NGD - First Tele

[The General]

Nope. No lemon oil on a maple fretboard. Just polish it with the same stuff you use for a finished guitar body.

good to know, thanks!!

 

[NHTom]

Be careful............once you have one they mysteriously multiply.............



NHTom

 

[The General]

Be careful............once you have one they mysteriously multiply.............



NHTom

the one on the far left is really cool! Very unique. The one second from right is nice looking too. Not that the others aren't.

 

[sonar]

Congrats!

I've stated this many times. MIM Teles are the best bang for the buck out there.

Up until a few years ago Fender was putting pretty decent alnico pickups in these guitars, but then switched to ceramics on recent MIM's, which are kind of meh.

If you want your Tele to balance out with your LP a little better check out some Broadcaster/early 50's style pickups. Like used MIM Tele's, used Seymour Duncan or Dimarzio Tele pickups can be had for cheap.

I also prefer the sound of a 3 saddle ashtray bridge, which is a drop in replacement on your guitar. It helps give a Tele that certain punch you can't get from a Strat. Again, a pretty cheap option.

 

[Zoobiedood]

It won't replace an LP.

I think EVERYONE should own an LP and a Tele!!!
Covers all the bases!!!

Both traditional LP's and Teles don't work ergonomically for me. I love when other people play them. I like the sounds. But they simply don't work well for me at all.

 

[NHTom]

the one on the far left is really cool! Very unique. The one second from right is nice looking too. Not that the others aren't.

Thanks!!!

L to R

Fender American Select HH with "blackwood" top
Fender American Standard
Warmoth Custom Build
ESP Ron Wood

 

[The General]

Congrats!

I've stated this many times. MIM Teles are the best bang for the buck out there.

Up until a few years ago Fender was putting pretty decent alnico pickups in these guitars, but then switched to ceramics on recent MIM's, which are kind of meh.

If you want your Tele to balance out with your LP a little better check out some Broadcaster/early 50's style pickups. Like used MIM Tele's, used Seymour Duncan or Dimarzio Tele pickups can be had for cheap.

I also prefer the sound of a 3 saddle ashtray bridge, which is a drop in replacement on your guitar. It helps give a Tele that certain punch you can't get from a Strat. Again, a pretty cheap option.

Thanks. Going to do a little research here on fender serial numbers to see when mine was made. I'm curious now, there is a sticker on the back from a music store with 2013 on it, so I'm thinking its a 12 or 13. Do you know what years they "downgraded" the PU's? I'm waaaaayyyy to lazy to pull the current PU's out until it's time for a string change, probably in a few weeks before next gig.

I'm pretty happy with the current sound, but I'm also easy to please. Not real picky.

At some point, I will upgrade to the 3 saddle bridge, just not in a hurry. The current setup intonates perfectly, and as I mentioned motivation is somewhat lacking these days.

 

[Benjammin]

congrats, I love that midnight wine finish

 

[Flatpole]

sweet!
a tele will always replace an LP IMO,
but thats all I play so Im biased.

I use 9s on all mines but Im going for maximum twang

for the common switch tip niggle I cut a small piece of rubber band, lay it on top
of the switch perpendicular then shove the tip on top of that.

I prefer 3 saddle bridge, but no need to spend money.
Fender Pat. Pend bridgeplate with fender brass saddles wil set you back
$50 and sound as good as you can get. (no need to spend big bucks
on a thicker plate cold rolled in expensivetanium -(cheap, thin plate=tone)

Maple boards dont need anything save for a fret polish maybe twice a year...

for pickups I would go Fender Custom Shop Blackguards which are
almost dead on balls copy of Fred Stuart Blackguards for
a 52-53 era Tele (the stuarts cost $300 vs $150 for the Fenders)
or go with early Broadcaster spec which have twang
yet bark and bite ala p90s for a 1950 sound
Rumpelstiltskin Black Rope, Fralin High Output, Duncan Broadcaster,
OC Duff Plankster, Fred Stuart Lap Wrap, Mare 0038, to name a few...

whatever pickups you decide go with ones that have a 3rd wire on the neck so you can wire it in-series
for a humbucker position (with a 4way switch)