Springsteens Esquire

[Lostheart]

Originally Posted by Steel Mill

Kevin Buell really does a good job on the guitars and Bruce was still throwing "the" guitar to Kevin during breaks at the Izod last week.

Sorry to inform you but "THE GUITAR" is at display at the R'n'R Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland since April 1rst and is not used on the current tour...

[Steel Mill]

Originally Posted by Lostheart

Sorry to inform you but "THE GUITAR" is at display at the R'n'R Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland since April 1rst and is not used on the current tour...

Anyone else go to Izod, the Tele he had looked like it had that worn out white area at the top. Guess that is just the way the guitars look. And I just watched the link to the video about the guitar. I stand corrected.

[rangrfan]

Originally Posted by Veitchy

Most of his albums were recorded with his old telecaster or similar, none of which which were loaded with bardens (maybe on his newer CDs but certainly not on his older releases.) He only really uses them in his stage guitars these days due to them being completely noisless (and great sounding.) That said, they are very pricey. They tend to run for around $300 USD a set.

Heres his webpage on the telecaster pickups, hope this helps.
http://joebarden.com/main.php?sectio...tton%20T-Style

You aren't going to get his tone with just bardens. I put bardens in one of my teles and it took more than that to achieve his tone. Unless you go out and buy exactly what he uses onstage Boogie Mark 5 heads into marshall 4x12's, you can go out and get yourself the boss fdr-1 or fbm-1 pedals and crank them and whatever amp you are using, and that should get you there.

[rangrfan]

Originally Posted by Steel Mill

Anyone else go to Izod, the Tele he had looked like it had that worn out white area at the top. Guess that is just the way the guitars look. And I just watched the link to the video about the guitar. I stand corrected.

I'm not really sure if I remember my conversation with Kevin B accuratley a few years ago, but that guitar you saw is either natural wear or one that he had the custom shop make for him......

[giangi]

[Masterbuilt]

Originally Posted by rangrfan

You aren't going to get his tone with just bardens. I put bardens in one of my teles and it took more than that to achieve his tone. Unless you go out and buy exactly what he uses onstage Boogie Mark 5 heads into marshall 4x12's, you can go out and get yourself the boss fdr-1 or fbm-1 pedals and crank them and whatever amp you are using, and that should get you there.

Wonder if they use old Bardens or the newer ones?

[Gareth John]

Hey giangi tell us about that guitar :)

[Bruce_99]

Originally Posted by giangi

Looks great !!!!

Tell us a lil' more 'bout it..!!

BTW: A british fan forum is also discussing THE Guitar

http://www.spl-messages.net/forums/u...612#Post303612

WHAT IS 'THE GUITAR' ?

It's not actually a Fender ‘Telecaster’. It's a heavily modified Fender 'Esquire'.

The Fender 'Esquire' was essentially a budget-priced, 'poor man’s' version of the Fender 'Telecaster'. The Esquire had only one pick-up – the Telecaster model, on the other hand, had two pickups. Springsteen's guitar has had a second pick-up custom-installed. The decal on the headstock, of course, says 'Esquire'.

Depending on the source one is reading the year of manufacture for Springsteen's famous 'Esquire' is usually noted as being either 1952 or 1953 or 1954 (with ’53 and ’54 being the most popular). Which year is right? Well, actually they may all be right. We definitely have a hybrid situation in play here.

There's more than one way to determine the date of manufacture for early Fenders - and they don't always point to the same year. For example, on the same guitar one might see a 1952 body, a 1953 neck and a 1954 assembly date. So it’s possible that all three years have basis in fact. Even Phil Petillo and Springsteen’s guitar technicians have stated contradictory years for that famous 'Esquire' guitar. This is telling. It may even be difficult for a vintage expert from Fender to date it definitively because of all the modifications that have been made.

On Fender’s guitars from the early 1950’s the serial numbers are virtually meaningless. The minor differences in the knobs and other hardware can allow one to make an educated guess, but that can be misleading at times too. Since there's so little original left of Springsteen's famous 'Esquire', it’s difficult to nail one date down.

On Springsteen’s famous Fender 'Esquire' guitar the serial number includes an asterisk (*) – what this asterisk means is that the guitar was originally a factory reject. That may seem bizarre (i.e., the irony of a factory reject becoming so famous), but it's not really that unusual. Springsteen’s famous guitar wouldn't have left the Fender factory with any more than a minor flaw. The real rejects ended up in the dumpster.

