NGD - My First Telecaster!

[onlypadog]

Hi all

NGD for me was yesterday as I picked up a Fender Modern Player Telecaster - Thinline Deluxe!

Before I go any further, the obligatory pics:

I admit she was an impulse buy. I've been after a good semi-hollow electric for a while to replace my acoustic which I didn't like playing too much, without the size of the larger bodied guitars i.e. casino, dot etc. and to be honest I was waiting for the Epi-339s

Saw her on the rack in the shop and she called to me...I asked how much - only £330!! I thought she would be upwards of £900...then they explained - Made in China!

I tried her unplugged, good acoustic tone and volume - check box 1. Plugged her in and the P90s gave me something I didn't have in my arsenal yet - different to my coil split LP. The cleans chimed out of the amp, and remained clear when overdriven and distorted.

My only issue was that Fender had set her up with 9s and there was some fret buzz - sorted with a set of Elixer 10s that they threw in for me! Also got a £90 aluminium flight case a set of schaller strap locks and a strap for a total of £400!! Total bargain.

So, I took her home, re-strung her with the 10s and plugged in. I play through a Vox VT15 and while I know its a modelling amp - I struggled to get it to break up with the P90s without pedals. Thats not what I bought it for of course but I like to know I have versatility without having to rely on pedals. I like to use the knobs on the VT15 to set my own sound rather than the presets, then to either use the gain and volume to break it up or use pedals depending what I'm doing.

So to my questions:

1. Is this a characteristic of all P90s? This is my first P90 guitar.

2. Is this down to my Amp? I'm thinking of changing to a Marshall Class 5.

3. Are all P90 soapbar pickups the same size? I.E. would I be able to fit a Gibson set or an aftermarket pair without changing the routing/pickguard etc?

I do like tinkering so if I can chop and change the pickups then I'll be happy. And those witch hat knobs have got to go! Knowing what MIC electronics are like from owning Epis, an electronics upgrade will probably be on the cards too

 

[SexyGibson]

 

[Archtop 13]

P-90s , Yum! Enjoy!

 

[dazzypig]

HNGD! You shouldn't worry about the P-90s, Tranny amps don't ever break up very well IMO, you're gonna have to upgrade (or turn the gain up a tidge).

 

[CHUNKYNECK]

Congrats HNGD. As for the breaking up issue, you may want to look for a tube amp with a master volume instead of the class 5. You will need a pedal with the class 5 to get it breaking up unless you can crank it to a very loud volume. Sweet looking tele.

 

[HOT-BRIT]

nice one & P-90's

 

[onlypadog]

HNGD! You shouldn't worry about the P-90s, Tranny amps don't ever break up very well IMO, you're gonna have to upgrade (or turn the gain up a tidge).

Hmm, I that's with the gain, volume and master volume up full, full volume on both pups.

Not sure what else to look for amp wise - the class 5 is in my budget (eventually) and I liked the simplicity. Is the volume knob on it gain or master volume?

 

[CHUNKYNECK]

Hmm, I that's with the gain, volume and master volume up full, full volume on both pups.

Not sure what else to look for amp wise - the class 5 is in my budget (eventually) and I liked the simplicity. Is the volume knob on it gain or master volume?

Turn your master volume down low and crank the volume.

The class 5 doesn't have a master volume. It has a volume, bass, middle, treble and relies on cranking it past 12 oclock to get saturated tones.

 

[AngryHatter]

Clips are obligatory - we all know what a tele looks like.

 

[cynic79]

Congrats on the new guitar!

The P-90s probably have less output than the humbuckers in your other guitars, so it is going to take more output or gain to make the amp break up.

 

[dazzypig]

Hmm, I that's with the gain, volume and master volume up full, full volume on both pups.

Not sure what else to look for amp wise - the class 5 is in my budget (eventually) and I liked the simplicity. Is the volume knob on it gain or master volume?

The class 5 doesn't have a master, you just have to crank it. I haven't spent a huge amount of time with one but they do seem like great amps. If you're used to a tranny though (or have neighbours) you might still want an attenuator as 5 watts of Marshall is pretty loud.

I've heard people really enjoying the Vox AC4 as well. When I had a go on one I was quite a bit less than bowled over but some people seem to be quite fond of them.

One amp I did have that was very inexpensive is a Gretsch G5222 amp (pretty much the same as a Fender Champion 600), it's a little champ style amp and has probably the best clean tone I have heard so far (certainly under £500) and it breaks up really well too. Although it's still 5 watts it isn't anywhere near as obnoxious as the Class 5 and it'll only set you back about £150 new.

I loved mine (bought it to leave at another house then ended up using it for home practise all the time, haha) and may buy another but the transformer died (went up in smoke) after about 19 months which is a shame.

(sorry that was a bit lengthly, just trying to help, haha)

 

[onlypadog]

Thanks for the help Dazzy!

I hadn't looked at many amps yet and I am used to the tranny as you call it! Haha, yes I do have neighbours and I also live with my in laws to be at the minute, so playing with headphones is also a necessity - the class 5 is the only relatively inexpensive tube amp I've found so far that you can use them with.

That is unless you can use headphones on external speaker output without making your head implode? The gretsch isn't one I've encountered on my search yet, so I'll have a look at that one too, cheers

 

[TinyTerror]

shes beautiful!!!!

 

[Midnight Blues]

Congrats and HNGD!

 

[AngryHatter]

I heard a guy playing one of these through a Frontman 212 today.
Sounded neat, but not a "tele."

 

[bluesaxe]

Beautiful! I've got a '69 RI Thinline and love it! Nice Score!

 

[SteveGangi]

Congrats on the new Tele! Welcome to our little unofficial Tele Club

 

[studio1087]

The P90's should be able to break up your amp.

I love P90's and I love Telecasters.

The guitar should be bright and spanky like a Tele on steroids.

Did you experiment with setting the pregain a bit higher on the VT15? I had an AD15VT a long time ago and I would think that you could dial up the pregain to a degree where you could control overdrive vs. no overdrive with the volume pots on the Tele.

Sounds to me like you're not dialing the amp pregain hot enough.

I saw the thinline P90 Tele when those Modern Players guitars came out and I thought it was a beauty. You bought the cream of the crop.

Take it from an older fart....those top hat knobs look good! Just let it be and turn up the pregain. Dial the Fender Blackface model or the AC15 model and heat up the pregain. Spank it.

 

[tele-bastard]

I love that custom... John.

 

[Leendrix]

Congratulations man! Happy New Tele Day!