Telecaster mod suggestions?

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jimi
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Telecaster mod suggestions?

Post by jimi »

So as a Gibson style guitar player I’ve now had a Telecaster for a month.

The good stuff:
It’s light and comfortable - so good for my back, could probably add another set playing this all night
The bridge pickup - raunchy, bite, aggressive sounding, add your preferred superlative here.
Basic - less is more etc, when all the options are good you don’t need a lot of them.
Bridge to neck tonal variation - being able to switch between mellow and aggressive by flicking between pickups is something I use a lot.

The frustrations:
That pickup selector location - whenever I’m on the neck pickup, it’s a temporary thing whether I want it to be or not. at some point I’ll knock the selector. The little cap has been knocked off and had a trip across the room at one point too. I have this issue with strats too - why have 3 pickups, I’ll just end up on the bridge when I hit that damn switch accidentally.
One tone and volume - the bridge wants the tone rolled back a touch, the neck definitely doesn’t. I’m used to dialling the volume for the neck down on my LP too. Definitely miss independent controls per pickup.
No forearm contour - don’t know if this is a controversial call, but I want one. Light and comfortable yes, but could be better.
The neck pickup - it’s not terrible, and a weaker neck is a bonus given the single volume, but also not great. It’s a squier though so maybe just a case of managing expectations.

I’m not about to take a router to it for the contour, but otherwise what mods are people doing to solve these other options? Have read something about flipping the control panel, can you bypass the tone for the neck? Thinking about a neck P90 maybe.

What are your favourite telecaster mods?

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Re: Telecaster mod suggestions?

Post by rickenbackerkid »

Last Tele I had I changed the tone know to only affect the bridge, so I could roll in back to 8 and still get some clarity on the neck.

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Re: Telecaster mod suggestions?

Post by NippleWrestler »

I installed concentric pots on my tele so each pickup has it's own volume and tone controls. That was rather useful.

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Re: Telecaster mod suggestions?

Post by robthemac »

Remove the plastic pickup selector cap and you'll be less likely to bump it. Your strumming hand will be ripped to shreds, but at least you'll have the correct pickup selected.
Jops wrote: Sun Sep 18, 2022 7:46 am Spring is the comic sans of reverbs anyway.

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Re: Telecaster mod suggestions?

Post by NippleWrestler »

robthemac wrote: Sun May 02, 2021 11:11 am Remove the plastic pickup selector cap and you'll be less likely to bump it. Your strumming hand will be ripped to shreds, but at least you'll have the correct pickup selected.
Wrapping it in vinyl tape helps with the shredding.

Or, stick a piece of vinyl tape over the end of the metal switch, then push on the cap. The vinyl tape will squeeze it in place and it won't come off whenever you look at it.

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Re: Telecaster mod suggestions?

Post by robthemac »

Or file/sand down the metal switch. I did that on one of my guitars. Can't for the life of me remember which one.
Jops wrote: Sun Sep 18, 2022 7:46 am Spring is the comic sans of reverbs anyway.

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Re: Telecaster mod suggestions?

Post by olegmcnoleg »

Cut the body contours, no point in being uncomfortable.
Add a middle pickup and 5-way switch, you can always use more options.
Get a headstock with a bit more meat on it, it will help with sustain.
Add a trem, a bit of wobble is nice.
Extend the upper bout a little, it helps with the balance.
Move the jack socket to the side, it is easier to see what you are doing with the plug.
Add a third pot to give you more tone options.

Perfect Tele. :wave:

Oh, and the tiniest dot of superglue on the switch tip, it will stay put, but you will still be able to pry it off when you need to

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Re: Telecaster mod suggestions?

Post by Zaulkin »

If you are bumping it a lot then you should reverse the control plate. You could make one one of the pots a push/push pot that selects the bridge pickup when pressed.

Or you could adjust your technique to suit the guitar a bit more.

My favourite mod for a strat is an active preamp with a mid boost on tap. It does add a tiny bit of extra noise though. I haven't tried that on a tele yet but I'd like to.

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Re: Telecaster mod suggestions?

Post by kdawg2a »

olegmcnoleg wrote: Sun May 02, 2021 12:15 pm Cut the body contours, no point in being uncomfortable.
Add a middle pickup and 5-way switch, you can always use more options.
Get a headstock with a bit more meat on it, it will help with sustain.
Add a trem, a bit of wobble is nice.
Extend the upper bout a little, it helps with the balance.
Move the jack socket to the side, it is easier to see what you are doing with the plug.
Add a third pot to give you more tone options.

