Poplar Just Doesn't Cut It...

**Butch Snyder** · 06-30-2003, 06:27 AM

While I love the feel and look of my (MIA) Nashville B-Bender Tele, I just cannot get it to sound as good as I would like. The body is poplar. I can't figure out why Fender would make one of their highest line production guitars out of poplar instead of ash; at least alder...

I have tried everything I know; and before everybody says, "Tone is in the hands." I know how to play. Not to sound pompous by any means at all so please don't take me for that. I have a Ernie Ball/Music Man Albert Lee model guitar that just smokes the Tele as far as tone goes. They have the same neck and middle pickups. I have a stock Duncan APS-2 in the bridge but I have put a full-size copper-plated steel baseplate underneath the bridge pickup. The guitar is just fantastic. It's also premium swamp ash. I have replaced pickup after pickup after pickup in the Tele. The best one I have used so far is the Duncan Jerry Donahue pickup. That's what's in there now. I would trade or sell the Tele in a heartbeat if it weren't for one thing - the B-Bender. I really use it. I also like the Parson/Green bender. I don't like the Hipshots and I don't like the Glaser because I don't like my strap to be down on the neck heel.

Many people have old me to put a bender in the Albert Lee guitar. It sounds so good now and it has such a small body that I'm afraid that if I remove the wood I'll have a tone degradation that I won't like. I just don't know what to do with this Telecaster. I would really appreciate some thoughts here.

**Phil Jacoby** · 06-30-2003, 06:36 AM

Butch,
A good repairperson may be able to use the existing body as a template for the routs and install and put the bender in another candidate.
Wood choice depends a lot on application. I don't care much for poplar or basswood for F style instruments. personally. Some folks seem to really like it (Ken Parker?).
Best,
Phil

**Butch Snyder** · 06-30-2003, 06:46 AM

I could get a nice ash body from Warmoth and have my tech route it and install the bender. I don't know how much he would charge. My guess would be a good bit...

**jim in texas** · 06-30-2003, 07:00 AM

Butch.........

could it just be that particular guitar?

**Butch Snyder** · 06-30-2003, 07:12 AM

I have been told my more than a few people that it could very well be a bad piece of wood...

**Fendercrazy** · 06-30-2003, 09:07 AM

Originally posted by Butch Snyder
I could get a nice ash body from Warmoth and have my tech route it and install the bender. I don't know how much he would charge. My guess would be a good bit...

I think Warmoth will do a B-Bender Tele body.

**Butch Snyder** · 06-30-2003, 09:11 AM

I'm going to call Warmoth and get a quote for a Tele body in swamp ash with a route for a Parsons/Green B-Bender as well as a universal pickup route.

**Butch Snyder** · 06-30-2003, 09:19 AM

No dice on Warmoth doing to bender route. I'd have to do it myself. The quote I got was for a solid swamp ash Tele body painted black.

$320.00

**Trem-O-Loaded** · 06-30-2003, 09:45 AM

Butch,you could play a fuckin' railroad tie strung with barbed wire and it would sound better than my punk ass!

**Butch Snyder** · 06-30-2003, 09:54 AM

Originally posted by Trem-O-Loaded
Butch,you could play a fuckin' railroad tie strung with barbed wire and it would sound better than my punk ass!

:LC :LC :LC

Trem-O-Loaded, you just made me almost spit my lunch up I laughed so hard!

Thanks,

**Trem-O-Loaded** · 06-30-2003, 10:35 AM

**Fendercrazy** · 06-30-2003, 11:46 AM

Originally posted by Butch Snyder
No dice on Warmoth doing to bender route. I'd have to do it myself. The quote I got was for a solid swamp ash Tele body painted black.

$320.00

I remember where I saw them now. WD will do them. I'll e-mail you the info.

Greg

**Butch Snyder** · 06-30-2003, 12:04 PM

I found a guy over at the TDPRI who is making brass saddles for Am Std Teles. Here's a couple of pics. I also talked with Joe Barden about his vintage style bridge he's making. He said that he's making one for the Am Std 3-screw mount bridges and it should be available in a couple of months.

