Esquire'ing a MIM Std Tele...

HAL9000

Anyone done it?

I'm considering converting a MIM Std Tele into an Esquire-alike. I'm not after an authentic vintage-appearance instrument, more something with a slightly more modern twist. By using a MIM Std as the starting point I can have a 9.5" radius board, truss-rod adjustment at the headstock end, and six saddles (although a three-saddle bridge is still a possibility). So perhaps something like this...

https://m.imgur.com/KEkxffW

(Image not mine. Something I found using google. Mods - hope this is allowed else i’ll delete.)

Pickup would definitely be replaced with something better. Not quite sure what at the moment.

Other thoughts are a single-ply scratchplate, and possibly ditching the blade switch altogether and just having volume and (no-load) tone controls. This slightly concerns me though - I like the idea of simplifying things by not having the normal Esquire tonal options but wonder if that's simplifying things too much.

thermionic

I don’t know if this is possible but could you wire a 3-way switch to an Oil City tappable pickup? And maybe take out the vol & tone on the 3rd position?

DrBob

 I built a Telemaster Esquire for the guy that teaches my daughter to play guitar we ended up using the blade switch to give us kill switch, normal operation, blower switch. It’s actually a really useful setup as he uses it a bit like a boost. Sets the volume for his rhythm part using the volume & tone and then flips to the blower setting for leads

HAL9000

thermionic said:

I don’t know if this is possible but could you wire a 3-way switch to an Oil City tappable pickup? And maybe take out the vol & tone on the 3rd position?

Certainly has crossed my mind to do something along those lines. I do like the idea of keeping things simple though. The jury's still out.

HAL9000

DrBob said:

 I built a Telemaster Esquire for the guy that teaches my daughter to play guitar we ended up using the blade switch to give us kill switch, normal operation, blower switch. It’s actually a really useful setup as he uses it a bit like a boost. Sets the volume for his rhythm part using the volume & tone and then flips to the blower setting for leads

Now, that I like.

DrBob

http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/106770/wiring-help-esquire-w-kill-switch

Go here ! 

Johnnyseven

I have a single pickup tele with an MIM Standard body and Baja maple neck. I just went for the no pickup selector option with  Dimarzio Pre B1 at the bridge. Got a nice thick single ply black pickguard from a seller called Guitars Electric on Ebay.

Alnico

I'm having an Esquire built for me at the moment from a GSP body, a neck from god-knows-where and some parts.
Mine comes with a Mojo pickup although I've not been told which one yet.

I shall be watching this thread with great interest.

HAL9000

Johnnyseven said:

I have a single pickup tele with an MIM Standard body and Baja maple neck. I just went for the no pickup selector option with  Dimarzio Pre B1 at the bridge. Got a nice thick single ply black pickguard from a seller called Guitars Electric on Ebay.

Did you get a two-hole control plate? Or keep the original and just leave the slot empty? I see Rockrabbit guitars make the Deuce and OCD control plates neither of which have the slot for the pickup selector. 

Also, thanks for the info on the pickguard.

stimpsonslostson

Mine is wired with the "Eldred mod" wiring.
Position 1= cocked wah tone (great for rhythm & distortion)
2= standard Tele
3= bypass tone control
The harness came from OilCity & is brilliant. 
I paired this with various pickups- Wilkinson, IronGear, OilCity FortyNiner... Finally I found the OilCity Alligator 90. It's AMAZING. My Esquire can do LP Jr to biting Tele. 
I've sold several expensive guitars because this one is just "me". 

HAL9000

stimpsonslostson said:

Mine is wired with the "Eldred mod" wiring.
Position 1= cocked wah tone (great for rhythm & distortion)
2= standard Tele
3= bypass tone control
The harness came from OilCity & is brilliant. 
I paired this with various pickups- Wilkinson, IronGear, OilCity FortyNiner... Finally I found the OilCity Alligator 90. It's AMAZING. My Esquire can do LP Jr to biting Tele. 
I've sold several expensive guitars because this one is just "me". 

I’d already looked at Oil City’s offerings and was quite fancying the FortyNiner. Obviously you preferred the Alligator 90. Are you able to give some sort of comparison please?

ICBM

HAL9000 said:

Anyone done it?

I'm considering converting a MIM Std Tele into an Esquire-alike. I'm not after an authentic vintage-appearance instrument, more something with a slightly more modern twist. By using a MIM Std as the starting point I can have a 9.5" radius board, truss-rod adjustment at the headstock end, and six saddles (although a three-saddle bridge is still a possibility). So perhaps something like this...

https://m.imgur.com/KEkxffW

(Image not mine. Something I found using google. Mods - hope this is allowed else i’ll delete.)

Pickup would definitely be replaced with something better. Not quite sure what at the moment.

Other thoughts are a single-ply scratchplate, and possibly ditching the blade switch altogether and just having volume and (no-load) tone controls. This slightly concerns me though - I like the idea of simplifying things by not having the normal Esquire tonal options but wonder if that's simplifying things too much.

The 'empty slot' mod is my favourite for an Esquire. It just simplifies things and removes the annoying switch/knob conflict, while not looking as odd as a blank plate or re-spaced knobs. I don't really like no-load tone controls personally, but if you want that...

An Esquire (other than a bound-body Custom) should always have a single-ply plate in my opinion, either 5-screw or 8-screw - it just looks 'cleaner'.

