Are esquires really that different than teles?

[Midgetje94]

Forgive me for my ignorance and please don’t crucify me . I’ll say. I’ve recently fallen hard for single pickup guitars through a Les Paul Jr set up. I’ve found a love for P90s. (I think it’s my new favorite pickup. Especially just the one )

Something about the rawness of the simplicity. Yet very versatile once you learn how to utilize your guitar to control the tone.

Hence. Making me REALLY want an Esquire. To the point I thought about turning my go to tele build into one. But it got me thinking…

Are Esquires REEEAAAALLYY that much different? My understanding of the wiring is either tone bypassed/tone cut off/ and tone full range.

In general theory bridge pickup, tone all the way off, all the way on, and anywhere in between. I know it’s not 100% the same thing. But is that really close enough? What are pros and cons of an “true” Esquire?

I don’t usually use the neck pup. Really about 85% bridge 15% middle.

 

[Esquire Jones]

Esquire Jones here to spread the word…

Sure, an Esquire may be just a single pickup tele.

The rub is in how you approach the instrument.

First, you set your mind to “stun”.

Or “kill” if that’s your thing.

Then imagine greatness emanating from your amp.

Hopefully that settles things a bit.

 

[Peegoo]

@Midgetje94

YES the Esquire is a different beast because it requires the player to work just a little bit harder to wring all the available tones out of the guitar.

Just because a guitar has one pickup does not mean it's a one-trick pony. Players that think this way, based on their own experience, are most often the sort of player that doesn't use the volume/tone controls (leaves them dimed) and doesn't vary their picking hand position on the strings.

The Esquire, Les Paul Junior and their ilk all have a wide range of great tones in there just waiting for you to release them.

While it's a lot of fun to play a guitar that just seems magical and almost plays itself, I find I play better when the guitar fights me a bit and I have to work harder to get the sounds I want out if it.

 

[MelodicBend]

Respect to our Esquire soldiers but I will never understand it.

Don't standard Telecasters come with a free built in Esquire?

Why can't the "work" just be applied with more complete wiring and pickup configurations? Electric guitars are already fussy and imperfect instruments that are difficult to master. A complete guitar that is worry free and versatile is enough for me!

I don't believe in artificially adding "problems" to work through to make "work" more rewarding. I get enough of that in my daily life.

Just my opinion. Do whatever keeps you engaged and playing.

 

[Light Roast]

I don't think I've ever voluntarily or intentionally played a Tele on the neck pickup. So for me, Esquires have a cool factor, but not really a different factor.

 

[Dismalhead]

There is something fun and freeing about making do with a minimalistic guitar, but yes, an Esquire is indeed just a single pickup Tele.

I recently gave the parts to a Strat build that had stalled a couple of years ago to a friend. He finished it and put a single Bootstrap P90 in the bridge and left it at that. It's a wonderfully playing/sounding guitar.

 

[regularslinky]

I don't know if there is a consistent tonal difference between an Esquire and a Tele on the bridge pickup, assuming everything else is the same. If there is, I can't hear it. But an Esquire is not a Tele, and vice-versa. Teles are about variety. Esquires are about simplicity. Yes, you can do a lot of tone shaping even with just a volume and tone control. But to me an Esquire is about getting one great tone and seeing where you can take it with what you play.

That's why I don't like switches on Esquires, even Eldred-style switching. I took the switch out of mine when I reversed the control plate. Simplicity, baby!

 

[Midgetje94]

Esquire Jones here to spread the word…

Sure, an Esquire is just a single pickup tele.

The rub is how you approach the instrument.

First, you set your mind to “stun”.

Or “kill” if that’s your thing.

Then imagine greatness emanating from your amp.

Hopefully that settles things a bit.

Oh trust me. This LPjr has me by the throat. And I love every bit of it. I actually lowered the neck pickup pretty low. In hopes of it not interfering with the strings magnetically. Giving me a “close” to an Esquire vibe. But also a quick easy “back to telecaster” transition.

And I loved it. Just don’t know how much I’d stand to gain, offering an aged Esquire guard, a standard 3 way switch. And all that. I mean I love my tele. How it is even. But I’m getting that bug to convert it

 

[Esquire Jones]

Paul Simon sharing his Esquire:

 

[NICQ]

with 2 or 3 pickups and different switch configurations you have more options available and at the same time a single pickup guitar limits you in a beautiful way so that you have to "work harder" or be more creative with your playing without thinking about those options.. less distraction - I love Les Paul Jrs and Melody Makers for that reason ^^ also the P90 is a great pickup

 

[Dostradamas]

Almost identical yet somehow much better

 

[archetype]

I actually lowered the neck pickup pretty low. In hopes of it not interfering with the strings magnetically. Giving me a “close” to an Esquire vibe. But also a quick easy “back to telecaster” transition.

