Springsteens Esquire

badlands · March 17th, 2008, 10:26 PM

I´m looking for some good closeups on Springsteens old Esquire.
Is it possible that it was refinished?
It looks more of just an amber tint lacquer than (butterscotch)blonde to me
Any ideas?

odiemann · March 17th, 2008, 10:54 PM

Many of the butterscotch teles look like that. Check out the Blackguard book. In fact more of them look like that than the RI version of butterscotch.

Twangster · March 17th, 2008, 11:03 PM

It has not been refinished.

The neck may have been refinished.

TheDev01dOne · March 17th, 2008, 11:48 PM

It should be refinished to pink.. Neck pickups in Esquires are for girls!

Nah seriously though I know nothing about it but it is a damn cool looking guitar.

crlong · March 18th, 2008, 12:04 AM

I think his esquire is a late 50s model (check out where the fender decal is on the headstock) that was refinished to "natural" at some point before he got it. Then this aged over the years and his constant use to the butterscotch color it is today. There's an old photo of Springsteen playing it in the early-to-mid-70s in Nacho's Blackguard book where it looks like a totally "natural" finish. On p. 354
If you want a really good photo of it, see if you can pick up a copy of "Born To Run" on LP.

Not sure how to post photos here but check these links out. In the first shot (born to run cover) you can actually see the painting that used to be on the pickguard of a man leaning against a telephone pole. Look closely!

http://images.coveralia.com/audio/b/...5)-Frontal.jpg

http://www.shorefire.com/media/SPRIN...030_162616.jpg

Bruce_99 · March 18th, 2008, 09:25 AM

This pic was taken from ROLLING STONE magazine, a cover shot from 1988:

ESQUIRE_CLOSE UP.jpg

Another Esquire pic:

bruce_esquire.jpg

Bruce told in that "Born To Run - 30 anniversary" movie that THIS Tele is actually a "partscaster":

54' Telecaster body & 57' Esquire neck

Twangster · March 18th, 2008, 02:04 PM

Actually the decal is correct.

Bruce plays a partscaster!

The neck is a V shape from post 1955 which would explain the decal. The body is reportedly from 1953.

ajgus · March 18th, 2008, 02:25 PM

I know, its black & white. But its a cool pic none the less...

bruceesquire3.jpg

So let me understand. Is this a Stock Two-Pickup Esquire or is it moddified?

ReddRanger · March 18th, 2008, 03:17 PM

I believe it had been heavily modified before Bruce owned it, which is why you see that extra input jack hole. I think there were more than two pickups installed at one point as well.

This thread has some great pics.

ajgus · March 18th, 2008, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReddRanger

I believe it had been heavily modified before Bruce owned it, which is why you see that extra input jack hole. I think there were more than two pickups installed at one point as well.

This thread has some great pics.

If I'm not mistaken, He has a "Nashville" set-up on the Born to Run cover(?)

DavidE · March 18th, 2008, 03:29 PM

There are some older threads on this, but the long and short of it is the Esquire is a parts guitar. Neck from 1957 and the body is likely early 1960's. The body was re-finished according to Phil Petillo, the man who sold it to Springsteen in 1972 and continues to work on it. I've had many long chats with Petillo over the years about the various changes and modifications the guitar has undergone. It had two sets of pickups and two jacks in it when Petillo acquired it from CBS recording studios in a bulk purchase of guitars he intended to fix up and re-sell. Springsteen called up one day, asked what he had for sale, came and played the Esquire...and the rest is history. I think Phil said Bruce paid around $169 for it...so he's certainly gotten his money's worth.

cheers,
David

Bruce_99 · March 18th, 2008, 03:33 PM

Here are some more Bruuuuuuce-Threads:

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/stomp-box...ht=springsteen

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/telecaste...ht=springsteen

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/telecaste...ht=springsteen

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/telecaste...ht=springsteen

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/telecaste...ht=springsteen

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/bad-dog-c...ht=springsteen

1205582802.jpg

Bruce with a CS 62 Custom Relic Tele

Teledelphia · March 18th, 2008, 03:39 PM

DavidE has it on the money re Bruce's Esquire/Tele. From what I have read, all the hardware on the guitar has been changed out to stainless steel to resist Bruce's copious sweating and the electronics have been upgraded and water proofed to the point that I think it may have been Phil Petillo who said that the guitar would "play underwater"

. Any other info DavidE has on Bruce's guitars would be interesting to hear. I'm a big fan.

ajgus · March 18th, 2008, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidE

I think Phil said Bruce paid around $169 for it...

