A nice 52RI

Tom S · October 15th, 2005, 03:05 PM

Of the chambered type that is. Here are a few snapshots of my latest:

Spruce top, nice natural finish

Not bad grain matching on the body, could be better

Fairly lightweight, but not featherweight

Overall, a very nice guitar. Setup wasn't bad, but I needed to set intonation, and string height to my liking. Sounds twangy, but I'm used to Bardens, so it's not as treble-y, of course. The neck is a bit sticky, but I'm hoping it will become less so. If not, I'll have to do something about it. Any suggestions?

If you dig this kind of thing, I'd suggest jumping on one while there still around for sale. (There were only a limited number made, and the price probably won't get too much better!)

Thanks for looking.

tombm3 · October 15th, 2005, 06:56 PM

Finally, after a mix-up here is mine.

zeeman · October 15th, 2005, 08:41 PM

Tom, great looking guitar! My 52AVRI had a very sticky neck for the first 2-3 weeks. I played it a lot and after about that amount of time it began to go away. I bought it in August and it has absolutely no stickiness to the neck now. It will get better.

Tom S · October 16th, 2005, 02:19 PM

zeeman...thanks. I'll have to try playing this one almost exclusively for a while to get that neck where I want it.

tombm3...that is a looker! I think we got in on two nice, unusual teles here! Enjoy!

Brion · October 17th, 2005, 11:43 PM

If it remains sticky you can use steel wool grade 0000 to lightly sand the back of your neck. If you do this, tape off the pickups to make sure you dont get any steel fibers on them. Some people use a product called micromesh, but I have no experience with it. Your best bet is to just play it a lot and the stickiness will probably go away.

aln413 · October 18th, 2005, 12:19 AM

i own the natural as well and totally dig it !! minus the pups(but i play straight ahead rock).so im looking into replacing them. i dont know if its your pic but mine seems to look a little more orangish than yours.like i said ,could just be the pic.my neck is a lil on the sticky side too but i dont play it as often as i should to eleviate that. all in all an awesome guitar. my goal would be to own one of each but my pocketbook states otherwise at the moment. :D :D :D

Tom S · October 18th, 2005, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brion

If it remains sticky you can use steel wool grade 0000 to lightly sand the back of your neck.

Thanks, I might just try this. I'm impatient. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by aln413

i dont know if its your pic but mine seems to look a little more orangish than yours.

On my monitor, the color looks very accurate. It looks like clear-coat over spruce, no color added at all. Same for the back.

lpacilio · October 19th, 2005, 12:36 PM

I own the butterscotch version also. I bought it last year as a Christmas gift to myself.

I love the thing. I use it for jazzy type stuff along the lines of Jim Campilongo. THe tone is wonderful.

I did put in a 4 way switch and am thinking about a set of Lollar 52's just for the fun of a change.

One super Tele with a unique tonal palette.

Unburst · October 20th, 2005, 03:37 PM

That Tele looks great Tom!

What would you say the chambering adds to the tone and is it neck heavy when you sit with it?

Tom S · October 20th, 2005, 04:41 PM

Thanks Unburst,

I really don't know if the chambering has any great effect on the tone, to be honest. Perhaps it does, but I'm always a bit sceptical about statements that attribute dramatic differences in tone to a chambered body (or any body, for that matter). I will say that the guitar does have an excellent acoustic tone and a fair amount of volume unplugged. So who knows?

I was mainly attracted to the idea of a chambered body from a weight standpoint. In that regard, I'd say that this one is lighter than the usual 52RI, but not as light as most thinlines. I don't know to what degree it is chambered, so it might not actually be missing a lot of wood. I don't see any issues related to balance as the body still outweighs the neck be a considerable margin.

Overall, I was attracted to this guitar because it offers everything I like about the 52RI, but with some additional features that add to the mix, IMHO; those being a finish I prefer, the chambering, the spruce-top, and the slight degree of cache that comes with that. I like having something a bit different, and perhaps a little more rare. :)

In any event, I think it's a real nice tele. It rings.

