Glaser are the most top notch folks I've dealt with. Took them my favorite strat I've been playing for over 20 years and assumed it was time for a refret. They called me back in to review the results. They hadn't touched it. They showed me the PLEK scan results showing that my neck was absolutely perfect and the frets, while worn down from their original medium jumbo profile, still had years of life left in them. They recommended I leave it alone until the frets are truly due; estimated 4-5 years time. Charged me nothing. That's the kind of honesty that buys a customer for life. I was ready to drop any price they wanted on a refret and they knew it.
PLEK doesn't really profile the frets properly because it grinds them flat instead of following the neck contour. My setup guy had a customer with a brand new LP that he sent back to Gibson & it came back junk & needed to be refretted. Hard to beat a good setup by a qualified guitar tech. My guy is the best in southern Nevada, a true perfectionist.
@@bradgriffith4231tbh you can actually program to what degree you want the plek machine to do. You still have to finish the work by hand tho for the optimal result
String trees are not intended to improve tuning. Their purpose is to improve tone & sustain by increasing the string break angle over nut, and also dampening ringing of the strings between the nut and the tuners. If anything, string trees can make tuning more difficult if they add too much friction to the strings at the nut and tree, which is why its important to try not to deviate much from the string break angle of the D string.
Play the g string by itself, listening for any unpleasant overtones, then lay your finger on the G string on the Tuner side of the nut and play the open G and see if the overtones are gone ,that tells you if you have the problem or not
I just ordered a Triple Tree. I have never been happy with the flabby open G on Teles. For years I have been using a rubber pick holder as a kind of mute on the head stock for the G. This is an elegant solution.
As stated, the takeaway for me is unless you're gonna put a guitar in a glass vault, what it plays like supersedes what it looks like. Sorry guys, a tele sounds and plays like a tele, period.
I agree. It’s a musical instrument, made to make music. Looks are great, but tone is all. But is there a problem making a mod like this, what’s wrong with it? You don’t like the telecaster sound? Ok to each his (or her) own…. I have one and love it.
@ioodyssey3740 and "slinkyness". More friction points behind the nut = more tension when playing or bending the string. (Not static tension like when you tune the guitar)
When the Telecaster was designed, the standard string set had a wound, not a plain third string. String sets were also heavier than is typical today. Flatwounds were more common than roundwounds. The Tele was designed with those strings in mind. I think that many perceived problems with the G string on the six-a-side headstock started when players began using lighter sets overall, and went to a plain third that could be bent more easily. Fender - and other manufacturers - were slow to adjust to the change. Another example would be the Gibson 'lightning bolt' stoptail bridge, which was still intonated for four wound strings for quite some time after many players had started using a plain third, which has a different intonation point, causing tuning problems. Putting a plain third into an old nut that had been cut for a wound third might also cause the string to rattle in the nut slot. So you can see that something that might not have been a problem in 1952 might have become a problem by 1967. What has always been weird to me is that Fender have made no attempt to address this obvious problem, in spite of the fact that the fix - a three-string tree, as here - is not exactly rocket science: a small change to one cheap part.
The main reason why Fender doesn't address these kinds of problems is because their (mostly uniformed) customers want guitars that look the same as they did during the Golden era.
I feel inclined to not just give this a thumbs-up but say “great comment”! As an owner of teles (and other guitars), I didn’t know this. Super interesting. Thanks for sharing!
The staggered pickup poles are also designed to accommodate a pure nickel wound 3rd. Using a plain steel or nickel plated wound 3rd with staggered pickups will produce uneven output.
Great little mod that many 6 inline tuner headstocks really need. Most people change the tuners out for staggered ones that give the G string more break angle. But depending on the design of the headstock, sometimes its still not enough. I'm not into Fenders at all, and the 6 inline tuner headstocks on the guitars I own, dont have this problem. The one guitar I have that had a "plinky" G string was remedied by some simple nut slot filing, to keep the string from buzzing. If you dont have proper break angle over the nut, just try wrapping the string around the post multiple times so it tapers downwards. This isn't the best solution, but oftentimes can be made to work with a little patience.
Hey, I guess if you had a lathe or have a buddy with one, you could make up a duplicate string post for the g tuner with the string hole dropped down nearer the ferrule. Then you wouldn’t need so many turns and maybe avoid any problems that might cause. Cheers guys.