Johnnyseven

HAL9000 said:

Johnnyseven said:

I have a single pickup tele with an MIM Standard body and Baja maple neck. I just went for the no pickup selector option with  Dimarzio Pre B1 at the bridge. Got a nice thick single ply black pickguard from a seller called Guitars Electric on Ebay.

Did you get a two-hole control plate? Or keep the original and just leave the slot empty? I see Rockrabbit guitars make the Deuce and OCD control plates neither of which have the slot for the pickup selector. 

Also, thanks for the info on the pickguard.

My control plate has a hole for the selector switch but for no other reason than that I couldn't find one without the hole. I'll investigate Rockrabbit, so thanks for mentioning it.

stimpsonslostson

The FortyNiner was an excellent pickup, but could still be a bit more "biting" than I needed  the alligator is a bit "creamier" & P90ish clean then growly & snarly under gain- which is exactly what I wanted. 

Hope that helps... It's really hard to describe tonal differences. 

TADodger

I went for a Wapping Wharf from OC with a push pull for splitting and a three way with Eldred. To be sure of the fit and to ensure that the screw holes were identical, when I changed out the PG I sent the old one to Jane at Customcooletch and the new one is a perfect fit.

Bridgehouse

Alnico said:

I'm having an Esquire built for me at the moment from a GSP body, a neck from god-knows-where and some parts.
Mine comes with a Mojo pickup although I've not been told which one yet.

I shall be watching this thread with great interest.

It's a GSP neck, and the pickup is a Mojo Esquire...

paulnb57

Custom drill your own plate..

http://www.axecaster.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=9_20&products_id=125

HAL9000

Well, I’ve just ordered a Deuce control plate from RockRabbit Guitars. Essentially it’s a standard plate but without the slot for the blade switch. Looks like this...

https://images.reverb.com/image/upload/s--kbhLAoEW--/a_exif,c_thumb,f_jpg,fl_progressive,g_south,h_226,q_auto:eco,w_226/v1509645879/trqbgh8x4ylvmoppcmbc.jpg

stimpsonslostson said:

Finally I found the OilCity Alligator 90. It's AMAZING. My Esquire can do LP Jr to biting Tele. 
I've sold several expensive guitars because this one is just "me". 

Thanks for that. I’m now leaning towards either Oil City’s Alligator 90 or their Kayman 90.

Edit - just ordered the Alligator 90.

I'm dreadful for having ideas but never carrying them out. Now I’ve got some bits coming this one should actually happen.

thegummy

ICBM said:

HAL9000 said:

Anyone done it?

I'm considering converting a MIM Std Tele into an Esquire-alike. I'm not after an authentic vintage-appearance instrument, more something with a slightly more modern twist. By using a MIM Std as the starting point I can have a 9.5" radius board, truss-rod adjustment at the headstock end, and six saddles (although a three-saddle bridge is still a possibility). So perhaps something like this...

https://m.imgur.com/KEkxffW

(Image not mine. Something I found using google. Mods - hope this is allowed else i’ll delete.)

Pickup would definitely be replaced with something better. Not quite sure what at the moment.

Other thoughts are a single-ply scratchplate, and possibly ditching the blade switch altogether and just having volume and (no-load) tone controls. This slightly concerns me though - I like the idea of simplifying things by not having the normal Esquire tonal options but wonder if that's simplifying things too much.

The 'empty slot' mod is my favourite for an Esquire. It just simplifies things and removes the annoying switch/knob conflict, while not looking as odd as a blank plate or re-spaced knobs. I don't really like no-load tone controls personally, but if you want that...

An Esquire (other than a bound-body Custom) should always have a single-ply plate in my opinion, either 5-screw or 8-screw - it just looks 'cleaner'.

Does empty slot mod just mean taking the switch out but using a normal control plate so there's a blade hole where the switch used to be?

thegummy

ICBM said:

HAL9000 said:

Anyone done it?

I'm considering converting a MIM Std Tele into an Esquire-alike. I'm not after an authentic vintage-appearance instrument, more something with a slightly more modern twist. By using a MIM Std as the starting point I can have a 9.5" radius board, truss-rod adjustment at the headstock end, and six saddles (although a three-saddle bridge is still a possibility). So perhaps something like this...

https://m.imgur.com/KEkxffW

(Image not mine. Something I found using google. Mods - hope this is allowed else i’ll delete.)

Pickup would definitely be replaced with something better. Not quite sure what at the moment.

Other thoughts are a single-ply scratchplate, and possibly ditching the blade switch altogether and just having volume and (no-load) tone controls. This slightly concerns me though - I like the idea of simplifying things by not having the normal Esquire tonal options but wonder if that's simplifying things too much.

The 'empty slot' mod is my favourite for an Esquire. It just simplifies things and removes the annoying switch/knob conflict, while not looking as odd as a blank plate or re-spaced knobs. I don't really like no-load tone controls personally, but if you want that...

An Esquire (other than a bound-body Custom) should always have a single-ply plate in my opinion, either 5-screw or 8-screw - it just looks 'cleaner'.

Does empty slot mod just mean taking the switch out but using a normal control plate so there's a blade hole where the switch used to be?

HAL9000

Johnnyseven said:

My control plate has a hole for the selector switch but for no other reason than that I couldn't find one without the hole. I'll investigate Rockrabbit, so thanks for mentioning it.

Also, check out Faction Guitars for non-standard control plates. A bit pricey though.