my new 52 ri: first impressions

[eddiewagner]

hi fellas, here is my little 52ri-story:
that blonde arrived yesterday by mailorder via thomann in germany. tutto perfecto: great case, all the goodies (strap cable certication extrabridge etc.).
its a supersimple guitar without any bells and whistles. the grain is not breathtaking but nice. finish is perfect as can be.
i played it for a day like out of the box.
slept over it and decided to keep the guitar.
so i clipped the screws (the little saddle ones) restrung for 9-42 daddarios, set intonation and action. action is very good in the 2 mm range without deadening out when bending in the upper registers. handles chordbanging really well.
i raised both pups a little bit and the guitar sounds exacly like i thougt it would: a real nice warm telesound without ice and sharpness. great for chickenpicking and overtonestuff.
sound great unamplified too, which is important for me.
its funny that all the screws and bolts have slits!
under the blackguard all the routing is just perfect. thanks a lot fender!
my wife thinks that the guitar is really beautiful in its simplicity and fits my reddish hair spot on.
this is the most expensive instrument i ever bought. and it whispers like this: "now you gotta become a real good player. practice and stop surfing the web buddy!"
i really really hope that i can leave this beautiful guitar as it is, without modifications.
well i am 47 now and i hope its not too late to step from soso picker to the best player that my talents allow me to be.
now i got the guitar that wants to take me there.....

[freddyking]

congrats;PICS! :D

[Tom S]

[quote="eddiewagner"]its funny that all the screws and bolts have slits![/qoute]

Good thing, though, because the ones with no slits are really hard to get out.

Originally Posted by eddiewagner

under the blackguard all the routing is just perfect. thanks a lot fender!

The benefits of CNC! And to think, some folks used to complain about this (some still do!).

Originally Posted by eddiewagner

my wife thinks that the guitar is really beautiful in its simplicity and fits my reddish hair spot on.

Often overlooked, hair matching is the most important aspect when choosing a telecaster!

Originally Posted by eddiewagner

this is the most expensive instrument i ever bought. and it whispers like this: "now you gotta become a real good player. practice and stop surfing the web buddy!"

Yeah, that'll happen. Not. (Staying off the web, that is)

Originally Posted by eddiewagner

i really really hope that i can leave this beautiful guitar as it is, without modifications.
well i am 47 now and i hope its not too late to step from soso picker to the best player that my talents allow me to be.

Simple, just don't mod it. Doesn't need it, it's already a fine guitar. Btw, I'm 48, and while I have realistic expectations of how much I can improve, I find that with enough playing time I can usually get a little better...I think. The usual problem with guys our age is finding the time to play. A new instrument is always a great impetus to spend more time, though, and I'm sure you'll see gains pretty quickly. It's never too late. Les Paul is as old as the hills, and he's still amazing, so I always figure there's hope for me (except for him, it's mostly 40 year old muscle memory). :)

Anyway, excuse my jokes and congrats on a great new guitar! I hope you get many years of enjoyment and fulfillment from it.

[csapo]

Congrats Eddie!!!!

Seems the two of us were in the same zone yesterday. I have been wanting a '52RI and looking for quite a few months. After my visit to the accountant and learning that I'm getting a tax refund, I decided to splurge. I ordered a '51 Nocaster from Dave's Guitar in Wisconsin. It arrived yesterday and WOW!!!!!! Best guitar I have ever played, let alone owned.

I'm with you on all counts (especially the get off the internet and play more) except for the hair thing! The little hair I have left certainly isn't red. Guess I'll just have to find some clothing that matches. Hey, how 'bout a TDPRI t-shirt!

Hope you enjoy your new puchase as much as I'm enjoying mine!!!

[Telemarkman]

eddiewagner wrote :

i really hope that i can have this beautiful guitar as
it is, without modifications.

Congrats on your new guitar Eddie ! I got my 52RI about
a year ago, and I was thinking the same thing - I even was determined to keep the vintage wiring - I wouldn't
"mess up" anything on this classic beauty !
But my guitar tech "talked me into" rewiring it to the modern wiring - in fact "most" players did this back in
"them ol' days".
And to tell you the truth, I haven't regretted one minute!

The bridge position is as it was, the middle position is both pickups together - which is amazing - and the neck
position is like your middle position.

Of course you loose that dull, bassy sound that you now
have on your neck position, but when do you use that if
you're not a bass player ? (Or you could in fact turn
the tone control all the way down !)