This really makes sense for someone that doesn't want to damage a vintage guitar. Over the years I've found that on most flat headstock guitars, a Floyd Rose string retainer bar is overall a better option than all sorts of string tree designs. But it doesn't look vintage, that's for sure.
I have a Modern Player Tele, it has a belly cut, much more rounded edges, a solid strat bridge, a tele neck pickup, strat middle, and splittable bridge humbucker, and... 2 string trees. What a bastard child, but I love it!
I have an Indonesian-made Fender Tele Custom - flame maple top on a mahogany body with two Seymour Duncan humbuckers, belly carve, thru-body 6-saddle bridge and TWO string trees, covering D, G, B, and E strings. I replaced the bent-metal Fender trees with Tusq XL teflon self-lubricating trees. Awesome guitar!
Spacer depth has a significant effect on the way the corresponding string plays under the fingers. Can also effect overtones I find the optimal position for the tree differs on each Guitar
My tele (not a Fender, but a custom build) has 2 roller string trees. Love those things. Also, I'm NOT a purist by any means. Got this great pink/peach swirl finish and an big atom decal on it. Totally works for me and it sounds awesome. This is a great idea however if you don't have the second string tree already.
in the billbox today was a package from music city bridge, so I opened it up and did a 5 minute install on one of my tele's that needed help on the g string. It definetly makes a difference and it will stay on this guitar, thanks for putting this fix out there. I ordered extras when I got this one for future use. makes a big improvement and is the lowest cost of any mod I have done.
I have a Tele that has the harmonic G string ring, I stop it completely with a single wrap of scotch tape around the G and B string. You can barely see it and it works great.
I saw this very helpful video back when you first posted it, remembered it today after recently picking up one of the Squier Paranormal Nashville Strat-Tele guitars. Did a search, found this video again and used your link to order one, just what the doctor ordered. 😊
if hes willing to put a bender on, I dont get what his issue with an extra string tree is. Sounds a little hypocritical. Enjoy your 78 tele. I got a deluxe. There were great ones made in that era for sure. Some dogs too though, lol.
bouhht 4 three trip trees for eack of my strats and my jazzmaster my teles have the circle tree its a great simple mod that stabilizes the g string. genius
Every single stringtree guitar needs this. I have several strats and teles where the distance of the G tuner to the nut is exactly a harmonic of the G string. So I whack a G chord, damp it and the piece of string behind the nut rings out. This solves that. The tuning wasn't the problem. Also don't want to cut a tighter nut slot. It's too close to dampen the lateral movement that excites the string behind the nut and keep it from sticking.
I have had a triple tree on my 2020 American Original '50s Stratocaster for a couple years now ... works quite well! I add some nut lube via a tiny flathead screwdriver, into that gizmo.
I'm thinking about a b-bender so I've been looking up stuff about Joe Glaser and I stumble across this.... Four years ago when I was putting together my tele I found the 3 string tree on Reverb and fixed my ringy G string. That was a very important addition and just now realised it was Joe's invention! Definitely planning a Nashville trip for the Glaser B-bender mod. Thanks.
I bought one of these for a fender mustang. Although it worked, I was surprised that the tension of the string bent the string tree slightly. Maybe the first ones weren’t that strong??
to all the people who either don't understand the problem this is fixing, or have a tele and don't see the reason to get one. The triple string tree can fix multiple problems especially if you don't want to put a second string tree. It can give a better break angle to stop the string from popping out of the nut slot, stop ringing behind the nut on the G string, or help your guitar stay in tune better if you have a G or B bender. some teles need it, some don't.
My Tele's from the 70's all have two string tree's because that's all we had back then. I never took them off because the second hole would have to be filled and show. When I first caught wind of Joe's invention it made total sense to me. I immediately ordered some to install on my Teles that I hadn't added a second tree to and to have on hand for any future Telecaster purchases. Joe is a practical hands on problem solver who just happens to work on guitars. Pay attention when he talks and you'll learn something.
Makes sense, except I would like this made from a material with graphite/teflon, or with rollers. Pure for tuning stability's sake. I use 2 separate string trees with steel rollers for that reason.
Claude and William, I think the ball ends on the early model were rollers on an axle with spacer bushings, on a yoke. So he sorta had the roller idea. In the end I think a stamped, bent and plated one looks more correct on a Fender. My Tele has one tree and the G is going a long way at a pretty good height above the headstock face, it could use a Triple Tree.
