Tele Vintera Roadworn 50’ 75th anniversary

[Emanueleinnocenzi]

Hello everyone, I recently bought a vintera roadworn telecaster. I was looking for a nice guitar to replace my Harmony and by pure chance I came across this tele. Cheap it's true, but I tried much more expensive guitars and anyway she defended herself very well. Obviously it needs some upgrades. For example, I've already changed the saddles with goths and the guitar is already reborn. What I feel still doesn't satisfy me are the pick-ups and the frets. I find the first ones lacking in dynamics and they are not very balanced while the frets are a bit sharp in the slides and do not accompany the bendings much. I wanted to know, considering that I play post rock and indie rock and I need clean sharps and nice defined crunches that Pick Up do you recommend? Thank you

 

[JesterR]

Congratulations! Road worns are nice guitars. Had 2009 50s one, on which I changed saddles and pickups with SQ Antiques. And now I have 50s start referted, and fitted with fat 50s pickups. I love this guitar!
As for indie/post rock, I think you can not go wrong with trusty Texas Specials.

As for frets, any local luthier could fix it with 15-20 minutes.

 

[hemingway]

I'm not sure why it would "obviously" need some upgrades.

And I wouldn't have replaced the saddles with goths. Those guys are gloomy.

 

[Emanueleinnocenzi]

Congratulations! Road worns are nice guitars. Had 2009 50s one, on which I changed saddles and pickups with SQ Antiques. And now I have 50s start referted, and fitted with fat 50s pickups. I love this guitar!
As for indie/post rock, I think you can not go wrong with trusty Texas Specials.

As for frets, any local luthier could fix it with 15-20 minutes.

Never thought that Texas Special could work in that musical genre, i'll check some videos, thanks mate

 

[Emanueleinnocenzi]

I'm not sure why it would "obviously" need some upgrades.

And I wouldn't have replaced the saddles with goths. Those guys are gloomy.

it's exactly the opposite, the gotoh clear up the sound, at least the brass ones. The original saddles dulled the vibrations, with the new saddles the guitar resonates 10 times more.
I think that basically it's an ok guitar for the price, but the upgrades won't make those like me who also have guitars made in the USA regret it, which in terms of comfort and playing are certainly superior to the Mexican ones.

 

[hemingway]

it's exactly the opposite, the gotoh clear up the sound, at least the brass ones. The original saddles dulled the vibrations, with the new saddles the guitar resonates 10 times more.
I think that basically it's an ok guitar for the price, but the upgrades won't make those like me who also have guitars made in the USA regret it, which in terms of comfort and playing are certainly superior to the Mexican ones.

I was referring to your typo - goths instead of Gotohs.

 

[Emanueleinnocenzi]

Oh sorry, my english is bad, was gotoh and not goths

 

[El Tele Lobo]

Where are you located?
All of the pickup winders I’m familiar with are based in the United States.

 

[Emanueleinnocenzi]

Where are you located?
All of the pickup winders I’m familiar with are based in the United States.

I'm from Rome, Italy!

 

[TokyoPortrait]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I see @hemingway beat me to it, but I’m going to plow ahead anyway…

I've already changed the saddles with goths

I assume the guitar was too bright and cheerful?

Actually, I have a set of Gotoh brass compensated saddles on an MIJ 60s styled Tele I turned into a faux Cabronita. The original stainless threaded saddles were a bit too bright (esp. since that guitar seems very bright in its basic nature). So, even though the difference was relatively slight, I still feel they were a good choice for me.

As for pickups, I’m going to make the same suggestions & comments I always do:*

1. pickups are a rabbit hole

2. everything adds up in a guitar, and wood is organic and heterogeneous, making predictions hard and results variable

3. pickups can be defined / reduced to ‘type.’ One method might be by date or period, e.g. Broadcaster, late 50s Telecaster, early 60s, etc. Or, you could define by, say, production materials, e.g. magnet type paired with wire gauge, etc.

4. these ‘types’ are pretty broad, and in my opinion, it’s not worth sweating over type-internal variables or possibilities pre-purchase, as your guitar may well negate any qualities you think you are buying with set X.1 over set X.2**

5. there’s not a lot in a pickup, they’re simple and made from relatively cheap components. Yet some pickups cost a lot of money. Presumably some of this is due to the cost of craftsmanship and quality control, plus hours and hours of meticulous research and honing

6. but, some cost much less. Some cheaper pickups are quite generic and are made from the cheapest possible material and labour, with little quality control***

7. but, some cheaper makers produce pickups that use high quality components and high standards of craft and quality control

8. all this adds up to my standard advice - pick a definition or classification system you like, and from there work out what might suit, at whatever price level you’re comfortable with

9. or, try one of each ‘type’ from a less expensive maker

My personal preference would be to go one of those last two routes, with Bootstrap.

