Tele Neck Flex

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BrentDomann

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I just picked up a Highway 1 Tele, and this particular guitar has a much thinner neck than I'm used to. I really like it, but I'm used to baseball bat v-necks and the like, and this "Modern C" seems to have a lot more give. Any pressure on either the front or back of the headstock results in a decent emulation of a trem...more so than with my thicker necks.

How much is too much? I don't anticipate flexing the neck much at all...I was just trying to get a feel for every detail of the guitar. But I wonder, how will this affect the durability? I bought this thing for the long haul, and I want to know it'll last.
 
BrentDomann said:
How much is too much? I don't anticipate flexing the neck much at all...I was just trying to get a feel for every detail of the guitar. But I wonder, how will this affect the durability? I bought this thing for the long haul, and I want to know it'll last.
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It shouldn't be an issue.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Thanks, Light. I figured it wouldn't be, but I wanted to hear it from a luthier. :)
 
BrentDomann said:
I just picked up a Highway 1 Tele, and this particular guitar has a much thinner neck than I'm used to. I really like it, but I'm used to baseball bat v-necks and the like, and this "Modern C" seems to have a lot more give. Any pressure on either the front or back of the headstock results in a decent emulation of a trem...more so than with my thicker necks.

How much is too much? I don't anticipate flexing the neck much at all...I was just trying to get a feel for every detail of the guitar. But I wonder, how will this affect the durability? I bought this thing for the long haul, and I want to know it'll last.
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Thats odd, I got one of the original run models. Apart form the finish - which i think they changed for the newer Highway series - it's built pretty sturdy. I was used to more strat-like necks and I felt the Tele neck was pretty fat! I don't think mine flexes at all.
 
Mine is one of the original series, too--it's a 2003. After noodling around at a friend's with an American Strat, we figured out that the Tele neck is about the same thickness as a Strat neck, but wider. It is that relationship between width and depth that makes it feel so darn thin.

We also agreed that the tiny bit of flex that is there is probably part of the 'spank' the guitar has.
 
BrentDomann said:
Mine is one of the original series, too--it's a 2003. After noodling around at a friend's with an American Strat, we figured out that the Tele neck is about the same thickness as a Strat neck, but wider. It is that relationship between width and depth that makes it feel so darn thin.

We also agreed that the tiny bit of flex that is there is probably part of the 'spank' the guitar has.
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Cool cool. Honestly, I think it's an excellent guitar, and I'm considering buying another one if the funds allow. Watch the finish on it though! It's quite soft. Then again, a beat up Tele almost seems like part of the charm. I can test the flex thing when I get home if you like.
 
If you want to give it a test, that's fine. I'm feeling better about it already, though.

I really went in to buy a Strat, and this was everything I wanted (even already buffed to a shine for me) except in Tele form. It is indeed a fine guitar.

I keep telling the boss that I didn't like it, it liked me . :D She never buys it, though, because she knows that the feeling was mutual.

P.S. - I love the thin finish. It will be excellent to have a relic full of MY character, and not the character of some dude(tte) at Fender with wet sandpaper and UV lamps.
 
BrentDomann said:
P.S. - I love the thin finish. It will be excellent to have a relic full of MY character, and not the character of some dude(tte) at Fender with wet sandpaper and UV lamps.
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The guy who sold me the guitar in the shop was a bassist; he said a light finish lets the sound breath a bit more. Don't know if this is true, but it's a great tone. The thing I would miss about a Strat is that in the second position on a Strat, the coils are wound out pf phase and cut down on that singe coil buzz. The Tele hums quite a bit.
 
TelePaul said:
The guy who sold me the guitar in the shop was a bassist; he said a light finish lets the sound breath a bit more. Don't know if this is true, but it's a great tone. The thing I would miss about a Strat is that in the second position on a Strat, the coils are wound out pf phase and cut down on that singe coil buzz. The Tele hums quite a bit.
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This guitar really is loud played without an amp. It seems to resonate a lot, though like you I am not sure if this is just because of the finish. You know, there are just so many other factors...

I actually don't mind the noise. My Strat is a MIM 50s RI, and so it doesn't have that RWRP middle pickup. The Tele is actually hotter and has better shielding, so it's quieter than the Strat!
 
BrentDomann said:
This guitar really is loud played without an amp. It seems to resonate a lot, though like you I am not sure if this is just because of the finish. You know, there are just so many other factors...

I actually don't mind the noise. My Strat is a MIM 50s RI, and so it doesn't have that RWRP middle pickup. The Tele is actually hotter and has better shielding, so it's quieter than the Strat!
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That's cool! I think it'd be heresy to slap a bucker in the bridge but I am considering one in the neck...maybe it'll wait to my next, inevitable Tele. :)
 
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