WHAT WAS THE OWNERSHIP HISTORY OF 'THE GUITAR' ?.

In the late 1960's Bruce's famous 'Esquire' guitar then-belonged to a recording studio in New York. At that point the guitar had already been modified to be a stereo guitar with 4 pick-ups. In very high resolution pictures one can see the second output jack or the plugged hole where it once was. This NY studio then sold the 'Esquire' to a guitar maker in NJ named Phil Petillo. Mr Petillo brought the guitar back up to snuff, working his own magic on it in the process. Petillo put the Esquire up for sale at his shop. Springsteen bought the 'Esquire' from Petillo's shop for $185.

The above-noted purchase event is beyond question – however the date of Bruce’s purchase is still under good-natured dispute/confusion – it was sometime between mid-1969 and mid-1972, that's for certain. Bear in mind that this was a helluva long time ago and it’s easy for the key players in the story to forget that precise timeframe. Petillo had once recalled from memory (not a sales receipt) that Bruce’s purchase was in 1969 or 1970......but photographic evidence and evidence from others who were hangin’ out with Springsteen during this period point to a later (mid 1971 to mid 1972) purchase.

All known Springsteen performance photos from spring 1969 thru mid 1971 that have ever surfaced show Springsteen playing a yellow 1968 Gibson ‘Les Paul’. This was Springsteen's primary (possibly exclusive) concert guitar during his CHILD-STEEL MILL period. Springsteen was living and sometimes working at Tinker West’s Challenger Surfboard factory during this period and Springsteen actually refinished the Les Paul with surfboard resin a couple of times – that's the reason the 'Les Paul' guitar looks slightly different shades of yellow in various photos….same guitar though.

In August 1971 the Gibson 'Les Paul' seemed to mysteriously disappear from view. It’s not seen in any known photos from September 1971 onwards. From September 1971 to April 1972 Bruce is seen playing a variety of different guitars – but neither a Gibson ‘Les Paul’ or that famous Fender ‘Esquire’. Was this some kind of transition period? From the available evidence it sure appears to have been. However by mid 1972 (the Greetings LP Sessions at 914 Sound Studios) the Fender Esquire suddenly appears on the scene. And it was definitely the electric guitar used from the start of the Greetings Tour (Oct 1972) onwards. There are performance photos of Bruce in Jan and Feb 1973 and Bruce is definitely using the famous 'Esquire'.

From the start of the GREETINGS Tour up though the end of the BITUSA Tour the famous Esquire was used 99.9% of the time – but, yes, there are photos from this era of Bruce using alternative models onstage – those photos are few and far between though. All that usage took a heavy toll on the Esquire. The guitar was in beautiful-looking shape when Springsteen first started using it. The major chip in the finish on the face of the guitar first appeared during the Darkness tour. Since then its cosmetic appearance has continually deteriorated, to the point that it now looks like salvage from a fire. There's virtually nothing left of the original guitar except the wood. There's virtually no finish left on the backside, and Bruce's sweat has stained the wood an unnatural color. The face of the guitar doesn't look much better either. And that makes the guitar beautiful. It testifies.

Springsteen still has any major work on the guitar done by Phil Petillo, the same guy he bought the guitar from all those years ago. One might say that it has become more of a Petillo guitar than a Fender guitar. These days it sports Petillo custom pick-ups, Petillo custom frets, Petillo custom string tree, etc, etc. How much does Bruce love that damn guitar? Well, he has Petillo reshape the necks on all his guitars to match the dimensions of that famous Esquire's neck".

[giangi]

This is my own bruce springsteen telecaster/esquire guitar tribute,
one piece ash body nitro finished with a made in japan fender telecaster neck...