Ryan has truly great products and truly reasonable prices.**** And his pickup sets are offered in a manageable number of nice, broad classes or types (Original Recipe being 50s Tele, Extra Crispy being slightly earlier Broadcaster type, Palo Duro being early 60s, etc.).

You could try just what you think is probably what you want at first, or even get all four Tele sets for just US$200 plus shipping, try them all and sell on what you’re less keen on.

And, since he winds custom orders at only a little extra cost, once you get close, you could order a tweaked set or individual pickup, to really hone in on what matches your guitar and your ears.

His pickups are all made to order though, so there’s a fair wait. I just checked, and it’s currently 4 - 6 weeks.

Good luck.

Pax/
Dean
* if I talk in absolutes above, just assume I actually mean, ‘in my opinion’
** i.e between two slightly different spec’d versions of a single ‘type’
*** but also, early pickups were made on hand operated machines and this produced variable results. Not everything was tight or precise, etc. Common wisdom is that this produced both the revered ‘holy grail’ pickups and some real dogs
**** it’s entirely possible to buy all of his Tele sets for the equivalent cost of a single pickup from some more expensive makers

 

[SunnySideUp]

My Vintera 50's road worn telecaster in Sonic Blue is the best sounding Telecaster i've ever had. Bar to none. This is the Sonic Blue ones in the later iterations. But at least for my experiences it sounds a lot better than the LPB "75 anniversary" ones, no matter how I set the pickup heights etc. So there might be some variance with the pickups. But the Road Worn Vintera 50's in Sonic Blue is my favourite Telecaster I've ever had. Sadly it has been bruised really badly, but I just couldn't get the same tone from the LPB one I had after that. I sold that after a while.

 

[Emanueleinnocenzi]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I see @hemingway beat me to it, but I’m going to plow ahead anyway…



I assume the guitar was too bright and cheerful?

Actually, I have a set of Gotoh brass compensated saddles on an MIJ 60s styled Tele I turned into a faux Cabronita. The original stainless threaded saddles were a bit too bright (esp. since that guitar seems very bright in its basic nature). So, even though the difference was relatively slight, I still feel they were a good choice for me.

As for pickups, I’m going to make the same suggestions & comments I always do:*

1. pickups are a rabbit hole

2. everything adds up in a guitar, and wood is organic and heterogeneous, making predictions hard and results variable

3. pickups can be defined / reduced to ‘type.’ One method might be by date or period, e.g. Broadcaster, late 50s Telecaster, early 60s, etc. Or, you could define by, say, production materials, e.g. magnet type paired with wire gauge, etc.

4. these ‘types’ are pretty broad, and in my opinion, it’s not worth sweating over type-internal variables or possibilities pre-purchase, as your guitar may well negate any qualities you think you are buying with set X.1 over set X.2**

5. there’s not a lot in a pickup, they’re simple and made from relatively cheap components. Yet some pickups cost a lot of money. Presumably some of this is due to the cost of craftsmanship and quality control, plus hours and hours of meticulous research and honing

6. but, some cost much less. Some cheaper pickups are quite generic and are made from the cheapest possible material and labour, with little quality control***

7. but, some cheaper makers produce pickups that use high quality components and high standards of craft and quality control

8. all this adds up to my standard advice - pick a definition or classification system you like, and from there work out what might suit, at whatever price level you’re comfortable with

9. or, try one of each ‘type’ from a less expensive maker

My personal preference would be to go one of those last two routes, with Bootstrap.

Ryan has truly great products and truly reasonable prices.**** And his pickup sets are offered in a manageable number of nice, broad classes or types (Original Recipe being 50s Tele, Extra Crispy being slightly earlier Broadcaster type, Palo Duro being early 60s, etc.).

You could try just what you think is probably what you want at first, or even get all four Tele sets for just US$200 plus shipping, try them all and sell on what you’re less keen on.

And, since he winds custom orders at only a little extra cost, once you get close, you could order a tweaked set or individual pickup, to really hone in on what matches your guitar and your ears.

His pickups are all made to order though, so there’s a fair wait. I just checked, and it’s currently 4 - 6 weeks.

