My first tele

swangdb · July 27th, 2005, 11:31 AM

I'm thinking seriously about buying my first Telecaster. I'm 51, been playing since my teens and have been a Strat man for a long time. Lately I've been playing with a fairly twangy rockabilly/r&b band and neither of my Strats is quite right for some of the tunes.

I borrowed a friend's 66 Tele a few years ago and still have it. The neck is terrible. It sounds good though it's not real twangy. The original pickups are lost in my friend's past, he put in Dimarzios, it sounds more like a Les Paul Jr to me than a Tele. I put in a Bill Lawrence bridge pickup. Not twangy. Maybe the guitar isn't twangy by nature.

One of the guys in the band has a 15 year-old Japanese tele, crummy neck, tiny frets, the strings don't go through the body and it hums and buzzes but I like the sound. I've used it for a few gigs but I need to get my own. Some random questions:

- How are the necks on the Mexican Nashville Tele's?

- Does the middle pickup of a Nashville Tele change some of the regular tele sounds?

- Does the Harmonic Design 54 pickup sound "better" than a Kinman 60s tele bridge pickup? I hate noise but like tone...

- Vintage bridge or six saddles?

- Locking or vintage tuners?

I guess I'm looking for a good twangy, 60s tone but with as little noise as possible and I want the thing to stay in tune and play in tune.

Thanks for any and all advice!!

moonshiner · July 27th, 2005, 11:47 AM

hey hey...

Do not treat the telecaster sickness lightly... once you find one you love, you'll need to find another...

Any how... as a bit of nonsense.. if you don't want that 66... pass over here...!!

The MIM Nashville is a good guitar with the following caviats...

1 the neck is thin (at least my rosewood neck is).. the maple I played was good... but I like beefy necks...

2 the bridge and neck pickups weren't to my taste... they didn't sound 60's to me... they didn't even sound 50's... but YMMV..

3 the strat pickup in the middle is good.. you get nice bell like tones from it.. but with the 2 pickups I installed... it's kind of noisy by itself..

4 to get a pickup selection, you'll need to rewire it from it's stock configuration.. check fender's site for details of current switching.. but the true Fender middle position neck/bridge combo cannot be attained with stock wiring..

If you are looking to buy a budget type guitar, a la the MIM Nashville, maybe you might want to check out the Classic 60's or Muddy Waters telecaster.. People have have good things to say about both... If you have a goodly amount of cash.. you can always spring for a CS62 tele or CS63 tele.. but you will pay for custom shop prices and for custom shop interpretations...

As for the bridge questions... I have all three general configurations...

6 saddle, 3 saddle steel, 3 saddle brass... all are good... Don't let anyone tell you one is better than the other... but... each one has a different sound... I suggest using the forums search feature to find out more about each saddle type...

Consequently, there has been quite a bit of discussion about nashvilles here.. that too you can look up if you want more opinions...

Otherwise... best of luck in your tele search...

swangdb · July 27th, 2005, 01:18 PM

Do not treat the telecaster sickness lightly... once you find one you love, you'll need to find another...

Funny you should say that, I was thinking about getting two to start!

Any how... as a bit of nonsense.. if you don't want that 66... pass over here...!!

If that guitar belonged to me, I would take it to Joe Glaser in Nashville and have him do his refret magic on the neck. Also, my friend put a modern bridge on it, I would be tempted to put traditional bridge on it. And I'd install two of the twangiest pickups I could find. Oh yeah, and a pickguard. I'm pretty sure my friend will come get it some day.

What the heck, here is a picture of that guitar...

http://www.auburn.edu/~swangdb/tele/telecouch.jpg

The MIM Nashville is a good guitar with the following caviats...

1 the neck is thin (at least my rosewood neck is).. the maple I played was good... but I like beefy necks...

I tried one in a pawnshop and the neck was okay but just okay. Still, I like the idea of a middle pickup to get some fake strat tones.

If you are looking to buy a budget type guitar, a la the MIM Nashville, maybe you might want to check out the Classic 60's or Muddy Waters telecaster.. People have have good things to say about both... If you have a goodly amount of cash.. you can always spring for a CS62 tele or CS63 tele.. but you will pay for custom shop prices and for custom shop interpretations...

Well, I definitely don't want to pay much because I'm poor, but I don't want to buy the wrong guitar either. I guess it's time for a trip to the big city (Atlanta I guess) to check out the stores.

...

Otherwise... best of luck in your tele search...

Thanks!

