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I'm spinning this off from the Joe Pass/ES-175 thread.
Design the Fender Tele Jazz model!
Rather than imagining a sky's-the-limit custom shop model, I'm deliberately choosing a MIM price point, and imagining it could actually sell a few! Someone else may want to imagine the fancier MIA model.
FMIC already has 86 Telecaster models (21 Squier, 54 Fender, 11 Custom Shop), so a new Tele has to have a few unique things to make it stand out. (I'm starting with Mr Beaumont's suggestions.)
* mahogany Thinline, no f-hole and normal pickguard and control plate. I'll also add lightweight. Some talk on TDPRI about the densest wood being set aside for thinlines. Nevertheless, it should not be a neck diver.
* 24.75" scale. I'd prefer the 25.5" scale, but point taken about a more mellow tone. This will also allow the model to stand out. Are there any current Fender Tele's with this scale? (I think there is one Squier.)
* Rosewood fretboard. I'd love ebony if it doesn't bump the price up too much.
* 1 3/4" nut, and a fairly chunky neck.
* Colours? I don't know, but a tortoise shell pickguard is a natural.
* Single neck HB, like a SD Seth Lover. Again, I prefer single coils, but I think a HB would prove more popular. Fender should also give it a *decent* HB. They've got a bad track record with their HB models. Volume and tone controls. Don't know what they'll do with a switch - omit?
* Strat-tyle stop bridge. That boxed steel Tele bridge has got to go.
* no fancy cosmetics like binding or a flamed top. Save that for the deluxe model.
I think I may be designing an entrance level Soloway.
What's your take? [Yes, any Tele is great for Jazz, but I thought it would be fun to start from scratch.]
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04-04-2013 05:57 PM
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All what you said, except that for me, a single coil, something like the Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro, or maybe a CC type pup, would be a must. Perhaps it could even be without a bridge pickup: I don't know how much I'd use it (it's a jazz Tele, right?) and that would certainly set it apart as well as keep the cost lower, but maybe it's too radical...
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Make the body a "thickline".....that is either double the thickness or at least increase it by half what it is.....and still be 5lb. Don't care if it has F holes or not but it must have an acoustic volume at least double the 5lb Tele Thinline that I just sold........cos it had NO body tone.
That may get rid of the 100% electric front pickup tone that Tele's have now and add another organic dimension to the sound.
Agree with Eddie about the single coil. One pickup only (what's the rear pickup for again?)
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How about the Lindy Fralin 'Unbucker' with a tone shaper that has a switch to change pots from 250k to 500k!
ToneShaper for Tele, Neck Humbucker
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I am only going to say this once.
If it doesn't have a tele neck pick up and a hard tail bridge is not a telecaster
As nice as they are, no humbuckers!
Maybe the bridge pick up could be used just as a dummy coil without any magnets
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+lots
Originally Posted by SamBooka
No reason to f--k with a classic.
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It ain't a tele . . buts it's definitely jazz . . . .
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This would still be unique to the tele line while using Fender components of other models that already exist or have existed:
Electronics - Tele Fishman acoustic bridge, neck only tele PU, vol/tone/piezo vol,
Body - Mahogany chambered or with F-holes
Fretboard - Fender never does ebony, so rosewood fretboard on maple would be my choice.
Neck - Something I can get my thumb around, not a thick "V" hunk of tree stump like some strats,
Tele headstock
Traditional tele knobs and pickguard. I hate the huge, ugly Tele Custom pickguard and 70's knobs
Dark finish to conjure up darker tones in the listener's head
Damn, now I want one.Last edited by woyvel; 04-04-2013 at 09:33 PM.
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Too me a jazz tone means air, lot of air inside the guitar's body, air around the notes, that light, snappy feel yet mellow, smoky tone that only a real archtop can give. I know, Ted Greene, Ed Bickert.... still...
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Oh I forgot.
Must have 12" fret board radius.
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I had a Custom Shop all mahogany bodied Thinline Strat with an f-hole , so the body was chambered or semi-hollow.
It had the Texas Special p/ups.
Not considering the p/ups, this guitar did not have a "jazz" vibe to it. It had a Stratocaster vibe, and that was it.
I'm just not a fan of the tone that even the famous TG and EB get on Telecasters. What's the big deal? Imagine how rich they would sound on archtops. They just sound like something is missing, like "air" and resonance from a .... body ... like maybe made of wood.
Solid bodies, to me, sound like planks. I sold my last Les Paul because I missed the semi-hollow sound I need. I still have a Tele, and Strats, but not for jazz!
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That "dream jazz tele" can pretty much be put together from Warmoth parts. Not quite at the pricepoint of a MIM tele but significantly less than a custom shop and the quality is great. Requires minimal skills to put together.
