$129 Squier Bullet- Gateway Drug?

Maybe just start with a neck pickup you like better in the Tele you already know and mostly love?
Otherwise, I have a hard time telling someone what they should like, because it's all so subjective. That's why my general advice tends to be "play as many as you can until you find the one YOU like".
For example. I love my FSR (in the avatar) for reasons many Tele "purists" wouldn't care for it as much. It was made in Mexico, which means ceramic pickups instead of Alnico. I prefer the warmer tone of the ceramics - less of a departure from my humbuckers. And I also like the reverse control plate, which puts the pickup selector out of my typical strumming/picking range.

 

Great stuff!

Use this as a mod platform.

If you ever want to step it up try the CLASSIC VIBE range - they’re as good as some Americans.

 

I’ve got the Affinity version. Never got the fact that it’s the dearer model but is a top loader?

 

Should be able to set it up so that it doesn’t do it. My AmPro did but now doesn’t, my Affinity never has. You might not be able to get the action you prefer and no fretting out on some neck radii but you should be able to stop the FO issue at some reasonable height.

 

Yeah…ok

 

Your post is heartening. I am keenly aware of BRAND related status. I find the implications as in
"well I drive a powder grey 1952 Rolls Royce proletariat crusher, law-dee-do-wah, envy me! "
If you get my drift. Conspicuous consumption is the social norm much of the time imho.
To say I have chosen a Squier Bullet in the same sentence as I’ve always been a Gibson LP / SG guy with a Strat,
is a striking statement, if only for it being the antithesis of the I've upgraded from a Squier to a
Gibson Custom Shop 1958 Les Paul Standard Reissue Electric Guitar (with Case), Washed Cherry Sunburst.
Congratulations for sharing that which will only enhance your status due to the enormity of it's truth sharing.
I am as sociologist describe " disenfranchised" so in keeping with the practice of rooting for the home team win or lose, I have a great appreciate for the tools which are available to the financially challenged . That being said, your post has warmed my so called heart ( my ex-wife says that I have a heart of soft greasy coal.)
disenfranchised

 

Will make it easier to hold bonds on a longer scale neck. The longer the scale the more tension it takes to tune the string to the desired note

 

sorry I'm not running on all cylinders as I have the current version of the culling plague, and that's the truth.

 

Hence why you run grease buckets in all your teles?

 

You have so quickly made funny and so much so I am going to be beginning to laugh politely the inner laugh of glee and delight.
Thank you, Isolating with the rest of us is proving to be lonely and taxing .

 

Contact Rob DiStefano and have him make you a neck pickup. You won't regret it and neither will your bank account.

www.frettech.com and scroll down to the Tele neck pickup section or while you are at it have make you a bridge pickup too and have a matched set of great Tele pickups.

 

why not just play that one for a while if like it so much, you can always change stuff on it if you have to. If it completely falls apart (which it won't) buy a new one then.

You might very well spend a grand on some new tele and not even like it as much. Guitars are very much individuals.

I think the Alnico pickups are a good upgrade, but the ceramic pickups have a certain ratty glory about them too.

Why a 500K volume pot? Are the Pretzels pretty hot or something? I like the the 4-way mod, but the one thing is, when you want to slap the switch up into the neck position, you get something much different instead.

 

teles stay in tune like nobody's business, I think top loading them makes them even more stable. I think most individual guitars can be made to stay in tune, it's just a matter of setup, and generally in my opinion it's not usually about the tuners.

500K pots are used on humbuckers more often, generally they are thought to make single pickups kind of shrill. I don't have that much personal experience with that, other than I wired a strat with 500K pots and Duncan vintage strat pickups and it was shrill. I have always used 250K pots for my single coil adventures ever since with good results. I thought you might have some compelling reason for putting the 500K pot in there, that's why I mentioned it.

 

The bullet tele is such a great value. I bought the lake placid blue one and have used it as my “learning to mod” guitar. I put in fender custom shop Texas special pickups and one of those mojo 3 way prewired harnesses and it’s really sings. I also filed down the little bit of fret-spout and sanded down the edges of the Fretboard with a fine grit sanding block. I’m still waiting on my knobs and tophat.