62 reissue Tele

Fatfingers

I hate the tele neck pickup. I guess it's a one man's meat thing, but I honestly can't abide it. I've tried all sorts of differs ones and in my '71 Tele I have a Creamery Strat-a-like one which is great. But I love the mini hums so really fancy fitting one.

impmann

http://www.guitarfetish.com/Tele-Pickguard-cut-for-Neck-Mini-Humbucker-White-3-Ply_p_737.html

You'll have to work out a way of dangle-mouting your MiniHum, though. :-)

johnhe

What about a P90 in the neck? Should be the same size cut out as a mini hum. I think that P90's are the best of both worlds - can be fat and smooth, or wiry and snarly.

Fatfingers

A P90 needs a bigger cutout - it's the same size as a mini humbucker with its mounting surround, which is basically a P90 cover with a hole cut in it. I love P90s but have them in other guitars and really fancy a mini humbucker this time. The neck pickup of my Les Paul Deluxe with minis is a favourite, so I'm hoping that combined with the Tele bridge, it'll be a great combo.

DarnWeight

I have that exact model pictured above (MIJ 62 RI in CAR), and fitted a no-name repro Gretsch HiLoTron in the neck, and a US '62 Custom Tele RI bridge pickup (the one with the raise bevelled pole pieces).  It's a lovely mix in all positions, and the HiLo itself sits somewhere between a low output P90 and a Strat neck single coil...not a million miles from a stock Tele neck pickup, but definitely clearer with a lovely piano-ish clang on the lower wound strings. I used a single-ply parchment Esquire guard and cut my own neck pickup hole...easily done with fairly standard hand tools and some care and attention.  Parchment is pretty much a perfect colour match with the binding on these.

Fatfingers

That sounds like a cool combination and is one I may well try once I've had a go with the mini. I've ordered a pair of pickups - mini humbucker neck and '62 Tele bridge - from Allan at Cats Whisker Pickups. I managed to find a white scratch plate on UK eBay eventually, although you're probably right about parchment matching the binding better.

fnpt

My tele has a really strat sounding Voodoo neck pickup. Don't know which model it is, it was already installed when I bought it but I like it as much as my strat's neck pickup (a bulldog sweet 62) which is saying something.

DarnWeight

Fatfingers said:

That sounds like a cool combination and is one I may well try once I've had a go with the mini. I've ordered a pair of pickups - mini humbucker neck and '62 Tele bridge - from Allan at Cats Whisker Pickups. I managed to find a white scratch plate on UK eBay eventually, although you're probably right about parchment matching the binding better.

Here's a hastily taken pic to illustrate the parchment + bound CAR combo...



...notice I still haven't got around to drilling the extra holes for the pickguard.  It's on my to do list!

Fatfingers

Nice job. What tools did you use to cut the pickup hole?

mattdavis

Fatfingers said:

Having discovered that I was mistaken in thinking Les Paul's are THE BEST GUITARS, and discovering, after buying a 71 Tele, that Teles are THE BEST GUITARS, I now have the hots for a 62 reissue, so I can remind myself how hard it is to play Message In a Bottle.

So funny - am having exactly the same experience. Played Les Paul style guitars for 20 years and treated myself to (a not particularly sought after) a new  candy cola red tele from the American Series (before they were renamed American standards again) in 2007. Sold it to a friend a few years ago and as I drove away, realised I had made a mistake. After 2 years of pestering the poor bastard have just bought it back and it is wonderful to have back. They are just wonderful all round workhorses - and feel reminiscent of the singlecut les Paul body shape as opposed to the discombobulation of playing a strat. It's like the fender that it's ok for Les Paul players to like :-)

DarnWeight

Fatfingers said:

Nice job. What tools did you use to cut the pickup hole?

A hand drill, hammer, chisel and metal files.  Marked out the hole on sticky address labels, drilled out the interior, chipped out the biggest bits with hammer and chisel, then filed back to the straight edges with a flat file...round file carefully into the corners, and that was that.  Trickiest part is actually making sure you get everything properly centred and lined up.

Fatfingers

I managed to get a white scratch plate but it's too white, and the hole for the mini is a bit too big - there doesn't seem to be a totally standard size for them. So I may try modifying my old one.