New Member Greetings

[Talacaster]

Hi All

I'm a new convert to Telecasters so thought I would join this forum to get some insight into the mighty Telecaster. I'm from Boston but live in the UK, studied at Berklee and toured Europe with various musicals and UK artists in the 90's but now sadly work for a software company. Anyway I'm still involved in music, I used to have a Fender Japanese Tele (Red, binding, rosewood board) but like an idiot I sold it......(wish I had it back now). I've been wanting a Tele again so bought a Fame Hondo series 757 tele off ebay for £110.00. I wanted a guitar to practice refretting , making new nut etc. I have to say I'm really diggin' this guitar......I love the sound of a Telecaster. I have a couple of questions I'm hoping someone can answer for me.

1. The pickups in this guitar actually sound really good but the neck PUP doesn't have as much high end as i would like, is this typical for tele neck PUP's?

2. The neck PUP also doesn't have as much output as the bridge so subsequently I have it pretty high up (the string pull is minimal so i'm assuming alnico magnets here) I hit the chrome cover with a pick sometimes and it makes a noticable noise, is this also normal for tele neck pup's or is this an indication of a problem?

Thanks

Let the Telecaster rule.........

[Starting 2 Old]

Welcome - Somebody will pop in soon with more info than you can believe.

[FrankJames]

Welcome to TDPRI !!

[Hiker]

Talacaster, Welcome!

[Nighthawk]

Welcome to TDPRI.

[Parma_TeleMon]

Welcome, Talacaster!!

The easy answers to your questions are yes and yes. Tele neck pups are traditionally warmer and lower output than bridge pups. Loads of aftermarket pickups out there or you could have Don Mare or one of the other TDPRI winders make you a custom one. They're all here, my friend, and willing to help.

[Talacaster]

Hi All

Thanks for the greetings etc..... you all seem like a great bunch, lookin' forward to more discussions etc. I have to say the more I play a telecaster the more I'm beginning to think that it's the ultimate guitar.

So are we saying that it's normal for a tele neck pickup to make a noticeable noise when accidentally hit with a pick? I don't want to buy a new pickup only to find it also does the same thing.

Anyway thanks guys......

[lray56tele]

Greetings from Lobster land. I just purchased a 56 telecaster Masterbuilt. I have owned PRS and Gretsch. The Telecaster is by far the best guitar I have owned. One issue that I am not sure of. When I plug in the chord to the imput jack it goes in rather hard. Does anyone know if this is an issue. Thanks lray

[Talacaster]

HI Iray

Strangely enough I had a similar problem this weekend, my tele has the 50's style milled input jack cup which I guess is just designed to push fit in. I unplugged the guitar and the whole assembly came out disconnecting the input jack - ARGH!!!!! - I installed a new input jack as the one that was in the guitar was a cheap piece of junk, I also used heavier gauge wire to connect it. I had a difficult time getting it back in and when I did , it was rather stiff to plug in. The reason was (I think) that the wires connecting the input jack got a bit tangled around the jack so that the metal piece that sticks out to connect the tip couldn't expand (the wires were between the metal piece and the cavity) I had to pull out the cup, unscrew the control plate, shorten the wires that connect the socket (they were a tad too long) then pull them through into the control cavity as I pushed the cup back into the body. Presto - it now plugs in nice and easy. I'm not sure if this is your issue or not, if not you could just try bending the metal bit on the input jack out a bit, maybe it's just pushed in too far.

By the way I grew up in NH not far from you.....Rock on New England!!!

Talacaster