For $30.00, this would be a good fix until the Barden bridge is available.

**Marcondo** · 06-30-2003, 12:51 PM

Most of the well known builders only use poplar for prototypes.

Personally I've never had a good sounding poplar or basswood Tele. Its either alder or ash for me.

The basswood lacked that quick attack and snap you get with ash and the poplar just sounded dull and lifeless to me anyway.

**nickvig** · 06-30-2003, 01:00 PM

Butch,

FWIW, I've been looking into this also.

You're looking at about $800 for Bill Parsons to install a B-bender for you. If I were you, and you like the neck on your tele, I'd buy a Warmoth swamp ash body, and have Bill do the work for you. Nothing better than the man who invented the stuff to take care of you!

:tw59

**Butch Snyder** · 06-30-2003, 01:01 PM

I thought it was Gene Parsons...

**Marcondo** · 06-30-2003, 01:40 PM

Butch are you 100% sure its poplar?

The specs on the MIM Nashvilles say its Alder. If the MIM's are Alder I cant see the more expensive MIA ones being poplar?

**Butch Snyder** · 06-30-2003, 01:42 PM

The website says poplar. When I forst bought it I was flabbergastered!! I even called Fender CS to check. Yep, MIA Nashville Teles are poplar.

**Fendercrazy** · 06-30-2003, 01:50 PM

Butch, you got mail

Greg

**Butch Snyder** · 06-30-2003, 01:53 PM

That's really great Greg; but I have decided to put it up for sale and get something else. I've got a line on a 2002 Lentz Broadcaster...

**Marcondo** · 06-30-2003, 01:58 PM

Thats weird Musicians Friend was blowing out Nashville Teles MIM's for $340 with Alder bodies. No B Bender tho.

Butch I noticed yours is a 2 pickup model and all the other Nashville ones I've seen are 3 pickup models???

**Butch Snyder** · 06-30-2003, 02:04 PM

Originally posted by Marcondo
Thats weird Musicians Friend was blowing out Nashville Teles MIM's for $340 with Alder bodies. No B Bender tho.

Butch I noticed yours is a 2 pickup model and all the other Nashville ones I've seen are 3 pickup models???

I just went through this with a guy from the TDPRI. He thought I had an MIM Deluxe NAshville Tele that's alder. Nope, I have a 2001 American Nashville B-Bender Telecaster. It has (stock) American Standard Tele pickups (neck and bridge) and a Texas Special Strat pickup in the middle. I bought a Warmoth pickguard to house a Strat pickup in the neck. I put a Texas Special Strat pickup in there.

Here ya go...

Stock

modded

Cheers,

**Tonedrip** · 06-30-2003, 04:00 PM

Nice looking Tele ! It's a shame you are not getting the tones you
wish for. I'm sure there is a right kind of pup marrage for the Poplar body. However , requires trial and error.

For what it's worth my Jimmie Vaughn strat is poplar with the tex-mex pickups ,and I really dig the tone. There is a warm punch to that poplar body. Although it does not cover vintage bell tones (I have a 56 relic for those),it has it's own Texas growl so to speak.

Anyway good luck in your search. I don't think you can go wrong with Ash or Alder depending on your 'twang' requirement.

**SteveB334** · 06-30-2003, 05:18 PM

not that it matters if the guitar doesn't have the tone it doesn't have the tone, but that was supposed to be alder bodied. I thought the last poplar bodied MIA guitar was from the early to mid 90's, Who at fender verified this for ya, I would be very pissed to say the least.

**Telecaster** · 06-30-2003, 05:49 PM

I have had prior Emails with Butch and had told him that I own a Nashville B Bender Guitar. I was concerned about the poplar body also. My local Fender dealer called Fender for me and asked about the body wood. They had told him that they used alder on the 3 tone sunburst ones. That is why I ordered a sunburst one. When I got it and did some inspecting, I thought that it was poplar with a alder veneer. Well, after all the talk going on with the poplar vs alder debate I decided to open up my Nashville B-Bender and take a look. I removed the B-Bender unit and scraped away the finish in the route cavity. It is alder! I have vast experience with different woods and the body wood is way to white to be poplar. Poplar has a slight green tint to it. Being a trim carpenter by trade I have used poplar quite a bit and am familiar with the charecteristics of it. I think that the removal of all that wood has something to do with the tone although ever since I changed the saddles i couldn't be happier.