I'll take Two!

Teledelphia · March 18th, 2008, 03:59 PM

Oops...I'm new to the forum and didn't realize the plethora of info that was already on here re Springsteen and his guitars. Great stuff. Great site with great posts.

DavidE · March 18th, 2008, 06:28 PM

If anyone wants to contact me off-line I can talk for hours about this guitar. But no need to take up yards of bandwidth with my ramblings. Bruces' Esquire remains one of my obsessions and it's the reason I picked up my own guitar in the first place. I even built a pretty good replica of it, right down to the triangular frets supplied by Petillo. I have lots of pics of it if anyone wants them, or knows how to post them? In fact, I even sent Phil the neck many years ago and, while he had it, Bruce stopped in and picked it up and said, "This feels just like mine." I took that to mean I had gotten it pretty close. The profile by the way is typical 1957.

The hardware on Bruce's guitar is mostly titanium. Frets are SS Petillo design. The bridge these days appears to be in the style of an American Standard Tele bridge, but it's most likely something Petillo made from polished SS since an American Standard bridge won't actually fit on a vintage body without modification to the body. I haven't actually asked him about it though.

As I said, there were four pickups in the guitar when Petillo acquired it from CBS...two pairs each wired to their own output jack so they could double-charge for tracks during recordings. Kind of a no-no. I believe that's why CBS was auctioning off the guitars in the first place. Under the pickguard is just one big hole which is handy because the electronics have changed constantly with the times and the space gave room for things like an impedance device for the 50ft cable Bruce used to have. With wireless set-ups that's no longer needed though. And yes, everything is water-proofed because of Bruce's sweating all over everything. Bruce himself is known to add caulking around the control cavity and other places. It really looks like crap actually.

Well back to work...

cheers,
david

ReddRanger · March 18th, 2008, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajgus

If I'm not mistaken, He has a "Nashville" set-up on the Born to Run cover(?)

I think that is actually a sticker on the pickguard.

DavidE · March 18th, 2008, 08:16 PM

Pictures make things look funny...the guitar has a standard set of strings on it in the album cover shot. Look at the string windings. The pick guard is leather with a hand stenciled scene of a guy leaning against a lamp post, with someone looking down from a building window in the background. It always makes me think of the song "Meeting Across the River".

cheers,
david

allen st. john · March 18th, 2008, 08:26 PM

There's a really good shot of the guitar on the recent Rolling Stone cover.
He doesn't play the guitar often these days, but on the Live in Barcelona DVD, he plays the first verse of Promised Land, then tosses it probably 30 feet across the stage to guitar tech Kevin Buell. Who catches it.

allen

Gareth John · March 18th, 2008, 08:31 PM

I bought Born To Run, the unseen photos, lost of really great pics in their. Some great info coming out here, I'd love to have a replica myself, but my skills are poor. Love to see your Replica DavidE, keep the ramblings coming :) Can't wait to see Springsteen in may, just wish he still had that guitar on tour, it's the coolest guitar I've ever seen.

DavidE · March 18th, 2008, 09:03 PM

Hopefully there will be a few pictures attached of my replica...about 12 years old now and most of the wear is genuine. I made all the parts and pieces myself that aren't genuine 1957 parts, including the pickups which I hand wound. Bruce had his hands on this neck years ago.

cheers,
david

Mark N · March 18th, 2008, 09:32 PM

David...that guitar of yours is totally cool!!! Where'd you get that strap btw...looks similar to the one Bruce used on the TOL and Human Touch tours

badlands · March 19th, 2008, 12:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce_99

This pic was taken from ROLLING STONE magazine, a cover shot from 1988:

Attachment 9824

Another Esquire pic:

Attachment 9825

Bruce told in that "Born To Run - 30 anniversary" movie that THIS Tele is actually a "partscaster":

54' Telecaster body & 57' Esquire neck

Thanks Stevie!!

badlands · March 19th, 2008, 01:11 AM

Thanks Guys

Tell me more i´ve wanted this tele umm sorry i meant esquire or... at least a replica of it since i was 9 years old.

