So Who Here Plays Guitar?
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- #162
Lockback
Dull yet interesting
Right here, baby!
It was late getting here. It was supposed to be here by 2:30 but got delivered around dinner. No problem ... I unboxed it and gave it a the once-over, tuned it, plugged it in and played after dinner.
Holy smokes! It sounds great. Those MFD pickups are definitely hotter than the standard Fender/Squier single coils but I was able to coax some twang out of 'em from the bridge position.
Tomorrow, after some errands, I'll replace the strings with some 9's I prefer over the 10's it came with, and the fretboard definitely needs some lemon oil on it. It's dry as a bone.
And, man, is it HEAVY. The description said it's over 10 pounds, which is undoubtedly why it was a B-stock deal. If I were a gigging musician who had to stand for a couple of hours, I wouldn't want that kind of weight hanging around my neck and shoulders. But I'm not. I sit to play (hey, it works for Skunk Baxter), so weight isn't a huge consideration for me.
I'm super impressed with it and with a couple of minor adjustments I'll make tomorrow will be even better.
I'm not crazy about the strap color I bought but they're cheap to replace. And nobody sees it anyway so why should I care?
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What a beauty. Love the tortoise shell pick guard with that bluish green color. Very nice combo.
Glad you’re enjoying those MFDs as well! They really do have a unique sound.
Curious what you’re playing through? I have a little 15W tweaker at home and a 40W Morgan (AC style) sitting at church. Love the AC + Tele combo.
Glad you’re enjoying those MFDs as well! They really do have a unique sound.
Curious what you’re playing through? I have a little 15W tweaker at home and a 40W Morgan (AC style) sitting at church. Love the AC + Tele combo.
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- Thread starter
- #164
Lockback
Dull yet interesting
I'm playing through a Boss Katana 50. Usually, I play it through headphones so I don't blow my neighbors away.
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- #165
Lockback
Dull yet interesting
I knew that going in and, yep, you're right. But it still produces enough twang for me. I've noticed I can dial the volume knob down a lot from my other Tele and yet still have a good dB level. And then if I dial it up all the way and hit the overdrive pedal, it immediately moves into Les Paul territory ...
I love the MFD pickups. Yes, they definitely are louder and more meaty but they are super articulate. You can hear each string more clearly and not just some muddy mess.
Like I mentioned before, these guitars are sleepers! You don’t know what you’re missing until you’ve played one
To your last point there, I seem to recall a similar experience and also being blown away. It’s been a decade at this point, but the string clarity is something that really stuck out to me. It even sounds great unplugged
. Enjoy it! Glad you’re satisfied with your first dip into the world of telecasters.
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- #167
Lockback
Dull yet interesting
Because in my advancing years, fewer and fewer things bring me joy but I also have pretty much everything a man could want, I do occasionally buy new things like razors and guitars that I don't need but want. I always have a slight sense of guilt when I spend money on something that many would consider frivolous but I just had a friend die two weeks ago as a reminder that sometimes waiting to get something might not be the prudent approach.
Hence, another guitar is winging (well ... rolling) its way to my door.
Gretsch G2622 Semi-hollow body in Gunmetal color.
Hence, another guitar is winging (well ... rolling) its way to my door.
Gretsch G2622 Semi-hollow body in Gunmetal color.
As I continue to downsize my material possessions to fit within a nomadic RV lifestyle, the struggle to reduce the number of guitars and basses gets harder. A few weeks ago, I went to a great vintage guitar shop and trade four guitars for two. I was able to reduce my overall guitar count by two, and trade some killer guitars that were not being played often, for some things I would potentially put to more use. One of those new acquisitions was a Blonde Butterscotch Fender Telecaster American Pro II. My first guitar love affair was with the early 70’s butterscotch black guard Tele my neighbor had when I was a wee lad. That guy became my first guitar teacher, and I got to play that Tele often. What a beautiful guitar that was. Given the spec of this American Pro II, it shouldn’t be a great guitar. It has a weird, carved neck pocket. Its body is roasted pine (of all things) rather than the requisite ash. But from the second I picked up this Tele, it was love at first sight. It is ridiculously light weight. It plays amazingly. The rolled fretboard edges given this guitar a wonderful feel in the hand. And it sounds as good as most any Tele I’ve played. I have been playing this guitar lots. And I’m so glad to have it. Plus it helped me downsize!