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I agree on a partscaster. Warmoth is the best route for that. If you don't want to put it together yourself take it to a luthier, but it's not that hard building a kit and it's a highly rewarding experience.
I agree about chambered mahogany, though I favor basswood or even maple for this with a maple or spruce top. I would put a maple or spruce cover on mahogany too.
You can choose a 24 3/4" conversion neck in a wide variety of wood choices and neck profiles from Warmoth and you'll love the compound radius. You will never look back for standard 12" fretboards again. Trust me. I was a 12" junkie before I had compounds. But they offer a 12" option anyway.
About pickups, 100% agree. Always single coils for me. I left humbuckers behind many years ago. Lollar CCs are killer as well as the Fralin Twangmasters. And don't skip the many noiseless Bill Lawrence/Wilde options. They're just terrific. Check his Custom series or simply the Microcoils if you're after the best true Tele sound available.
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For me it is my ash thinline telecaster with a rosewood board. They always have a maple neck so I had to replace the neck of mine with another period neck. No other changes necessary, it is a classic design and great as it is. It would be easy to find or rebuild as a MIJ/MIM/partscaster too
Maybe Id love to have (or at least try) a CC or HB in the neck. But I am not routing a 40+ year old guitar. If anyone would know of a good tele neck sized humbucker though.... probably does not exist because of the smaller size .... ???
I'd prefer the 25.5" scale, too. And the Tele bridge has got to STAY the three-barrel bridge is a major plus to me in terms of feel and sound.
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Hasn't stopped Fender.... Originally Posted by rpguitar
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How about a Bill Lawrence Twin Blade L45s Originally Posted by fws6
Here's a link.....Wilde Bill's Twin Blades You will have to do some fiddling with the scratch plate though, or buy a replacement.
There's another site that makes these pickups but this is Mr Lawrences' fully sanctioned family run business. Here's the home page.....Home Page
You have lots of info there on wiring his Telecaster pickups to a 5 way switch.....Tele 5 Way Photo by wildepickups | Photobucket
I have an original L250 stacked humbucker in me ole' strat.
I always find myself on that pickup, good clear tone and a high output too! Mellow to crunch very easily.
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>How about a Bill Lawrence Twin Blade
But those are strat sized, so still would be too big for the Tele neck route ?
If there were a similar in tele shape Id love to try. My neck PU was rewound so soldering doesnt bother me but I would not like to route the neck cavity or guard
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Light hollow-body Tele with Seymour Duncan APH-1 alnico II humbucker at the neck.
This is a good direction I think.
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Go to the home page, click the order link and send them an email. I'm sure they could wind you a Tele neck sized twin blade. They pride themselves on customer service. Go on, try, what you got to lose? Originally Posted by fws6
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Bill Lawrence (Wilde) L-280TN/L-290TL. Originally Posted by fws6
Wilde Bill's NF Singles
I have these stacked humbuckers in my Hamer 'Tele'.
Very versatile/no noise/attractively priced; standard Tele size.
Neck pickup is very clear - good jazz tone with tone rolled off a bit (I have 300k CTS pots and a .022 mf cap).
Bridge pickup has surprising amount of twang and is well matched with neck pickup in middle position.
(Note: I find that calling them is generally more effective than emailing them. Bill's wife Becky, who usually answers the phone, is very knowlegable.)Last edited by Tom Karol; 04-05-2013 at 08:02 AM. Reason: Add note
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I have the tele jazz model. it's called the carvin sh-65, but it does way more that jazz, it does...everything...
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The L-48 is the Tele version of the L-45, but I think there's no tele sized neck alternative in the blades range. But you have them both in specific tele sizes in the NF, Keystones and Microcoil series.But those are strat sized, so still would be too big for the Tele neck route ?
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Jim Root Telecaster Originally Posted by woyvel
Jim Root is the guitarist in Slipknot:
His Tele (and Strat) models get an ebony 'board just because he likes black'n'white. So Fender does have a current Tele with ebony. On Warmoth, I see that ebony is not a huge upchange ($35 for ebony, $75 for "black ebony").
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A few comments:
Build a Warmoth/USACG Partscaster. That's a great idea, but the intent to this thought exercise is to come up with something and ask: could Fender successfully market this?
It's not a Tele without X, Y, Z... I disagree. It's a Tele if the headstock says Telecaster, but then I'm a wide tent guy. And this gives us something to discuss. The one thing I really hate on a Tele is the bridge. I can ignore the bridge pickup but the bridge plate and bridge itself annoy me. It looks awful -- like something someone built in their garage, and I don't like the feel of it. I much prefer any of the hardtail bridges. And I'm surprised no one has mentioned using a T-O-M.
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Raney and Abersold, great interview.
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