Paging Butch Snyder!

[pc]

Hey Butch--I just saw your update to the "what gear are you using" thread. Does this mean you've officially installed a Strat Texas Special into your Tele's neck position?

If so, please give details! How does it sound on its own, with the middle pup, and in relation to the bridge pup?

The possibility of combining my love for Teles and my love for TS pups has me overflowing with curiousity!

[Butch Snyder]

I really like the TS Strat pickup in the neck of my Nashville B-Bender Tele. It already had one in the middle. I ordered a pickguard from Warmoth that was routed for a Strat pickup in the middle and neck positions. Here's something funny though...

The Warmoth pickguard is routed differently than my Nashville pickguard. The Nashville pickguard is routed with the middle Strat pickup to be directly in between the neck and bridge pickups. The Warmoth pickguard routes like a Strat pickguard; i.e., the distance between the neck and middle positions is the same as on a Strat. This actually puts the middle pickup about a 1/4" closer to the bridge pickup. The result-

Much better quack all the way around. I have an Ernie Ball/Music Man Albert Lee model guitar that I just bought. Honestly, it's been getting the bulk if not all of the playing time right now. It's just a really fantastic guitar. It's loaded with Duncan APS-2's (Alnico II Pro Flats). The neck and bridge pickups have a little metal strip underneath them. The neck pickup is full, punchy, and smooth. The bridge pickup sounds almost like a Duncan APTL-1 (Alnico II Pro Tele bridge pickup); no joke...

I am looking for a better baseplate for the bridge pickup of my Albert Lee guitar. That, I believe, will make it sound even better.

[pc]

Thanks for the reply Butch, and you answered another age-old question of mine re pup distances. I thought there was something slightly different b/w the Nashville and a Strat, but it's just so hard to tell visually with the Tele bridge plate being as it is.

Anyway, great info.