Maintenance and lessons learned.

PeterUK · June 29th, 2003, 12:30 PM

I’ve been posting less and playing more just lately and having a ball. However, my Vintiqued Tele needed some essential maintenance as the tone pot started popping very badly when tweaking the tone, and then just gave up altogether.

Now although I ordered replacement pots some time ago (from The Guitar Shop in Ipswich, UK (http://www.theguitarshop.co.uk/); arrived the following day), I’ve been relying on my Broadcaster replica.

So this weekend, I decided to get the pots replaced. Straightforward and I’m back to two Teles. I also decided to install a HighTech Tool milled jack cup (http://www.hightechtool.com/guitar), which went in perfectly. Thanks to Brian Poe.

Now, what I learned from all this was quite interesting.

1. Plan your work and make sure you have all the schematics BEFORE you start. I also took three digital images of the set-up as a guide.
2. My soldering could be better
3. But what surprised me the most was that as my Broadcaster replica uses a USACG compound radius neck (7.25 – 9.5in), bends in the upper reaches are MUCH easier than the Vintiqued Tele which has a 7.25in vintage radius.

You know, there isn’t a week goes by when I alter my opinion of what my ideal Tele spec. is, but you can probably guess, a compound radius is now on the list.

For a 50-year old design, the Telecaster is still providing me (and I suspect others) with fresh inspiration. Long may it continue.

June 29th, 2003, 12:30 PM	#1 (permalink)
PeterUK Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: . Posts: 2,830	Maintenance and lessons learned. I’ve been posting less and playing more just lately and having a ball. However, my Vintiqued Tele needed some essential maintenance as the tone pot started popping very badly when tweaking the tone, and then just gave up altogether. Now although I ordered replacement pots some time ago (from The Guitar Shop in Ipswich, UK (http://www.theguitarshop.co.uk/); arrived the following day), I’ve been relying on my Broadcaster replica. So this weekend, I decided to get the pots replaced. Straightforward and I’m back to two Teles. I also decided to install a HighTech Tool milled jack cup (http://www.hightechtool.com/guitar), which went in perfectly. Thanks to Brian Poe. Now, what I learned from all this was quite interesting. 1. Plan your work and make sure you have all the schematics BEFORE you start. I also took three digital images of the set-up as a guide. 2. My soldering could be better 3. But what surprised me the most was that as my Broadcaster replica uses a USACG compound radius neck (7.25 – 9.5in), bends in the upper reaches are MUCH easier than the Vintiqued Tele which has a 7.25in vintage radius. You know, there isn’t a week goes by when I alter my opinion of what my ideal Tele spec. is, but you can probably guess, a compound radius is now on the list. For a 50-year old design, the Telecaster is still providing me (and I suspect others) with fresh inspiration. Long may it continue. __________________ .