Is the style department at Fender staffed by the blind?

SpinWheelz · 11-04-2009, 05:51 PM

When I sprang for my new Nashville Tele, it was in spite of how it looked, not because of it. I scored the ash-bodied maple blonde one with a maple neck. And when it came with a brown shell pickguard, it only made the maple blonde more nauseating. The maple blonde was the color of that "skin" crayon you used back in kindergarten - you know, the one that never matched anyone's skin color on God's green earth. And it was only exacerbated by the gawdawful brown shell pickguard. And what do they put in the middle of that pickguard? A stark white Strat pickup.

How on earth does this even look good to anyone? It's effin' terrible!

So before the guitar even arrived, I placed a tasty order for new parts with jonesy (wassup, jonesy!). 3-ply black pickguard. Black Strat pickup cover. Mustang knobs. Tophat switch knob. And I scored a vintage-styled bridge plate with brass compensated saddles on ebay.

To me, it's like night and day.

Now it looks like something I'd actually want to play. Even the maple blonde is exponentially less offensive. It looks brilliant now. And when that button-style string retainer gets here in the mail, it'll be done aesthetically.

I'm all for the gainful employment of the disabled. Just not in the design style department like the blind folks at Fender.

River · 11-04-2009, 05:55 PM

One man's trash is another man's treasure. But I sure do like what you've done.

dubyatf · 11-04-2009, 05:55 PM

I'm not a fan of the pearloid guards either. I like the black - looks great! The knobs you went with look nice too. Good job.

es345guy · 11-04-2009, 05:58 PM

I prefer what you did as well. Fender is no way near as blind to the market as Gibson is, especially looking at the series with all the cutouts. Nice tele!!

zeppelin101 · 11-04-2009, 06:00 PM

I think some Fenders look great... and others.....

but that tele is beautiful

StrangerNY · 11-04-2009, 06:05 PM

I did something similar to a Tele-style I put together over the Summer.

My pickguard is a single-ply, but I've got the Wilkinson compensated bridge on it that looks very similar to that one.

And I've got a black chrome control plate cover, which I think is pretty cool.

- D

jomo · 11-04-2009, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by es345guy

I prefer what you did as well. Fender is no way near as blind to the market as Gibson is, especially looking at the series with all the cutouts. Nice tele!!

Beat me to it. When I read the title, I was like "have you seen what Gibson's style dept. has done lately?"

I do think you did a fantastic job though. Makes you think, "C'mon Fender, was that so hard?" At least Fenders are easy to customize.

SpinWheelz · 11-04-2009, 06:25 PM

The bridge I really wanted was similar to the Wilkinson one you have, StrangerNY. I really wanted ramped brass saddles. But I chickened out in the end when did a bit too much reading about getting the right bridge - all sorts of malarky about the thickness of the plates, what the plate is really made of underneath the chrome plating, holes that may or may not line up perfectly, etc.) - so I went with a Fender-branded setup instead. So far, the intonation of the non-ramped saddles has been very good and the the barrels are wide enough that the strings don't go near the height screws.

I'm quite fond of the Mustang knobs. I think this is a win.

G-Minor · 11-04-2009, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jomo

Beat me to it. When I read the title, I was like "have you seen what Gibson's style dept. has done lately?"

I do think you did a fantastic job though. Makes you think, "C'mon Fender, was that so hard?" At least Fenders are easy to customize.

you'd have a hard time filling all those holes on the holy guitars!

leftyguitarman · 11-04-2009, 06:34 PM

I like the original better, actually. I love tortoise shell and the white pickup looks cool IMO.

StrangerNY · 11-04-2009, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leftyguitarman

I like the original better, actually. I love tortoise shell and the white pickup looks cool IMO.

Contrarian.

- D

overdriver · 11-04-2009, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leftyguitarman

I like the original better, actually. I love tortoise shell and the white pickup looks cool IMO.

+1 and those Mustang knobs

! I do like the gap in the neck pocket though ,handy for storing picks.

and the three saddle bridge I like.

snaredrum · 11-04-2009, 08:06 PM

aw, c'mon, there wasn't anything wrong with the knobs, man!

looks cool though

River · 11-04-2009, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leftyguitarman

I like the original better, actually. I love tortoise shell and the white pickup looks cool IMO.

