What Makes A Person Want An Esquire?

In my drunken and bored state I read your previous comments. OK. Carry on.

 

I'm guessing you dial the amp in for the neck pickup?
Take the neck pickup out and throw it away.
Dial the amp in for the bridge pickup.
Then the bridge tone is dead on!

That's my approach anyhow, which I didn't learn until I was in my mid '30s.

 

Too many knobs and switches confuse me. Give me a hot pickup and a volume control and I will rule the world.

 

Yes. Plug straight in, and play. Turn it up or turn it down. Same with my Precision.

Still love my Tele and Jazzmaster though.

 

Pretty sure Caddy Mike was serious, it's me that was being facetious!

 

But WRT why, I prefer Esquires because they work better for me than other guitars. A big part of that is not dialing in the amp at a compromise to work with multiple pickups.

 

I think they're cool, but I like the other sounds a tele can make with a neck pickup.

I'm also not convinced that a normal Esquire can do anything a tele with a no load tone pot can't do just as well.

 

-tbln.

 

I have always loved the Esquire and the Les Paul Junior. To me its the simplicity of the instrument. I find that I am more focused with playing and pick attack. Below is my latest build that I call the Aztec. Pine Body (nitro finish) and vintage Warmoth neck. Duncan Broadcaster pickup and Emerson reverse controls.

 

My reason was to get over problems...

I built it when I hit a few awkward snags in a baritone I was building that I couldn’t work out how to fix. To get out of the banging my head against a brick wall stage I put together the esquire as a quick, cheap and easy project using a pine body I’d made years back and other parts I had lying around. When i get round to the decal it’ll be the snagocaster.

As it turns out I’m really liking it. To the point I actually went and spent money on a good pickup to replace the pickup from an old kit I originally used.

 

When I played with a band, I'd usually play rhythm and lead guitar. They usually made me sing too (ugh). So my take on the Esquire was simplicity. I didn't have a switch even...just a volume and tone. So it was super easy to dial my sound on the fly. Some tone def players complained about the "one sound" guitar, while those with an "ear" could hear the difference. It's sutle, but an Esquire can do it all. I have a healthy collection of single pup guitars, P90, humbucker and single coil. All are super cool.

 

I love Esquires. My 1st guitar way back when was an Esquire. Here's a mid-late 2000s Mexican version that I sold off several years back. A pretty decent guitar. But I had another, so I let one go. I tried a black guard on it for a while, but reverted to white.









I'm WAY into status, so of course I have a CS version as well. I also have one that Creston Lea built for me that plays very nicely.

 

I'm with dismalhead about the Cabs. Simple and a lot of fun.

I don't own an Esquire ut I bought a lpj with single p90 earlier this year. It's surprising what you can get with one pup.

 

Because it drives people nuts. "Why would you not want a neck pickup?"

Cant this same question be aimed at the Jr crowd?

I like the idea of less is more.

Also, I tend to hoard.

 

The big attraction back in the day was buying a guitar for less money LOL. In the 60s an Esquire cost about $30 less than a Tele.

We didn't have the internet back then, so most everybody liked neck pickup sounds and wanted to have them.

I've had two Esquires, and for the life of me I can't detect anything special about them. Tele with a missing pickup, that's all they are IMO. If you like them, bless you and live your life to its fullest.

 

I have had 2 A mim and a fender custom shop sold em both

 

Putting everything into perspective! How funny.

 

My #1 is a Tele build. I love it. It plays and sounds wonderful. My #2 us an Esquire-ish affair, with standard Esquire wiring, except with a P90 pickup.

The Esquire is my bad boy guitar, and gets played in response to a mood. Maybe I'm a bit angry, maybe I'm feeling that last drink, the Esquire is great for channeling that. Maybe I need something raw. The Esquire loves to be raw. Maybe I just like being seen with a beautiful guitar. My Esquire is beautiful, as any guitar build dedicated to my daughter would be expected.
My answer to the OP would be that as a Tele guy, the Esquire may be a go-to for some mild edginess or maybe full-on insanity.
I will be curious to read the hows/whys from other members.

 

Obsession.

*edit* I made one

 

It’s not complicated. I think neck pickups that aren’t Stratocaster neck pickups suck. Every other type of guitar only needs a bridge pickup to make me happy.