Modding my Tele

  • Thread starter Thread starter TelePaul
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TelePaul

TelePaul

J to the R O C
I have an original run Highway One Tele and have been debating as to whether to mod it for some time. I played an upgraded Highway One, those new ones are great, AFAIK the neck and bridge are wired out of phase, which is cool.

So what I'm thinking is a six-saddle vintage bridge from Stew Mac to replace my 3 saddle. This is just to make adjusting the action and intonation easier. Something like this (0090)

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges...tional_Bridges_For_Tele/Pictures.html#details

Next I wanna swap the pickups. Maybe someone could help me with this, but am I correct in thinking that you have to buy pickups wired-out-of-phase to achieve this when they're fitted? Otherwise I'm looking at these Kinmans

http://www.thomann.de/index.html?partner_id=97926&page=ie/kinman_avn_broadset.htm
 
The mods you propose are very reasonable. They not alter the guitar in a way that it cannot be returned to original. I'd say go for it.

I haven't tried the pickips you're considering so I'll leave it to someone else to comment on them.

You should be able to change the phase arrangement by simply swapping the wires of one of the pickups. No need to order them that way.
 
Milnoque said:
The mods you propose are very reasonable. They not alter the guitar in a way that it cannot be returned to original. I'd say go for it.

I haven't tried the pickips you're considering so I'll leave it to someone else to comment on them.

You should be able to change the phase arrangement by simply swapping the wires of one of the pickups. No need to order them that way.
Click to expand...

Cool well all the actual fitting is gonna be done by a tech so I'll ask him about that.
 
I think some where down the road you mentioned having a HW1 previous version. Right?

Why don't your save yourself a couple bucks and just put a set of Fender vintage noiseless' on it. I think you will be surprised how well it sounds. You should be able to get the 3 saddle bridge intonated just fine the way it is I think they look way cooler. The BL's and SCN's or maybe Texas Specials are some other options. I would keep it pure Fender.

Hey take the money you save and order a new alligator strap for that nashville you just got:D
 
putting a phase flip switch on a guitar is extemely easy. The hard part is figuring out where to put it... Great mod to almost any guitar.
 
TelePaul said:
Maybe someone could help me with this, but am I correct in thinking that you have to buy pickups wired-out-of-phase to achieve this when they're fitted?[/url]
Click to expand...

To have the pickup coils to be truly out of phase with each other they should be wound the same direction, and with the same polarity. Check out the link below. Go down four paragraphs, and it'll explain why just switching wires isn't the best solution. Before buying some pickups I'd try upgrading the pots, switch etc., and playing with the tone circuit. In my partscaster I've got an 80's standard at the bridge, and a mightymite alnico at the neck. 1megohm Tone pot 500k volume pot, and a .010 and .022 caps in parallel. It sounds great. The electronics can make a big difference.

http://www.audereaudio.com/FAQ_PUMag_Gnd.htm
 
On reading the thread title I was thinking 'Leave it alone! Teles are perfect as they are!', but the 3-saddle bridges do annoy me, and pickups aren't a major thing.

Definitely keep it Fender though, the best sound around!

Also, B-benders are terrible...
 
Elton Bear said:
Also, B-benders are terrible...
Click to expand...

?????? WTF are you talking about????????????? B Benders are a blast!!!!!!!!

As for the saddles, if it is brass, dont fuck with it, that the tone of a true tele.
 
I put a set of fender vintage noiseless pickups on another squire tele last night.
I could not believe how nice the guitar sounded with that one single upgrade along with copper shielding and extra grounding. It seemed to lose all the extra extra high end tremble I never use and take on a completely new tone that growls when you go past 3/4 on the volume. It is so quiet it is scary I like them better
than my BL equipped tele. I'd really like to have these same pickups on a strat.
That would be interesting a strat with the hard tail tele bridgeplate on it.
 
Try these mods

Get rid of the pickups. I put 2 DiMarzios in - a Pre B-1 on the bridge (as loud as all hell) and a Twang King on the neck (lots of nice bluesy tone).
I would also recommend getting rid of the tone control. I've never met anyone that uses one. Replace it with a volume pot so you have volume controls for each pickup-much more useful.
Also, putting a high bypass on volume control on the volume pots is helpful. Gets rid of the muddy tone when you use the volume. See here for how to do it.

guitarnuts.com

I've done all these and my Tele now sounds great.
Hope this is helpful.
Mike.
 
Mike_J said:
Get rid of the pickups. I put 2 DiMarzios in - a Pre B-1 on the bridge (as loud as all hell) and a Twang King on the neck (lots of nice bluesy tone).
I would also recommend getting rid of the tone control. I've never met anyone that uses one. Replace it with a volume pot so you have volume controls for each pickup-much more useful.
.
Click to expand...

I agree about the Twang King. IMHO.... this is the best sounding(non boutique) neck PuP available for a Tele.

As for losing the tone knob.... I never touched mine for years, but it has become my tone shaping tool of choice, and I cant imagine not having one on a Tele, as the 2 PuPs have such a monstrously varied tone curve. But hey, when it comes to frankensteining guitars, there are no wrong answers.
 
Milnoque said:
You should be able to change the phase arrangement by simply swapping the wires of one of the pickups. No need to order them that way.
Click to expand...



At a guess, they one of them is RW/RP, so that when you have both on it is humbucking. For that, you need to buy one of the pickups RW/RP.

But Kinman's are great pickups, so if you go that route you have a guitar which is quiet in ever position, and which sounds quite good. They don't capture the "single coil" sound 100%, but they are quite good.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Oh, and if you want other options, we've installed a bunch of Dimarzio Virtual Vintage Tele pickups recently which are extremely nice. Same idea as the Kinmans, but less expensive. Not QUITE as nice, but damn near.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
If you insist on modding something that is already likely just fine I would recommend this. Kinman's are nice and well respected. You can also try Fralin or SD Antiquity pickups. If you want snarl try Rio Grande's.

Secondly get a 3 saddle compensated bridge from someone like Callaham. They also make great vintage setups. The 3 saddle bridge is much more critical to the tele sound than most think. The compensation will help with intonation.
 
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