And i´ve got a killer swampash piece and some hardware just waiting,,,,,,,

Excellent pics y´all
57 v-neck-- sounds perfect!!!!

Any ideas where to find a nice v-neck?? my body is a musikraft but i dont like to customorderparts don´t like that it takes so long..

robt57 · March 19th, 2008, 01:33 AM

In this pic, the second jack look intact. Are those early Tele bodies less that 1-3/4" thick ??

tyroneslothrop · March 19th, 2008, 04:37 AM

All these Mods and non-fender parts... does that mean it is not a Fender Esquire?

Teledelphia · March 19th, 2008, 10:59 AM

Kudos to DavidE. Fantastic job on your repro of Bruce's Tele. I'm also I huge Springsteen fan from way back in the 70's. And, I also got into Tele's because of Springsteen (I've branched out quite a bit since then with the Tele players I admire). I also have a real Jersey pedigree...born and raised at the South Jersey shore, college in North Jersey and presently reside in Philly (bigtime Bruce area). For my friends and I, Bruce was always something special from jump...being Jersey Shore guys, we always felt he was one of us...kinda like having one of your hometown buddies up there, only with real talent and genius. Keep the Bruce guitar stuff coming, it's greatly appreciated .

Twangster · March 19th, 2008, 12:18 PM

A couple years ago when I was thinking of building a replica, I started collecting photos of the guitar that showed some details of the finish and wear. Here are a couple:

ReddRanger · March 19th, 2008, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidE

Hopefully there will be a few pictures attached of my replica...about 12 years old now and most of the wear is genuine. I made all the parts and pieces myself that aren't genuine 1957 parts, including the pickups which I hand wound. Bruce had his hands on this neck years ago.

cheers,
david

That is totally cool David!

DavidE · March 19th, 2008, 02:06 PM

I'm always surprised how many people are into Bruce's guitar! Here are a few more shots of my replica. It's not a 100% slavish copy as far as the wear is concerned...most of that is genuine because I play the crap out of it. But the hardware and parts are pretty close to what the guitar looked like, say, post BTR, but before he put the 3-ply guard on. You can see the Petillo frets in one shot pretty well. They are SS and a pain to deal with but what the heck, they look cool.

Cheers,
David

dougpc · March 19th, 2008, 02:06 PM

Forget the guitar, I'd like to know where Bruce acquired his new head of hair. He may be the only guy on the planet who has more hair now than he did in the 80s.

wilkat1 · March 19th, 2008, 02:21 PM

DavidE, can you speak to what kind of preamp Springsteen's guitar has/had in it? I know it was a custom Petillo job, but what was its function? (Boost or cut specific frequencies, volume boost, overdrive, compression?)

All I've ever read was that it was a custom preamp - but never what the function of the preamp was. If you have any or no idea, please let us know.

DavidE · March 19th, 2008, 02:34 PM

Wilkat,
The pre-amp was used in conjunction with a set of passive pickups Petillo made. Being low impedance they required a power source for boost...all of which was very popular with long cables to keep down resistance drop. It was all Petillo made stuff so I can't comment on the technical details. All of that stuff was circa BIUSA, so with wireless devices now that set up is long gone.

cheers,
David

Twangster · March 19th, 2008, 02:35 PM

Speaking of hair......

Here is a picture from last week getting off the helicopter that took him to the show.

Sorry Bruce, I couldnt help myself.

wilkat1 · March 19th, 2008, 02:46 PM

I always wondered about the preamp. It makes sense that it would simply be used to boost the signal through long cables rather than to change the native tone of the instrument.

Here's what I do know - there's one segment on the Hammersmith Odeon DVD where Bruce and Little Steven are trading leads (Bruce plays it then Steven echoes it) with Bruce on the Esquire and Steven on his Strat. If I were shopping for a Fender guitar based on that clip alone I would be all over the Tele faster than a heartbeat. Steven's tone is great but Bruce's totally cuts it!

