Bolted to the floor! tele content...

[berlinbetty]

  I've been looking at teles on the Fender website and I noticed two, the Andy Summers and the G.E. Smith models, that have the bridge pickup screwed directly to the body instead of suspended from the bridge plate.  Does anyone know if this has any advantages from experience?

[mynameisjonas]

unless the pickup is microphonic it should make no difference AFAIK.

[glimmertwin]

  I've been looking at teles on the Fender website and I noticed two, the Andy Summers and the G.E. Smith models, that have the bridge pickup screwed directly to the body instead of suspended from the bridge plate.  Does anyone know if this has any advantages from experience?

I can't imagine it having a whole lot of impact - it's a screw and a spring right?  I guess ask guys about the tone difference from their neck pickup being mounted on the pickguard vs in the body.  The TDPRI might have a ball discussing this, but utlimately I think it's a pretty minimal difference if any at all.  I can see it being more of a issue if it's a metal plate being bolted down(like in dog ear P-90s) because there is more surface area being vibrated or maybe if you have an unpotted pickup, but I doubt a screw transfers enough energy to impact tone noticeably...

[serial]

Feedback reduction/elimination.  That's one of the biggest design flaws of the Tele IMHO.  I've owned a dozen or more Teles of various vintages (still have four) with many different pickups and since I play a lot of higher volume and often the high gain rock stuff, at certain levels, the bridge plate can get to humming and can feedback badly (I LOVE feedback, but not the microphonic, non-harmonic type).  I've never bolted the pickup to the body, but I've come up with different fixes over the years that control that can eliminate that.  The most effective fix?  Fun-tack under the bridge plate.  Not an imagined condition at all depending on what amps and signal modifiers you use. Teles are fantastic guitars for all applications!

[FireAarro]

Odd, I hear a lot about bridge pickup microphonic feedback on teles too but it's my neck pickup that does it...

[Taylorplayer]

fun tack... who would have known... what a crazy fix..

I've always heard that there was a duifference in tone for those pickups mounted to the body, but I was always too lazy to try and adjust the guitar to hear the difference.

[RumorsOFsurF]

Odd, I hear a lot about bridge pickup microphonic feedback on teles too but it's my neck pickup that does it...

A little thread bump....

My CIJ Bigsby Tele's neck pickup has horrible microphonic feedback at moderate to high gain levels.  It is mounted directly to the body.  I don't know if it needs to be wax potted or what...

[aen]

If your bridge pickup is blted to the body and your strap squeeks, you can hear it through the amp.  It's awesome.

[StevenO]

Aen, I use that with technique with my bass. I have my bass going into a delay pedal and then into a modded behringer muff and then I grab my bass raddel my bass strap at the top horn and it sounds awesome!

[berlinbetty]

  Another bump!  Just found this...

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=SnQYoRYedF0

  G. E. Smith explaining why the pickup is bolted to the body, around the 5 minute mark...