# The Great Ongoing Guitar Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [January 31, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172 "2010-01-31T23:20:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 202
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/4024 "2015-03-02T16:19:43Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > How stupid is Bubbadog? > > Well, did you know that Telecaster pickups won’t fit on a Strat pickguard? > > I do now. :mad: > > Back story - > I have an old Squier HSS Strat that feels great, plays smooth but has some obviously low budget Pickups. HSS, the mullet of the guitar world with humbucker leads and smooth Strat rhythms. > > I decided to beef it up and started by swapping in a Seymour Duncan HB into the bridge. Loved it so much that I wanted to see what I could do to the Middle and Neck so I thought I’d see if I could get a Tele sound into it. I hand picked a couple of Tele PU’s and snatched them off Amazon. > > Weird thing is the pole positions are the same. The only reason it doesn’t fit is the telecaster PU mounting holes are spaced closer together than the Stratocasters. > > About an hour of attempting to engineer a solution I just said “chuck it” (OK yeah, maybe not quite that) and ordered a couple of SD Strat PU’s. > > Who knows, maybe someday I’ll find an old used or forgotten tele and hot rod it. Bubba: just get ‘blank’ strat pickguard and cut the holes yourself. It’s not difficult to do, you just need some hand tools. GuitarFetish [sells an (otherwise blank) single-humbucker pickguard](http://www.guitarfetish.com/Single-Humbucker-Stratocaster-Pickguard-1984-Aged-White_p_1233.html) that you can customize with tele-sized mounting holes. $14 – way cheaper than two decent strat pickups. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/4025 "2015-03-02T17:12:54Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Bubba: just get ‘blank’ strat pickguard and cut the holes yourself. It’s not difficult to do, you just need some hand tools. GuitarFetish [sells an (otherwise blank) single-humbucker pickguard](http://www.guitarfetish.com/Single-Humbucker-Stratocaster-Pickguard-1984-Aged-White_p_1233.html) that you can customize with tele-sized mounting holes. $14 – way cheaper than two decent strat pickups. Yep, I checked out some pickguards. Seems like I just couldn’t find the right one (the one you linked to is 11 holes where mine is an 8 holer) I considered getting or cutting a blank and then cutting out my own slots etc. I even thought of ways to hot glue some extension plastic on the existing Pickguard. Since its a “for tone” and not a “for looks” guitar I wouldn’t really much care if it looked a little rough. But then I thought of the time it would take to totally disassemble the existing pickguard and wiring and if I was going to go through all of that process I might as well replace the switches knobs electronics etc (blank pickguard project) or I’d be spending a few hours trying to retrofit the old pickguard and I came to the realization that right now I have more money than common since or patience and Amazon Prime can have two PU’s that fit on my doorstep by Wednesday afternoon… and I caved. Besides, now I have an excuse to pick up a tele later or some bargaining chips to trade later. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/4026 "2015-03-02T23:22:36Z")
BubbaDog, you’re talking about using Tele bridge pickups? Yeah, those would be a challenge to fit on a Strat. Besides the pickguard woes, you’d have to enlarge some cavities in the body too. I seem to remember seeing some Teles with Strat electronics; 3 single coil pickups (with the bridge pickup slanted) and 3 knobs. I think G.E. Smith (when he was the musical director and band leader on SNL played one occasionally). I don’t know if that was a factory job or custom. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/4027 "2015-03-02T23:40:11Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > How stupid is Bubbadog? > > Well, did you know that Telecaster pickups won’t fit on a Strat pickguard? > > I do now. :mad: > > Back story - > I have an old Squier HSS Strat that feels great, plays smooth but has some obviously low budget Pickups. HSS, the mullet of the guitar world with humbucker leads and smooth Strat rhythms. > > I decided to beef it up and started by swapping in a Seymour Duncan HB into the bridge. Loved it so much that I wanted to see what I could do to the Middle and Neck so I thought I’d see if I could get a Tele sound into it. I hand picked a couple of Tele PU’s and snatched them off Amazon. > > Weird thing is the pole positions are the same. The only reason it doesn’t fit is the telecaster PU mounting holes are spaced closer together than the Stratocasters. > > About an hour of attempting to engineer a solution I just said “chuck it” (OK yeah, maybe not quite that) and ordered a couple of SD Strat PU’s. > > Who knows, maybe someday I’ll find an old used or forgotten tele and hot rod it. Clarifying question: do your Tele pickups have the same footprint as the Strat pickups? I am trying to figure this out: standard Tele pickups are bridge and neck. Neck is a little chrome-covered job. The bridge appears to have a similar long oval shape of a Strat pickup, but under the bridge is a bigger rounded trapezoid-ish shape. If that type of Tele pickup is what you are trying to fit into a Strat pickguard, I can imagine there might be issues. They are nothing like a Strat pickup and would stink in the mid or neck position. If I am completely misreading the question, sorry. GE Smith is known for his signature Tele, with an exposed bridge pickup - the bridge is cut away to expose it. GE feels this adds to a tone closer to a pedal steel - the neck inlays of his sig are based on a pedal steel, too. And because GE (so incorrectly ;)) favors a heavyish guitar, his Tele’s tend to come in close to 9 lbs… ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/4028 "2015-03-03T00:10:14Z")