See, one man's trash...

That "before" pic is not favored with the best lighting either. I still like what you did there...

coldsteal2 · 11-05-2009, 07:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by es345guy

I prefer what you did as well. Fender is no way near as blind to the market as Gibson is, especially looking at the series with all the cutouts. Nice tele!!

yea check some of these Gibson design disasters

dennistruckdriver · 11-05-2009, 08:03 AM

Here's my Nashville:

SpinWheelz · 11-05-2009, 09:53 AM

It appears to be invisible, dennistruckdriver.

Hamtone · 11-05-2009, 10:15 AM

Looks great dennis...lol

Spin I like what you did

dennistruckdriver · 11-05-2009, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpinWheelz

It appears to be invisible, dennistruckdriver.

I can see it in my post.

overdriver · 11-05-2009, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dennistruckdriver

I can see it in my post.

So can I

I don't get the joke!

dennistruckdriver · 11-05-2009, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpinWheelz

It appears to be invisible, dennistruckdriver.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hamtone

Looks great dennis...lol

Spin I like what you did

Quote:

Originally Posted by overdriver

So can I

I don't get the joke!

I bet it's a real knee-slapper, though!

Spin, if you're saying you don't see a Nashville, look closer; I removed the stock pickups and installed a Fender pickguard with two Noisless pickups. It IS a Nashville.

BstrdSonOJmsBrwn · 11-05-2009, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coldsteal2

yea check some of these Gibson design disasters

my Dad brought me home a beat up Corvus from a yard sale once.....y'know..to the effect of "it said Gibson up there(pointing to headstock)"

........it NEVER grew on me......i appreciate that Dad was thinkin' of me

.....but....IMO....possibly the most horrid shape for a guitar ever conceived....YET.....my bro.....loved the crap out of it....and begged me for years to sell it to him....so,yes....another mans trash,is indeed another mans treasure......poor thing finally met a watery end in a basement flood...(*i always said i could use it as a boat oar*)

overdriver · 11-05-2009, 11:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dennistruckdriver

I bet it's a real knee-slapper, though!

Spin, if you're saying you don't see a Nashville, look closer; I removed the stock pickups and installed a Fender pickguard with two Noisless pickups. It IS a Nashville.

now why would ya go and spoil it by telling him . I was looking forward to he and Hambone figuring it out. Oh well

SpinWheelz · 11-05-2009, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dennistruckdriver

Spin, if you're saying you don't see a Nashville, look closer; I removed the stock pickups and installed a Fender pickguard with two Noisless pickups. It IS a Nashville.

In all seriousness, dennistruckdriver - and I don't do this often - I literally do not see a picture. I'm not trying to be facetious - I literally have no picture showing in your post. And not to belabor the point, I've attached a screengrab of what I see.

leftyguitarman · 11-06-2009, 01:55 AM

...I don't see it either...

Nigel T. · 11-06-2009, 04:51 AM

Me neither.

On the Tele... Good job

The black guard looks way better. I never liked the shell pickguard. And adding a white Strat pick-up? Didn't know they made three pickup Teles... Is it also a five way switch as in a Strat or the standard Tele 3way? Master volume, master tone?

dennistruckdriver · 11-06-2009, 07:54 AM

I can see it plain as day. It's in my 'album' here.

overdriver · 11-06-2009, 08:47 AM

Is the style department at Fender staffed by the blind?

Still there as far as I can see.

SpinWheelz · 11-06-2009, 09:38 AM

Cheers to dennistruckdriver for sending the picture separately. Got a glimpse of it now.

Now when you say that it's a Nashville, do you mean that it started life as a Nashville and you've since ripped out the middle pickup, so do you have some peculiar setup there where there's still a "third" pickup in there?

SpinWheelz · 11-06-2009, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nigel T.

On the Tele... Good job

The black guard looks way better. I never liked the shell pickguard. And adding a white Strat pick-up? Didn't know they made three pickup Teles... Is it also a five way switch as in a Strat or the standard Tele 3way? Master volume, master tone?