As I've said before : Better with three great sounds,than
two great and one useless ! Agree ? :?

[johnny guitar]

What does clipped the saddles mean? I just took my '52 RI out of the box and it is great but these saddles screws are sticking up way too high, and I need advice what to do. Tx.

[elavd]

Originally Posted by Telemarkman

Of course you loose that dull, bassy sound that you now
have on your neck position, but when do you use that if
you're not a bass player ? (Or you could in fact turn
the tone control all the way down !)

As I've said before : Better with three great sounds,than
two great and one useless ! Agree ? :?

I ABSOLUTELY agree with that!!!
I tried a 52ri yesterday without knowing about this Stupid "dark vintage" wiring and for a minute I thought that there was a problem with the guitar!!!

I think that you MUST wire the guitar with the normal wiring for 2 reasons:
1) The middle posiion (with the 2 pups on) is PERFECT for rhythm playing
2) I think it is stupid to have the neck position "stuck" in such a useless tone, which can be obtained by just turning down a knob!!! 8)

My 2 cents ;)

[eddiewagner]

....means that i cut the six little screws a little bit. i do it like that for a long time: loosen strings, screw the screws so that they stand out on the top for two or three "rounds" or however you may call it. in german its "gewindegänge". then i turn the whole saddle around and clip the screws flush with the barrell. so to say.... then i file the cut a little bit, turn the saddles around and adjust the guitar. make shure you dont cut too short!
thats the end of hurting palms when picking your tele.
good luck.

[nocasterbert]

viel spass mit deiner neuen gitarre
=lotsa fun with your new guitar

norbert

[TG]

What tool do you use to clip the saddle screws?

[elavd]

Originally Posted by TG

What tool do you use to clip the saddle screws?

Terry Downs has a perfect article about this...

Link
;)

[TG]

Interesting. I always just wrap the screw in a bit of cloth and clamp it in a vise tight enough for me to use a hacksaw. Then I file the bottom the best I can. I screw it back in upwards from the bottom of the saddle if the threads near the cut are unusable. But they usually are OK.

[0le FUZZY]

As usual Terry Downs is the technical master roun these parts and splains thangs in his extraordinary way but back when I dent haff all them tools I did the neck shim thang or put the saddle inna set of vice grips and ground them down onna bench grinder.

Then iffin yew grind tew much offin them duck-pluckers yew kin add yer tew (er three) sinse tew the mess HEE! HEE!






MY KIND OF MUSIC !(click)


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[Dacious]

Go to a common engineering/bolt hardware store and take a sample with you - I forget the size, but they're a ordinary 5/32 IIRC machine set screw which are available in stainless or anti-corrosive finishes and various lengths - just get the shorter length.

They joy of people like Leo making things up as they went along, and using whatever is to hand.

[eddiewagner]

with a little help from my buddy andi my 52 got a modern wiring last nite. andi is the head of the computer maintenace of the university in essen. he was very, very delighted to take a soldering-trip back to the fifties!
the guitar is lot more useful without the "dead-neck-sound". middle position is excellent for soul/blues stuff. from now on my 52 will be no more opened, unless something has to be repaired. but the way it looks inside promises to be troublefree for a long long time. i posted some pictures in the gallery about the "before and after wiring".

[Telemarkman]

I'm glad for you, Eddie !

It's rather strange that Leo and his crew didn't realize 'till
1967 that they had to do something about the old wiring
from late '52. :?

By the way, great looking guitar - looks a lot like mine, from the pics. :D

Did Andi use the .022 cap that came with the guitar, or did he leave the ic 5032 in there ?

My tech left it in - just removed the .1 k 250 s cap and
rewired the switch.

Sounds great anyhow, though ......

[eddiewagner]

andi left it in. there was no other in the case, so he just did not touch it.

[Telektrick]

age 45....that is, about 10 years ago. After many years of playing without any real improvment ofrdevelopement, things really took off for me.
Go for it! Good luck!

Craig

[0le FUZZY]

Thanx fer the pixs Eddie !!

It all helps !









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SMORE !!(click)


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[Schnauzer]

I sliced my right hand to ribbons the first few days I had my 52 RI. Followed Terry's instructions step by step. She is perfect now. Thanks Terry.

[tdowns]

Originally Posted by Schnauzer

I sliced my right hand to ribbons the first few days I had my 52 RI. Followed Terry's instructions step by step. She is perfect now. Thanks Terry.

Nooooo......
Thank y'all for being y'all !!! :D :D