I'm finally gonna get to try a 50's classic

[walshb]

I sorta kinda accidentally won an ebay auction last night, somehow I managed to bid with one second left and all the other bidders were slow on the trigger. I mean, I gave them a whole second to outbid me! :tw59
$362 plus shipping, it's white blonde. I don't even know if I'll like the neck and don't know if I'll keep the guitar. But I really wanted to try one a few weeks ago when I was shopping, and couldn't find any in Nashville. So....this is my first ebay guitar purchase. I guess I'm a but I know I can get most of my $$$ back if I decide I don't like the guitar.
What kind of mods if any should I try? I kinda want to try brass saddles and I don't think this guitar has them. Otherwise are they good to go, stock?

[dafack01]

I didn't like the pickups. They were fairly weak in the mids. Other than that, I like mine. Admittedly, though, this is only holding the place of a USA Custom Tele for a while. I want Butterscotch Blonde. I can't afford one right now. The only reason I have it now is because I had a guitar for trade. I wouldn'tve gotten as much money for it if I had sold it over Ebay most likely.

It's a great guitar for the money. The fretwork isn't as tidy as on my Muddy Waters Tele, but tonewise it beat a 52RI I was fooling around with hands down unplugged.

[Marcondo]

All you really need to change is the bridge pickup. The steel saddles give a little more twang than brass.

One of the best guitars you can buy for the $$ is the 50's Classic.

[walshb]

Marcondo I've noticed you have a lot of praise about the 50's classic, you are probably one of the reasons I wanted to try one so bad. I'm glad you like yours (and I hope I like mine), but you mention several times that the bridge pickup needs to be changed.
What did you go to, and why if you don't mind me asking? And what type of music do you play, country or rock or blues or ??? Just curious.

[Tele-Bob]

walshb, just to offer a different perspective, if at all possible, try to get a Tele that you like exactly the way it is. When you buy a guitar with the intention of changing it as soon as you get it home, you really don't know what you're taking home. Different p'ups react differently in different guitars. In some cases, the Fender '52 p'ups are killer, but in other guitars, the Kinmans are the ticket. There's just no way of knowing in advance. Very often, I have ended up compromising and settling for something that was OK but not what I REALLY wanted. That's just me. There are many people, (you might be one of them), who enjoy tinkering and swapping out p'ups as a way of life. That's cool. Since I don't like to mod gear much, I try to get something that is as close to perfect for me, as I can. It usually ends up costing me a little more money initially, but I find that I save much more in the long run because I'm not buying new p'up sets, tuners, bridge plates, saddles, blah blah blah, which leaves me more time to play the guitar. This is just my own perspective. Besides, I love the thrill of the hunt. Playing lots and lots of Teles to first develop my "sonic pallette" for the Tele and then learning form that what it is I'm really looking for in a Tele. The other added benefit to long-term shopping is that Post Gas Depression is a non-issue. Any time I have made a snap decision, (maybe my new Les Paul), I have suffered Post Gas Depression. I'll report on the Les Paul in a couple weeks. Good luck Tele-shopping!

[walshb]

Thanks for all the suggestions TB. I respect your opinion and I'm glad you chimed in here.
I'm still at the point where I don't really know what I want in a tele. I don't get out shopping much, Nashville is an hour away. I played a bunch of tele's that day I went and bought the ASe. But I really wanted to try a Muddy Waters and a 50's classic, I just couldn't find any. Part of the reason was price, I admit. They're a couple hundred or so less than the ASe.

I have no idea whether or not I'll like this one, but it has features I want to 'try' to get used to, especially the 7.25" radius. I played LP's for so long that the first time I tried a strat, it was unplayable. I eventually had to buy one and learn to play on it. (Glad I did!) I also like the 3 saddle look better than the 6 saddles on my current tele.

I'm not into swapping pickups, I did that only once, on a Les Paul back in the 70's and it didn't really make the guitar any better, probably devalued it more than anything. I agree, there's no way of knowing until you install the new pups. But from what I've read, this particular guitar might possibly be a candidate for a bridge pickup swap, even though I don't know what to go with.

The classic may or may not be a keeper, I won't know until I play it for awhile. But I do know that I'll learn something from it, and because I got it so cheap, I won't lose a bunch if I decide to sell it later; assuming I don't sink too much into mods, that is.

Looking forward to the review of your LP!

[SteveB334]

Congrats Bro I used to have one in black that I got from Larry at musicone workshop. It was great!!

[Marcondo]

I play all kinds of music. I like blues the best. No reason to change the pickup as soon as you get it play it a couple months see how you like it. I know lots of guys that left their 50's Classics stock.

If you like the sound of Don Rich you will like the stock 50's Classic bridge pickup. Its real thin and twangy.