I enjoyed watching that clip with my son (a Strat head) and pointing out how much better Bruce's Tele sounded!

allen st. john · March 19th, 2008, 02:51 PM

Quote:

'm always surprised how many people are into Bruce's guitar!

Actually, I'm kind of surprised how few, really. When we get into those most valuable guitar discussions, I'm usually the one who has to bring up the Esquire.

Very nice guitar, David.

some great period esquire photos in the recent springsteen photo books by Dave Marsh, Robert Santelli, and Eric Meola

Here's that rolling stone cover

chet · March 19th, 2008, 03:06 PM

What issue of Rolling Stone was that?

DavidE · March 19th, 2008, 03:10 PM

Wilcat,
I know the bit you're talking about, it was the end of "It's Hard to be a Saint in the City". Bruce's tone just kills; it's the sound I've been after all my life. On and off, it was equally great right up through the River. Basically, right up to the point he went to the passive pickups. Petillo said he wound dozens of sets of pickups up to that point, so that kind of explains the hit and miss aspect. My other favorite yardstick is some of the "Because the Night" solos on the Darkness tour, and "Kitty's Back" from earlier shows.

cheers,
david

Teledelphia · March 19th, 2008, 03:50 PM

I was at the '78 Darkness show at the Capital in Passaic, NJ and also have a real good boot of it. Bruce's tone was amazing that night and he played the hell out of that Tele. His tone on the solos sounded like Godzilla's roar from the old TOHO movies. Anybody who doesn't think Springsteen is a great lead player needs to listen to those "Darkness" Tour shows. Another great example of the unique and amazing tone of Bruce's old Tele is on the dvd on the making of "Born To Run" where he is in a studio with the guitar, talks a little about the guitar and rips out a couple of riffs and demos how he came up with some of the songs. Most powerful Tele tone I've ever heard. I'm sure his rig plays a large part, but man some thunder comes outta that old wood.

chet · March 19th, 2008, 03:58 PM

His tone now is pretty awesome as well. He played "Adam Raised A Cain" last week and did some great leads on it.

March 17th, 2008, 10:26 PM	#1 (permalink)
badlands Tele-Meister Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: sweden Age: 34 Posts: 193	Springsteens Esquire I´m looking for some good closeups on Springsteens old Esquire. Is it possible that it was refinished? It looks more of just an amber tint lacquer than (butterscotch)blonde to me Any ideas?

March 17th, 2008, 10:54 PM	#2 (permalink)
odiemann Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Denver Age: 42 Posts: 1,406	Many of the butterscotch teles look like that. Check out the Blackguard book. In fact more of them look like that than the RI version of butterscotch. __________________ It just got better, I think

March 17th, 2008, 11:48 PM	#4 (permalink)
TheDev01dOne Tele-Holic Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Wollongong, NSW, Australia. Age: 21 Posts: 784	It should be refinished to pink.. Neck pickups in Esquires are for girls! Nah seriously though I know nothing about it but it is a damn cool looking guitar. __________________ Esquires straight through a Pro Junior! www.myspace.com/skipcoble

March 18th, 2008, 12:04 AM	#5 (permalink)
crlong TDPRI Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Tennessee Posts: 90	Springsteen's esquire I think his esquire is a late 50s model (check out where the fender decal is on the headstock) that was refinished to "natural" at some point before he got it. Then this aged over the years and his constant use to the butterscotch color it is today. There's an old photo of Springsteen playing it in the early-to-mid-70s in Nacho's Blackguard book where it looks like a totally "natural" finish. On p. 354 If you want a really good photo of it, see if you can pick up a copy of "Born To Run" on LP. Not sure how to post photos here but check these links out. In the first shot (born to run cover) you can actually see the painting that used to be on the pickguard of a man leaning against a telephone pole. Look closely! http://images.coveralia.com/audio/b/...5)-Frontal.jpg http://www.shorefire.com/media/SPRIN...030_162616.jpg

March 18th, 2008, 09:25 AM	#6 (permalink)
Bruce_99 Tele-Meister Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Germany Age: 33 Posts: 303 18 Photos	This pic was taken from ROLLING STONE magazine, a cover shot from 1988: ESQUIRE_CLOSE UP.jpg Another Esquire pic: bruce_esquire.jpg Bruce told in that "Born To Run - 30 anniversary" movie that THIS Tele is actually a "partscaster": 54' Telecaster body & 57' Esquire neck __________________ we learn more from a three minute record than we ever learn in school.. www.myspace.com/steviejetset

March 17th, 2008, 11:03 PM	#3 (permalink)
Twangster Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 191	It has not been refinished. The neck may have been refinished.