Robert, when this video started, I thought, how is he gonna make a video out of this little thing lol? That was a wonderful video. Well done. I really enjoyed the interview and I learned more than I thought I would.
thanks for the video, this is such a great solution. I have a telecaster with a horrible chimey/ring on the g string. the chime goes away when I apply a little bit of pressure on the string behind the nut. I've tried winding the entire length of the string, to get more break angle, but I reckon this triple tree is going to fix it entirely. Just ordered myine now, will let you know how it goes
If Joe says this is the way to go on a Tele, I’m all ears and will do it. He’s done work for me since the 90’s, and I’ve had the pleasure of playing some of his builds that are so awesome. He’s the mastermind of anything Bender and Tele/ any guitar in my opinion. Nice video. I’ve learned more from Joes concepts and applied a bunch to my own builds here in Florida. There’s only a handful of guys out there that have the skills to do the best and Joe is right there. 🇺🇸
my"solution a couple of years back was to put 2 double string trees on my tele......a bit staggered towards the nut on the G and D string....workes fine...cheers.
Reverend sells a superior, just my opinion, one of these for about 14 bucks. It is just a round bar like the one that comes on a lot of Reverend guitars as stock. This means that the string is not cradled, nor does it have two ends to catch on. Reducing that surface area and eliminating two drag points per string can greatly help with tuning and stability. If you want to make a million dollars invent one that rolls. You can pay me later. Lol.
I have a 75th anniv (2021) Tele Player Plus (MIM) with belly-carve, rolled fretboard edges, push-pull for parallel/series pups (Fender noiseless) and a string tree with a roller bar! brilliant indeed! Reverend also sells a sweet drop-in replacement roller bridge which I put on my Bixby-equipped axes.
I bend the g syring behind the nut to do a bunch of steel guitar licks. In my case the teles nut needs to be cut perfectly or it won't function properly. Try this F trick:fret the "e" and "b" strings on the first fret with your pinky and ring fingers. Hit the bottom three strings with pick.now reach behind the nut with your first finger and bend it(push down) the g string whole step, to make a nice country sounding "F" chord. I do a few more ,but this trick can get you started on those behind the nut fake steel guitar licks. Unfortunately I don't think you can do thees things with that mod your talking about.
I do a lot of behind the nut bends' I use small eyelet screws for the first and second strings' don't have to be bothered with strings slipping outta the string tree' never found the need for a tree on third string.
Well I’ve had an annoying buzz ringing issue with the G string on my 2012 Tele from day one that I haven’t been able to eliminate. Doesn’t matter whether it’s played plugged in or not the buzz is there. It’s not caused from the frets or saddles, it does it when plucked on the open G string. I have checked everything I can think of. It never occurred to me the break angle would cause this even though it does have staggered tuners. I’m going to check this out maybe this might just be the problem and fix. Thanks Robert much appreciated.
I put a Reverend Triple tree on my Tele and it works perfectly. I put a bit of nut sauce underneath every few re-restrings, and it just works. My tele is a parts caster with a Warmoth solid rosewood neck, three pickups and the things I put on to it to make it do everything I need it to.
I can understand using this on vintage tuners, I have a 2007 deluxe with modern tuners with a shortened G string post and I put maximum raps on it, works for me.
I agree, a tree for the G string is very often needed with Telecasters (and other models that lack them). I'm not bothered about drilling holes in headstocks, so I usually add a G-D string tree. The only guitar I've ever owned that _hasn't_ needed one is my Squier CV 50s Strat, and I assume that by some stroke of luck, its nut was cut perfectly.
@@BaroqueBlues Thank you. I rarely bend the G string behind the nut, but I've just tried it on my red Tele, and I can easily bend up a whole tone, despite having fitted a string tree. I've also just taken the G string from under the tree and re-tuned it: immediately hearing a very high pitched sympathetic note (about the same as "D" played on fret 22 of the top E string). So for me, that G string tree is a no-brainer, no matter how many guitars some dude on TH-cam says he's played.
@@BaroqueBlues Mediocre! Thank you, I didn't even think I was _that_ good, so I'll definitely take that as a compliment. Maybe you could check out my videos and suggest areas for improvement, or maybe I'll watch some of yours to see where I'm going wrong. What do you think? What, no public videos on your channel? Also, I think I might have identified something that's different on my guitar: if I play every note in every position, that's 132 notes; if I play chromatically from the open bottom E to the highest note on the top E string, that's just 46 notes. Even with some crazy harmonics, I can't get close to 246 possible notes. Are you sure we're even talking about the same instrument? Maybe you've got confused. The topic of the video (and my comment) is the Fender Telecaster, which is a _guitar._ Maybe you're thinking of a keyboard, or some exotic instrument with 246 notes.
