American Standard Tele

msteurbaut · April 22nd, 2005, 11:35 AM

I was trying some MIA Standard Tele's today and they had one thing in common: the pickups sound awfull...

Boudreaux · April 22nd, 2005, 11:43 AM

Hmm...my Nbr One is a '94 Standard with stock Pups. I get compliments from everyone who hears it.

It grinds, snarls, smooths, howls, twangs and does almost everything with ease. The bridge has gone slightly microphonic and I get a great selector "click"...wouldn't change anything for the world.

msteurbaut · April 22nd, 2005, 11:51 AM

Well, I also tried some Vintage Tele's and they sounded totally different...

Essex Boy · April 22nd, 2005, 01:46 PM

No sh*t sherlock!! :D

Caper · April 22nd, 2005, 02:11 PM

I like the bridge, and the neck and bridge combination but can't go the neck alone. I'll be swapping it eventually for either a Twang King or Original Vintage.

Darrell · April 22nd, 2005, 02:34 PM

The one in my 97 isn't bad. I did replace it, several times. I like the MIM and MIJ's in it much better.

Mike D. · April 22nd, 2005, 03:48 PM

My number one is a 2004 American Series stock. it sounds great, I ain't messing with it.

Mike D. · April 22nd, 2005, 03:48 PM

My number one is a 2004 American Series stock. it sounds great, I ain't messing with it.

Vince a · April 22nd, 2005, 04:29 PM

You gotta clean out that wax from your ears (J/K) . . . I have a 2003 A/S, and I won't do a thing to it except change strings and check intonation every once a year or so.

I get compliments on the sound all the time too!

Darrell · April 22nd, 2005, 09:23 PM

I love my guitar, but yes, the pickups have been the only downfall to me...

I am not sure that they didn't sell me the guitar with the bridge pickup from something else...

What are the ohms/DC spec supose to be?
Does yours have a base plate?
How do I know if I is an AS pickup?

Darrell

Fatmanstratman · April 23rd, 2005, 05:21 AM

Darell,

It's not just you - I too love my 2000 AS Tele, and it plays so sweetly, but it simply does NOT have that Tele "twang". The pickups produce a very gentle tone - fabulous for rhythm playing and great for blues (using the neck pickup with the volume up and the tone backed off) but it's not a twangster.

Having said that - if ALL Teles were identical sounding, what a boring world we'd be living in! We would all only need to buy ONE guitar each, GAS would be a thing of the past, and we could all turn into boring old farts together.

Long live the unique and inimitable beauty that is the Telecaster, I say!

frogger · April 23rd, 2005, 01:12 PM

I just love my noiseless Tele pups. They are very quiet and have all the snap, snarl and twang of any Tele pup I have ever tried. Alot of how a Tele pup sounds is in the set-up, so before you buy something else try resetting your pups or change your values in the electronics.

Darrell · April 23rd, 2005, 01:55 PM

I ultimately solved the problem...after numerous pickup changes...the one that took was 14 dollar MIJ pickup.

photoweborama · April 23rd, 2005, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darrell

I ultimately solved the problem...after numerous pickup changes...the one that took was 14 dollar MIJ pickup.

My AmSer Tele is long gone now. But the pickups sounded like Strat pickups to me. I could make them sound almost exactly the same as my Strat.

I wish now I had kept the guitar and changed the pickups.

My current Tele is made of a bunch of parts. 1/2 the parts were given to me as gifts. The body, Fezz Parka gave me from a James Burton Standard, and another person gave me the pickups.

This Tele has it all. Snarl, growl... etc... I call it a Blues Monster. I can't get that tone out of any of my Strats.

AND the neck pickup came from a MIJ Paisley, and the bridge pup came from a MIJ 52RI..

Dave W · April 24th, 2005, 12:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by msteurbaut

I was trying some MIA Standard Tele's today and they had one thing in common: the pickups sound awfull...

Sure, pal.

If the pickups didn't suit you, fine. They don't suit everyone. These are today's American Teles, not yesterday's. There are plenty of other options if you want yesterday's tone or any other tone.

But when you start a thread for no other purpose than to bash the pickups, then you're nothing but a troll. And probably an anti-American one at that.

Michael Murphy · April 24th, 2005, 07:30 AM

Need a 'Time Out', Dave?

Jeeze, come on...

-Michael
Charter Member S. Texas He-Man Emoticon Haters Local #316

Fatmanstratman · April 24th, 2005, 09:23 AM

Easy, Dave - what's got into you? This IS a discussion page, isn't it? Lots of people who are considering buying a Tele come on here and ask advice, and in particular about the pickups.

And LOTS of wonderful, very knowledgeable guys from the USA are the first to state that the American Standard Tele is not known for it's growling, snarling "original" Tele tone.

American Standards are superbly crafted instruments, but so are the MIJ/CIJ's, as well as some of the MIM's. Some folk would say that many of the MIJ's and MIM's actually sound BETTER than the American Standards.

I cannot understand where you've dug up this notion of "anti-Americanism" from - the guy's post seemed totally genuine to me.

Why not sit down, drink a couple of cold beers, and chill out a bit! Ditch the persecution complex - we Brits LOVE you Americans! Don't believe all that stuff that Uncle Dubya is teling you!

dmkozak · April 24th, 2005, 10:20 AM

posts like this almost always revert back to "it's the fingers, not the pickups, that make the tone". Someone says XYZ pickups sound terrible. And, someone else says I don't know I think, or people who hear mine say, they sound great. Well, I don't know about that. But, if we all go and get the same gear _____ (fill in the name of your favorite or best guitarist) uses, I know that few of us, if any, will sound as good. And, if _____ (same name) changes gear, and we pick up his new gear, we still won't sound as good, and he'll sound just as good.

Now, one person posts that AmerSeries pickups sound terrible. Some agree and some disagree. But, do any of us think the Fender guys sat around and said now that we've come up with a great neck/fingerboard (and pretty much everyone raves about the neck/fingerboards), let's put the absolute worst pickups we can find in the new AmerSeries? If the object is to sell guitars, and if people stop buying Fender guitars, then, they'll go out of business and we won't be to discuss "current" pickups because there won't be "current" guitars, well Fender must be doing something right. The price of new Amer Teles keeps going up and Fender keeps making, and selling, more. So, someone must like the AmerSeries pickups, because people keep buying the guitars.

One man's opinion is nothing more than that man's opinion. Sometimes what counts is the opinion of the many (or at least those who vote with their wallets).

MarkM · April 24th, 2005, 10:30 AM

or as P.T. Barnum once said....."there's an ass for every seat!"
I like stock U.S. RI pickups but that's just my opinion. I know plenty of guys playing bone stock Am Std Teles and they sound fantastic! It's personal preference absolutely.

Caper · April 24th, 2005, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Does yours have a base plate?

As far as I know they don't have a base plate. I have heard it makes a nice improvement tonewise. Not sure what the DC resistance is.

Dave W · April 24th, 2005, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fatmanstratman

Easy, Dave - what's got into you? This IS a discussion page, isn't it? Lots of people who are considering buying a Tele come on here and ask advice, and in particular about the pickups.....

Nope. This is classic trolling. It wasn't posted in order to ask questions or to start a legitimate discussion, it was meant to instigate.

I'm not riled up at all, just calling it what it is.

And please... I'm talking about one guy, not everyone from Europe.

Michael Murphy · April 24th, 2005, 12:18 PM

Dave, you're *way* out of line with your comments.

If you had done a little background research before you made your post, you'd have discovered that Marc has only just begun to play electric a short while ago.

I'm sure his lack of experience with them, and the limited availibility of instruments where he lives have a lot to do with his his post.

Maybe you should have taken a little time to offer something constructive rather than insult him after deciding that *you* know everything about a total stranger halfway around the world from you, and his intentions.

Bad form, Dave (to say nothing about it falling outside the boundaries of Paul's 'Prime Directive' up at the top of the page...).

-Michael

msteurbaut · April 24th, 2005, 01:27 PM

Well, this afternoon I visited a friend who bought an American Standard Tele recently, and it sounded great.

I'm beginning to think that the showroom amp of the store had something to do with it....

Marc
Belgium

msteurbaut · April 24th, 2005, 01:36 PM

Nope. This is classic trolling. It wasn't posted in order to ask questions or to start a legitimate discussion, it was meant to instigate.

I made a statement instead of asking a question, I agree, but I had no 'bad' intentions, I only wanted to find out if someone else had the same experience...

I will go back to the shop on thuesday, because I think it was the amp that sounded awful.

At least I will learn something about amps this way.

Marc

Aen · April 24th, 2005, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fatmanstratman

if ALL Teles were identical sounding, what a boring world we'd be living in! We would all only need to buy ONE guitar each, GAS would be a thing of the past, and we could all turn into boring old farts together.

Ah yes, but you would still need to find a Jazzmaster!

Darrell · April 25th, 2005, 09:00 PM

"the pups in my 97 aren't bad".

Actually, I found them quite good...I wanted GREAT...PHENOMINAL

and I found it.

April 22nd, 2005, 11:35 AM	#1 (permalink)
msteurbaut Tele-Holic Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Belgium Posts: 551	American Standard Tele I was trying some MIA Standard Tele's today and they had one thing in common: the pickups sound awfull...

April 22nd, 2005, 11:43 AM	#2 (permalink)
Boudreaux Tele-Meister Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: OK, USA Posts: 205	Std Pups... Hmm...my Nbr One is a '94 Standard with stock Pups. I get compliments from everyone who hears it. It grinds, snarls, smooths, howls, twangs and does almost everything with ease. The bridge has gone slightly microphonic and I get a great selector "click"...wouldn't change anything for the world. __________________ Somewhere to the South, I heard them say...

April 22nd, 2005, 11:51 AM	#3 (permalink)
msteurbaut Tele-Holic Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Belgium Posts: 551	Re: Std Pups... Well, I also tried some Vintage Tele's and they sounded totally different...

April 22nd, 2005, 02:34 PM	#6 (permalink)
Darrell Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Houston, Texas Age: 48 Posts: 2,450	I hear ya The one in my 97 isn't bad. I did replace it, several times. I like the MIM and MIJ's in it much better. __________________ "Yeap, I like the American Standard Telecaster, I can even live with one a them PCB amps, and I even use one a them mul-tie-effects things too."

April 22nd, 2005, 09:23 PM	#10 (permalink)
Darrell Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Houston, Texas Age: 48 Posts: 2,450	I have some questions for you AS owners I love my guitar, but yes, the pickups have been the only downfall to me... I am not sure that they didn't sell me the guitar with the bridge pickup from something else... What are the ohms/DC spec supose to be? Does yours have a base plate? How do I know if I is an AS pickup? Darrell __________________ "Yeap, I like the American Standard Telecaster, I can even live with one a them PCB amps, and I even use one a them mul-tie-effects things too."

April 22nd, 2005, 01:46 PM	#4 (permalink)
Essex Boy Tele-Holic Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: London, England Posts: 674	No sh*t sherlock!! :D

April 22nd, 2005, 02:11 PM	#5 (permalink)
Caper Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 2,151 6 Photos	I like the bridge, and the neck and bridge combination but can't go the neck alone. I'll be swapping it eventually for either a Twang King or Original Vintage.

April 22nd, 2005, 03:48 PM	#7 (permalink)
Mike D. Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Chicagoland Posts: 569	My number one is a 2004 American Series stock. it sounds great, I ain't messing with it.

April 22nd, 2005, 03:48 PM	#8 (permalink)
Mike D. Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Chicagoland Posts: 569	My number one is a 2004 American Series stock. it sounds great, I ain't messing with it.

April 22nd, 2005, 04:29 PM	#9 (permalink)
Vince a Tele-Holic Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Modesto, CA Age: 61 Posts: 763	You gotta clean out that wax from your ears (J/K) . . . I have a 2003 A/S, and I won't do a thing to it except change strings and check intonation every once a year or so. I get compliments on the sound all the time too!

April 23rd, 2005, 05:21 AM	#11 (permalink)
Fatmanstratman Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Fatmanville, Cambs., UK Posts: 2,755	Darrell - You are not alone.... Darell, It's not just you - I too love my 2000 AS Tele, and it plays so sweetly, but it simply does NOT have that Tele "twang". The pickups produce a very gentle tone - fabulous for rhythm playing and great for blues (using the neck pickup with the volume up and the tone backed off) but it's not a twangster. Having said that - if ALL Teles were identical sounding, what a boring world we'd be living in! We would all only need to buy ONE guitar each, GAS would be a thing of the past, and we could all turn into boring old farts together. Long live the unique and inimitable beauty that is the Telecaster, I say! __________________ . . . *"Behind every argument is someone's ignorance."*

April 23rd, 2005, 01:12 PM	#12 (permalink)
frogger Tele-Meister Join Date: May 2003 Location: Lincoln Nebraska Posts: 416	I just love my noiseless Tele pups. They are very quiet and have all the snap, snarl and twang of any Tele pup I have ever tried. Alot of how a Tele pup sounds is in the set-up, so before you buy something else try resetting your pups or change your values in the electronics.

April 23rd, 2005, 01:55 PM	#13 (permalink)
Darrell Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Houston, Texas Age: 48 Posts: 2,450	Fatman I ultimately solved the problem...after numerous pickup changes...the one that took was 14 dollar MIJ pickup. __________________ "Yeap, I like the American Standard Telecaster, I can even live with one a them PCB amps, and I even use one a them mul-tie-effects things too."

April 24th, 2005, 07:30 AM	#16 (permalink)
Michael Murphy Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: I can hit the Pacific Ocean and/or Canada with a rock from here... Age: 62 Posts: 1,068	Need a 'Time Out', Dave? Jeeze, come on... -Michael Charter Member S. Texas He-Man Emoticon Haters Local #316 __________________ *Just an analog boy in a digital world...*

April 24th, 2005, 09:23 AM	#17 (permalink)
Fatmanstratman Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Fatmanville, Cambs., UK Posts: 2,755	Wrong side of the bed, Dave? Easy, Dave - what's got into you? This IS a discussion page, isn't it? Lots of people who are considering buying a Tele come on here and ask advice, and in particular about the pickups. And LOTS of wonderful, very knowledgeable guys from the USA are the first to state that the American Standard Tele is not known for it's growling, snarling "original" Tele tone. American Standards are superbly crafted instruments, but so are the MIJ/CIJ's, as well as some of the MIM's. Some folk would say that many of the MIJ's and MIM's actually sound BETTER than the American Standards. I cannot understand where you've dug up this notion of "anti-Americanism" from - the guy's post seemed totally genuine to me. Why not sit down, drink a couple of cold beers, and chill out a bit! Ditch the persecution complex - we Brits LOVE you Americans! Don't believe all that stuff that Uncle Dubya is teling you! __________________ . . . *"Behind every argument is someone's ignorance."*

April 24th, 2005, 10:20 AM	#18 (permalink)
dmkozak Tele-Meister Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 125	Altho, eventually ..... posts like this almost always revert back to "it's the fingers, not the pickups, that make the tone". Someone says XYZ pickups sound terrible. And, someone else says I don't know I think, or people who hear mine say, they sound great. Well, I don't know about that. But, if we all go and get the same gear _____ (fill in the name of your favorite or best guitarist) uses, I know that few of us, if any, will sound as good. And, if _____ (same name) changes gear, and we pick up his new gear, we still won't sound as good, and he'll sound just as good. Now, one person posts that AmerSeries pickups sound terrible. Some agree and some disagree. But, do any of us think the Fender guys sat around and said now that we've come up with a great neck/fingerboard (and pretty much everyone raves about the neck/fingerboards), let's put the absolute worst pickups we can find in the new AmerSeries? If the object is to sell guitars, and if people stop buying Fender guitars, then, they'll go out of business and we won't be to discuss "current" pickups because there won't be "current" guitars, well Fender must be doing something right. The price of new Amer Teles keeps going up and Fender keeps making, and selling, more. So, someone must like the AmerSeries pickups, because people keep buying the guitars. One man's opinion is nothing more than that man's opinion. Sometimes what counts is the opinion of the many (or at least those who vote with their wallets).

April 24th, 2005, 10:30 AM	#19 (permalink)
MarkM TDPRI Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Connecticut Age: 44 Posts: 95	to each his own or as P.T. Barnum once said....."there's an ass for every seat!" I like stock U.S. RI pickups but that's just my opinion. I know plenty of guys playing bone stock Am Std Teles and they sound fantastic! It's personal preference absolutely. __________________ Guitars, Cadillacs, Hillbilly Music.....the only things that keep me hangin' on!

April 24th, 2005, 12:18 PM	#22 (permalink)
Michael Murphy Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: I can hit the Pacific Ocean and/or Canada with a rock from here... Age: 62 Posts: 1,068	Dave, you're way out of line with your comments. If you had done a little background research before you made your post, you'd have discovered that Marc has only just begun to play electric a short while ago. I'm sure his lack of experience with them, and the limited availibility of instruments where he lives have a lot to do with his his post. Maybe you should have taken a little time to offer something constructive rather than insult him after deciding that you know everything about a total stranger halfway around the world from you, and his intentions. Bad form, Dave (to say nothing about it falling outside the boundaries of Paul's 'Prime Directive' up at the top of the page...). -Michael __________________ *Just an analog boy in a digital world...*

April 24th, 2005, 01:27 PM	#23 (permalink)
msteurbaut Tele-Holic Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Belgium Posts: 551	Well, this afternoon I visited a friend who bought an American Standard Tele recently, and it sounded great. I'm beginning to think that the showroom amp of the store had something to do with it.... Marc Belgium

April 24th, 2005, 01:36 PM	#24 (permalink)
msteurbaut Tele-Holic Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Belgium Posts: 551	Re: Wrong side of the bed, Dave? Nope. This is classic trolling. It wasn't posted in order to ask questions or to start a legitimate discussion, it was meant to instigate. I made a statement instead of asking a question, I agree, but I had no 'bad' intentions, I only wanted to find out if someone else had the same experience... I will go back to the shop on thuesday, because I think it was the amp that sounded awful. At least I will learn something about amps this way. Marc

April 25th, 2005, 09:00 PM	#26 (permalink)
Darrell Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Houston, Texas Age: 48 Posts: 2,450	Dave, as I said... "the pups in my 97 aren't bad". Actually, I found them quite good...I wanted GREAT...PHENOMINAL and I found it. __________________ "Yeap, I like the American Standard Telecaster, I can even live with one a them PCB amps, and I even use one a them mul-tie-effects things too."