MIM standard tele

leonnoel · July 17th, 2005, 05:34 PM

How r the stock pickups in the MIM tele's?
Are they gud quality or do people generally replace them with better ones?

Are they generally good guitars to buy? Never bought a tele before, thought the MIM would be a gud place to start. Wat do u reckon?

I know very little about tele's really, so I'm looking for some advice on what to buy
Are any other tele copies worth checking out?

w0odman · July 17th, 2005, 06:06 PM

the MIM's are good guitars. I swpapped out both pups. but the only pup that I really needed to was the bridge pup. It's a little harsh. Other than that, they're are good guitars, but try a bunch of them out.

radarman · July 17th, 2005, 06:08 PM

well, I have a 97 mim fat tele, de-fatted, with Duncan 48 broadcaster in bridge/lead pos and Fender custom shoppe tejas special in the neck/rythym pos, all wired with wax coated cloth wire and wired up to a 5-way strat switch in the 4-way tele manner. pots are CTS American style, and the 250K audio tone pot is modded to be no load when turned to 10 on the dial. knobs are Fender USA chrome domed. all cavities are lined with copper to provide shielding. output is via machined aluminum electrosocket. bridge is vintage 52 with compensated brass saddles. Neck is MIM replacement one-piece maple with fat C profile and is bolted up with 70's F-plate. Tuners are American series. Vintage 52 string tree. it sports chrome Jim Dunlop strap locks. Scratch plate is American Fender in 3-ply parchment, and color of the body is midnite wine. I bought it piece by piece and that is the way I planned it. I like the stock MIM tele's and wouldn't hesitate recommending them to anyone, they are great. The pups aren't bad at all and a basic MIM is a basis for doing anything you want to a tele, mod it, improve it, whatever you would like to do, without worrying about much cause they aren't as expensive as the USA models.
My midnite wine is a tone monster. You could actually use one to paddle your canoe, just like Fuzzy does..
MIM's are truley a great bargain in this day and age...

twangee · July 17th, 2005, 06:09 PM

My first tele was an MIM. I loved that thing. I put a vintage 3 barrel bridge on it and dropped in some *groan* Texas Specials. I hated those. So, instead of swappin em back out I sold the whole tele for a pretty good profit to finance another tele. I kept the original pups for a partscaster project I'm lookin into. Twangee bridge pup and really smooth neck pup.

Aen · July 18th, 2005, 12:08 AM

I thought the point of the tele birdge pickup was to be harsh.

anyway, the neck pickup is little weak, but you can always add a 4 way switch or new PU.

Cat · July 22nd, 2005, 03:21 AM

I think what everyone is trying to say nicely is that the MIM tele pickups are ****HOUSE and you will need to replace them for sure. The good news is that there are many great and reasonably cheap pickup options out there to choose from + MIM teles are routed for a humbucker in the neck which I think is the best mod you can make to a tele. Enjoy and good luck,

Cat

Darrell · July 22nd, 2005, 12:09 PM

I found the MIM bridge pick not nearly harsh enough. It is too smooth for a hard core country picker. For the novice intermediate, it is just fine.

darkstar · July 22nd, 2005, 01:21 PM

I like mine quite a bit. I may replace the pickups eventually, but i dont feel that it is urgent to do so (ive had the guitar a bit more than a year).

jwsamuel · July 22nd, 2005, 01:38 PM

I have an MIM. I replaced the bridge pickup with a Seymour Duncan "Jerry Donahue" and the neck pickup with a SH-1 59 Humbucker. It sounds great.

Jim

JimmieT · July 24th, 2005, 09:39 PM

I consider the MIM Teles to be an great choice. I got my MIM standard after already having a Muddy Waters and 50s classic ( both MIM) and the standard is a good as the others. The pups are actually quite tolerable if your on a budget and have to use them for a while. I put CS nocasters in the 50s classic and really like those but I play the stock standard just as much. Mods for the MIM standard are one the way. Parchment guard, vintage bride, dome knobs and the biggest pup investment for me yet, a set of Fralins.
For the money and quality, you can't loose with the standard.

