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Post by runninwiththerevil (Matthew) on Feb 5, 2021 8:04:18 GMT -7
New to me gear with a couple MIM scores via Craigslist. Driving way out into the country to meet up with a couple sellers landed me a 94 Tele and a 04 Strat. I've had MIM Strat and Tele's before, but never with my Maz 18. This is going to continue to be a fun shoot out in the weeks to come. Nether of these are likely to be long term because the necks are okay, but not exactly what I'm looking for. I have some questions for those more versed in the Stratocaster vs Telecaster universe. The Tele has some serious mojo, it has been played plenty over the years, a much of honest relicing and smooth like butter. I really like all positions on the Strat except the bridge alone. I really like the Tele bridge (I think the middle is wired out of phase, which is okay not awesome). So I know that various pick up makers offer the best of both world solutions. What I'm wondering about is for anyone who has put a Tele bridge style pickup in the bridge of a Strat how close does it get to the sound of a bridge mounted in a Tele bridge (Curtis Novak does a strat bridge constructed like a tele). Other side of the coin, in a Nashville Tele, how close do you get to the neck and middle sounds of a strat (I would use a strat neck not a tele), or is it a different animal altogether?
<script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>" alt="" style="max-width:100%;"> http://instagr.am/p/CK5igf8Bw4M
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Post by headshrinker (Marc) on Feb 5, 2021 8:52:56 GMT -7
Duncan makes the twangbanger. It gets really close to the Tele bridge sound in a Strat. Not exactly, but really close. One of those, the guitar player can tell, but nobody in the audience will. I've got one in my box of things to sell. If you are interested, send me a PM. I'm always into trading pickups too, if you have some lying around. The nashville Tele sound is close enough to be used by a lot of Nashville players, so that's an endorsement. If you want to get closer, you can put a Strat neck pickup in the Tele. Depending on the Tele, a lot of them are routed big enough to just drop one in. I've used a Strat neck pickup in Teles a lot. I don't get along with Tele neck pickups or Strat bridge pickups.
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Post by Don A on Feb 5, 2021 11:02:02 GMT -7
I just put a Rio Grande Stelly in one of my Strats. It sounds great! Punchier and fatter than a regular Strat bridge pickup. It doesn't sound like a Tele- you need the big steel bridge for that, but it's kind of in between a Strat and a Tele. I had been considering putting a Tele pickup in my Strat since buying my first Strat in the mid '80s. I'm glad I finally did it!
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Post by rickenbacker1953 on Feb 8, 2021 13:37:26 GMT -7
While all the suggestions are good . Curious why ? You have a tele and a Strat . Keep in mind the main part of a Tele sound comes from the Shape vs the Strat . Even the neck . You might not hear the difference but someone with a better ear like whatever you recorded with brings it out . JMO I am a fan of both guitars as is Nice find
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Post by Don A on Feb 8, 2021 15:04:11 GMT -7
While all the suggestions are good . Curious why ? You have a tele and a Strat . Keep in mind the main part of a Tele sound comes from the Shape vs the Strat . Even the neck . You might not hear the difference but someone with a better ear like whatever you recorded with brings it out . JMO I am a fan of both guitars as is Nice find Although I put a Tele style pickup in one of my Strats, I agree with you. I like Strats for what they are (even the bridge pickup) and I like Teles for what they are (even the neck pickup). This is a second Strat for me and a guitar that I intentionally want to have sound different. If it was my only Strat I wouldn't touch it.
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Post by Don A on Feb 8, 2021 15:05:58 GMT -7
I really like the Tele bridge (I think the middle is wired out of phase, which is okay not awesome). As in a thin nasal sound with less output in the middle position? That's not right. Tele pickups are not normally wired out of phase with each other. They are sometimes wired reverse wound/reverse phase to cancel hum, but that does not make it sound thin nasal with less output when in the middle position.
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Post by runninwiththerevil (Matthew) on Feb 8, 2021 15:09:08 GMT -7
While all the suggestions are good . Curious why ? You have a tele and a Strat . Keep in mind the main part of a Tele sound comes from the Shape vs the Strat . Even the neck . You might not hear the difference but someone with a better ear like whatever you recorded with brings it out . JMO I am a fan of both guitars as is Nice find I’m usually a less is more. Bringing home the Strat and Tele doubled the population of electric guitars in the house. The more I play them I don’t care much for this Strat’s neck, not feeling like this is a keeper. Really bonding with the Tele, feels good, sounds great unplugged, really like the bridge. I will probably keep the Tele and do something with the neck pickup. I need to get it to my tech, I think it may need a fret job, I doubt there is enough left to crown. So selling the Strat will be necessary to fund that.
