Hidden Tele Neck Pickup?

[big_teee]

Could you do a whole new harness on a new pickguard?


Then he needs the stock 3rd switch position (treble & volume cut) for the Luther Perkins rhythm sound!
Maybe just tweak some component values... (talking thru my hat; have never played or modded an Esquire).

Not heard of the Luther Perkins rhythm sound.
I am out of my element too. I am not a twanger, but he is a good customer, and We can usually come up with what he likes.
In his 72 Ash Tele, I made him a Tele set with a bare nickel neck cover, that he just loves.
I just built that same type of set for the Bender Guitar.
As soon as we can get together, I will install them, then for next week, I'll work on the Esquire.
I really think the FireBucker will do the trick, I am anxious to try it out.
I'm sure if he don't like it, we will do something else.
I built him 3 sets for the the 72 before we got them just right.
The first set, were close, and another guy loved them so he sold them.
He sold 2 sets before we got them just right.
T

[rjb]

Not heard of the Luther Perkins rhythm sound.

Ever heard of Johnny Cash and The Tennessee Three?
That guy.

[big_teee]

I picked up the B-Bender guitar today, and looked over the Socalled Esquire.
It is just a PartsCaster with a black pickguard.
He has a bunch of Teles, and just wants one to look like the Esquire.
He said the firebird sounded like a good idea, and I could take the dremel, drill and Rasp to it.
It will be a couple of weeks before he has the money for that.
When I get it, I will try different pickups in it and see If I can come up with a working Scenario!
T

[isaac]

Look at this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAR_yW2XCqw
I saw this a while ago and just though, "hey that's kinda cool." ;-)

[Stratz]

Look at this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAR_yW2XCqw
I saw this a while ago and just though, "hey that's kinda cool." ;-)

I did notice that the guy that did the demo never switched directly between the bridge and the stealth pickups in the same shot so there was really no way to tell if the amp volume was adjusted to compensate for a volume drop. The pickup selector was switched between the edited scenes.
I'm not saying it was intentional since the few videos I watched from them were edited in a similar fashion.... but you never know.

Terry, I'm still waiting to hear from the builder that I made the stealth pickups for. He wasn't at his shop today.

[Mark Hammer]

What are those pickups built into the end of the fingerboard on some Epiphones? I forget what those models are called, but I gather they are some sort of Neodymium-based PU for getting quasi-acoustic tones.

I wonder if something like that would be possible (which assumes a rosewood fingerboard or other dark wood that tends to mask the presence of the PU) to provide the appearance of an Esquire but with reasonable clarity and none of the volume loss that might arise from a sub-pickguard installation.

[isaac]

The Taylor T-5 has it's neck pickup underneath the finger board at one of the last frets, and that one has no audible volume difference I don't think. Haven't played it in a while, but they did it well that way. Its just a really small pickup bobbin under there with I think a strong magnet under it. Simple, but effective, and it sounds pretty good too. If you did a neo-tele neck pickup, that would be my best bet. Or a super-hot wound ceramic, might work. Also depends on what kind of bridge pickup the guitar has. You could wind the bridge pickup vintage style with less charged magnets than usual and then do the neck with super magnets of some kind. They might balance a little, of course you'd still need to put the pickup really far up against the pickguard, and you could also route a little slot on teh underside of the pickguard to get the pickup a little closer, and have less for it to go through. If you do a Tele-style neck pickup, (instead of f-bird or whatever) try it with no cover flat poles, and maybe even a baseplate. Like a tele bridge pickup baseplate, except on the neck, that might change the magnetic field enough to direct your pickup towards the strings more.

Just my $.02
-Isaac

[rjb]

... looked over the Socalled Esquire.
It is just a PartsCaster with a black pickguard.
He has a bunch of Teles, and just wants one to look like the Esquire.

I know "the customer is always right", but what's wrong with things looking like what they are?
Has he tried it wired as an Esquire?
There are tons of stock and modded wiring diagrams on the interweb- so someone must like them.
Some say Esquires are more responsive and sustain better than Teles because of the lack of magnetic string pull at the neck position.
(Just parroting what I've read- no personal experience with Esquires).

EDIT:
If anyone's interested, I just found an Esquire wiring diagram mother load:
https://sites.google.com/site/phoste...re3-WayEldred2

[big_teee]

This has turned out to be a very enlightening thread for me.
I have learned a lot, and have come up with some new perspectives on things.
After seeing the Stealth Pro Shop Video, I now like the idea of Single Coils.
It was Earlier mentioned about drilling holes for the magnets.
With this just being a PartsCaster, I like the idea of making a plain uncovered Tele Pickup with long magnets.
Let the magnets pertrude through Neatly drilled holes in the pickguard.
The Pickguard is Black, so I can darken the magnets, and it would get the pickup closer to the strings.
I could test it without the pickguard before drilling the holes.
I'll have to run this by the owner.
T

[JoeM]

Terry,

Don't you usually make blade pickups? Could an opening for the blade be cut in the pickguard instead of six holes drilled for the magnets? Maybe the blade can be darkened too? Just a thought.

[big_teee]

Terry,

Don't you usually make blade pickups? Could an opening for the blade be cut in the pickguard instead of six holes drilled for the magnets? Maybe the blade can be darkened too? Just a thought.

JoeM, thanks for the Info.
That is another option.
Don't know which Pickguard mod would be the easiest.
The SC would sound more Tele, and I can make the Pickup quicker and Cheaper.
Danny my customer, is usually on a tight budget, but he still wants these unusual Requests.
I bet we can come up with something.
The good news, If I mess up, I can get a black pickguard for under $10. lol
T

[isaac]

Wish I could get a bakelite 5hole 52 pickguard for under $10. They are $40 on GC's website... I have a 8 hole plastic with neck pickup mounting holes pickguard, and I want the 52.... Oh well. The blade pickup thing could work pretty well, that'd be cool.

[big_teee]

Wish I could get a bakelite 5hole 52 pickguard for under $10. They are $40 on GC's website... I have a 8 hole plastic with neck pickup mounting holes pickguard, and I want the 52.... Oh well. The blade pickup thing could work pretty well, that'd be cool.

This is the after market Pickguard I was referring to.
Mojotone Electric Guitar Pickguard for Tele 5 Hole Black 1 Ply
It's currently out of stock.
Dealer cost, is well under $10.

[isaac]

I have a partscaster with that pickguard, the problem is I want bakelite, not plastic. Since the plastic one on mine makes static noises... besides I like the look of the bakelite. My father's 52RI obviously has the bakelite, and it is superb. ;-)

[big_teee]

I have a partscaster with that pickguard, the problem is I want bakelite, not plastic. Since the plastic one on mine makes static noises... besides I like the look of the bakelite. My father's 52RI obviously has the bakelite, and it is superb. ;-)

Sounds like you know what you want.
I try to deal in inexpensive good quality parts.
This is a low income area, and High dollar things don't sell well here.
The pickguard on this guitar is just cheap plastic, I'm sure.
It is a import body with a modified MightyMite neck, that says Fender Custom Shop, I think.
But, let me make it clear the above was not done by me!
T