Check this out: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/kLH7gk0sJfk/maxresdefault.jpg "Julian Lage & Chris Eldridge "Mean Mother Blues"") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLH7gk0sJfk) Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge doing “Mean Mother Blues” on a couple of nice old Martins. Virtuoso picking but fun and melodic, too. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/4029 "2015-03-03T02:41:22Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Clarifying question: do your Tele pickups have the same footprint as the Strat pickups? I am trying to figure this out: standard Tele pickups are bridge and neck. Neck is a little chrome-covered job. The bridge appears to have a similar long oval shape of a Strat pickup, but under the bridge is a bigger rounded trapezoid-ish shape. If that type of Tele pickup is what you are trying to fit into a Strat pickguard, I can imagine there might be issues. They are nothing like a Strat pickup and would stink in the mid or neck position. > > If I am completely misreading the question, sorry… I had ordered two tele neck PUs (Seymour Duncan STR-2 and STR-3) to replace my strat neck and middle pickups. Both were variations of the chrome covered job. The surprise to me was that the tele neck pus have a slightly smaller shape and even though the pole pieces will line up just right the mounting holes for the PUs are inset a little bit. Unfortunately the tele mounting holes line up right on the edge of the strats pickguard edge. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/4030 "2015-03-03T03:49:12Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Check this out: > > [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kLH7gk0sJfk](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kLH7gk0sJfk) > > Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge doing “Mean Mother Blues” on a couple of nice old Martins. Virtuoso picking but fun and melodic, too. Wow! Thanks for that. I was unaware those guys had an album out before about ten minutes ago. But thanks to the Internet I have it now, cranked up to a high volume. ETA: [nice article about these guys](http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/good-guitar-julian-lage-chris-eldridge) ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/4031 "2015-03-03T11:26:46Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > I had ordered two tele neck PUs (Seymour Duncan STR-2 and STR-3) to replace my strat neck and middle pickups. Both were variations of the chrome covered job. The surprise to me was that the tele neck pus have a slightly smaller shape and even though the pole pieces will line up just right the mounting holes for the PUs are inset a little bit. Unfortunately the tele mounting holes line up right on the edge of the strats pickguard edge. Ah, there ya go. Yeah, you could get a custom-cut pickguard, but seems like a lot of work. Folks are usually figuring out ways to replace that pickup - with a humbucker like Keef has there, or a P-90 or even a super-old-fashioned Charlie Christian pickup off the first Gibson electrified guitars… **Pork Rind** - I know, right? Good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/4032 "2015-03-03T12:42:38Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Ah, there ya go. Yeah, you could get a custom-cut pickguard, but seems like a lot of work. Folks are usually figuring out ways to replace that pickup - with a humbucker like Keef has there, or a P-90 or even a super-old-fashioned Charlie Christian pickup off the first Gibson electrified guitars… I prefer the mini-humbucker. But yes, nobody thinks much of the OEM lipstick tube PU. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/4033 "2015-03-03T13:51:08Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Check this out: > > [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kLH7gk0sJfk](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kLH7gk0sJfk) > > Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge doing “Mean Mother Blues” on a couple of nice old Martins. Virtuoso picking but fun and melodic, too. Loved it, but I always feel like I need to go home and apologize to my guitars after seeing a performance like that. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/4034 "2015-03-03T13:53:13Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > Loved it, but I always feel like I need to go home and apologize to my guitars after seeing a performance like that. I just want to go home and give mine away. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/4035 "2015-03-03T22:43:07Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > Wow! Thanks for that. I was unaware those guys had an album out before about ten minutes ago. But thanks to the Internet I have it now, cranked up to a high volume. > > ETA: [nice article about these guys](http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/good-guitar-julian-lage-chris-eldridge) Read the article - thanks! Kinda frustrated I wasn’t aware of it - I read the New Yorker, but I swear I only skip over some of each issue’s articles ;). Trivia: In the photo accompanying the article, they are sitting on steps leaning against a screen door. That’s the entrance to Retrofret (taken from the inside), my favorite old instrument shop, in Brooklyn. It’s address is 233 Butler, which Lage used as the name of a song - I have linked to his solo version of it in the past - he’s playing a '29? Gibson L-5 - swoon: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/yJYLfBMPuic/maxresdefault.jpg "Julian Lage Solo Guitar Performance") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJYLfBMPuic) I think I have mentioned the Retrofret’ers have told me that Julian loved a guitar I have now, my '31 Gibson L-1 - and borrowed it a few months at one point for studio work, I believe. Yay. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/4036 "2015-03-05T03:24:56Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > I think I have mentioned the Retrofret’ers have told me that Julian loved a guitar I have now, my '31 Gibson L-1 - and borrowed it a few months at one point for studio work, I believe. Yay. Have you ever tried to ‘find’ it in his recordings? ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/4037 "2015-03-05T11:48:05Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > Have you ever tried to ‘find’ it in his recordings? You know, I haven’t. A quick Google doesn’t point to any geek liner notes where his instruments are listed by tracks. I will have to think about this. It kind of kind of doesn’t matter - if I find it, it will no doubt intimidate me ;). That guy can play. So nimble and melodic. I am nowhere close to his thumb-on-back, splay-fingered precision. So fun. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/4038 "2015-03-05T16:07:07Z")