Good luck.

Pax/
Dean
* if I talk in absolutes above, just assume I actually mean, ‘in my opinion’
** i.e between two slightly different spec’d versions of a single ‘type’
*** but also, early pickups were made on hand operated machines and this produced variable results. Not everything was tight or precise, etc. Common wisdom is that this produced both the revered ‘holy grail’ pickups and some real dogs
**** it’s entirely possible to buy all of his Tele sets for the equivalent cost of a single pickup from some more expensive makers

Yeah was certainly a little bright and dull. With the new saddles the guitar finally manages to resonate properly. As for the pickups, thanks a lot for the advice, I'll go and take a look at the ones you mention. I think the current pickups are very unbalanced (minus the bridge one) but they seem not very dynamic to the touch and the neck one becomes too dark and not very defined on crunch for my tastes. Then considering the genre that I will make, the idea is a cross between modern and vintage. I already have a Strato 54 for those sounds of the time, I would like something that doesn't distort the typical tele sound but which is still balanced and present to play rock, indie, and post punk.

 

[Mike Eskimo]

Hey welcome !

Just got back from Rome/Siena/Tuscany/Amalfi.

Loooooved your country and the people.

We traveled around after first arriving in Rome and then we ended up in Roma the last day and a half. And that’s when I realized I could spend a week or two in your great city. Our hotel was right near that wedding cake Memorial building.

Would love to re-visit with a longer stay .

Ciao !

 

[Emanueleinnocenzi]

Hey welcome !

Just got back from Rome/Siena/Tuscany/Amalfi.

Loooooved your country and the people.

We traveled around after first arriving in Rome and then we ended up in Roma the last day and a half. And that’s when I realized I could spend a week or two in your great city. Our hotel was right near that wedding cake Memorial building.

Would love to re-visit with a longer stay .

Ciao !

Glad you enjoyed your stay, Italy is a welcoming place

 

[mimmo]

Hey welcome !

Just got back from Rome/Siena/Tuscany/Amalfi.

Loooooved your country and the people.

We traveled around after first arriving in Rome and then we ended up in Roma the last day and a half. And that’s when I realized I could spend a week or two in your great city. Our hotel was right near that wedding cake Memorial building.

Would love to re-visit with a longer stay .

Ciao !

Next time plan at least one week in Rome, there's so much to see there... piazza Venezia is a lovely place indeed.

Sorry to OP, didn't mean to highjack the thread.

 

[Emanueleinnocenzi]

NPNP and in fact I was just about to ask a question related to pickups . Listening to various videos there are some pickups that struck me: the Fender Yosemite. They seem really balanced, crystal clear and don't distort or color the sound of the guitar too much, has anyone ever tried them?

 

[Heartbreaker_Esq]

NPNP and in fact I was just about to ask a question related to pickups . Listening to various videos there are some pickups that struck me: the Fender Yosemite. They seem really balanced, crystal clear and don't distort or color the sound of the guitar too much, has anyone ever tried them?

I'm not much of a tone chaser, so take it for what it's worth, but I enjoy the heck out of my Yosemite pickups. The American Performer series comes with those. I have the one with the Yosemite humbucker in the neck and single coil in the bridge. Both sound great, in all switch positions.

 

[Emanueleinnocenzi]

I'm not much of a tone chaser, so take it for what it's worth, but I enjoy the heck out of my Yosemite pickups. The American Performer series comes with those. I have the one with the Yosemite humbucker in the neck and single coil in the bridge. Both sound great, in all switch positions.

Some people like it a lot, others less so, there are few videos unfortunately

 

[Heartbreaker_Esq]

Some people like it a lot, others less so, there are few videos unfortunately

Very true. When I was researching the American Performer before buying it, I saw a lot of descriptions of the Yosemite pickups that made them sound weak or wimpy. Whereas most people use words like "growl" or "bite" or "hot" as positive descriptors of pickups they like, no one ever says that about Yosemite. And that worried me, until I actually played it.

 

[Emanueleinnocenzi]

Very true. When I was researching the American Performer before buying it, I saw a lot of descriptions of the Yosemite pickups that made them sound weak or wimpy. Whereas most people use words like "growl" or "bite" or "hot" as positive descriptors of pickups they like, no one ever says that about Yosemite. And that worried me, until I actually played it.

Basically, I need pickups that work very well on clean, without coloring the sound too much, but also hold crunch and fuzz well.