Get out the soldering iron and pull the neck pickup completely out so that magnetic field is gone. Plug into that Mustang III and let 'er rip.

The other Esquire wiring thing that makes a difference is bypassing the tone pot to eliminate the potential tiny amount of resistance when the pot is at 'zero' resistance.

 

[Randy07ACV6]

For quite a while I've been seriously pondering converting a tele into an esquire just to see what the buzz is about. Even bought a plain pickguard and the wiring is easy enough.

What I really wonder about, and no one mentions it, is how much the neck pickup affects the vibration of the strings??? I would think that the strings would vibrate more (wider swings) without the damping effect of the extra magnets pulling on them, and probably vibrate longer for more sustain...
Players rave about the sound of single-pickup guitars, is that the reason why?? Less magnetic control over the strings?

 

[BradKM]

Don't standard Telecasters come with a free built in Esquire?

I'm a pretty firm believer that removing the neck pickup reduces a bit of magnetic pull on the strings, and that it makes a noticeable difference, at least to the player.

I can't really put the difference into words, but it's a difference that carries across to other single bridge pickup guitars. My Teles don't sound as "open" as my Esquire-style guitar. My SG Special with just the bridge pickup selected doesn't quite have the same sound as an SG Junior. And the same feeling transfers over to my single pickup S-styles... they're different than any of the multi-pickup Strats, etc.

 

[Esquire Jones]

I “think” having less string pull is real.

I don’t know how much difference it makes really.

For me, I just play somewhat differently with the Esquire.

Not better or worse.

 

[JoeAltonDelaney]

I've often wondered about the Esquire as well. I do like the idea of a single pickup guitar. It says "I know exactly what I want"

I find I play better when the guitar fights me a bit

So, it's the 7.25" radius you prefer? Me too.

with 2 or 3 pickups and different switch configurations you have more options available

I'm asking because I don't know. Does all this routing, magnets and wiring change the tone of what would come from any of those pickups without the rest of it?

Also, there is no reason not to splurge for a $250 pickup, if you're only getting one.

 

[Peegoo]

So, it's the 7.25" radius you prefer? Me too.

Not necessarily the radius. I have a bunch of guitars with various geometries including a few compound/conical fretboards. I like 'em all

 

[gimmeatele]

YES!

 

[pippoman]

Forgive me for my ignorance and please don’t crucify me . I’ll say. I’ve recently fallen hard for single pickup guitars through a Les Paul Jr set up. I’ve found a love for P90s. (I think it’s my new favorite pickup. Especially just the one )

Something about the rawness of the simplicity. Yet very versatile once you learn how to utilize your guitar to control the tone.

Hence. Making me REALLY want an Esquire. To the point I thought about turning my go to tele build into one. But it got me thinking…

Are Esquires REEEAAAALLYY that much different? My understanding of the wiring is either tone bypassed/tone cut off/ and tone full range.

In general theory bridge pickup, tone all the way off, all the way on, and anywhere in between. I know it’s not 100% the same thing. But is that really close enough? What are pros and cons of an “true” Esquire?

I don’t usually use the neck pup. Really about 85% bridge 15% middle.

I recently played a friend’s Esquire and it played and sounded fantastic. To me it was just a single pickup Tele with a switch that kinda threw me off because in the “neck” position the guitar’s volume dropped to an unusable level. It was a great player, but were it mine I’d put a neck pickup in it right away. But that’s me; a real Esquire player would leave it alone. Then there are those who only need a volume control and a hot humbucker on their guitars, like EVH. To me, a standard Tele fits in between guitars with push/pull pots for coil splitting, dual volume and dual tone controls, and Esquires. It’s already simple enough for my damaged brain to figure out. I do plan to have a B Bender installed on one of my Teles very soon, so there’s that contradiction in my thinking. I’m a weird dude I suppose.

 

[gimmeatele]

with 2 or 3 pickups and different switch configurations you have more options available and at the same time a single pickup guitar limits you in a beautiful way so that you have to "work harder" or be more creative with your playing without thinking about those options.. less distraction - I love Les Paul Jrs and Melody Makers for that reason ^^ also the P90 is a great pickup

You cannot hide behind an esquire, you can either play or be shown up!.