The I hate my Telecaster Thread

[Maggieo]

Well, I just tried out the 5th fret harmonic on my Quine Telecaster (w/Muy Grande pickups) and by golly, the harmonic disappears when I switch to the neck pickup alone! If I switch to the bridge pickup, the harmonic "comes back."  Looks like the stories are true!

I guess my thinline's Charlie Christian pickup has a wide enough field to pick up the harmonic, whereas the trad sized Muy's can't.

[chrisjedijane]

the neck pickup on my '72 is currently out of action, so I can't comment!

[Maggieo]

Here's the guitars I'm referring to:



Hope your '72 gets back in full action soon!

[burker]

Here's the guitars I'm referring to:



Hope your '72 gets back in full action soon!

Kindof off topic but how would you describe the sound of the Charlie christian pickup? (other than  "like charlie christian...")

[Maggieo]

It's woody and beefy, but with a bit of air and a throaty cut not unlike, but different than a p-90.  In the thinline it can do a good jazzbox imitation.

[chrisjedijane]

i always liked the look of those charlie christian pickups, but my grandfather would KILL me if he saw me put it into what used to be his telecaster

I'm currently trying to raise some funds to get the tele back in action - it needs a re-fret, the neck pickup needs re-wound and the bridge needs  wax potting, as it's microphonic as hell. I either want to get the pickups rewound, or get replacements - does anyone have any recommendations (preferably in the UK for any rewinds!)?

for now though, I'm digging the almost-esquire vibe on it

[Maggieo]

I have to say my Lollar Tele pickups are as good as anything I've ever heard in my life.

[Sauerkraut]

I have to say my Lollar Tele pickups are as good as anything I've ever heard in my life.

sometimes I get the feeling I should have done it the other way around: Lollars in my Tele & Novaks in my Jazzmaster. Of course Lollar makes good Jazzmaster pickups and Novak makes nice Tele pickups, but I suspect Novak is more of an authority on Jazzmaster pickups (he made quite a few different ones) and Lollar focuses more on the other Fenders (with some different types of Tele pups for example), or is that nonsense?

[benecol]

the neck pickup on my '72 is currently out of action, so I can't comment!

My '72 too! I took it to pieces on Tuesday night, and stripped the (thick) poly finish off it with a hotair gun over the last couple of days (which worked great), only to discover that it's got what looks like a mahogany body, which is weird (it's a 70's Cimar, who morphed into Ibanez). My old '69 thinline was mahogany, but I've never heard of a solid mahogany bodied tele (apart from the one I've been playing for all these years unknowingly) - anyone else got a mahogany tele?

Maggie - had Robert Quine fitted those Muy Grande p'ups, or did you do that? How did you come by the tele?

[chrisjedijane]

that's weird, I've never seen a mahogany bodied tele either - it would be interesting, though!

I like the look of those Lollar pickups, but I'd preferably like to get a bridge pickup with staggered magnets (as that's what's on the guitar now) to keep it original. Lollar only seems to do flat polepieces unfortunately. I guess I could live with it, and his prices are pretty good.

[Maggieo]

Maggie - had Robert Quine fitted those Muy Grande p'ups, or did you do that? How did you come by the tele?

Yep, Robert Quine put the Muy Grandes in it. They sound great, if not exactly vintage (tho' turn down the volume and they get really, really close).  I bought it from Rick Kelly at Carmine Street Guitars, after Robert's death.  It's an MIJ 50's RI, I think, and cost right around $700.  I feel honored every time I pick it up.

[serial]

Robert Quine.  Hats off. What a great player he was.

[cmatthes]

Indeed.  Much great stuff over the years.  I'm partial to the Matthew Sweet stuff, as that was my true intro, although I'd heard and heard of him since the mid-80s. 

Treasure that one!

[theswingincreeper]

I wouldn't say I hate them, they're just not really my kind of thing. I have owned 5 Telecasters, mostly '70s models which were very different from each other. For a while, it seemed like the best guitar for the kind of music I played at the time, but I eventually found them too "one-dimensional" (in lack of a better term)  Not everyone is a genius like Danny Gatton or Roy Buchanan. In addition, I love the feel of the contoured body and I'm addicted to the wang bar. Right now in my band, the other guitarist plays a Tele and it's pretty obvious for him it's the perfect choice. He plays rhythm most of the time but I try to persuade him to get a bit more into soloing so we can do a Tele-Jazzmaster duel once in a while which  is an interesting contrast.

Regards, Joe

[StevenO]

I'm addicted to the wang.

That's fine, we accept your lifestyle here.