**Marcondo** · 06-30-2003, 06:19 PM

American Nashville B-Bender Tele, maple (w/case)
MODEL NAME American Nashville “B-Bender” Telecaster
MODEL NUMBER 011-8342-(Color#)
SERIES Hot Rodded American Series
COLORS
New!
[Fender Color Chart]
(700)* 3-Color Sunburst *add $50.00,
(706) Black,
(Polyurethane Finish)
New! [Fender Color Chart]

BODY Poplar
NECK Maple, Modern “C” Shape,
(Satin Polyurethane Finish)
MACHINE HEADS Fender/Schaller Deluxe Staggered Cast/Sealed Tuning Machines
FINGERBOARD Maple, 9.5” Radius (241 mm)
NO. OF FRETS 22 Medium Jumbo Frets
PICKUPS 2 American Tele Single-Coil Pickups (Neck and Bridge),
1 Texas Special Strat Single-Coil Pickup (Middle)
CONTROLS Master Volume, Master Tone
BRIDGE American Tele with 6 Stainless Steel Saddles
PICKUP SWITCHING 5-Position Blade, Special “Strat-o-Tele” Switching: Position 1. Bridge Pickup
Position 2. Bridge and Middle Pickup
Position 3. Bridge and Neck Pickup
Position 4. Middle and Neck Pickup
Position 5. Neck Pickup
HARDWARE Chrome
STRINGS Fender Super 250R, Nickel Plated Steel,
Gauges: (.010, .013, .017, .026, .036, .046),
p/n 073-0250-006
CASE Standard Molded Case
PICKGUARD 4-Ply White Pearloid
SCALE LENGTH 25.5” (648 mm)
WIDTH AT NUT 1.6875” (43 mm)
UNIQUE FEATURES Original Tele Body Shape with Sharper Body Radius,
Rolled Fingerboard Edges,
Custom Fender/Parsons/Green B-Bender System,
Fender/Schaller Straplock Strap Buttons
ACCESSORIES Standard Molded Case
INTRODUCED 6/2000

The SB $50 upcharge gets you the alder

**SteveB334** · 07-01-2003, 02:58 AM

Wow I really can't believe it, I really haven't come across a poplar guitar that I liked. I should check my fat tele, I thought it was alder, now you guys got me thinking. This is also a '01.

**Butch Snyder** · 07-01-2003, 05:14 AM

The Fat Teles are alder.

**GuitarDean** · 07-01-2003, 09:49 AM

Can I have it if it don't sell???

LOL

**Butch Snyder** · 07-01-2003, 10:02 AM

Hey Dean,

I was born in the dark; but it wasn't last night...

:nelson :LC

**GuitarDean** · 07-01-2003, 01:32 PM

I can't help it, I'm a wishful individule!

**SteveB334** · 07-01-2003, 01:32 PM

Originally posted by Butch Snyder
The Fat Teles are alder.

Thanks Butch, not that it really mattered b/c it sounds great. I actually have those saddles on my fat tele from our forum member "telecaster". They are great. Look for the thread at the bottom of the page from me called "Big news..."
thanks again

Steve

**Butch Snyder** · 07-02-2003, 05:10 AM

I have those same saddles coming. Telecaster is sending me some as well.

**SteveB334** · 07-02-2003, 02:22 PM

Originally posted by Butch Snyder
I have those same saddles coming. Telecaster is sending me some as well.

Great I know you'll love 'em. Let us know what u think when u do get them.

Thread: Poplar Just Doesn't Cut It...

Thread Tools

Poplar Just Doesn't Cut It...

Butch and Blues20

Here are the specs it is poplar

Posting Permissions