Found a design fault in the Telecaster!!

Nikc

crunchman said:

I've got bored with blonde Teles.  Give me black or sunburst any day, or Lake Placid Blue with rosewood board.

Blonde tele with a black guard maple fret board and left alone just as the good lord intended - although I also have a blue one with a white tortoiseshell pick guard and rosewood board (strat headstock)  

Danielsguitars

Bored of blackguards, it's a whiteguard with rosewood board for me or a double bound  custom

Voxman

ICBM said:

Voxman said:

Of course this was fixed on the 70s custom and deluxe models where a traditional 3 way toggle was fitted. And it fixed the other design fault of the Tele...individual pick up tone and volume controls for better control. I do like the option to roll off the volume on one pick up and then switch that fast with a full throttle cranked tone.

Not for me - I much prefer the simplicity of one volume, one tone. I just roll the volume up full when I want that.

The Tele Thinline has it nearly right, but they somehow missed a golden opportunity - with the much larger cavity below the pickguard - of moving the tone control further down towards the end of the guard, the volume down just a little, and having the switch at a more Strat-like angle, a bit like that Tele plate WezV posted above. Having the switch in line with the volume pot is just... doh!

For some things yes. But trying to get the right level and switching back & forth on the same song just doesn't work eg on something like Led Zep's 'Ramble on'. Normally I have different patches via my TLST or kick in a distortion with a regular pedal board - but if I'm playing straight through a single channel amp with no FX eg my Laney Cub12R I need a guitar with individual tone & volume controls.   

TTBZ

crunchman said:

I've got bored with blonde Teles.  Give me black or sunburst any day, or Lake Placid Blue with rosewood board.

Yep, black body with black pickguard and maple neck is my preference on a Tele. Classy but cool.

ICBM

I don't like black guards or butterscotch blonde. (Despite being a Springsteen fan.)

My favourite classic Tele colour is the late-50s white blonde with a single-ply white guard and maple neck, but I also like Lake Placid Blue on one.

rsvmark

Danielsguitars said:

Bored of blackguards, it's a whiteguard with rosewood board for me or a double bound  custom

Or both?

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/176386/ngd-tele#latest

crunchman

TTBZ said:

crunchman said:

I've got bored with blonde Teles.  Give me black or sunburst any day, or Lake Placid Blue with rosewood board.

Yep, black body with black pickguard and maple neck is my preference on a Tele. Classy but cool.

I had a Baja like that for a while.  Really good guitar.

Danielsguitars

rsvmark said:

Danielsguitars said:

Bored of blackguards, it's a whiteguard with rosewood board for me or a double bound  custom

Or both?

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/176386/ngd-tele#latest

Lovely looking custom

It'll be a whiteguard first for me, I've got a neck kicking about that needs carving when I get time

axisus

At the risk of sounding pedantic, I'd say that isn't a flaw with the Tele design, it's a flaw with the jack design.

downbytheriver

crunchman said:

downbytheriver said:

ICBM said:

Those silent plugs are a pain. Just get a decent normal plug and put the amp on standby/turn volume down/pull the amp end of the cable halfway out before you unplug at the guitar end.

I’ve been using Cleartone cables with silent neutrik plugs for the blues jams we run for several years with absolutely no failures. That’s at least twenty changeovers per jam, three jams a month, for at least five years. Not a pain at all. They are all straight plugs. 

You have been lucky.  Quit while you are ahead.

Not quite sure I follow the logic of that 

crunchman

downbytheriver said:

crunchman said:

downbytheriver said:

ICBM said:

Those silent plugs are a pain. Just get a decent normal plug and put the amp on standby/turn volume down/pull the amp end of the cable halfway out before you unplug at the guitar end.

I’ve been using Cleartone cables with silent neutrik plugs for the blues jams we run for several years with absolutely no failures. That’s at least twenty changeovers per jam, three jams a month, for at least five years. Not a pain at all. They are all straight plugs. 

You have been lucky.  Quit while you are ahead.

Not quite sure I follow the logic of that 

It's like the GeeGees.  You bet and you win, you should quit while you are ahead before you start losing.

And you will lose.  Those silent jacks are horribly unreliable.  If you have lasted that long without one failing, you are incredibly lucky.

Headphones

Been using the silent Neutriks for many a year too, no failures here, really useful things I find.

As for that custom tele - it needs a black triple layer guard!

Karlos

Doesn't anyone know of a right-angled cable that will fit a standard Tele socket?

I read a review on Amazon about a Fender Tone Master Cable that did the job but they seem to be discontinued. 

I know the urge on the forum will be to say get an Electrosocket and fit that but honestly, taking a drill to my Tele is about as good an idea as home dentistry. I'll maybe get the local luthier to do it the next time I need some work doing but for now, I'd much rather just buy a cable that does the job.

I'm happy to have one made if anyone can recommend somewhere if there isn't an off-the-shelf option.

I could do with a very short cable anyway as I play a lot on the sofa with the pedal board just a few feet in front. 

rpr

I've got a white Fender curly lead that fits fine - Koil Kord - 

ICBM

Karlos said:

Doesn't anyone know of a right-angled cable that will fit a standard Tele socket?

Anything with a Neutrik NP2RX plug.



Which all cables should have anyway!

GazlarLosthobbit

I've had my Tele for 15 years (US 52 reissue) and I love it for being what it is, a bit of a relic (both in a practical and physical sense) but the jack and control panel don't bother me as much as the "authentic" dark circuit that is pretty much unusable. I could change it around but then I figure I've been with it this long what's another decade.

Karlos

ICBM said:

Karlos said:

Doesn't anyone know of a right-angled cable that will fit a standard Tele socket?

Anything with a Neutrik NP2RX plug.



Which all cables should have anyway!

Thanks man. You are of course, correct. I just found an old cable with such a jack and it fits perfectly. 
Just ordered a nice short cable for the living room.

rossi

octatonic said:

I always put Gibson style jack plates on my Tele's unless they are expensive things that would be devalued by doing so.

My current favourite Tele addresses the control location issues, enough for me:

Same here . I use rugby ball types.

57Deluxe

...the biggest design flaw on the Tele is the players it attracts...

SteveRobinson

57Deluxe said:

...the biggest design flaw on the Tele is the players it attracts...

Which ones in particular?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Telecaster_players