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- #169
Lockback
Dull yet interesting
What a cool Tele! The original Esquire/Broadcaster/Telecaster was made out of pine. Seemed to work just fine.
This topic reminded me of something i tried 30ish years ago. I was going to be a bassist but even those fish didn't want me making noise especially that loud. A friend at that time of my life tried to teach me so to speak. He had hands that knew how electric stringed instruments worked and how to get the tone and everything guitar players know how to do. Even my insistence of joining a band or something wouldn't bring him to that side of guitar playing.
I can't remember if he got me, lent me the bass guitar, i think lent me. And a few days of me trying to "play" a simple maybe 5 string pulls or plucks. My hands and brain could figure out and do things like grilling a hamburger and bacon and mostly showering myself but those 5 hand/finger plucks nearly had my fingers and hands nearly get twisted up in the chords.
Thankfully that lent fish happened before i jumped in and bought a cheap bass, cheap was around $100 25 years ago where i lived and that was just for the instrument. Which was/is expensive to me.
I was and kind of still am a heavy metal fan, so many types and categorized genres nowadays i can't name the types of metal i like/love. But a few band names. Suicidal Tendecies, Life of Agony (until the thing happened), E-Town Concete, Selpltura, Slayer, Anthrax and a myriad of others who the internet can't remember.
My jealousy of all of you is very a lot right now. Hahaha...
Great stories everybody and great collections us fish players can read and see, thank you...
I can't remember if he got me, lent me the bass guitar, i think lent me. And a few days of me trying to "play" a simple maybe 5 string pulls or plucks. My hands and brain could figure out and do things like grilling a hamburger and bacon and mostly showering myself but those 5 hand/finger plucks nearly had my fingers and hands nearly get twisted up in the chords.
Thankfully that lent fish happened before i jumped in and bought a cheap bass, cheap was around $100 25 years ago where i lived and that was just for the instrument. Which was/is expensive to me.
I was and kind of still am a heavy metal fan, so many types and categorized genres nowadays i can't name the types of metal i like/love. But a few band names. Suicidal Tendecies, Life of Agony (until the thing happened), E-Town Concete, Selpltura, Slayer, Anthrax and a myriad of others who the internet can't remember.
My jealousy of all of you is very a lot right now. Hahaha...
Great stories everybody and great collections us fish players can read and see, thank you...
My fingers are far too precious.
I've been playing guitar for roughly 50 years. I am not nearly as good at it as I should be after all that time. Started out in junior high school on a borrowed Gibson SG Jr in a rock band that never had even one single gig. One day a friend who was learning banjo asked if he could stop by after one of our practices so I could strum some acoustic guitar and he could practice his timing. I said sure, and the other guitar player in my band brought a mandolin he'd been fooling around with. Within about a month the three of us had more bluegrass gigs lined up than we could shake a stick at. So starting sometime in the 8th grade I played bluegrass for my spending money for about a decade. After that I played solo in restaurants and such, off & on for a while, and was in various other bands that never really amounted to much. Currently my work schedule doesn't afford me much time behind the box, but I try to keep from getting too terribly rusty. I mostly play a custom made dread with mahogany back & sides and my trusty Martin D-28 that I bought new in '81, but I also have a Martin "Alternative X," a Yamaha classical, and an Alvarez dread that was my first ever "real" guitar. The X and the classical just sit in their cases collecting dust; I really should sell them. But I won't.
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- #173
Lockback
Dull yet interesting
Great stories!
This is my Gibson ES 345. I purchased it used back in 1971 and it's been my only electric since, although I did run through quite a few the years prior searching for it. I played it 6 nights a week, 5 hours a night before I started teaching school, and then weekends for the years following. I did have the bridge and pickups replaced, but the rest is in original condition - so don't let anybody tell you that guitars that are played get beat up. The former owner put Dimarzio super distortion pickups in it and I replaced those with Seymour Duncan's designed to sound like the originals.
Alas, I had to sell my Lowden so I could afford a new handmade flute. But I have a Martin 000-42 Marquis, so no worries.
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- #175
Lockback
Dull yet interesting
Sweet guitar! Looks like it has the old Varitone control on it like BB King had on Lucille. I'll bet it sounded amazing ...
I just finished watching a newly released NetFlix documentary: Norman's Rare Guitars.... It was very well done. With all your travels, I would guess you've visited his shop.... It sure looks like guitar heaven...
Me and my buddy went 50/50 at $75 a piece in December of 2022, it's been in my possession since. I love it.
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