March 18th, 2008, 02:04 PM	#7 (permalink)
Twangster Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 191	Actually the decal is correct. Bruce plays a partscaster! The neck is a V shape from post 1955 which would explain the decal. The body is reportedly from 1953.

March 18th, 2008, 02:25 PM	#8 (permalink)
ajgus Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: chicago Posts: 3,003	I know, its black & white. But its a cool pic none the less... bruceesquire3.jpg So let me understand. Is this a Stock Two-Pickup Esquire or is it moddified? __________________ "...it's just a wonderful sound..."- GE Smith

March 18th, 2008, 03:17 PM	#9 (permalink)
ReddRanger Tele-Meister Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: California Posts: 337	I believe it had been heavily modified before Bruce owned it, which is why you see that extra input jack hole. I think there were more than two pickups installed at one point as well. This thread has some great pics.

March 18th, 2008, 03:29 PM	#11 (permalink)
DavidE Tele-Meister Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 152	There are some older threads on this, but the long and short of it is the Esquire is a parts guitar. Neck from 1957 and the body is likely early 1960's. The body was re-finished according to Phil Petillo, the man who sold it to Springsteen in 1972 and continues to work on it. I've had many long chats with Petillo over the years about the various changes and modifications the guitar has undergone. It had two sets of pickups and two jacks in it when Petillo acquired it from CBS recording studios in a bulk purchase of guitars he intended to fix up and re-sell. Springsteen called up one day, asked what he had for sale, came and played the Esquire...and the rest is history. I think Phil said Bruce paid around $169 for it...so he's certainly gotten his money's worth. cheers, David

March 18th, 2008, 03:33 PM	#12 (permalink)
Bruce_99 Tele-Meister Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Germany Age: 33 Posts: 303 18 Photos	Here are some more Bruuuuuuce-Threads: http://www.tdpri.com/forum/stomp-box...ht=springsteen http://www.tdpri.com/forum/telecaste...ht=springsteen http://www.tdpri.com/forum/telecaste...ht=springsteen http://www.tdpri.com/forum/telecaste...ht=springsteen http://www.tdpri.com/forum/telecaste...ht=springsteen http://www.tdpri.com/forum/bad-dog-c...ht=springsteen 1205582802.jpg Bruce with a CS 62 Custom Relic Tele __________________ we learn more from a three minute record than we ever learn in school.. www.myspace.com/steviejetset

March 18th, 2008, 03:39 PM	#13 (permalink)
Teledelphia TDPRI Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: philadelphia Posts: 53	DavidE has it on the money re Bruce's Esquire/Tele. From what I have read, all the hardware on the guitar has been changed out to stainless steel to resist Bruce's copious sweating and the electronics have been upgraded and water proofed to the point that I think it may have been Phil Petillo who said that the guitar would "play underwater" . Any other info DavidE has on Bruce's guitars would be interesting to hear. I'm a big fan.

March 18th, 2008, 03:59 PM	#15 (permalink)
Teledelphia TDPRI Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: philadelphia Posts: 53	Oops...I'm new to the forum and didn't realize the plethora of info that was already on here re Springsteen and his guitars. Great stuff. Great site with great posts.