If I'm not mistaken, there are two variations of three pickup Teles, though arguably, because of the pickguard and some Teles coming with swimming pool routing, you can create almost any configuration you can imagine. The Nashville Tele comes with Tele pickups in the bridge and neck, and a Strat pickup in the middle. Comes with a conventional 5-way Strat switch, with one master volume, and one master tone. The Blackout Tele comes with two Tele neck pickups. There's some dude named Brent Mason, I think (have no idea who he is), but he's got a signature model from Valley Arts which sports a mini humbucker in the neck, I think.

Teles are the quintessential modder's dream, methinks.

11-04-2009, 05:51 PM	#1 (permalink)
SpinWheelz Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 1,479 Thanks: 13 Thanked 31 Times in 19 Posts	Is the style department at Fender staffed by the blind? When I sprang for my new Nashville Tele, it was in spite of how it looked, not because of it. I scored the ash-bodied maple blonde one with a maple neck. And when it came with a brown shell pickguard, it only made the maple blonde more nauseating. The maple blonde was the color of that "skin" crayon you used back in kindergarten - you know, the one that never matched anyone's skin color on God's green earth. And it was only exacerbated by the gawdawful brown shell pickguard. And what do they put in the middle of that pickguard? A stark white Strat pickup. How on earth does this even look good to anyone? It's effin' terrible! So before the guitar even arrived, I placed a tasty order for new parts with jonesy (wassup, jonesy!). 3-ply black pickguard. Black Strat pickup cover. Mustang knobs. Tophat switch knob. And I scored a vintage-styled bridge plate with brass compensated saddles on ebay. To me, it's like night and day. Now it looks like something I'd actually want to play. Even the maple blonde is exponentially less offensive. It looks brilliant now. And when that button-style string retainer gets here in the mail, it'll be done aesthetically. I'm all for the gainful employment of the disabled. Just not in the design style department like the blind folks at Fender.

11-04-2009, 05:55 PM	#2 (permalink)
River Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Crestone, Colorado, USA Posts: 12,960 Thanks: 94 Thanked 134 Times in 20 Posts	Re: Is the style department at Fender staffed by the blind? One man's trash is another man's treasure. But I sure do like what you've done. __________________ When you don't know where you're going, every road takes you there. And you can't make a wrong turn. Rory Gallagher is "The man who got me back into the blues." - Eric Clapton

11-04-2009, 05:55 PM	#3 (permalink)
dubyatf Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1,018 Thanks: 79 Thanked 6 Times in 1 Post	Re: Is the style department at Fender staffed by the blind? I'm not a fan of the pearloid guards either. I like the black - looks great! The knobs you went with look nice too. Good job.

11-04-2009, 05:58 PM	#4 (permalink)
es345guy Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 292 Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Is the style department at Fender staffed by the blind? I prefer what you did as well. Fender is no way near as blind to the market as Gibson is, especially looking at the series with all the cutouts. Nice tele!!

11-04-2009, 06:00 PM	#5 (permalink)
zeppelin101 Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 1,029 Thanks: 3 Thanked 9 Times in 4 Posts	Re: Is the style department at Fender staffed by the blind? I think some Fenders look great... and others..... but that tele is beautiful __________________ My vocation is more in composition really than anything else - building up harmonies using the guitar, orchestrating the guitar like an army, a guitar army. Jimmy Page

Today
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11-04-2009, 06:05 PM	#6 (permalink)
StrangerNY Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: New York Posts: 5,069 Thanks: 16 Thanked 156 Times in 41 Posts	Re: Is the style department at Fender staffed by the blind? I did something similar to a Tele-style I put together over the Summer. My pickguard is a single-ply, but I've got the Wilkinson compensated bridge on it that looks very similar to that one. And I've got a black chrome control plate cover, which I think is pretty cool. - D __________________ Bands, Present & Past: Nurse Diesel \| Diesel On MySpace \| Big Sky \| 20FTWide \| Solo Work \| Chronicles: The Clapton Project "I learned a long time ago that one note can go a long way if it's the right one, and it will probably whip the guy with 20 notes." - Les Paul "You were old the first time I signed you." - unnamed A&R guy to StrangerNY, 2000

11-04-2009, 06:25 PM	#8 (permalink)
SpinWheelz Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 1,479 Thanks: 13 Thanked 31 Times in 19 Posts	Re: Is the style department at Fender staffed by the blind? The bridge I really wanted was similar to the Wilkinson one you have, StrangerNY. I really wanted ramped brass saddles. But I chickened out in the end when did a bit too much reading about getting the right bridge - all sorts of malarky about the thickness of the plates, what the plate is really made of underneath the chrome plating, holes that may or may not line up perfectly, etc.) - so I went with a Fender-branded setup instead. So far, the intonation of the non-ramped saddles has been very good and the the barrels are wide enough that the strings don't go near the height screws. I'm quite fond of the Mustang knobs. I think this is a win.

