TelePaul
J to the R O C
I'm hoping some of you can relate to this. You're in the market for a new guitar, so you do your homework, you play a guitar in-store, and you take it home - everything seems fine and dandy. But after a while you realise that it doesn't feel 100% right. The pickups sound a little bland compared to your other Fenders, the action isn't as low as your mates Les Paul, or maybe the fretwork isn't as tidy as could be. Maybe a number of things come together to prevent what should be a perfectly good guitar from realising it's full potential - and lets face it, as guitarists we can be more than a little neurotic over slight imperfections. The choice then is whether to devote some time and money to correcting these flaws, to “sharpen the sword” so-to-speak, or whether to cut one's losses and relegate the guitar in question to second place, maybe set it up for slide or even salvage it for parts.
In my case, the instrument in question is a MIM Nashville Deluxe Tele. It's about two years old and in my opinion, has never been able to hold its own when compared with cheaper Asian electrics of a similar spec. At the time, I had no misgivings about Mexican Fenders, and I liked the idea of a third pickup (fast-forward a couple of years and I am now very skeptical of MIMs, though my overall impression is based on sampling numerous makes and models, not just this troublesome Tele). I have decided that, in order for this Tele to see the light of day, some changes will have to be made.
In reality, and from a purely financial standpoint, this project probably isn't the economically viable. With the money spent on upgrades, I would, in hindsight, have been better off buying a high-spec US model on day one. However, I hope this little project will provide me with a better understanding of what constitutes a 'great' guitar, and whether high-quality after-market additions can compensate for what I consider a sub-par 'stock' instrument. It'll also represent my first attempts at upgrading or modding, though admittedly, a tech will probably do most of the work.
Here's what I don't like about the guitar at present:
Action: Nothing massively wrong with the string-height, although full-tone bends can sound rough, almost as it there's a buzz mid-bend. Solution is a plain-old set-up, should be okay.
String-spacing: This is annoying. I think the nut has been cut sloppily from a spacing perspective, as even well-executed double-stops played on the B and E strings tend to cause the E to slip over the edge of the fingerboard. Visually, the slot for the high E seems much too close to the edge of the board.
Output Jack: Loose. An easy enough fix though, with a little bending.
Saddles: Not happy with the aesthetics. The chrome plating has rusted and flaked in no time at all. Again, easily fixed. This will go hand-in-hand with the set-up.
Pickups: nice enough sound from the Texas Specials, though the Strat pup leaves me a little cold. Think I'll splash out on some Bare Knuckle Country Boys and a Sultans Strat pup.
I'll post some pics later to give you a better idea of what needs to be done.
In my case, the instrument in question is a MIM Nashville Deluxe Tele. It's about two years old and in my opinion, has never been able to hold its own when compared with cheaper Asian electrics of a similar spec. At the time, I had no misgivings about Mexican Fenders, and I liked the idea of a third pickup (fast-forward a couple of years and I am now very skeptical of MIMs, though my overall impression is based on sampling numerous makes and models, not just this troublesome Tele). I have decided that, in order for this Tele to see the light of day, some changes will have to be made.
In reality, and from a purely financial standpoint, this project probably isn't the economically viable. With the money spent on upgrades, I would, in hindsight, have been better off buying a high-spec US model on day one. However, I hope this little project will provide me with a better understanding of what constitutes a 'great' guitar, and whether high-quality after-market additions can compensate for what I consider a sub-par 'stock' instrument. It'll also represent my first attempts at upgrading or modding, though admittedly, a tech will probably do most of the work.
Here's what I don't like about the guitar at present:
Action: Nothing massively wrong with the string-height, although full-tone bends can sound rough, almost as it there's a buzz mid-bend. Solution is a plain-old set-up, should be okay.
String-spacing: This is annoying. I think the nut has been cut sloppily from a spacing perspective, as even well-executed double-stops played on the B and E strings tend to cause the E to slip over the edge of the fingerboard. Visually, the slot for the high E seems much too close to the edge of the board.
Output Jack: Loose. An easy enough fix though, with a little bending.
Saddles: Not happy with the aesthetics. The chrome plating has rusted and flaked in no time at all. Again, easily fixed. This will go hand-in-hand with the set-up.
Pickups: nice enough sound from the Texas Specials, though the Strat pup leaves me a little cold. Think I'll splash out on some Bare Knuckle Country Boys and a Sultans Strat pup.
I'll post some pics later to give you a better idea of what needs to be done.