[jetagegreg]

Body: Ash - Guitar Mill 4.9lbs/2.25kg w/ ReRanch Nitro finish
Neck: 1-piece Maple - Fender Esquire (MIM)
Fingerboard: Maple 7.25"/184mm Radius, 21 Frets
Pickups: Neck - Chris Klein Alnico 5 flat tapped 6.2k/7.0k
Bridge - Chris Klein Alnico 3 raised D-magnet tapped 6.8k/7.7k
Bridge: Fishman Powerbridge VT (passive)
Pots: 250K (w/push/pull for pickup taps) - volume
250K - tone
Switch: 3-way w/ barrel-type knob
Jack: Electrosocket w/ stereo tip/ring jack for Powerbridge
Knobs: 1950s style
Tuners: Gotoh Vintage-style Locking Tuners
Pickguard: 1-ply black
Strings: DR PHR10 Pure Nickel Medium 10-46

This guitar was assembled for a friend of mine in Sweden. It's amazing, especially the passive Powerbridge. Don't see why you'd need a pre-amp. And the nitro should wear and age nicely for years to come. Slap on an MXR Distortion+, and you're good to go....

My 2 cents,
-GB

[Gareth John]

That guitar looks really good giangi, I like the relicing, it's not over done.
And jetagegreg's guitar looks cool too, the spec looks real good.

[jetagegreg]

...and Chris Klein makes GREAT pickups, and he's a great guy to deal with!

My next project will have one of his 1970s Tele pickups in the bridge.

-GB

Originally Posted by jetagegreg

Body: Ash - Guitar Mill 4.9lbs/2.25kg w/ ReRanch Nitro finish
Neck: 1-piece Maple - Fender Esquire (MIM)
Fingerboard: Maple 7.25"/184mm Radius, 21 Frets
Pickups: Neck - Chris Klein Alnico 5 flat tapped 6.2k/7.0k
Bridge - Chris Klein Alnico 3 raised D-magnet tapped 6.8k/7.7k
Bridge: Fishman Powerbridge VT (passive)
Pots: 250K (w/push/pull for pickup taps) - volume
250K - tone
Switch: 3-way w/ barrel-type knob
Jack: Electrosocket w/ stereo tip/ring jack for Powerbridge
Knobs: 1950s style
Tuners: Gotoh Vintage-style Locking Tuners
Pickguard: 1-ply black
Strings: DR PHR10 Pure Nickel Medium 10-46

This guitar was assembled for a friend of mine in Sweden. It's amazing, especially the passive Powerbridge. Don't see why you'd need a pre-amp. And the nitro should wear and age nicely for years to come. Slap on an MXR Distortion+, and you're good to go....

My 2 cents,
-GB

[bossaholic]

I've posted my Springsteen replica elsewhere on this forum, but will never pass up the opportunity to show it off again :D

I built this almost 20 years ago from a very detailed studio pic of Bruce's guitar. It is made of Ash, with Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder pickups (what Bruce was using in the late 80's) Schaller tuners, etc. I also replicated the EXACT grain of Bruce's guitar.







I am working on a couple more

[Steel Mill]

[kylef]

Bossaholic:

get some updated pics mate, would be good to see it with tuners and the strings on.

[badlands]

Originally Posted by giangi

This is my own bruce springsteen telecaster/esquire guitar tribute,
one piece ash body nitro finished with a made in japan fender telecaster neck...

Well done!

[badlands]

Originally Posted by Bruce_99

Looks great !!!!

Tell us a lil' more 'bout it..!!

BTW: A british fan forum is also discussing THE Guitar

http://www.spl-messages.net/forums/u...612#Post303612

WHAT IS 'THE GUITAR' ?

It's not actually a Fender ‘Telecaster’. It's a heavily modified Fender 'Esquire'.

The Fender 'Esquire' was essentially a budget-priced, 'poor man’s' version of the Fender 'Telecaster'. The Esquire had only one pick-up – the Telecaster model, on the other hand, had two pickups. Springsteen's guitar has had a second pick-up custom-installed. The decal on the headstock, of course, says 'Esquire'.

Depending on the source one is reading the year of manufacture for Springsteen's famous 'Esquire' is usually noted as being either 1952 or 1953 or 1954 (with ’53 and ’54 being the most popular). Which year is right? Well, actually they may all be right. We definitely have a hybrid situation in play here.

There's more than one way to determine the date of manufacture for early Fenders - and they don't always point to the same year. For example, on the same guitar one might see a 1952 body, a 1953 neck and a 1954 assembly date. So it’s possible that all three years have basis in fact. Even Phil Petillo and Springsteen’s guitar technicians have stated contradictory years for that famous 'Esquire' guitar. This is telling. It may even be difficult for a vintage expert from Fender to date it definitively because of all the modifications that have been made.