Coyote · July 24th, 2005, 09:49 PM

I reckon that the MIM Standards are durn fine guitars. I like the stock pups, however I would like to get some Lace or Noiseless pups for my own.

leonnoel · July 27th, 2005, 05:42 PM

i used to hav an epi les paul, used to feedback(microphonic type) alot. Anyone had the same probelms with MIM tele's,or they generally better quality instruments than epi's?

JoeAArthur · July 27th, 2005, 06:23 PM

I never played an MIM tele. The last one I bought was a 1999 Am Deluxe Tele.

The way circumstances went with the partscaster I'm currently building... the allparts neck I thought I wanted wasn't available, at least according to one seller after a two week wait. With the refund, I wound up with a MIM Tele neck off Ebay.

I'm seriously amazed at the quality of the neck. It has the low vintage style narrow frets, on a 9 1/2" radius neck. It has to be the straightest neck I have ever seen - both sides are identical, no curvature what so ever... and the plane of the frets is as flat as they come. The neck profile... while not ever to be considered a "fat" neck is proportioned to a better curve than the Am Deluxe.

I did have to size it to a standard 2 3/16" (exactly) body. The neck looks like it has no finish on it... but the thickness of the finish was the only thing preventing the neck from fitting the body. I removed the finish from the sides of the neck where it would fit with the neck pocket... and I still have to sand that area and refinish it... but it now fits into the body like a straight and narrow glove. I was slightly concerned with the predrilled holes in the neck, but they matched up perfectly with the mounting holes in the body and the neck plate.

Maybe I should have started with an MIM Tele? Nah... I wanted a much better body... but the neck is definitely a keeper.

Blues Hurler · July 28th, 2005, 10:45 AM

I think the MIM standard is a fine guitar. If you find the bridge pup too harsh, roll back the tone a bit and try it again. If you want pristine chicken-picken the stock pups probably won't do the job but for anything else they're pretty good. Just play with the tone on the guitar and amp, and these guitars can sound great right out of the box. They're a great deal IMHO.

leonnoel · July 28th, 2005, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gibson guy

I think the MIM standard is a fine guitar. If you find the bridge pup too harsh, roll back the tone a bit and try it again. If you want pristine chicken-picken the stock pups probably won't do the job but for anything else they're pretty good. Just play with the tone on the guitar and amp, and these guitars can sound great right out of the box. They're a great deal IMHO.

is there much diff between the standard and 50's classic, in terms on quality?

Coyote · July 28th, 2005, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leonnoel

Quote:

Originally Posted by gibson guy

I think the MIM standard is a fine guitar. If you find the bridge pup too harsh, roll back the tone a bit and try it again. If you want pristine chicken-picken the stock pups probably won't do the job but for anything else they're pretty good. Just play with the tone on the guitar and amp, and these guitars can sound great right out of the box. They're a great deal IMHO.

is there much diff between the standard and 50's classic, in terms on quality?

I'm not sure about quality, having never played a 50's classic, however there are differences in the parts they have, 50's classics like the '52 reissue, have the Vintage style 3 saddle bridge. I think the neck is different as well.

leonnoel · July 28th, 2005, 01:06 PM

i see that the highway 1 tele's arent much more expensive than the classic. Im really not sure what im gonna choose. will have to try a few standards, classics and highway's and see.

Is there much of a diff between the highway 1 and the MIM tele's?

ye olde fretmonkey · July 28th, 2005, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leonnoel

Quote:

Originally Posted by gibson guy

I think the MIM standard is a fine guitar. If you find the bridge pup too harsh, roll back the tone a bit and try it again. If you want pristine chicken-picken the stock pups probably won't do the job but for anything else they're pretty good. Just play with the tone on the guitar and amp, and these guitars can sound great right out of the box. They're a great deal IMHO.

is there much diff between the standard and 50's classic, in terms on quality?