11-04-2009, 06:34 PM	#10 (permalink)
leftyguitarman Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Anthem, Arizona Posts: 1,275 Thanks: 2 Thanked 5 Times in 3 Posts	Re: Is the style department at Fender staffed by the blind? I like the original better, actually. I love tortoise shell and the white pickup looks cool IMO. __________________

11-04-2009, 08:06 PM	#13 (permalink)
snaredrum Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Nottingham, England Posts: 2,980 Thanks: 24 Thanked 12 Times in 6 Posts	Re: Is the style department at Fender staffed by the blind? aw, c'mon, there wasn't anything wrong with the knobs, man! looks cool though __________________ "There is hopeful symbolism in the fact that flags do not wave in a vacuum." - Arthur C. Clarke

11-05-2009, 08:03 AM	#16 (permalink)
dennistruckdriver MLP Trucker Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 15,646 Thanks: 234 Thanked 275 Times in 60 Posts	Re: Is the style department at Fender staffed by the blind? Here's my Nashville: __________________ "I'm male, between the ages of 18 and 49 with a loud mouth and a gun; I AM the American Dream"-Anthony DiNozzo "I've never used one, but I hear good things about them."

11-05-2009, 09:53 AM	#17 (permalink)
SpinWheelz Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 1,479 Thanks: 13 Thanked 31 Times in 19 Posts	Re: Is the style department at Fender staffed by the blind? It appears to be invisible, dennistruckdriver.

11-05-2009, 10:15 AM	#18 (permalink)
Hamtone Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Far Northeast Posts: 1,777 Thanks: 4 Thanked 5 Times in 4 Posts	Re: Is the style department at Fender staffed by the blind? Looks great dennis...lol Spin I like what you did

11-06-2009, 01:55 AM	#25 (permalink)
leftyguitarman Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Anthem, Arizona Posts: 1,275 Thanks: 2 Thanked 5 Times in 3 Posts	Re: Is the style department at Fender staffed by the blind? ...I don't see it either... __________________

11-06-2009, 04:51 AM	#26 (permalink)
Nigel T. Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 267 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Is the style department at Fender staffed by the blind? Me neither. On the Tele... Good job The black guard looks way better. I never liked the shell pickguard. And adding a white Strat pick-up? Didn't know they made three pickup Teles... Is it also a five way switch as in a Strat or the standard Tele 3way? Master volume, master tone? __________________ 1977 Gibson Les Paul deLuxe 1999 Gibson Explorer 1978 Fender Stratocaster Takamine CP-132-C Ovation DCS 247 S Line6 Pod 2.0/ Flextone II

11-06-2009, 07:54 AM	#27 (permalink)
dennistruckdriver MLP Trucker Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 15,646 Thanks: 234 Thanked 275 Times in 60 Posts	Re: Is the style department at Fender staffed by the blind? I can see it plain as day. It's in my 'album' here. __________________ "I'm male, between the ages of 18 and 49 with a loud mouth and a gun; I AM the American Dream"-Anthony DiNozzo "I've never used one, but I hear good things about them."

11-06-2009, 08:47 AM	#28 (permalink)
overdriver V.I.P. Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Kanata Posts: 5,446 Thanks: 1 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Re: Is the style department at Fender staffed by the blind? Is the style department at Fender staffed by the blind? Still there as far as I can see. __________________

11-06-2009, 09:38 AM	#29 (permalink)
SpinWheelz Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 1,479 Thanks: 13 Thanked 31 Times in 19 Posts	Re: Is the style department at Fender staffed by the blind? Cheers to dennistruckdriver for sending the picture separately. Got a glimpse of it now. Now when you say that it's a Nashville, do you mean that it started life as a Nashville and you've since ripped out the middle pickup, so do you have some peculiar setup there where there's still a "third" pickup in there?

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