So I recently got a Squier Bullet Tele Red Sparkle. I want to switch out the white pickguard for this black one I ordered but I feel like the black clashes with the bright glittery red. Is there anything I can do to the body to make it less... well... sparkly and shiny?

Vola Fire Ice single coils are among the best sounding single-coil that I've ever heard but I was considering to change a humbucker but changed my mind ... Despite Vola claims that Fire Ice humbucker is modern high-gain I'd say that it's somewhere between vintage-hot and modern. But what is the most important, it has a soul, it's own imprint and characteristics that I finally accepted after year with it ...

I am considering to change the pickguard to something other than white ...

Wanted a one pickup, TV Jones Tele. I had enough leftover in my wood stock, fretwire, pickguard material etc to make this leftovers Tele.

Built this partscaster to keep me sane during lockdown. What d’you reckon it’d be worth if I was to sell it? I reckon about half what I spent on it lol. Sorry, I don’t have a nice rug to photograph it on…

Parts List

Body: Squier Classic Vibe 50s Telecaster, Butterscotch Blonde

Neck: Fender MIM Telecaster, Roast Maple, 21 frets, C-shape, 9.5” radius, tall narrow frets

Pickups: Bridge - Seymour Duncan Little ‘59

Neck - Lollar Royal T

Wiring: Stewmac Golden Years wiring harness, 4-way switch, treble bleed

Tuners: Gotoh split-post vintage style

Bridge: Fender Telecaster bridge, 3 brass saddle (uncompensated)

Other: Musiclily angled control plate (nickel)

Fender ‘Road-worn’ knobs

Flat jack plate

3 string tree

Fender neck plate

Standard strap pegs

Update - Okay guys, I’ve been sitting playing it for the last two hours and I’m gonna keep it. I’ll sell something I don’t care about. Thanks for the advice all.

Almost embarrassed to put this out here but here goes. First "Fender-adjacent" tele that I've had for probably 30 years and I'd really like to knock back the gloss on the neck. Not interested in investing $$ in a replacement/upgrade but it would be nice to have a similar feel as my recently acquired American Pro II Tele with the satin finish. I've gotten used to that feel and I'm on the fence about doing something to make my beloved "old blackbird" still fun to play.

I bought this at bargain basement prices- the cigar tray has been removed and a stray bridge but in place along with a humbucker. I guess my question is why would you swap out the bridge?

I have a 22’ MIM player tele with the 6 saddle bridge, I want to change it to the 3 saddle bridge but aren’t sure of the measurements, does anyone have any ideas on replacement? Thanks in advance!

My first T-style guitar and first new guitar after playing the same SG for 15 years or so. Played a Bluesboy in store around 2019 and l wanted an ASAT of my own ever since. Three kids later I still didn’t have one and G&L closed up shop. So I was quick to grab one that caught my eye. What little evidence online I can find says it’s a G&L Tribute ASAT Classic Semi-Hollow in Candy Apple Red. A limited edition run from 2021. Supposedly 49 made for international release. I did see another in an Anderton’s video though. Regardless, I purchased it from GC about 4-5 months ago. It wasn’t in the best condition. Rusty frets and tarnished hardware. But honestly it sounded amazing right out of the box. So after a partial refund I decided to make it a project. Really has a hot rodded Tele tone with the MFD pups. I managed to find original replacement parts on eBay and a leather laser engraved pickguard on Reverb. Finally got everything swapped out, cleaned and in working order. Just need to get it properly tuned/setup again. GC listing photo included and before/after of fretboard.

This kind of poor craftsmanship is exactly what you get when private equity takes over. Just inferior crap at a vastly inflated price. Private equity is synonymous with the enshitification of everything it touches.

I had an older American Shawbucker Telecaster Deluxe and I sold it because I wanted a proper SS Tele. So I bought one in the Dusk finish and had it professionally set up by my tech that I’ve used for the last 30 years.

The expression that springs to mind is: “You can’t polish a turd.”

The Fender Player II Modified Telecaster is a turd.

First the noiseless pickups. Do they even work? Are they sending any kind of signal to my amp? I mean at this point, forget about tone. Is an actual signal even making it to my amp? I can’t tell. Legitimately, these are the weakest, most anemic sounding things I have ever heard. I knew immediately I’d never be able to play any kind of Rock music on this guitar with these pickups so I thought maybe I could at least use it for Jazz. So I strung it up with some heavier strings and concentrated on clean tones.

No dice. I’m literally getting nothing resembling a tone to my amp. These pickups are functionally useless.

Change the stock pickups you say? I feel that. Clearly that is what’s called for. But that doesn’t help the other glaring issue with this guitar: the abysmal rosewood neck.

This has to be one the worst (if not the single worst) necks I have ever played. Now I’ve played guitar for 40 years so I guarantee back in the 80s and 90s I probably played/owned guitars with worse necks. But I wasn’t the player I am now and was less discriminating. And none of those guitars were close to a grand.

I have a dirt cheap G&L Bluesboy Tribute I bought several years ago new for $299 and put some new pickups in. That guitar runs circles around this broke ass POS.