I got a Les Paul that Joe put stainless steel frets on, I think that it was when he first got his Plek machine. A decade later it still plays like a dream.
As a non-purist, the first mod I made to my modern Tele was to add another string tree to give the G string the proper break angle. For the vintage Tele purist, the triple tree makes total sense.
If you wrap the string so it winds upward instead of winding down, it has the same effect. Same goes for Les Pauls, really improves tuning issues on the 3rd string on Les Pauls.
I noticed that right away on both my Teli & Strat you have an annoying double note when you pick the G string. You get a G note & D note ringing out behind nut. I also try to make all strings level across in back of the nut.
Hey Robert, hope you are well. Gotta say, when you were moving to Nashville I was thinking how cool of a studio you had and was hoping things would work out well for you in Nashville. It looks like you are doing well there and it really seems that there are more resources, like these really good shops. I think these videos have been a great addition to your channel. They are fun to watch and informative. Thanks for sharing everything and have a good one.
Although I personally see nothing wrong with having two string trees & aesthetically for me it’s fine. But certainly love the simplicity of the triple string tree. On one of my Fenders I’ve certainly changed string trees from the standard form to a roller version. Nice interesting video. 🍻
Man I love Robert Baker , but this mod didn’t work with a crap for me. I use a tc poly tune 3 , it’s great but I noticed my G string was tuner was starting to glitch a little If it was a little sharp and I flattened it out a little it would just jump way flat and then I’d have retune. I thought it was the tuner but they are really good USA fender tuners and almost new. Right before I was about to order a replacement I thought “ what about that sting tree “. Switched back to the Og fender tree and it snapped right back into shape. It was so relieving to have it back staying in tune like it always did and Also it wouldn’t jump on the tuner. If I flattened it out a touch or sharpened I could see it on the tuner immediately and that’s how is should be. If u do this mod make sure u save the old tree, u might need it later on.
Actually, thats exactly what i need for my Esquire build. I put a graphite nut on a Fender player tele neck. It didnt come with a string tree. Thats what im going to do. Thank Rob
Hey, I have a triple tree on my Tele (and Strat). I need to email Music City Bridge about a bridge for my Epi SG. Been loving the videos! Can't wait to see what's next.
Ugh! I just added a second string tree to my tele two days ago and this would have been a better option because I only did it for the G string that had a little ping.
Thats a bummer man. Thats what i was about to do and then Joe told me about this. This might still be a better option if you decide to fill the whole from the second tree.
I’m going to build a Warmoth Tele, here’s the specs: Thin line semi hollow tele body Sparkle holographic paint Gotoh Floyd (black) JB in Bridge Texas special Strat middle Jazz in neck Contoured heel Asymmetrical neck Reverse Strat headstock
Joe is just like my Grandpa was. If he needed something he just fucking made it. Grandpa enjoyed those unplanned benefits like the screw placement letting the tree angle itself.
For my money, the mod that ALL Teles need is the Oak Grigsby 4-way switch. The benefit being that you can have both pickups on, wired parallel, and both pickups up wired in series. Giddyup!
As someone else wrote, Reverend has such a stringtree, but I have one by Wilkinson as well. So nothing new, but it would be nice to be able to buy one at your local store...
Okay, I finally subscribed! I am a recent purchaser of a Fender Telecaster. Oh, I have a debate with a friend of mine about visiting Memphis or Nashville. I'm all in on Nashville. I just want a couple of days of good music and food! I'm a simple man.
Anytime I put a second string tree on my Strats it gets rid of a very off chime at the headstock. It also increases tubing stability. A Reverend string tree is also an option
I checked my tele's and starcaster and strat and all have a gap in angle on the strings there so I orderd a few to test and feel the difference, really simple to do if it helps i'll give a thumbs up, plus I want to see if it makes a difference in bends.
I have a Tele-style guitar which had a dead-sounding G string. I had to add a second string tree to fix it. But I would have had this triple tree done if I knew about it. My new Schecter California Classic strat has a triple tree to start with.
I use a wound G on my thinline Tele and have no problems .I also needed a new nut so maybe the luthier compensated the G slot.A wound G suits my playing style .
