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Thread: Tone of the earliest Teles

  1. #1
    Forum Member Doc W's Avatar
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    Tone of the earliest Teles

    When I was but a young teen in the mid 60s, I heard more than a few times that the neck pickup on a Tele (perhaps the earliest ones) was not really usable. It supposedly had a very muffled and bass tone that was supposed to allow a guitarist to imitate a bass. I also heard that this was the case until at least the mid 60s. I never played a Tele in those years so I have no idea. But I do recall hearing this more than a few times.

    Can anyone confirm or deny this? I am very curious.
    "The beauty and profundity of God is more real than any mere calculation."

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    Forum Member chuckocaster's Avatar
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    Re: Tone of the earliest Teles

    They used to wire the neck pickup so it was soloed with the tone rolled all the way down... Fender has always done some weird things. It’s not a very useable tone. I forget all the specifics and timeline, but I think late 50’s they started wiring them as what we use the 3 way for now. I’m pretty sure Pre 55 it was either/or and then neck ran full through a 0.047 cap. Ridiculous!
    "don't worry, i'm a professional!"

  3. #3
    Forum Member Don's Avatar
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    Re: Tone of the earliest Teles

    It's true. When I assembled my Tele clone I initially used the very earliest Broadcaster wiring scheme. There was no tone control at all! I had the Bridge pickup with a pot to blend in the neck pickup and volume control, the neck pickup with just a volume control and the neck pickup with the dull tone cap fully engaged and a volume control.

    I modified this slightly. I took out the 15k resistor that prevented the neck pickup from blending in 100% with the bridge pickup and moved it in series with the neck pickup's tone cap which made it sound like the neck pickup had it's tone set about halfway down.

    It sounded good, but I eventually changed it to the post 1967 wiring. It's more usable.

    To be continued...

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    Forum Member Don's Avatar
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    Re: Tone of the earliest Teles

    As I was saying...

    Fender reissue Teles used the next version of the wiring scheme (1952-1967 wiring) where they had the bridge pickup alone with volume and tone controls, the neck pickup alone with volume and tone controls and the neck pickup alone with a preset bassy sound and a volume control. Those guitars came with parts to change the to modern wiring.

  5. #5
    Forum Member Don's Avatar
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    Re: Tone of the earliest Teles

    Quote Originally Posted by chuckocaster View Post
    I forget all the specifics and timeline, but I think late 50’s they started wiring them as what we use the 3 way for now.
    I'm pretty sure it was 1967 Chuck! Crazy, for sure!!!

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    Forum Member chuckocaster's Avatar
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    Re: Tone of the earliest Teles

    Right on DON! I knew someone would know the specifics, I could only remember that for a bunch of years they did some goofy stuff. I still wire my Esquires like LP Jr’s, but one day I’m gonna sit down and figure out how to wire it up bridge, faux combo, cocked wah. I’ve done a little experimenting but not enough to pull that off.

    If you’re looking for something interesting to do with a standard 2 pup Tele, take a look at the 5 way scheme Bill Lawrence came up with! It’s pretty awesome!! It gives you the 3 standard Tele sounds we’re used to, plus you get 2 faux Strat tones. It’s really neat and unobtrusive.
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  7. #7
    Forum Member Doc W's Avatar
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    Re: Tone of the earliest Teles

    Phew. So I am not nuts and this was not a hallucination. The older one gets, the harder it is to tell the difference.

    Thanks guys.
    "The beauty and profundity of God is more real than any mere calculation."

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    Forum Member DanTheBluesMan's Avatar
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    Re: Tone of the earliest Teles

    Quote Originally Posted by chuckocaster View Post
    Right on DON! I knew someone would know the specifics, I could only remember that for a bunch of years they did some goofy stuff. I still wire my Esquires like LP Jr’s, but one day I’m gonna sit down and figure out how to wire it up bridge, faux combo, cocked wah. I’ve done a little experimenting but not enough to pull that off.

    If you’re looking for something interesting to do with a standard 2 pup Tele, take a look at the 5 way scheme Bill Lawrence came up with! It’s pretty awesome!! It gives you the 3 standard Tele sounds we’re used to, plus you get 2 faux Strat tones. It’s really neat and unobtrusive.
    I believe you are describing the Mike Eldred mod, frequently found on custom shop Esquires. I had that on my Esquire build and liked it a lot

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    Forum Member chuckocaster's Avatar
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    Re: Tone of the earliest Teles

    I tried his mod and thought it was nice. It’s kinda close, but not quite the sound I’m looking for. I’m thinking about lifting a couple ideas from the Lawrence 5 way setup and adjusting the values of a couple parts.
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    Forum Member buckaroo's Avatar
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    Re: Tone of the earliest Teles

    The Achilles heel of the Tele, for some players, has always been the neck pickup, the 3 saddle bridge intonation and the throw direction of the pickup selector switch and it's plastic tip shape. There is an art to working around those relative shortcomings. As I have gotten older and somewhat less interested in Stratocasters (I was hopelessly addicted to Strats for decades...great guitars), I have evolved to appreciate and embrace the simple elegance of the Telecaster design. There is a joy in learning to working around the Achilles heel factors and making the guitar achieve the sonic outcomes desired. Just like in the old days before the Strat was born and nobody knew anything else but the Telecaster... that is the key to approaching a Telecaster IMO. Play it like you never have known about Stratocasters.