On Fender’s guitars from the early 1950’s the serial numbers are virtually meaningless. The minor differences in the knobs and other hardware can allow one to make an educated guess, but that can be misleading at times too. Since there's so little original left of Springsteen's famous 'Esquire', it’s difficult to nail one date down.

On Springsteen’s famous Fender 'Esquire' guitar the serial number includes an asterisk (*) – what this asterisk means is that the guitar was originally a factory reject. That may seem bizarre (i.e., the irony of a factory reject becoming so famous), but it's not really that unusual. Springsteen’s famous guitar wouldn't have left the Fender factory with any more than a minor flaw. The real rejects ended up in the dumpster.

WHAT WAS THE OWNERSHIP HISTORY OF 'THE GUITAR' ?.

In the late 1960's Bruce's famous 'Esquire' guitar then-belonged to a recording studio in New York. At that point the guitar had already been modified to be a stereo guitar with 4 pick-ups. In very high resolution pictures one can see the second output jack or the plugged hole where it once was. This NY studio then sold the 'Esquire' to a guitar maker in NJ named Phil Petillo. Mr Petillo brought the guitar back up to snuff, working his own magic on it in the process. Petillo put the Esquire up for sale at his shop. Springsteen bought the 'Esquire' from Petillo's shop for $185.

The above-noted purchase event is beyond question – however the date of Bruce’s purchase is still under good-natured dispute/confusion – it was sometime between mid-1969 and mid-1972, that's for certain. Bear in mind that this was a helluva long time ago and it’s easy for the key players in the story to forget that precise timeframe. Petillo had once recalled from memory (not a sales receipt) that Bruce’s purchase was in 1969 or 1970......but photographic evidence and evidence from others who were hangin’ out with Springsteen during this period point to a later (mid 1971 to mid 1972) purchase.

All known Springsteen performance photos from spring 1969 thru mid 1971 that have ever surfaced show Springsteen playing a yellow 1968 Gibson ‘Les Paul’. This was Springsteen's primary (possibly exclusive) concert guitar during his CHILD-STEEL MILL period. Springsteen was living and sometimes working at Tinker West’s Challenger Surfboard factory during this period and Springsteen actually refinished the Les Paul with surfboard resin a couple of times – that's the reason the 'Les Paul' guitar looks slightly different shades of yellow in various photos….same guitar though.

In August 1971 the Gibson 'Les Paul' seemed to mysteriously disappear from view. It’s not seen in any known photos from September 1971 onwards. From September 1971 to April 1972 Bruce is seen playing a variety of different guitars – but neither a Gibson ‘Les Paul’ or that famous Fender ‘Esquire’. Was this some kind of transition period? From the available evidence it sure appears to have been. However by mid 1972 (the Greetings LP Sessions at 914 Sound Studios) the Fender Esquire suddenly appears on the scene. And it was definitely the electric guitar used from the start of the Greetings Tour (Oct 1972) onwards. There are performance photos of Bruce in Jan and Feb 1973 and Bruce is definitely using the famous 'Esquire'.

From the start of the GREETINGS Tour up though the end of the BITUSA Tour the famous Esquire was used 99.9% of the time – but, yes, there are photos from this era of Bruce using alternative models onstage – those photos are few and far between though. All that usage took a heavy toll on the Esquire. The guitar was in beautiful-looking shape when Springsteen first started using it. The major chip in the finish on the face of the guitar first appeared during the Darkness tour. Since then its cosmetic appearance has continually deteriorated, to the point that it now looks like salvage from a fire. There's virtually nothing left of the original guitar except the wood. There's virtually no finish left on the backside, and Bruce's sweat has stained the wood an unnatural color. The face of the guitar doesn't look much better either. And that makes the guitar beautiful. It testifies.

Springsteen still has any major work on the guitar done by Phil Petillo, the same guy he bought the guitar from all those years ago. One might say that it has become more of a Petillo guitar than a Fender guitar. These days it sports Petillo custom pick-ups, Petillo custom frets, Petillo custom string tree, etc, etc. How much does Bruce love that damn guitar? Well, he has Petillo reshape the necks on all his guitars to match the dimensions of that famous Esquire's neck".

Well i´m pretty sure that the neck on THE Guitar is a 56´or later, unless the logo has been swapped!

[kylef]

Will springsteens guitar have any sort of laquer on it? or is it bare wood?

