Wow - that sounds great - congrats! If you weren’t a knob twiddler before (e.g., someone who adjust the Volume and Tone controls on board - see this thread, you must try it on a Tele - only way to go!
I’ve been screwing around with my three guitars. I’m amazed how clean my Strat sounds these days. The 585 is gentle and soft, with a rough edge when I switch to the P-90, the Subhuman is a little rough and… not muddy. Humbuckery.
But my god, the strat sounds clear and clean as a bell. I think I accidentally did something right when I wired it.
The odd thing is that it plays like a baseball bat. The other two are living things. The Strat has tone through the trem block and maybe a little on the neck, but not much.
And darn it, I’m wanting to buy that telemaster now. It’s on sale.
http://store.guitarfetish.com/XV-JT90-Offset-Hybrid-GFS-Pickups-Vintage-Sunburst-Alder-Body_p_1113.html
And yes, I wrote this before phungi’s post. Whatup, GFS buddy.
Knob-twiddling? Doesn’t that cause blindness?
Thanks for the link rec… this is my first tele, and I am not sure how the 5-position switch maps to 2 pick-ups…
It’s got a five position switch? Eh. E-mail them and ask. I’m going to guess it has something to do with the fact that there’s a mini-humbucker in the neck, and maybe one of them is split-coil neck.
Okay, just checked. Only the Keef model has the mini-humbucker, the Keef and the Telemaster. What one did you get? Anyhow, e-mail and ask. They’re generally pretty responsive.
My bad… I had only played it once, and only for a short time… just gave it a longer play, and the switch is 3-position… it kinda grabbed the first time between the bridge and center spot, so I assumed it was 5-position…
btw, I got this model: just black/white/maple…
Hey, that’s a classic look. Be proud and rock it hard.
Guys, check out what Oslo found. An online guitar building this weekend. Looks like it’ll be worth watching.
Which reminds me. If sound holes make normal guitars louder… has anyone ever tried putting one in a semi-hollow?
Solidbody electric guitar tone is a weird and wonderful thing. Some guitars are loud and resonant unplugged; others feel like you can’t hear or feel anything unplugged - but neither necessarily is a predictor of how it will sound plugged in. Having said that, I always start by playing an electric unplugged. Why? Because I can get a feel for the playability first without focusing on the tone - does the basic feel of the guitar make me want to keep playing it? Also, while what I stated above is true, I do think, if you listen for it, there are some tonal indicators in the unplugged tone - but the actual loudness is NOT one of them. It is more about how it sounds, regardless of the volume.
**phungi **- cool look and it sounds like you’ve figured out the pickup layout - these days, the basic Tele circuit is bridge, both, neck, but there is a well-known mod that is the four-way described in that other thread on toggle switches in GQ.
E-Sabs, I don’t understand your question. A semi-hollow like a Gibson ES-335 usually has F-Holes in it’s hollow “wings” attached to the solid block running down the middle - but I am sure you know that, so I assume I am not understanding your question…
NYTimes article on the “need” or urge to collect stuff owned and used by celebrities - starting with the fact of Clapton’s latest gear auction - is here.
Key ::snerk!::-generating quote:
Okay then.
Favorite new term: the term that they use to describe the Limited Edition copies of famous celebrity guitars like the down-to-the-cigarette-burns copies of Blackie selling for $20,000+?
“Pseudorelic”
I love it.
Interesting development - a link to the Discovery article on the Dagmar Photonic Guitar - a prototype laser/photo optic pickup.
Fascinating - thanks for sharing. And any excuse to see another Dagmar guitar, even though they don’t single it out or discuss it in any way other than comment that they got to install the laser sensors inside it vs. taped on the outside with the other test guitars.
There have been other attempts as fiber-optic type guitars - Gibson’s M.A.G.I.C. technology comes to mind, I think…
Oh, and as a quid pro quo - here is another videofeaturing cool Canadian guitars: a great interview (well, the interviewer seems like a nice guy who knows nothing about guitars) with Linda Manzer, one of the top luthiers around (her guitars start at $18,000 Canadian!!) who is most closely associated with Pat Metheny but has a number of other celebrity players, too. One of the few women in the game, too. She is most famous for the “Manzer wedge” - a design where the bass side of the guitar is a bit thinner vs. the treble side so it is more comfortable to play and has different tonal characteristics…
I’m a little unclear after watching that video – what does a laser pickup do that any other kind of pickup (including magnetic, piezo, etc) cannot? Obviously there’s no hum. But what else do you get beyond the “Oooh! Neato!” effect?
http://www.mcknightguitars.com/soundports.html
This is what I hear referred to as a ‘sound port’. It’s a hole on the side of the guitar. It allows the player to hear things more clearly, but I’m of the understanding that it also makes the actual guitar considerably louder.