    Buck

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    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: Tone of the earliest Teles

    " Play it like you never have known about Stratocasters."

    Best advice!
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

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    Re: Tone of the earliest Teles

    Or, you could have the best of both!


  13. #13
    Forum Member Don's Avatar
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    Re: Tone of the earliest Teles

    Quote Originally Posted by buckaroo View Post
    The Achilles heel of the Tele, for some players, has always been the neck pickup...
    I love the Tele's neck pickup. I prefer it over a Strat's neck pickup. I like the fact that it's warm and jazzy and sounds nothing like the bridge pickup, then when it's combined with the bridge pickup it's nice and "round" sounding.


    Quote Originally Posted by buckaroo View Post
    ...throw direction of the pickup selector switch and it's plastic tip shape.
    I put a repro Broadcaster switchtip on my guitar- the type that's hollow in the tip. I grab the edge of the cutout with the tip of my pinky. Everyone should try one of these.


    Quote Originally Posted by buckaroo View Post
    As I have gotten older and somewhat less interested in Stratocasters (I was hopelessly addicted to Strats for decades...great guitars), I have evolved to appreciate and embrace the simple elegance of the Telecaster design. There is a joy in learning to working around the Achilles heel factors and making the guitar achieve the sonic outcomes desired. Just like in the old days before the Strat was born and nobody knew anything else but the Telecaster... that is the key to approaching a Telecaster IMO. Play it like you never have known about Stratocasters.

    Buck
    Me too!I played Strats almost exclusively for many years. Then I bought a tweed Deluxe clone and fell in love with my Tele. Then I fell in love with it with every amp. That guitar has been my #1 for years. I use it for almost everything. I love the simplicity- I don't even want a 4-way switch on mine. I use a Strat only when I need "Strat" sounds.

  14. #14
    Forum Member DanTheBluesMan's Avatar
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    Re: Tone of the earliest Teles

    Quote Originally Posted by Don View Post

    I put a repro Broadcaster switchtip on my guitar- the type that's hollow in the tip. I grab the edge of the cutout with the tip of my pinky. Everyone should try one of these.
    tell me more about these, please

  15. #15
    Forum Member Don's Avatar
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    Re: Tone of the earliest Teles

    Quote Originally Posted by DanTheBluesMan View Post
    tell me more about these, please
    There was a time when these tips were hard to get. Fender sells them now.
    https://shop.fender.com/en-US/parts/knobs-kits-and-pickup-covers/pure-vintage-original-telecaster-switch-tip/0093602049.html


  16. #16
    Forum Member buckaroo's Avatar
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    Re: Tone of the earliest Teles

    Quote Originally Posted by Don View Post
    I love the Tele's neck pickup. I prefer it over a Strat's neck pickup. I like the fact that it's warm and jazzy and sounds nothing like the bridge pickup, then when it's combined with the bridge pickup it's nice and "round" sounding.




    I put a repro Broadcaster switchtip on my guitar- the type that's hollow in the tip. I grab the edge of the cutout with the tip of my pinky. Everyone should try one of these.




    Me too!I played Strats almost exclusively for many years. Then I bought a tweed Deluxe clone and fell in love with my Tele. Then I fell in love with it with every amp. That guitar has been my #1 for years. I use it for almost everything. I love the simplicity- I don't even want a 4-way switch on mine. I use a Strat only when I need "Strat" sounds.
    Nice replies Perfecto. Thank you for the comments. I too love the barrel switch tip of the early Tele years. Of course all guitars have an Achille's heel relative to some other model, so my tale of the Tele's Achille's heels are relative to all our own unique perceptions. The Tele is a magnificent musical instrument. (And I also love my Le Pauls).

    BTW, I have two Schott jackets, but neither a true Perfecto model. Mine are Cafe Racers. I would love to get a Perfecto though...

  17. #17
    Forum Member Don's Avatar
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    Re: Tone of the earliest Teles

    Quote Originally Posted by buckaroo View Post
    Of course all guitars have an Achille's heel relative to some other model, so my tale of the Tele's Achille's heels are relative to all our own unique perceptions.
    I agree- one man's warm neck pickup is another man's muddy neck pickup.

    Quote Originally Posted by buckaroo View Post
    BTW, I have two Schott jackets, but neither a true Perfecto model. Mine are Cafe Racers. I would love to get a Perfecto though...
    My Perfecto was given to me by Shott. I had an old (1960s?) brown One Star that was in great shape but no longer fit. They wanted it for their collection and asked if I'd consider donating it in exchange for any jacket I wanted so I selected a 118 Perfecto and a snap on fur collar.

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