March 18th, 2008, 06:28 PM	#16 (permalink)
DavidE Tele-Meister Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 152	If anyone wants to contact me off-line I can talk for hours about this guitar. But no need to take up yards of bandwidth with my ramblings. Bruces' Esquire remains one of my obsessions and it's the reason I picked up my own guitar in the first place. I even built a pretty good replica of it, right down to the triangular frets supplied by Petillo. I have lots of pics of it if anyone wants them, or knows how to post them? In fact, I even sent Phil the neck many years ago and, while he had it, Bruce stopped in and picked it up and said, "This feels just like mine." I took that to mean I had gotten it pretty close. The profile by the way is typical 1957. The hardware on Bruce's guitar is mostly titanium. Frets are SS Petillo design. The bridge these days appears to be in the style of an American Standard Tele bridge, but it's most likely something Petillo made from polished SS since an American Standard bridge won't actually fit on a vintage body without modification to the body. I haven't actually asked him about it though. As I said, there were four pickups in the guitar when Petillo acquired it from CBS...two pairs each wired to their own output jack so they could double-charge for tracks during recordings. Kind of a no-no. I believe that's why CBS was auctioning off the guitars in the first place. Under the pickguard is just one big hole which is handy because the electronics have changed constantly with the times and the space gave room for things like an impedance device for the 50ft cable Bruce used to have. With wireless set-ups that's no longer needed though. And yes, everything is water-proofed because of Bruce's sweating all over everything. Bruce himself is known to add caulking around the control cavity and other places. It really looks like crap actually. Well back to work... cheers, david

March 18th, 2008, 08:16 PM	#18 (permalink)
DavidE Tele-Meister Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 152	Pictures make things look funny...the guitar has a standard set of strings on it in the album cover shot. Look at the string windings. The pick guard is leather with a hand stenciled scene of a guy leaning against a lamp post, with someone looking down from a building window in the background. It always makes me think of the song "Meeting Across the River". cheers, david

March 18th, 2008, 08:26 PM	#19 (permalink)
allen st. john Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 1,004	There's a really good shot of the guitar on the recent Rolling Stone cover. He doesn't play the guitar often these days, but on the Live in Barcelona DVD, he plays the first verse of Promised Land, then tosses it probably 30 feet across the stage to guitar tech Kevin Buell. Who catches it. allen

March 18th, 2008, 08:31 PM	#20 (permalink)
Gareth John Tele-Holic Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: England Age: 24 Posts: 833 8 Photos	I bought Born To Run, the unseen photos, lost of really great pics in their. Some great info coming out here, I'd love to have a replica myself, but my skills are poor. Love to see your Replica DavidE, keep the ramblings coming :) Can't wait to see Springsteen in may, just wish he still had that guitar on tour, it's the coolest guitar I've ever seen.

March 18th, 2008, 09:32 PM	#22 (permalink)
Mark N Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Woodstock, NB, Canada Age: 38 Posts: 928 9 Photos	David...that guitar of yours is totally cool!!! Where'd you get that strap btw...looks similar to the one Bruce used on the TOL and Human Touch tours

March 19th, 2008, 01:11 AM	#24 (permalink)
badlands Tele-Meister Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: sweden Age: 34 Posts: 193	Thanks Guys Tell me more i´ve wanted this tele umm sorry i meant esquire or... at least a replica of it since i was 9 years old. And i´ve got a killer swampash piece and some hardware just waiting,,,,,,, Excellent pics y´all 57 v-neck-- sounds perfect!!!! Any ideas where to find a nice v-neck?? my body is a musikraft but i dont like to customorderparts don´t like that it takes so long..

March 19th, 2008, 01:33 AM	#25 (permalink)
robt57 Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Lost Yankee in Nashville Age: 52 Posts: 5,862 22 Photos	In this pic, the second jack look intact. Are those early Tele bodies less that 1-3/4" thick ??

March 19th, 2008, 04:37 AM	#26 (permalink)
tyroneslothrop TDPRI Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: los angeles Age: 44 Posts: 45	All these Mods and non-fender parts... does that mean it is not a Fender Esquire?

March 19th, 2008, 10:59 AM	#27 (permalink)
Teledelphia TDPRI Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: philadelphia Posts: 53	Kudos to DavidE. Fantastic job on your repro of Bruce's Tele. I'm also I huge Springsteen fan from way back in the 70's. And, I also got into Tele's because of Springsteen (I've branched out quite a bit since then with the Tele players I admire). I also have a real Jersey pedigree...born and raised at the South Jersey shore, college in North Jersey and presently reside in Philly (bigtime Bruce area). For my friends and I, Bruce was always something special from jump...being Jersey Shore guys, we always felt he was one of us...kinda like having one of your hometown buddies up there, only with real talent and genius. Keep the Bruce guitar stuff coming, it's greatly appreciated .