Standards are ash bodies versus poplar or alder, a better grade of maple on the necks, and better hardware and electronics.

kp8 · July 28th, 2005, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leonnoel

Is there much of a diff between the highway 1 and the MIM tele's?

i won't bother to tell you spec wise you can just see that on the fenner site, but i was originally trying to get a Muddy Waters tele and couldn't and ended up going back and forth between the HW 1 and a White MIM. I really liked both a lot but went with the HW 1 and am happy with my choice as i really love the HW 1. But i have been back to that store to play the MIM several times and that was a fine guitar as well. They are both well worth the money and both fine bang for buck guitars.... sorry to say, you really gotta play them and make up your own mind. But i really think that you can't go wrong either way, it just depends on what you dig and how much you like to mod, etc. My personal feeling was the the HW 1 was something i was really willing to leave mostly stock and just play. I sort of though that the MIM would require a few more up grades to get it to where *i* personally would want it to be.

That middle price range with the 72RI, 69RI, 50's 60's, MW, HW 1 ... etc. is just great right now. I really like a lot of these guitars fenner has out now at that 400-600 dollar range. My 69RI is outstanding as well.

as regards the MIM -vs- HW 1... one thing to consider is the bodies and finishes. The hw 1 has a nice alder body (most seem to be 3 pieces) and a nice thin finish that is pretty when new, but very very frail. The MIM is a thicker poly finish that is really durable and likely to be a 4 piece body ... though you never know.... I also liked the stock hw 1 p/ups better than the MIM i played.

The hw 1 has a nice modern neck. The neck on my HW 1 is better than my MIA. It is awesome... again personal preference... play as many as you can.

-kp--

John Backlund · July 28th, 2005, 02:28 PM

I sure like mine. So far, the only thing I've changed is to put a red tortoise-shell pickguard on it, which makes it a visual knock-out, the body having the cream finish.

I'll probably replace the pickups eventually, but I'm in no big hurry to do so.

I'm exclusively a finger-picker, usually in open tunings.

I have several other guitars, archtops mostly. It's interesting that whenever I start out playing something other than the Telecaster, within the hour, I'm back on it, often wondering why I even own any guitars other than teles.

So simple......so good.

leonnoel · July 28th, 2005, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kp8

Quote:

Originally Posted by leonnoel

Is there much of a diff between the highway 1 and the MIM tele's?

i won't bother to tell you spec wise you can just see that on the fenner site, but i was originally trying to get a Muddy Waters tele and couldn't and ended up going back and forth between the HW 1 and a White MIM. I really liked both a lot but went with the HW 1 and am happy with my choice as i really love the HW 1. But i have been back to that store to play the MIM several times and that was a fine guitar as well. They are both well worth the money and both fine bang for buck guitars.... sorry to say, you really gotta play them and make up your own mind. But i really think that you can't go wrong either way, it just depends on what you dig and how much you like to mod, etc. My personal feeling was the the HW 1 was something i was really willing to leave mostly stock and just play. I sort of though that the MIM would require a few more up grades to get it to where *i* personally would want it to be.

That middle price range with the 72RI, 69RI, 50's 60's, MW, HW 1 ... etc. is just great right now. I really like a lot of these guitars fenner has out now at that 400-600 dollar range. My 69RI is outstanding as well.

as regards the MIM -vs- HW 1... one thing to consider is the bodies and finishes. The hw 1 has a nice alder body (most seem to be 3 pieces) and a nice thin finish that is pretty when new, but very very frail. The MIM is a thicker poly finish that is really durable and likely to be a 4 piece body ... though you never know.... I also liked the stock hw 1 p/ups better than the MIM i played.

The hw 1 has a nice modern neck. The neck on my HW 1 is better than my MIA. It is awesome... again personal preference... play as many as you can.

