When trying new Tele bridge pu's does anyone...

jumpnblues · July 29th, 2005, 10:34 AM

...roll the tone knob back? About 6 or 7 years ago I "discovered" the tone knob on the bridge pu (VanZandt Flatpole) of my '52 RI Tele. I now own a USACG Tele with an A&F Blackguard (Hamel) in the bridge position and play with the tone rolled back about 40%-50% where I've discovered a really "sweet spot". I used to dislike the bridge pu Tele tone before I discovered this. I now play with the tone control in this region all the time until I switch to the middle or neck position. And I've gone from using the Tele bridge pu about 5% of the time to 80% of the time. This tone alone converted me from a Strat to a Tele man. I still play my Strats but my "go to" axe is my USACG Tele. I just cannot get enough of that (tone rolled back) Tele bridge tone. 8)

BB · July 29th, 2005, 11:24 AM

I would venture to say the majority of the tele players here use the tone ( and volume ) knob a lot!

Like you, years ago I could never get the bridge pup to sound good. I was always a "knobs on 10" player.

Discovering the tonal joys of the volume and tone knobs was a huge step for me in finding the joys of great tele tone.

Thats why the obsession with tone caps is so rampant! I finally found a few really good ones that work very well for me. I still don't care for the treble bleed cap, or cap and resistor network on the volume control though. As Rob D once said, I like using the volume control as another tone control. No right or wrong, just finding what works.

e-merlin · July 30th, 2005, 10:15 AM

I've played around with the tone and volume knobs, but I like it bright so I'm a "knobs on 10" guy.

Chris S. · July 30th, 2005, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jumpnblues

...roll the tone knob back? ... I've discovered a really "sweet spot". I used to dislike the bridge pu Tele tone before I discovered this. I now play with the tone control in this region all the time ... And I've gone from using the Tele bridge pu about 5% of the time to 80% of the time. This tone alone converted me from a Strat to a Tele man. ... I just cannot get enough of that (tone rolled back) Tele bridge tone.

Hee. Welcome to the TELECASTER! ;-) Seriously, it's one of the true "hidden gems" of the Tele. Try a Search of the keywords "sweet spot" for more info. Another related trick: you can reposition the tone knob so that the set screw is in a particular (visible) position to give you a <u>visual reference</u> for the sweet spot, so you don't have to roll it all the way up or back to find it every time.

Scchhhhwwweeeet indeed. :-) CS

July 29th, 2005, 10:34 AM	#1 (permalink)
jumpnblues Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Midwest Age: 58 Posts: 1,560	When trying new Tele bridge pu's does anyone... ...roll the tone knob back? About 6 or 7 years ago I "discovered" the tone knob on the bridge pu (VanZandt Flatpole) of my '52 RI Tele. I now own a USACG Tele with an A&F Blackguard (Hamel) in the bridge position and play with the tone rolled back about 40%-50% where I've discovered a really "sweet spot". I used to dislike the bridge pu Tele tone before I discovered this. I now play with the tone control in this region all the time until I switch to the middle or neck position. And I've gone from using the Tele bridge pu about 5% of the time to 80% of the time. This tone alone converted me from a Strat to a Tele man. I still play my Strats but my "go to" axe is my USACG Tele. I just cannot get enough of that (tone rolled back) Tele bridge tone. 8) __________________ jumpnblues

July 29th, 2005, 11:24 AM	#2 (permalink)
BB Friend of Leo's Join Date: May 2003 Location: Pacific NW Age: 53 Posts: 3,024	I would venture to say the majority of the tele players here use the tone ( and volume ) knob a lot! Like you, years ago I could never get the bridge pup to sound good. I was always a "knobs on 10" player. Discovering the tonal joys of the volume and tone knobs was a huge step for me in finding the joys of great tele tone. Thats why the obsession with tone caps is so rampant! I finally found a few really good ones that work very well for me. I still don't care for the treble bleed cap, or cap and resistor network on the volume control though. As Rob D once said, I like using the volume control as another tone control. No right or wrong, just finding what works.