How Stupid is Bubbadog, part 2 A few weeks ago I came across a [Gretsch G9201 Honeydipper](http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/GrchResMtlRnd) at my local guitar shop. I had wanted a resonator for a long time so I fell in love and started making plans to acquire it. Looking around my guitar room I figured that it was getting too crowded with guitars (lovely problem to have) and that one of them needed to go before I snatched the Honeydipper. About four years ago I picked up a used [Ibanez Ragtime Special](http://www.vintage-guitars.se/1981_Ibanez_Ragtime_Special_R_400_81091207J.htm) that the previous owner had modified with a brass bridge and nut. It had a delightful sound although the string spacing had kind of shifted too close to the lower edge of the fretboard. Still I liked the guitar but I had another acoustic (Recording King) that sounded better and after adding an LR Baggs Soundhole had a gorgeous plugged in sound. The fact that I could plug in the RK made it my hands down favorite over the Ragtime. So I pretty much had my mind made up to push the Ragtime out the door. I did some research and saw that the Ragtime was pretty rare but being a mid priced guitar that rarity didn’t seem to drive the price much (I think the rarity of the guitar was matched by a rarity of active buyers) Still I could probably get enough out of it to draw close to even for a new Gretsch. So, I sat down and noodled around on the Ragtime, getting ready to give it a good cleaning and new strings to make it look it’s best for selling. I peered down to the bottom of the guitar through the sound hole and saw A WIRE?. I thought, “What the hell? This isn’t an electric acoustic!?”. Flipped the guitar upright and sure enough there it was. The endpin had been replaced with an endpin jack. Now I had installed the LR Baggs on my Recording King myself and had drilled, reamed , and installed an endpin jack into that one. You’d think I would have noticed that jack on another guitar. So, the previous owner had done more than just replace the nut and bridge. Here it is. A guitar that I’ve owned for four years and I didn’t even know it had an electric pickup in it. :smack: Worst part. I won’t tell you what I did for a living for 30 years but if you guessed electrical engineer you’d be right. Immediately plugged it in and got a sound from it that rivaled the RK. I’m gonna find another guitar to get rid of. Or find a bigger room. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/4039 "2015-03-05T16:38:47Z")
I vote bigger room, or start hanging them off the walls… ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/4040 "2015-03-05T16:44:54Z")
In our house, when someone 'fesses up early on a bit of self-induced silliness, we subject them to a Ritual Mocking™, and then are done with it, with no further mention allowed. So, here is your Ritual Mocking: ::stands and points finger at you:: Mock mock mock mock mock mock mock mock mock mock!!! 😉😉😉 ::Sits down:: That will be all. (too funny - I hate it when stuff like that happens…) ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/4041 "2015-03-05T19:11:38Z")
> [@swampspruce](#): > > I vote bigger room, or start hanging them off the walls… They are. My GAS has resulted in 9 guitars hanging from the walls. Walking into my guitar room would give anyone the false impression that I am capable of playing them. There’s a various assortment of electric acoustic 12 string bass etc. put them all together and they might be worth almost as much as one of **Wordman** ’s better guitars…almost. But I love them all. I’ve decided to dump one of my [Fernandes Nomads](https://reverb-res.cloudinary.com/image/upload/a_exif,c_limit,fl_progressive,h_620,q_85,w_620/v1396622720/pkb4uzn63fw7fkgdsntl.jpg) they’re a gimmick guitar, popular in Japan. They have an on-board amp and a speaker in the body, but they can plug in if you want. They only have one pickup but its a nice crunchy humbucker on the bridge. Here’s a [demo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrDFWZNGSug) of a guy playing a standard model which I have. Another [demo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbwEMVo-AeA) of a guy playing a Nomad Delux which has on-board sound effects. Neither demo has them playing the on board speaker. They are both fun but the novelty wears off after a while. Only problem is that I’ll have to take them to Ebay to get a decent price and it’ll probably be an offer overseas. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/4042 "2015-03-05T19:14:07Z")
**Wordman** , Ouch OK, I’m over it. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/4043 "2015-03-05T23:24:57Z")
Now, I’ve seen Andy McKee on Youtube and am blown away by Rodrigo Y Gabriela’s percussive style but this…[this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KI_UM-PchQ)…this. I don’t even know where to start learning how to play this. I started watching a bunch of Justin King vids and I just want to go home now and burn my guitars…wow. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172.md?page=201) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172.md?page=203)