-kp--

thanks 4 the info. seems whatever i choose should be a decent guitar. will pop down the guitar shops next week!!

bigdog · July 28th, 2005, 04:31 PM

I bought a used MIM standard back in the winter with the idea I would turn it into an Esquire or add a 'Bucker to the neck position. After a thorough cleaning and a new set of strings I am in love with it just as our friends south of the border turned her out. I am just recently simplifying my rig and have dialed in a perfect Fender sound , clean when I want it and warmed up just right with a stronger attack.
Pairing the MIM with a good amp and minimal effects has yeilded a surprisingly good tone and should work for most (YMMV) . The real difference in the various non-American made Standards and RI models is largely a matter of taste and not quality.

Honga Man · July 28th, 2005, 11:57 PM

I probably have modded my MIM Standard Tele about as much as you can and I love it:

MIM Standard body (sunburst)
MIM Standard pickups (they sound fine to me through my SF Champ)
MIM Standard control plate
MIM Standard control plate screws and pickguard screws

That's all that's original.

Here's the rest:

MIJ JD Tele neck and tuners, neck has machine-screws and inserts...the bolt heads use an allen wrench!
Fender "Pat Pend" vintage bridge plate from www.angela.com
Stew-Mac brass compensated saddles
Stew-Mac 8-hole 3-ply mint green pickguard, with no neck pickup mounting holes
Cut-down paint stirring stick mounted to body at bottom of neck humbucker cavity
Neck pickup mounted in "body"...well, in cut-down paint stirring stick, looks totally "vintage" without neck p/u mounted in pickguard...very easy mod
All-Parts '50s-style "dome-top" volume and tone knobs
Schaller strap-locks
Electrosocket jack
Fender 4-way switch
D'addario XL strings... .009s

I have some pics but don't know how to host 'em and post 'em, nor do I have software to downsize them to TDPRI standards.

July 17th, 2005, 05:34 PM	#1 (permalink)
leonnoel TDPRI Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 13	MIM standard tele How r the stock pickups in the MIM tele's? Are they gud quality or do people generally replace them with better ones? Are they generally good guitars to buy? Never bought a tele before, thought the MIM would be a gud place to start. Wat do u reckon? I know very little about tele's really, so I'm looking for some advice on what to buy Are any other tele copies worth checking out?

July 17th, 2005, 06:06 PM	#2 (permalink)
w0odman Tele-Meister Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 466	the MIM's are good guitars. I swpapped out both pups. but the only pup that I really needed to was the bridge pup. It's a little harsh. Other than that, they're are good guitars, but try a bunch of them out. __________________ "The only true currency in this bankrupt world, is what you share with someone else when you're uncool." -Lester Bangs

July 17th, 2005, 06:08 PM	#3 (permalink)
radarman Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Colorado Posts: 319	They are GREAT!!! well, I have a 97 mim fat tele, de-fatted, with Duncan 48 broadcaster in bridge/lead pos and Fender custom shoppe tejas special in the neck/rythym pos, all wired with wax coated cloth wire and wired up to a 5-way strat switch in the 4-way tele manner. pots are CTS American style, and the 250K audio tone pot is modded to be no load when turned to 10 on the dial. knobs are Fender USA chrome domed. all cavities are lined with copper to provide shielding. output is via machined aluminum electrosocket. bridge is vintage 52 with compensated brass saddles. Neck is MIM replacement one-piece maple with fat C profile and is bolted up with 70's F-plate. Tuners are American series. Vintage 52 string tree. it sports chrome Jim Dunlop strap locks. Scratch plate is American Fender in 3-ply parchment, and color of the body is midnite wine. I bought it piece by piece and that is the way I planned it. I like the stock MIM tele's and wouldn't hesitate recommending them to anyone, they are great. The pups aren't bad at all and a basic MIM is a basis for doing anything you want to a tele, mod it, improve it, whatever you would like to do, without worrying about much cause they aren't as expensive as the USA models. My midnite wine is a tone monster. You could actually use one to paddle your canoe, just like Fuzzy does.. MIM's are truley a great bargain in this day and age... __________________ One man alone can be pretty dumb sometimes, but for real bona fide stupidity, there ain't nothin' can beat teamwork. Edward Abbey