I’m a bit curious what something like this would do to a 335.
One of the things that would be great about a laser pickup is that it would not have that ‘quack’ that a piezo has with the attack. It is responding to the top, not to the strings, which means you could put any kind of strings on the instrument you wanted - phosphor bronze, nickel, nylon or even a mix of them (I have no idea why you might want to do that, I’m just pointing out the possibility. That being said, someone, somewhere has undoubtedly thought 'If only I could mix nylon, acoustic and electric strings, I could do this thing that no one else has ever thought of…) Even with the current technology, the sound of an acoustic with a piezo just bugs me.
I remember this when I was sniffing around a Godin 5th Avenue (which I haven’t ever totally given up on, but having sunk a lotta cash into a baritone classical, I’m unlikely to have the spare cash for another guitar, well, ever). One of the things I thought would be really cool would be to string it with a bluegrass acoustic set of strings, and alternate between using it as an acoustic, Django-like instrument and as an electric instrument with that beautiful ‘chime’ tone like Jim Hall. No can do - the pickup, being magnetic, must have strings that respond electro-magnetically. Phosphor-bronze or other acoustic steel strings, don’t have an even electro-magnetic response.
And I wouldn’t necessarily do it to a Dagmar, but a classical guitar with a Photonic pickup might be just the thing - no feedback, no quack, nylon strings. I’m very optimistic about this development.
I’m not sure if it would be of any advantage to an electric guitar - there, we want the change in sound quality that the magnetic pickups provides.
I was at my local Guitar Center and saw a Strat that looked like it had been through the wringer for a few hundred bucks. Finish worn off the maple fretboard (except for frets 9-12, kind of odd). Dings all over the body, finish worn around the edges to reveal the starburst colors. Structurally it looked fine. But I would have thought that a Strat that old would fetch top dollar, even if worn, if playability is still good.
The tag said “Road Worn.” Was that literal, or a trademark? Does Fender make new guitars with years of wear on them? I figure if my daughter can buy brand new jeans that are already worn out, Fender can make a new guitar that’s already worn out. But still.
Okay, that’s enlightening, thanks. Having only played electrics (although I’m currently shopping for an acoustic-electric) I wasn’t aware that piezos had that drawback. I did catch that the Dagmar had several laser pickups sited around the body, but the video didn’t say why, or if, that was important. I was surprised that the laser pickups weren’t a per-string affair, as it’s pretty useful to be able to get each string separately distinguished, but I can see why getting the overall tone might work for other reasons.
http://www.fender.com/products/roadworn/models.php?prodNo=0131012
Trademark. Bleh.
Yep - the Faux Worn series, taking the business of relic’ing guitars to a whole new level. You know what really stinks? They’re really good guitars, at least the first generation. I pulled a bunch off the racks when they came out because of the huge kerfuffle they were causing on the interwebs. While the relic’ing really doesn’t look that great - kinda the relic equivalent of acid-washed or treated-to-look-aged jeans - they were solid players and a real value for $600.
I believe they have changed designs and maybe even spread manufacturing - things change a lot as models evolve - so I can’t vouch for them now.
Relic’ing is a dodgy thing - on principle, it is unclear which stance is “cooler” in GuitarLand:
- It’s just wrong!
vs. - Who cares if it plays well and sounds good?
Personally, I am kinda in-between: I don’t like the idea, but there are some things done during the relic’ing process that do feel good - like rolling the edges of the fingerboard or wearing down some of the edges of a contour cut in the body.
[QUOTE=E-Sabbath]
http://www.fender.com/products/roadworn/models.php?prodNo=0131012
Trademark. Bleh.
[/QUOTE]
Ridiculous, do they come with pre-rusted bridge saddles worn frets and bent tuners? I had a guy come to buy a Strat off me and begged me to sell him my Tele because it looked ‘road worn’.
It looks the way it does because I’ve been playing it for over twenty years (and haven’t looked after it very well*). It has a mismatched tuner as a replacement for the one I broke off on the Woolwich Poly’ ceiling. An ashtray shaped intent on the back from a being chucked across the rehearsal room (band argument) The finish is chipped and grubby where not worn smooth or off…
Do they put random dings on those guitars and give you a back story? “Strap failure, Old Tiger’s Head, 1998”.
***** That’s undestating a bit, cite the ashtray dent, and multiple other scars.
Now get off my lawn! 
Sorry **Small Clanger **- I have to agree with you, even while I compliment their playability and acknowledge the success of the model in terms of sales.
…and aren’t Tele’s just the best?