March 19th, 2008, 12:18 PM	#28 (permalink)
Twangster Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 191	A couple years ago when I was thinking of building a replica, I started collecting photos of the guitar that showed some details of the finish and wear. Here are a couple:

March 19th, 2008, 02:21 PM	#32 (permalink)
wilkat1 Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: So. Illinois Age: 41 Posts: 1,905 20 Photos	DavidE, can you speak to what kind of preamp Springsteen's guitar has/had in it? I know it was a custom Petillo job, but what was its function? (Boost or cut specific frequencies, volume boost, overdrive, compression?) All I've ever read was that it was a custom preamp - but never what the function of the preamp was. If you have any or no idea, please let us know. __________________ MySpace "That number don't mean nothing to me if the guitar don't sound right." - Buddy Guy on the year a guitar was manufactured.

March 19th, 2008, 02:34 PM	#33 (permalink)
DavidE Tele-Meister Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 152	Wilkat, The pre-amp was used in conjunction with a set of passive pickups Petillo made. Being low impedance they required a power source for boost...all of which was very popular with long cables to keep down resistance drop. It was all Petillo made stuff so I can't comment on the technical details. All of that stuff was circa BIUSA, so with wireless devices now that set up is long gone. cheers, David

IMPORTANT:Treat everyone here with respect, no matter how difficult! No sex, drug, political, religion or hate discussion permitted here.

March 19th, 2008, 02:35 PM	#34 (permalink)
Twangster Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 191	Speaking of hair...... Here is a picture from last week getting off the helicopter that took him to the show. Sorry Bruce, I couldnt help myself.

March 19th, 2008, 02:46 PM	#35 (permalink)
wilkat1 Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: So. Illinois Age: 41 Posts: 1,905 20 Photos	I always wondered about the preamp. It makes sense that it would simply be used to boost the signal through long cables rather than to change the native tone of the instrument. Here's what I do know - there's one segment on the Hammersmith Odeon DVD where Bruce and Little Steven are trading leads (Bruce plays it then Steven echoes it) with Bruce on the Esquire and Steven on his Strat. If I were shopping for a Fender guitar based on that clip alone I would be all over the Tele faster than a heartbeat. Steven's tone is great but Bruce's totally cuts it! I enjoyed watching that clip with my son (a Strat head) and pointing out how much better Bruce's Tele sounded! __________________ MySpace "That number don't mean nothing to me if the guitar don't sound right." - Buddy Guy on the year a guitar was manufactured.

March 19th, 2008, 03:06 PM	#37 (permalink)
chet Doctor of Teleocity Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: The Jersey Shore Posts: 10,901	What issue of Rolling Stone was that? __________________ Nothing here- move along...

March 19th, 2008, 03:10 PM	#38 (permalink)
DavidE Tele-Meister Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 152	Wilcat, I know the bit you're talking about, it was the end of "It's Hard to be a Saint in the City". Bruce's tone just kills; it's the sound I've been after all my life. On and off, it was equally great right up through the River. Basically, right up to the point he went to the passive pickups. Petillo said he wound dozens of sets of pickups up to that point, so that kind of explains the hit and miss aspect. My other favorite yardstick is some of the "Because the Night" solos on the Darkness tour, and "Kitty's Back" from earlier shows. cheers, david

March 19th, 2008, 03:50 PM	#39 (permalink)
Teledelphia TDPRI Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: philadelphia Posts: 53	I was at the '78 Darkness show at the Capital in Passaic, NJ and also have a real good boot of it. Bruce's tone was amazing that night and he played the hell out of that Tele. His tone on the solos sounded like Godzilla's roar from the old TOHO movies. Anybody who doesn't think Springsteen is a great lead player needs to listen to those "Darkness" Tour shows. Another great example of the unique and amazing tone of Bruce's old Tele is on the dvd on the making of "Born To Run" where he is in a studio with the guitar, talks a little about the guitar and rips out a couple of riffs and demos how he came up with some of the songs. Most powerful Tele tone I've ever heard. I'm sure his rig plays a large part, but man some thunder comes outta that old wood.

March 19th, 2008, 03:58 PM	#40 (permalink)
chet Doctor of Teleocity Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: The Jersey Shore Posts: 10,901	His tone now is pretty awesome as well. He played "Adam Raised A Cain" last week and did some great leads on it. __________________ Nothing here- move along...