/ScallopcasterTele.JPG

You might try a Rio Grande "Stelly".
I have one in my 60' Relic Strat and I love it.
No extra routing required.

You must consider the STP model from Harmonic Design:

http://www.harmonicdesign.net/allpages/strats.html

I have a pool rout and it worked fine for me like this...

http://marksmitchell.home.mindspring.com/ScallopcasterTele.JPG

It looks like you got a bit carried away & routed the fretboard too? :shock:

I just put this one together with a Nocaster pickup. It screams! The routing was minimal. Just enough to make it fit.

http://i914.photobucket.com/albums/ac345/Telenator/Winter%20Close-ups%20with%20Speedy%2012-31-09/MahoganyStrat002lo-res.jpg

It looks like you got a bit carried away & routed the fretboard too? :shock:

Yeah, I really got my money's worth outta that router... :mrgreen: