Esquire - what am i missing?

[plymman]

What is it I don't get with the Esquire? I just can't fathom it.

Surely the versatility of a standard tele isn't worth losing by being limited to only a bridge pickup. You can always play with only the bridge selected anyway but still have the neck pu to fall back on. If it's purely aesthetic why not just plonk an esquire pickguard on there to cover the pickup?

This isn't a criticism at all and I know there are plenty that love their Esquire so I know it's me that's missing something (odds on I'll end up having an esquire myself now I've asked this!) but why go to the trouble of removing the neck PU and wiring to get a sound that was already there to start with?

Ill informed and mystified query over. Thanks folks!

[Tele Fan]

I don't have one but I'm a fan of the unique wiring.

[Eric71]

I've never had one, but my impression is that not having a neck pickup to 'fall back on' is the whole point. You end up finding a way to make it work with just the bridge pickup, and that opens new creative and tonal doors that you may not have bothered to explore otherwise.

[Actionless]

To me The Esquire sounds and feels VERY different from a normal Tele. I firmly believe that the lack of the neck pickup means that there is no magnetic pull on the strings in that area. I believe this helps it sustain more, even scream more. I feel so much more power from my Esquire than I do from my Tele - even unplugged. With good wiring choice you can get just as many great tones than a normal Tele. I dont feel I am missing anything. (do love my Tele too tho lol )
I dont think you truly get it until you play one, there are many stories on this forum of people Telecasting an Esquire only to then feel its lost its mojo.

[telepath]

It is hard to define in writing, but there is a difference with that one pickup.
And it definitely does make you play differently too.
The sum of those two things = 'getting' what an Esquire brings (not what is 'takes away').

LP vs LP Junior is perhaps a similar comparison, but might be easier to see / hear / 'get'.

I have tried the 'Faux' and the 'Stealth' Esquire-ish posibilities, and I swiftly concluded that you can not fake it.
It has to be a one pickup.
With whatever crafty wiring combo you prefer - and there are a surprising number of variations on that aspect ;)

[spauldingrules]

You're missing the psychological component of not having a neck pickup.

[nadzab]

Ever play one? Chances are it will solve the mystery.

[plymman]

Originally Posted by nadzab

Ever play one? Chances are it will solve the mystery.

Nope, never played one and didn't even know about them until I joined here recently. I've owned guitars and basses for 20 odd years but only recently discovered the telecaster and have become slightly obsessed with them....

[plymman]

Originally Posted by Actionless

I firmly believe that the lack of the neck pickup means that there is no magnetic pull on the strings in that area. I believe this helps it sustain more, even scream more. I feel so much more power from my Esquire than I do from my Tele - even unplugged.

That's really interesting and something that I'd never even considered.

[TeleKato]

Originally Posted by nadzab

Ever play one? Chances are it will solve the mystery.

This.

I was just downstairs playing one of mine ... a PartEsquire build with a '62 Custom in the bridge, named after SWMBO (I call her 'Tess'). Sounds like no other guitar I have, including two other Esquires (one even that has the same frickin' pickup, but sounds completely different).

I have that '62 in the bridge of my AV52RI, and I can tell you it set on Bridge-only and my PartEsquire Tess are different animals. Oh ... and I don't have a switch on Tess either; just VOLUME and TONE knobs.

Make one/get one/play one ... you'll see for yourself. Or you won't and then you can consider that the rest of us are crazier-than-a-by-god.

[czgibson]

I've never played one but it seems there are sounds you can get out of an Esquire that you can't get from a Tele, due to a combination of wiring differences and possibly psychological factors too.

Have a look at these threads:

FAQs: Fender Esquire

Can Someone explain Esquires

[adeiderich]

I find it liberating. I think less about the guitar and more about how and what I am playing.

Then it becomes an addiction. I have a HB with a split/series/HB combo on the 3 way switch. Now I'm jonesin' to get another so I can get a three saddle bridge and have a direct to output jack setting on my switch. Oh yeah, did I mention pine?

[chipbutty24]

Ya gotta play one.

[eedwards]

I suspect that it is the placebo effect, but I built a Tele last fall, but could never get along with the neck pickup. I tried a different one and the whole guitar just seemed to be missing something. I knew the neck pup was the problem, so I removed the guard and simply clipped the wires at the switch and pulled the pup. IMMEDIATELE, I could hear a difference and the thing was more powerful sounding.

It may just be a Placebo, but *I think* the sound is much better now. Since it is all in my head (according to my dear wife), that is what counts. :)

[indiobravo]

a pick up.

[ThreeChorder]

Originally Posted by plymman

What is it I don't get with the Esquire? I just can't fathom it.

Surely the versatility of a standard tele isn't worth losing by being limited to only a bridge pickup. You can always play with only the bridge selected anyway but still have the neck pu to fall back on. If it's purely aesthetic why not just plonk an esquire pickguard on there to cover the pickup?

This isn't a criticism at all and I know there are plenty that love their Esquire so I know it's me that's missing something (odds on I'll end up having an esquire myself now I've asked this!) but why go to the trouble of removing the neck PU and wiring to get a sound that was already there to start with?

Ill informed and mystified query over. Thanks folks!

Thanks for posting this. I've wondered the same many times but never thought to ask on the forum I, too, have never tried an Esquire. Never even seen one at my local shops.

Interesting answers.

[caferacer]

it was the cheaper model
that is all

[guitar1amp2000]

With the 3-way switch you have a lot of control over the single pickup. In the bridge position you have the pickup connected only to the volume pot. In the middle position the tone pot and cap are introduced into the circuit allowing you to alter the tone for a rhythm sound set to your personal taste. The neck position gives you a bass prominent sound.

[oldteleguy]

Hi,
Modded a 2008 Blonde CV50 to Esquire. I love the sound-this guitar roars! Also,the Eldred
Mod sounds fantastic-it has a rolling,roaring humbucker sound that no regular bucker has.
love the mojo,and it's just plain fun to play.
Oldteleguy

[TwoString]

For some reason, I hear a lot of extra "growl" from Esquires that I don't hear with Telecasters. I was afraid of going single pickup, so I stole an idea from Brad Paisley and stuck a strat pickup in the middle spot and made a custom control plate with just a volume, tone and a blend pot. I never go full middle, but being able to twist a knob and get a range of tones from sparkle to full quack made this one of my favorite guitars. And besides, the only time I use a neck pickup anyway is on my strat when trying to do that SRV blues thing. On every other guitar, the neck pickup just doesn't appeal to me.

It's all down to tastes and what you want from a guitar. I have played a few LP Jrs. that really make me want to let it rip without a net though. Sometimes a single coil next to the bridge is all you need.