October 15th, 2005, 03:05 PM	#1 (permalink)
Tom S Friend of Leo's Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 2,211 49 Photos	A nice 52RI Of the chambered type that is. Here are a few snapshots of my latest: Spruce top, nice natural finish Not bad grain matching on the body, could be better Fairly lightweight, but not featherweight Overall, a very nice guitar. Setup wasn't bad, but I needed to set intonation, and string height to my liking. Sounds twangy, but I'm used to Bardens, so it's not as treble-y, of course. The neck is a bit sticky, but I'm hoping it will become less so. If not, I'll have to do something about it. Any suggestions? If you dig this kind of thing, I'd suggest jumping on one while there still around for sale. (There were only a limited number made, and the price probably won't get too much better!) Thanks for looking.

October 15th, 2005, 06:56 PM	#2 (permalink)
tombm3 Tele-Meister Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: WNY Posts: 193	Here is mine! Finally, after a mix-up here is mine.

October 18th, 2005, 12:19 AM	#6 (permalink)
aln413 Tele-Meister Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: fontana,ca. Posts: 444	ive got one !! i own the natural as well and totally dig it !! minus the pups(but i play straight ahead rock).so im looking into replacing them. i dont know if its your pic but mine seems to look a little more orangish than yours.like i said ,could just be the pic.my neck is a lil on the sticky side too but i dont play it as often as i should to eleviate that. all in all an awesome guitar. my goal would be to own one of each but my pocketbook states otherwise at the moment. :D :D :D

October 19th, 2005, 12:36 PM	#8 (permalink)
lpacilio Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Upstate NY Posts: 252	52 RI Chambered I own the butterscotch version also. I bought it last year as a Christmas gift to myself. I love the thing. I use it for jazzy type stuff along the lines of Jim Campilongo. THe tone is wonderful. I did put in a 4 way switch and am thinking about a set of Lollar 52's just for the fun of a change. One super Tele with a unique tonal palette. __________________ The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side. - Hunter S. Thompson (RIP)

October 15th, 2005, 08:41 PM	#3 (permalink)
zeeman Tele-Meister Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Ohio Posts: 332 5 Photos	Tom, great looking guitar! My 52AVRI had a very sticky neck for the first 2-3 weeks. I played it a lot and after about that amount of time it began to go away. I bought it in August and it has absolutely no stickiness to the neck now. It will get better.

October 16th, 2005, 02:19 PM	#4 (permalink)
Tom S Friend of Leo's Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 2,211 49 Photos	zeeman...thanks. I'll have to try playing this one almost exclusively for a while to get that neck where I want it. tombm3...that is a looker! I think we got in on two nice, unusual teles here! Enjoy!

October 17th, 2005, 11:43 PM	#5 (permalink)
Brion NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 2	If it remains sticky you can use steel wool grade 0000 to lightly sand the back of your neck. If you do this, tape off the pickups to make sure you dont get any steel fibers on them. Some people use a product called micromesh, but I have no experience with it. Your best bet is to just play it a lot and the stickiness will probably go away.

October 20th, 2005, 03:37 PM	#9 (permalink)
Unburst Tele-Meister Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 185	That Tele looks great Tom! What would you say the chambering adds to the tone and is it neck heavy when you sit with it?

October 20th, 2005, 04:41 PM	#10 (permalink)
Tom S Friend of Leo's Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 2,211 49 Photos	Thanks Unburst, I really don't know if the chambering has any great effect on the tone, to be honest. Perhaps it does, but I'm always a bit sceptical about statements that attribute dramatic differences in tone to a chambered body (or any body, for that matter). I will say that the guitar does have an excellent acoustic tone and a fair amount of volume unplugged. So who knows? I was mainly attracted to the idea of a chambered body from a weight standpoint. In that regard, I'd say that this one is lighter than the usual 52RI, but not as light as most thinlines. I don't know to what degree it is chambered, so it might not actually be missing a lot of wood. I don't see any issues related to balance as the body still outweighs the neck be a considerable margin. Overall, I was attracted to this guitar because it offers everything I like about the 52RI, but with some additional features that add to the mix, IMHO; those being a finish I prefer, the chambering, the spruce-top, and the slight degree of cache that comes with that. I like having something a bit different, and perhaps a little more rare. :) In any event, I think it's a real nice tele. It rings.