Modding Teles

[telefreak]

Just wondering how many of you have modified your Teles, or would do in the future

[chuckamok63]

remodel the tele...this is a disease, and I have it. It's kind of like hot rodding but cheaper.

[teleman77]

I've done everything to my old 77' tele.......re-contoured the body, pickups, bridge, neck...........you name it.

[20texas20]

I can't help myself. I do it to Strats and Epis as well. Yikes. I play them all.

[Sarge]

No I don't mod them. 90% are stock...the modded ones were bought that way, I might change a pick guard...but the little time I have I'd much rather play them. HOWEVER...if I had the time there is nothing I'd enjoy more than building and modding. I envy youin's guys that can do that. I think it makes a guitar much more than just a guitar.

[tuuur]

Made new pickguard and bridge-pickup plate, plus installed new pickups on my Aria Tele copy.
That pickguard looks horrible, 'cause I have sawn that one by hand and filed it a bit.

[gtrwrks]

Modifications? I don't really consider my Tele (MIM 60s Classic) 'modified', but it's not stock; I just upgraded the items that I felt needed to be for the instrument to work for me/my needs:

* new pickups - various S Duncan, GFS, Fender
* Electrosocket
* Dunlop flushmount strap locks
* Glendale Twang saddles
* 500K vol pot (DiMarzio)
* .027uF tone cap
* GT Fat Finger

While these could be considered modifications, I really just consider them to be 'tweaks' - just small upgrades over various stock items.

[Tele-Ryan]

Only thing I've done is add straplocks.

Modding is cool. I would only do it if I really needed it (except maybe change the pickguard, which isn't really modding, its just cosmetic). I might get some noiseless pickups eventually, because of the loud stage volumes I sometimes have to play at (don't usually mic the amps if we can avoid it - small system).

Everything else about my guitars has been pretty good. The tuners, bridge, saddles and frets have all held up great.

Kinda makes you wonder what people did in the 50's, when there weren't so many different parts out there, eh?

It's almost like they had to use their free time practicing!

lol

[Pete Galati]

Telecasters are sort of ideal modding platforms.

I returned my first Tele as close as I could to it's original condition. Eventually I plan to put it's original pickups back in it too. Fortunately, I never altered any of the wood on that one.

But my general feeling about them is that they're pretty much made for personalization.

Pete

[11 Gauge]

All of mine get a few mods:

-Strat pickup in the neck position

-3 compensated brass saddles

-Strat switch tip

-.01 uF tone cap

Other than that, everything is typically left alone. If the tuners have slop in them, I will typically replace with the best Kluson type copies I can find.

[Tom S]

I've done almost everything imaginable at one time or another, to teles or other guitars. But at this point, if I were to buy a given model of a telecaster, I would be buying it for the features it already has, and therefore would have no desire to modify it.

[Filthy McNasty]

I have owned 4 telecasters ,2 right now, and all I have ever done is put Bigsby's on two of them. I may put a black pickguard on my two tone sunburst tele.

[Twang Tone]

I tend not to mod any of my Tele's - I like them the way they are. With the exception of my 1982 Vintage Tele, all my '52RIs are stock from the factory - even the wiring is left alone (how strange!). The only mod to my '82 is the wiring mod to the 'present day' circuit - and someone else did that!!

Interestingly, back when I played Strats, I was completely the opposite about modding! I'd try a bunch of different necks, pickups, pickguards - you name it!

I guess I was never happy with the Strat, no matter what I changed on them to make me feel better about them.

But as soon as I picked up my first Tele, I knew it felt right. That's why I tend to leave them alone - if it felt and sounded good in the store (or wherever), why change anything?

Thanks,