I have a 52RI CIJ body, but mines is obviously heavy in polyurethene. would this need to be stripped to get the look?

[jetagegreg]

Originally Posted by kylef

Will springsteens guitar have any sort of laquer on it? or is it bare wood?

I have a 52RI CIJ body, but mines is obviously heavy in polyurethene. would this need to be stripped to get the look?

Strip it, refinish it in thin nitro, and relic the crap out of it....

Have fun with that!

-GB

[6thave]

After going through all of the springsteen discussions, I didn't see any lists of specifications for "the guitar" as it presently is. Here's what I have so far -- what else can you add?
Bruce
Telecaster body: '53 or 54' or early '60s
57' Esquire neck
SS Petillo triangular frets
Extra input jack
Titanium hardware
Polished SS 6-saddle bridge
waterproofing
top hat pickup selector switch
3-ply black-white black 8-hole pickguard
Petillo pickups
schaller straplocks
round silver string tee between 3 & 4, black butterfly between 1 & 2

[6thave]

Strings -- Dean Markley Electric Guitar Strings (10,13,17,30,38,48) or D'Addario EXL115 Electric Guitar Strings?

[bossaholic]

I don't know what he is using today for straplocks, but back in the 80's/90's he was using Dunlops.

That is what I have on my replica.

[kylef]

What base guitar body have you guys all used? What finish on it aswell?

[jetagegreg]

Originally Posted by kylef

What base guitar body have you guys all used? What finish on it aswell?

Ash (Guitar Mill) and nitro.

-GB

[chrispscott]

Since everyone is posting their Bosscasters here is mine. It's my number one at the moment.





Live in daylight so you get a better idea of what it looks like



The Boss look I was going for

[rangrfan]

Originally Posted by 6thave

Strings -- Dean Markley Electric Guitar Strings (10,13,17,30,38,48) or D'Addario EXL115 Electric Guitar Strings?

he's using the markley's currenly.........

[rangrfan]

As for the rest of the onstage gear


2 Mesa Boogie Mark II C+ Heads
2 Marshall 4x12's Celestion Speakers
Boss Digital Delay DD-3( activated offstage)
Shure Wireless


pretty simple, altho he had trouble a month or two ago finding tubes for the boogies....not sure why tho

[chrispscott]

Originally Posted by rangrfan

As for the rest of the onstage gear


2 Mesa Boogie Mark II C+ Heads
2 Marshall 4x12's Celestion Speakers
Boss Digital Delay DD-3( activated offstage)
Shure Wireless


pretty simple, altho he had trouble a month or two ago finding tubes for the boogies....not sure why tho

When did he switch from the Bassman's to the Mesas? A Tele into a Bassman is such a classic setup I wish he would have kept it.

I think that's the setup he used on the Darkness tour with a RAT pedal which gave him THE DISTORTION OF THE GODS!

[bossaholic]

rangrfan, are you currently working for Bruce?

[rangrfan]

Originally Posted by chrispscott

When did he switch from the Bassman's to the Mesas? A Tele into a Bassman is such a classic setup I wish he would have kept it.

I think that's the setup he used on the Darkness tour with a RAT pedal which gave him THE DISTORTION OF THE GODS!

He uses a bassman when he's in the clubs, the boogies he is using now are 20+ years old.

[palpark07650]

Close up on "the guitar"

[Guitar Rat]

Originally Posted by chrispscott

When did he switch from the Bassman's to the Mesas? A Tele into a Bassman is such a classic setup I wish he would have kept it.

I think that's the setup he used on the Darkness tour with a RAT pedal which gave him THE DISTORTION OF THE GODS!

I think he switched to the Mesas from "the other band" '93 tour on, not sure though. I'm pretty certain he stopped taking his real '50s Bassmans on the road after The River tour. There are some claims he played Peavey Bassman clones in the '80s after that, because the Bassmans were getting beat up from the road and he needed a replacement for them. I'm not sure if those claims are true or not.

The pedal he used on the Darkness tour was a script logo MXR Distortion + into a Bassman, not a RAT.

[giangi]

hjgjgj

[ReddRanger]

Check it out. If you want a Springsteen style Tele, here's a one from Fender that puts you right there.

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...tar?sku=502530

[giangi]

[giangi]

[giangi]

[giangi]

[giangi]