Perfect Tele. :wave:

Oh, and the tiniest dot of superglue on the switch tip, it will stay put, but you will still be able to pry it off when you need to
I was going to say that it sounds like you need a strat but oleg subtly beat me to it.
Just alter your playing style. It's not hard. I play lots of different types of guitar. As soon as i'm banging out whatever crap I like it still sounds like me, be it a tele or a flying v.
Last edited by kdawg2a on Sun May 02, 2021 12:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Telecaster mod suggestions?

Post by Mattallica »

Using what you have: I would reverse the control plate and rewire the two pots to be separate volumes but add a treble bleed to the neck pickup.

If you want to shave some highs off the bridge pickup, you can add a fixed tone cap or raise the pickup and back the volume off. The latter means you can bring the volume back up for a cutting volume boost.

Do you use the middle position? if not, then depending on the type of switch installed, you might be able to get some combination of the above working.

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Re: Telecaster mod suggestions?

Post by Lostininverness »

Or you sell that one to fund something that has the qualities you want (if you like the 4 pot set up with a LP - perhaps a deluxe?) - or build one?

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Re: Telecaster mod suggestions?

Post by jimi »

kdawg2a wrote: Sun May 02, 2021 12:37 pm
olegmcnoleg wrote: Sun May 02, 2021 12:15 pm Cut the body contours, no point in being uncomfortable.
Add a middle pickup and 5-way switch, you can always use more options.
Get a headstock with a bit more meat on it, it will help with sustain.
Add a trem, a bit of wobble is nice.
Extend the upper bout a little, it helps with the balance.
Move the jack socket to the side, it is easier to see what you are doing with the plug.
Add a third pot to give you more tone options.

Perfect Tele. :wave:

Oh, and the tiniest dot of superglue on the switch tip, it will stay put, but you will still be able to pry it off when you need to
I was going to say that it sounds like you need a strat but oleg subtly beat me to it.
Just alter your playing style. It's not hard. I play lots of different types of guitar. As soon as i'm banging out whatever crap I like it still sounds like me, be it a tele or a flying v.
Boo @ all you get a strat comments!

Of course I’d play whatever and ultimately tone is in the fingers and all that, but that’s not going to stop me playing it and thinking this is cool, but it could be better.

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Re: Telecaster mod suggestions?

Post by jimi »

Lostininverness wrote: Sun May 02, 2021 12:47 pm Or you sell that one to fund something that has the qualities you want (if you like the 4 pot set up with a LP - perhaps a deluxe?) - or build one?
Haha, well it’s a first toe dip in the Tele pool, got to try it out to know if it’ll work or not, even thinking of a part by part replacement (buy another guitar by stealth). New pickups to start, then maybe a body with a contour.

Thanks for the great ideas all! :thumbup:

I do really like the simple set up, and the sound of the bridge single coil, sounds like flipping the control plate, and disconnecting the tone from the neck pickup are a good place to start.

It’s also great having something a bit cheaper I can throw in a gig bag and not worry about. Have taken it to work with the katana mini for a couple of lunch time jams, something I wouldn’t be comfortable doing with my other guitars.

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Re: Telecaster mod suggestions?

Post by kdawg2a »

jimi wrote: Sun May 02, 2021 1:17 pm
kdawg2a wrote: Sun May 02, 2021 12:37 pm
olegmcnoleg wrote: Sun May 02, 2021 12:15 pm Cut the body contours, no point in being uncomfortable.
Add a middle pickup and 5-way switch, you can always use more options.
Get a headstock with a bit more meat on it, it will help with sustain.
Add a trem, a bit of wobble is nice.
Extend the upper bout a little, it helps with the balance.
Move the jack socket to the side, it is easier to see what you are doing with the plug.
Add a third pot to give you more tone options.

Perfect Tele. :wave:

Oh, and the tiniest dot of superglue on the switch tip, it will stay put, but you will still be able to pry it off when you need to
I was going to say that it sounds like you need a strat but oleg subtly beat me to it.
Just alter your playing style. It's not hard. I play lots of different types of guitar. As soon as i'm banging out whatever crap I like it still sounds like me, be it a tele or a flying v.
Boo @ all you get a strat comments!

Of course I’d play whatever and ultimately tone is in the fingers and all that, but that’s not going to stop me playing it and thinking this is cool, but it could be better.
Mate, personally i'd play a tele over a strat any day of the week. They make you work for their love and you're richly rewarded for your efforts. In my self imposed exile to the USA that started last September, the one guitar I chose to bring (from many options) was a tele. Strats are great, as are 335s, LPs Jaguars, Valcos, Teiscos and almost anything else.
Teles however, feel like they have no gimmicks and they don't hide anything so what you put in is what you get back.
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Re: Telecaster mod suggestions?

Post by jeremyb »

Reading the thread my first thought was you're trying to make a tele into a strat :lol:

I'd keep it stock, flick it on and get yourself a HSS strat :)
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