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Post by runninwiththerevil (Matthew) on Feb 8, 2021 15:15:33 GMT -7
I really like the Tele bridge (I think the middle is wired out of phase, which is okay not awesome). As in a thin nasal sound with less output in the middle position? That's not right. Tele pickups are not normally wired out of phase with each other. They are sometimes wired reverse wound/reverse phase to cancel hum, but that does not make it sound thin nasal with less output when in the middle position. There is a volume drop in the middle compare to either alone. It does sound pretty thin as well. Over the weekend I realized I like the neck more than I first thought, but the guy I got it from updated the bridge and not the neck, so at a minimum they probably aren’t paired well.
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Post by Christopher on Feb 9, 2021 6:34:51 GMT -7
You can remove the neck pick up from the tone circuit to make it brighter but as mentioned if the pair of tele pickups aren't a matched pair you could have phase issues which yields a cool, but not always wanted, thin nasal quack tone. B/C the two pickups share a volume pot it's hard to get the Peter Green out of phase tone that way bc one pickup has to be louder to make that work and independent volumes accomplish that. If the two pickups were wired in series you'd get a hotter output and from your posts that isn't happening. A four way switch is useful for that option on a tele. May I recommend a pair of pickups either from Fralin (blues specials are in my thinline) and Lollar (special T and vintage in my ASAT Thinline). Both compliment the tele's inherent sounds and articulate the sounds I want from those instruments.
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Post by zpilot on Feb 10, 2021 0:06:17 GMT -7
Before you start changing the bridge pickup on that Strat try the mod where the Middle tone control is wired to the Bridge instead. Having a tone control on that pickup will go a long way toward making it more useful. You will be able to get much closer to the sound of Tele bridge when the control is rolled off a little, around 7 or so. It is a simple mod that only requires resoldering one wire on the switch.
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Post by LT on Feb 10, 2021 7:01:43 GMT -7
Before you start changing the bridge pickup on that Strat try the mod where the Middle tone control is wired to the Bridge instead. Having a tone control on that pickup will go a long way toward making it more useful. You will be able to get much closer to the sound of Tele bridge when the control is rolled off a little, around 7 or so. It is a simple mod that only requires resoldering one wire on the switch. THIS! Highly recommended.
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Post by runninwiththerevil (Matthew) on Feb 10, 2021 7:28:25 GMT -7
Before you start changing the bridge pickup on that Strat try the mod where the Middle tone control is wired to the Bridge instead. Having a tone control on that pickup will go a long way toward making it more useful. You will be able to get much closer to the sound of Tele bridge when the control is rolled off a little, around 7 or so. It is a simple mod that only requires resoldering one wire on the switch. THIS! Highly recommended. I'm really bonding with the Tele and going to rewire that because I think it is wired funky in the middle position. I may do as suggested with the Strat to see how I like the bridge after as well as for some reason neither tone pots seems to make any difference at all right now. Definitely not going to hurt anything.
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Post by LT on Feb 10, 2021 12:21:08 GMT -7
THIS! Highly recommended. I'm really bonding with the Tele and going to rewire that because I think it is wired funky in the middle position. I may do as suggested with the Strat to see how I like the bridge after as well as for some reason neither tone pots seems to make any difference at all right now. Definitely not going to hurt anything. I have this wiring on the Strats I own and it makes the bridge PU very usable IMO. The middle PU has no tone control, so it becomes hotter than the other two. I compensate by dropping it down a bit until it's balanced. If you need a schematic just search "Eric Johnson Strat wiring". As for the Tele, mine has a 4 way switch which gives you the standard switching plus a position that gives you both PU's in series. It's the hottest setting and I liken it to having a P90 in there. Let us know how you decide to proceed!
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Post by runninwiththerevil (Matthew) on Feb 10, 2021 12:34:50 GMT -7
I'm hitting the Tele first. I ordered some new guts from Tube Depot this morning. I was thinking of doing the four way switch, but when I went to search for it, they only had a 3 way or 5 way. I'm going to do the straight 3 way switch set up. I'm sure it would be easy enough to unsolder whatever is wacky (thinking it has something to do with the ground from the neck cover from what I was reading yesterday). For $35 it's worth just starting over since I plan to flip the control plate around anyway. I do like the Eric Johnson mod on the Strat. I will probably mess around with that after I finish up the Tele.
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Post by LT on Feb 11, 2021 13:48:58 GMT -7
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