[walshb]

The 50's classic showed up Monday, but I didn't get to see it till today because I was out of town all week. Crap!
It arrived in good shape and there were no surprises. It needed a setup, the A string was much lower than the others. But now that I've done some adjusting, it plays really nice. I love the neck, and the fretwork is very well done.

I'm not sure about the pickups at this point, the bridge is brighter than my ASe pups (no surprise there) but sounds ok. The neck is smoother sounding than the ASe, but not as clean. Maybe it needs adjusting (I hope). Right now I'd have to say both pups in the ASe sound better, but I've only played the classic for about an hour so far. The single ply white p/g has got to go! Gonna start looking for a darker color to try out.

I didn't think I'd ever buy a guitar on ebay, but I'm pretty happy with the results, for the price I paid.

[Sven]

That's why so many people like Muddy Waters teles...no mods are necessary, just a good setup.

[walshb]

Sven, I know, I know! :tw59
Try to find one though. Stores told me they could 'special order' one. Same with the 50's classic.
Are they just not manufacturing enough of these guitars?

[Froggy]

Originally posted by Sven
That's why so many people like Muddy Waters teles...no mods are necessary, just a good setup.

Thats why i got mine...haven't changed a thing except for strings.
They are hard to find at dealers on the street,not sure why.

[Marcondo]

The only real difference in the MW and 50's Classic is the MW has a rosewood 9.5 radius neck and the 50's Classic has all maple 7.25 radius vintage frets the MW has med jumbo frets.

Other than the neck and bridge pickup they are identical all the rest of the parts are the same. The MW does have amp knobs 50's Classic domed knobs.

All the artist series of Fenders that are MIM are now the same price $785 retail. The MW Tele used to be $900 retail. SO what this means when the 2004 models of the MW hit the streets they will be priced at $550. This makes the MW an even better deal!!

[SteveB334]

Originally posted by Marcondo
The only real difference in the MW and 50's Classic is the MW has a rosewood 9.5 radius neck and the 50's Classic has all maple 7.25 radius vintage frets the MW has med jumbo frets.

Other than the neck and bridge pickup they are identical all the rest of the parts are the same. The MW does have amp knobs 50's Classic domed knobs.

All the artist series of Fenders that are MIM are now the same price $785 retail. The MW Tele used to be $700 retail. SO what this means when the 2004 models of the MW hit the streets they will be priced at $550. This makes the MW an even better deal!!

Mark I think the staggered pups of the muddy makes a difference.
:tw59
Both guitars are still great buys

[walshb]

The MW is only a good deal if you can find one! Dammit!



This 50's classic is growing on me though. I bought a black p/g on ebay today, that'll liven it up a little.

[Tele-Bob]

walshb, I have a nice Tele setting on my Rivera that wroks real well and is quite differnt that how I set up for my Strat. If you're having trouble dialing the Tele sound and want a little help, let me know. I'll post the settings I like to use. Tell me what sound you're looking for and we'll have a go. You and I seem to have similar taste in our tones. We definitely have identical taste in our amps!

[walshb]

Once again, thanks TB! I like the deluxe settings so well for my strat, I'm afraid to change them!

But if you wanna go ahead and post some tele settings I sure wouldn't be opposed to trying them out! You seem to have a way of getting what you want out of the chubster. As you know I'm really new to teles; I don't really have a sound I'm going for though. I'd really like to see your favorite setting when you have time.

[SteveB334]

Originally posted by Marcondo
The only real difference in the MW and 50's Classic is the MW has a rosewood 9.5 radius neck and the 50's Classic has all maple 7.25 radius vintage frets the MW has med jumbo frets.

Other than the neck and bridge pickup they are identical all the rest of the parts are the same. The MW does have amp knobs 50's Classic domed knobs.

All the artist series of Fenders that are MIM are now the same price $785 retail. The MW Tele used to be $900 retail. SO what this means when the 2004 models of the MW hit the streets they will be priced at $550. This makes the MW an even better deal!!

Mark you had me curious as to the bridge pup in my muddy. It can't be the same as the 50's classic. I opened up my tele and noticed that it had a brass bridge plate which the 50's classic definitely does not. Do they both have the same model #'s?

[Marcondo]

The bridge pickup in the MW is a special wound unit specfic to only that model. It should have staggard poles copper baseplate and read around 7.2-7.4k ohms. Its basicly the same pickup as the 52ri uses but has staggard poles.

The 50's Classic is flat poles no baseplate and is around 7.0-7.2k ohms.

The 60's Classic has the same pickup as the 50's Classic but its got staggard poles too no baseplate.

Whats weird is Fender lists the exact same part number for the 50's and 60's Classic pups but they are not the same pickup.

The same pickups used in the 50's Classic are also used in the HWY1 Teles.