July 17th, 2005, 06:09 PM	#4 (permalink)
twangee Tele-Meister Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Mississippi Posts: 249	I like em! My first tele was an MIM. I loved that thing. I put a vintage 3 barrel bridge on it and dropped in some groan Texas Specials. I hated those. So, instead of swappin em back out I sold the whole tele for a pretty good profit to finance another tele. I kept the original pups for a partscaster project I'm lookin into. Twangee bridge pup and really smooth neck pup. __________________ "The wall giveth, and the wall taketh away." Roger Angell

July 18th, 2005, 12:08 AM	#5 (permalink)
Aen Tele-Holic Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Eau Claire, WI Posts: 942	I thought the point of the tele birdge pickup was to be harsh. anyway, the neck pickup is little weak, but you can always add a 4 way switch or new PU. __________________ Alt-country and psych-rock-tronica! Hey, be happy you can choose one genre for yourself! http://www.myspace.com/aenpage

July 22nd, 2005, 03:21 AM	#6 (permalink)
Cat Tele-Meister Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 378	I think what everyone is trying to say nicely is that the MIM tele pickups are ****HOUSE and you will need to replace them for sure. The good news is that there are many great and reasonably cheap pickup options out there to choose from + MIM teles are routed for a humbucker in the neck which I think is the best mod you can make to a tele. Enjoy and good luck, Cat __________________ No Telecasters = No Led Zeppelin, No Springsteen, No Jeff Buckley, No Eric Clapton, No Nothing. Long live the TELECASTER

July 22nd, 2005, 12:09 PM	#7 (permalink)
Darrell Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Houston, Texas Age: 48 Posts: 2,465	Another opinion I found the MIM bridge pick not nearly harsh enough. It is too smooth for a hard core country picker. For the novice intermediate, it is just fine. __________________ "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."

July 22nd, 2005, 01:21 PM	#8 (permalink)
darkstar TDPRI Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Upstate NY Posts: 20	I like mine quite a bit. I may replace the pickups eventually, but i dont feel that it is urgent to do so (ive had the guitar a bit more than a year).

July 22nd, 2005, 01:38 PM	#9 (permalink)
jwsamuel Tele-Afflicted Join Date: May 2004 Location: Upper Holland, PA Age: 51 Posts: 1,965	I have an MIM. I replaced the bridge pickup with a Seymour Duncan "Jerry Donahue" and the neck pickup with a SH-1 59 Humbucker. It sounds great. Jim

July 24th, 2005, 09:39 PM	#10 (permalink)
JimmieT TDPRI Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Federal Way, WA Posts: 53	Excellent Guitars I consider the MIM Teles to be an great choice. I got my MIM standard after already having a Muddy Waters and 50s classic ( both MIM) and the standard is a good as the others. The pups are actually quite tolerable if your on a budget and have to use them for a while. I put CS nocasters in the 50s classic and really like those but I play the stock standard just as much. Mods for the MIM standard are one the way. Parchment guard, vintage bride, dome knobs and the biggest pup investment for me yet, a set of Fralins. For the money and quality, you can't loose with the standard.

July 24th, 2005, 09:49 PM	#11 (permalink)
Coyote Tele-Meister Join Date: May 2005 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 302	I reckon that the MIM Standards are durn fine guitars. I like the stock pups, however I would like to get some Lace or Noiseless pups for my own.

July 27th, 2005, 05:42 PM	#12 (permalink)
leonnoel TDPRI Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 13	i used to hav an epi les paul, used to feedback(microphonic type) alot. Anyone had the same probelms with MIM tele's,or they generally better quality instruments than epi's?