Fender put compensated tuners on my last CS Tele. Told me they would send me the regular vintage if I didn't like them. I have ended up using them on a lot of six in line stuff. That said. This is way more simple and I would assume a bit cheaper than changing tuners.
it may be just the size of my fingers but i do a couple of licks with a whole step bend on the B string inside the first three frets. about every other time i did it i would push the G string up out of its nut slot and would have to quickly slide it back into the slot while playing. put one of these on and i haven't done it since. one less thing to think about. well worth the money. IMO
Another Nashville adventure is here.
Smashville! 🎸🍺
Nashvegas the Woke
Mis.
@@christopherfidler3019 Smash & dash!
Glaser are the most top notch folks I've dealt with. Took them my favorite strat I've been playing for over 20 years and assumed it was time for a refret. They called me back in to review the results. They hadn't touched it. They showed me the PLEK scan results showing that my neck was absolutely perfect and the frets, while worn down from their original medium jumbo profile, still had years of life left in them. They recommended I leave it alone until the frets are truly due; estimated 4-5 years time. Charged me nothing. That's the kind of honesty that buys a customer for life. I was ready to drop any price they wanted on a refret and they knew it.
I love that! ❤❤❤
Class act. Nice to hear😎
PLEK doesn't really profile the frets properly because it grinds them flat instead of following the neck contour. My setup guy had a customer with a brand new LP that he sent back to Gibson & it came back junk & needed to be refretted. Hard to beat a good setup by a qualified guitar tech. My guy is the best in southern Nevada, a true perfectionist.
@@bradgriffith4231tbh you can actually program to what degree you want the plek machine to do.
You still have to finish the work by hand tho for the optimal result
You should have bought them a cheesecake then. What the hell.😃😄
My telecasters don’t hardly ever go out of tune. This feels like a solution to a problem I don’t have.
Yep. He’s got a glaser bender. Different animal. Mine never goes out of tune
Mine stays in great tune also.... Mexican made Tele with upgraded parts and pickups 😊
String trees are not intended to improve tuning. Their purpose is to improve tone & sustain by increasing the string break angle over nut, and also dampening ringing of the strings between the nut and the tuners. If anything, string trees can make tuning more difficult if they add too much friction to the strings at the nut and tree, which is why its important to try not to deviate much from the string break angle of the D string.
The Tele is the one guitar that if i pick it up I'm sure its gonna be in tune.
Play the g string by itself, listening for any unpleasant overtones, then lay your finger on the G string on the Tuner side of the nut and play the open G and see if the overtones are gone ,that tells you if you have the problem or not
They sell these at stew-mac, but I think this is the first video where someone actually asked Joe Glaser about it! Great content.
Just an FYI, Reverend has been selling Avery nice triple tree for several years, round bar, no drag and can be turned slightly for max down pressure.
I just ordered a Triple Tree.
I have never been happy with the flabby open G on Teles.
For years I have been using a rubber pick holder as a kind of mute on the head stock for the G.
This is an elegant solution.
As stated, the takeaway for me is unless you're gonna put a guitar in a glass vault, what it plays like supersedes what it looks like. Sorry guys, a tele sounds and plays like a tele, period.
Luckily so many aesthetic mods are also functional! Good thing you don't have to worry about anyone modding YOUR guitar.👍🏽
Well I think you need to be sorry. Very sorry. Its good you stated. That's a statement for sure.
I agree. It’s a musical instrument, made to make music. Looks are great, but tone is all. But is there a problem making a mod like this, what’s wrong with it? You don’t like the telecaster sound? Ok to each his (or her) own…. I have one and love it.
I forgive you.
Exactly. Nobody obviously paid attention to Eddie van halen
I tried the Zac Childs’ recommendation to use a maximum string wind - works fine for me; improved break angle and no issues with tuning.
Zac is the man.
NOT A TUNING ISSUE. It's about ringy harmonics behind the nut.
@ioodyssey3740 and "slinkyness". More friction points behind the nut = more tension when playing or bending the string. (Not static tension like when you tune the guitar)
When the Telecaster was designed, the standard string set had a wound, not a plain third string. String sets were also heavier than is typical today. Flatwounds were more common than roundwounds. The Tele was designed with those strings in mind.
I think that many perceived problems with the G string on the six-a-side headstock started when players began using lighter sets overall, and went to a plain third that could be bent more easily. Fender - and other manufacturers - were slow to adjust to the change. Another example would be the Gibson 'lightning bolt' stoptail bridge, which was still intonated for four wound strings for quite some time after many players had started using a plain third, which has a different intonation point, causing tuning problems.
