I love my Telecasters...

Devil#20

Musical_Mystery_Tour said:

Devil#20 said:

what major difference should I expect (aside from weight obviously) compared to a std solid body. What should I look for specifically when looking for one?

Thinlines with standard Tele pick ups are usually a bit less bright and twangy than regular Teles, although the difference is subtle, so it depends on if you want that, however...

 The Wide Range Humbuckers on a '70's Telecaster Thinline (and Deluxe) offers a pretty unique sound. The original '70s ones have CuNiFe magnets and large bobbins, which gives them a distinctive treble-ish tone for a humbucker (sort of like a more gutsy P90). Unfortunately the modern reissues of the '70s Tele Thinlines with what look like the original wide range humbuckers (but are not the same) don't have those magnets in them, so they don't have that unique sound, although they do still have a unique sound of their own, so it's not all bad news.

However, you can get re-issued versions of those original-spec pickups from Fender which replicate that construction including using those magnets, and those do get that sound, but they ain't cheap; I think they are about 250 quid each, so that'd 500 quid to stick a pair of them on a Squier version of the Thinline, which itself is about 450 notes, but that would mean you could have a Telecaster Thinline which does replicate the sought-after sound of 70s wide-range humbucker-equipped Tele, for a total of just under a grand. Or you could add them to a Fender version (for obviously more money), or, you could seek out an original with the original pick ups, but good luck finding one of those which doesn't require you to sell a kidney. Or you could stick them on a Harley Benton Thinline and really piss everyone off by having a Telecaster copy, but one which sounds a shitload better than everyone else's real Fender Thinline and which only cost you 700 quid all-in lol.

If you want an example of that wide range humbucker sound, you can hear it on Yes Into the Lens, (note that guitar in the vid is not the one on the actual recording), in fact the entire album that track is from (Drama) has lots of that kind of guitar sound coming from those wide range Fender pick ups on a Tele, and from the P90s on a LP Gold Top. At the time it was recorded, some people in the studio were critical of Steve Howe's tone, suggesting there was way too much treble on it, but upon completion of the mix, those people recognised that the sound he was going for really did suit the rest of the band's tone and that he was - as was usually the case - way ahead of his time.

That's why Fender stopped making those wide range pickups, but when they realised that all the tone-deaf tin-eared bastards who never originally liked that sound and prompted Fender to discontinue producing them, now do like that sound, Fender started making them again. A case of pearls before swine if ever there was one. Anyway, no Tele collection is complete without a Thinline and one with a humbucker or two, so why not do it all in one guitar?

Thanks. Good bit of info in there. I've seen a shell pink Vintera thinline on FB marketplace but I'm not happy buying on other than local pickup. Too risky and I don't think it's much cheaper than buying new so the search goes on. I'm not particularly fussed if it has Fender on the headstock really but it would be a plus I suppose. The Suhr Alt T might be under consideration. 

gavin_axecaster

Direct comparisons from Warmoth.

Dominic

I had a 'normal' thinline tele .........didn't really sound any different to normal tele
but it was more comfortable / light 

spir4L

It's not a fender but there's a very nice mario martin 72 in the classifieds https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/261433/
Worth having a look imho  no affiliation

Musical_Mystery_Tour

CarbonCopy said:

The modern reissues do have Cunife pickups:

https://www.fender.com/en-GB/electric-guitars/telecaster/american-vintage-ii-1972-telecaster-thinline/0110392802.html

Yup, I should have clarified that I meant the Squier ones don't have them. However, you can stick these in one of those Squiers, for a total of less than 120 quid on top of the cost of the guitar, and it will sound much more like it does have them in it for a lot less money than it would cost to put the Fender ones in there.