July 27th, 2005, 06:23 PM	#13 (permalink)
JoeAArthur Tele-Holic Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 726	I never played an MIM tele. The last one I bought was a 1999 Am Deluxe Tele. The way circumstances went with the partscaster I'm currently building... the allparts neck I thought I wanted wasn't available, at least according to one seller after a two week wait. With the refund, I wound up with a MIM Tele neck off Ebay. I'm seriously amazed at the quality of the neck. It has the low vintage style narrow frets, on a 9 1/2" radius neck. It has to be the straightest neck I have ever seen - both sides are identical, no curvature what so ever... and the plane of the frets is as flat as they come. The neck profile... while not ever to be considered a "fat" neck is proportioned to a better curve than the Am Deluxe. I did have to size it to a standard 2 3/16" (exactly) body. The neck looks like it has no finish on it... but the thickness of the finish was the only thing preventing the neck from fitting the body. I removed the finish from the sides of the neck where it would fit with the neck pocket... and I still have to sand that area and refinish it... but it now fits into the body like a straight and narrow glove. I was slightly concerned with the predrilled holes in the neck, but they matched up perfectly with the mounting holes in the body and the neck plate. Maybe I should have started with an MIM Tele? Nah... I wanted a much better body... but the neck is definitely a keeper. __________________ Joe

July 28th, 2005, 10:45 AM	#14 (permalink)
Blues Hurler Tele-Holic Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 648 6 Photos	I think the MIM standard is a fine guitar. If you find the bridge pup too harsh, roll back the tone a bit and try it again. If you want pristine chicken-picken the stock pups probably won't do the job but for anything else they're pretty good. Just play with the tone on the guitar and amp, and these guitars can sound great right out of the box. They're a great deal IMHO. __________________ The blues ain't about theory, they's about therapy.

July 28th, 2005, 01:06 PM	#17 (permalink)
leonnoel TDPRI Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 13	i see that the highway 1 tele's arent much more expensive than the classic. Im really not sure what im gonna choose. will have to try a few standards, classics and highway's and see. Is there much of a diff between the highway 1 and the MIM tele's?

July 28th, 2005, 02:28 PM	#20 (permalink)
John Backlund Tele-Holic Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: South Dakota Posts: 600 13 Photos	I sure like mine. So far, the only thing I've changed is to put a red tortoise-shell pickguard on it, which makes it a visual knock-out, the body having the cream finish. I'll probably replace the pickups eventually, but I'm in no big hurry to do so. I'm exclusively a finger-picker, usually in open tunings. I have several other guitars, archtops mostly. It's interesting that whenever I start out playing something other than the Telecaster, within the hour, I'm back on it, often wondering why I even own any guitars other than teles. So simple......so good.

July 28th, 2005, 04:31 PM	#22 (permalink)
bigdog Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 126	I like mine with Jalapenos. I bought a used MIM standard back in the winter with the idea I would turn it into an Esquire or add a 'Bucker to the neck position. After a thorough cleaning and a new set of strings I am in love with it just as our friends south of the border turned her out. I am just recently simplifying my rig and have dialed in a perfect Fender sound , clean when I want it and warmed up just right with a stronger attack. Pairing the MIM with a good amp and minimal effects has yeilded a surprisingly good tone and should work for most (YMMV) . The real difference in the various non-American made Standards and RI models is largely a matter of taste and not quality.

July 28th, 2005, 11:57 PM	#23 (permalink)
Honga Man Tele-Holic Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Colorado Posts: 576	I probably have modded my MIM Standard Tele about as much as you can and I love it: MIM Standard body (sunburst) MIM Standard pickups (they sound fine to me through my SF Champ) MIM Standard control plate MIM Standard control plate screws and pickguard screws That's all that's original. Here's the rest: MIJ JD Tele neck and tuners, neck has machine-screws and inserts...the bolt heads use an allen wrench! Fender "Pat Pend" vintage bridge plate from www.angela.com Stew-Mac brass compensated saddles Stew-Mac 8-hole 3-ply mint green pickguard, with no neck pickup mounting holes Cut-down paint stirring stick mounted to body at bottom of neck humbucker cavity Neck pickup mounted in "body"...well, in cut-down paint stirring stick, looks totally "vintage" without neck p/u mounted in pickguard...very easy mod All-Parts '50s-style "dome-top" volume and tone knobs Schaller strap-locks Electrosocket jack Fender 4-way switch D'addario XL strings... .009s I have some pics but don't know how to host 'em and post 'em, nor do I have software to downsize them to TDPRI standards.