July 27th, 2005, 11:31 AM	#1 (permalink)
swangdb TDPRI Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Auburn, AL Posts: 21	My first tele I'm thinking seriously about buying my first Telecaster. I'm 51, been playing since my teens and have been a Strat man for a long time. Lately I've been playing with a fairly twangy rockabilly/r&b band and neither of my Strats is quite right for some of the tunes. I borrowed a friend's 66 Tele a few years ago and still have it. The neck is terrible. It sounds good though it's not real twangy. The original pickups are lost in my friend's past, he put in Dimarzios, it sounds more like a Les Paul Jr to me than a Tele. I put in a Bill Lawrence bridge pickup. Not twangy. Maybe the guitar isn't twangy by nature. One of the guys in the band has a 15 year-old Japanese tele, crummy neck, tiny frets, the strings don't go through the body and it hums and buzzes but I like the sound. I've used it for a few gigs but I need to get my own. Some random questions: - How are the necks on the Mexican Nashville Tele's? - Does the middle pickup of a Nashville Tele change some of the regular tele sounds? - Does the Harmonic Design 54 pickup sound "better" than a Kinman 60s tele bridge pickup? I hate noise but like tone... - Vintage bridge or six saddles? - Locking or vintage tuners? I guess I'm looking for a good twangy, 60s tone but with as little noise as possible and I want the thing to stay in tune and play in tune. Thanks for any and all advice!! __________________ -- David Swanger

July 27th, 2005, 11:47 AM	#2 (permalink)
moonshiner Friend of Leo's Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Milyucky, Whiskonsin Posts: 2,145	hey hey... Do not treat the telecaster sickness lightly... once you find one you love, you'll need to find another... Any how... as a bit of nonsense.. if you don't want that 66... pass over here...!! The MIM Nashville is a good guitar with the following caviats... 1 the neck is thin (at least my rosewood neck is).. the maple I played was good... but I like beefy necks... 2 the bridge and neck pickups weren't to my taste... they didn't sound 60's to me... they didn't even sound 50's... but YMMV.. 3 the strat pickup in the middle is good.. you get nice bell like tones from it.. but with the 2 pickups I installed... it's kind of noisy by itself.. 4 to get a pickup selection, you'll need to rewire it from it's stock configuration.. check fender's site for details of current switching.. but the true Fender middle position neck/bridge combo cannot be attained with stock wiring.. If you are looking to buy a budget type guitar, a la the MIM Nashville, maybe you might want to check out the Classic 60's or Muddy Waters telecaster.. People have have good things to say about both... If you have a goodly amount of cash.. you can always spring for a CS62 tele or CS63 tele.. but you will pay for custom shop prices and for custom shop interpretations... As for the bridge questions... I have all three general configurations... 6 saddle, 3 saddle steel, 3 saddle brass... all are good... Don't let anyone tell you one is better than the other... but... each one has a different sound... I suggest using the forums search feature to find out more about each saddle type... Consequently, there has been quite a bit of discussion about nashvilles here.. that too you can look up if you want more opinions... Otherwise... best of luck in your tele search... __________________ "Everyone's got to be something... Me? I'm stupid... It's all I ever wanted to be... Shock me again!"

July 27th, 2005, 01:18 PM	#3 (permalink)
swangdb TDPRI Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Auburn, AL Posts: 21	My first tele Do not treat the telecaster sickness lightly... once you find one you love, you'll need to find another... Funny you should say that, I was thinking about getting two to start! Any how... as a bit of nonsense.. if you don't want that 66... pass over here...!! If that guitar belonged to me, I would take it to Joe Glaser in Nashville and have him do his refret magic on the neck. Also, my friend put a modern bridge on it, I would be tempted to put traditional bridge on it. And I'd install two of the twangiest pickups I could find. Oh yeah, and a pickguard. I'm pretty sure my friend will come get it some day. What the heck, here is a picture of that guitar... http://www.auburn.edu/~swangdb/tele/telecouch.jpg The MIM Nashville is a good guitar with the following caviats... 1 the neck is thin (at least my rosewood neck is).. the maple I played was good... but I like beefy necks... I tried one in a pawnshop and the neck was okay but just okay. Still, I like the idea of a middle pickup to get some fake strat tones. If you are looking to buy a budget type guitar, a la the MIM Nashville, maybe you might want to check out the Classic 60's or Muddy Waters telecaster.. People have have good things to say about both... If you have a goodly amount of cash.. you can always spring for a CS62 tele or CS63 tele.. but you will pay for custom shop prices and for custom shop interpretations... Well, I definitely don't want to pay much because I'm poor, but I don't want to buy the wrong guitar either. I guess it's time for a trip to the big city (Atlanta I guess) to check out the stores. ... Otherwise... best of luck in your tele search... Thanks! __________________ -- David Swanger