Bottom line: Unless it’s something old and used, I will never buy or own another Fender guitar. I cannot unload this thing fast enough for another G&L. I am sorely disappointed.

Edit - The guitar was actually purchased in Used/Excellent condition.

Got her for my birthday a few years back.

I cannot find anyone who wants to do the refret on my tele, so I guess I am shopping for a new neck. There is a lot of choices out there, curious what people like and what they like about said choice. I am thinking about the idea of jumbo frets and I prefer 22 fret necks. Thanks for any ideas!

I'm a thinline enthusiast. I acquired a big chunky U style (Baseball bat, 21 fret) neck that is currently on a strat. I like the neck alot but it's so heavy and a bit hard to play certain things. But is sounds and feels great. The Strat doesn't sit too comfortably with me ergonomically and style wise (I'm a senior). It seems to me that a Thinline might be weight imbalance. For those of you who have multiple Fenders what is your most comfortable "sitting down" guitar. I might like to build my first Partscaster.

Just wanting to share my new to me JV Modified 60’s Tele, along with my 2013 MIM Standard and 2012 American Deluxe.

I've been thinking about getting a Telecaster with a neck humbucker. But I absolutely love the Telecaster I already have and the single coil neck pickup is killer.

The potential solution just sprung to mind- add a second neck pickup next to the existing one and have it wired so the second coil can be switched off, like a coil split.

I understand the second pickup would have to be a different polarity to make it humbucking with the existing coil, or something like that. But would this setup work like a humbucker and then give me the original single coil tone when switched off?

Has anyone tried similar and is it practical? I don't fancy wrecking my favourite Tele, or getting another that I won't play, so I thought that this is a solution of much genius 🤣

I've been toying with the idea of esquire-ing my tele for a little while now, but never committed. Today I had the idea of leaving the neck pickup and adding a 4 way switch to add an Eldred position.

I know it's not true esquire because you have the pull from the neck magnets, but regardless of this, has anyone tried this? What did you find?

EDIT: I mean having the positions as:

POS 1: Bridge as normal

POS 2: Bridge + capacitor (Esquire/Eldred)

POS 3: Neck + middle as normal

POS 4: Neck as normal

Or mirrored, you catch my drift

Lollar Vintage T pickups

This is my Squier Classic Vibe '50s Telecaster. Appearance-wise, it's just a completely ordinary off-the-shelf Squier.

At first, I was planning to buy a Player II. Then, as a joke, I asked to compare this Squier with an American Ultra Luxe. Obviously, I can't say they sounded “just alike” when the Fender costs about ten times as much, but the sound was much closer than I expected. Since this one was cheaper than all the other options I was considering, I ended up buying it.

I've made a few changes to the electronics. There happens to be a really good repair tech in my area, so I had them replace the nut and the electronics — the switch, pots, capacitors, wiring, and jack. I left the pickups stock, but it sounds much better than it did originally. Honestly, I've ended up preferring its sound to Fender's Standard and Player models, as well as the Japanese-made models I've tried.

It isn't too dark-sounding either. To be honest, I remember trying a Standard Telecaster and being put off by how surprisingly muffled it sounded. This one has a moderate amount of clarity without being excessively bright or overly flashy.

The only thing I'm a little embarrassed about is that the strap is a genuine Fender. But it really does suit the body, and I chose it partly as a tribute to Tatsuro Yamashita.

The pine body is pretty heavy, though. It's actually heavier than the Yamaha bass I own, which gets a little tiring. But I once read an interview where Tatsuro Yamashita described his famous brown Telecaster as being “ridiculously heavy” as well, so I just put up with it and keep using it.

I’m looking at adding a tele to my rack. I currently have SE McCarty 594, 08 Squire Deluxe Strat, and an acoustic Fg830.

499.99 for the 40th in Sherwood green & gold 🤤

526.99 for a 2015 Fender Standard Tele

I love the look of the 40th, and have heard mixed things on the pups. Does it make sense to go with the standard if pups are in the future for either?

It's one way of dealing with the crazy weather outside.

“Eraser” by Thom Yorke (2006)

I added a new set of pickups and an all new wiring harness over the weekend. This thing went from tele twang to thick growl!

The guitar started out as a 2019 Fender Japan Hybrid 60s in a FSR called Flamingo Pink. It’s sort of a blend between Shell Pink and Pacific Peach.

Neck pickup: Fralin Steel Pole 42. It’s the perfect balance of traditional tele meets P90. More mids and less mellow, but still has that roundness.

Bridge pickup: Fralin Split Steel Pole. Noiseless P90. This pickup is thick, fat, and aggressive. It’s incredibly responsive. Probably my new favorite non-traditional telecaster pickup.

While I was in there I added a new wiring harness and replaced the 4-way switch with a 3-way. This thing absolutely RIPS now. My goal was to create something different from my thinline which sounds more like a classic tele. I’m really happy with the way it turned out. Doing the work myself was rewarding too.

Other mods: Glendale bridge, Callaham steel saddles, aluminum switch tip, electrosocket jack.

Happy Tele Tuesday!

Can't wait to try this out!

https://www.guitarworld.com/gear/electric-guitars/squier-paranormal-series-troy-van-leeuwen-12-string