Putting a plain third into an old nut that had been cut for a wound third might also cause the string to rattle in the nut slot. So you can see that something that might not have been a problem in 1952 might have become a problem by 1967.
What has always been weird to me is that Fender have made no attempt to address this obvious problem, in spite of the fact that the fix - a three-string tree, as here - is not exactly rocket science: a small change to one cheap part.
The main reason why Fender doesn't address these kinds of problems is because their (mostly uniformed) customers want guitars that look the same as they did during the Golden era.
I feel inclined to not just give this a thumbs-up but say “great comment”! As an owner of teles (and other guitars), I didn’t know this. Super interesting. Thanks for sharing!
The staggered pickup poles are also designed to accommodate a pure nickel wound 3rd. Using a plain steel or nickel plated wound 3rd with staggered pickups will produce uneven output.
Great info ! Nice to read a comment that educates me!!
Great little mod that many 6 inline tuner headstocks really need. Most people change the tuners out for staggered ones that give the G string more break angle. But depending on the design of the headstock, sometimes its still not enough. I'm not into Fenders at all, and the 6 inline tuner headstocks on the guitars I own, dont have this problem. The one guitar I have that had a "plinky" G string was remedied by some simple nut slot filing, to keep the string from buzzing. If you dont have proper break angle over the nut, just try wrapping the string around the post multiple times so it tapers downwards. This isn't the best solution, but oftentimes can be made to work with a little patience.
Hey, I guess if you had a lathe or have a buddy with one, you could make up a duplicate string post for the g tuner with the string hole dropped down nearer the ferrule. Then you wouldn’t need so many turns and maybe avoid any problems that might cause. Cheers guys.
This really makes sense for someone that doesn't want to damage a vintage guitar. Over the years I've found that on most flat headstock guitars, a Floyd Rose string retainer bar is overall a better option than all sorts of string tree designs. But it doesn't look vintage, that's for sure.
I have triple string trees on two Strats and a Tele and I love em; in fact, I'm looking to order more for my next Teles and/or Strats
I have a Modern Player Tele, it has a belly cut, much more rounded edges, a solid strat bridge, a tele neck pickup, strat middle, and splittable bridge humbucker, and... 2 string trees. What a bastard child, but I love it!
From now on, no matter what, when you're looking at your Tele, all you're gonna see is that damned extra string tree!
I have an Indonesian-made Fender Tele Custom - flame maple top on a mahogany body with two Seymour Duncan humbuckers, belly carve, thru-body 6-saddle bridge and TWO string trees, covering D, G, B, and E strings. I replaced the bent-metal Fender trees with Tusq XL teflon self-lubricating trees. Awesome guitar!
Yes, to me it is a sin to think that something developed 70 years ago is fully refined :D There is always something new to consider.
Spacer depth has a significant effect on the way the corresponding string plays under the fingers. Can also effect overtones
I find the optimal position for the tree differs on each Guitar
My tele (not a Fender, but a custom build) has 2 roller string trees. Love those things. Also, I'm NOT a purist by any means. Got this great pink/peach swirl finish and an big atom decal on it. Totally works for me and it sounds awesome. This is a great idea however if you don't have the second string tree already.
in the billbox today was a package from music city bridge, so I opened it up and did a 5 minute install on one of my tele's that needed help on the g string. It definetly makes a difference and it will stay on this guitar, thanks for putting this fix out there. I ordered extras when I got this one for future use. makes a big improvement and is the lowest cost of any mod I have done.
I just get the Fender tuners that have the G B E pole pieces much lower than the other three. Pretty common now on all their new Guitars as well.
Sure, if you need to upgrade your tuners. I prefer locking. Which is more expensive than this little piece.
Which part of the tuner is the pole piece?
Triples tree orders have just skyrocketed...
I like the roller string trees on my Strats and Teles.
I have a Tele that has the harmonic G string ring, I stop it completely with a single wrap of scotch tape around the G and B string. You can barely see it and it works great.
I built a Tele last year and had Glasers set it up and they installed one of these trees. They are great!
I saw this very helpful video back when you first posted it, remembered it today after recently picking up one of the Squier Paranormal Nashville Strat-Tele guitars. Did a search, found this video again and used your link to order one, just what the doctor ordered. 😊
5:23 - “As a purist” (not), I’m perfectly happy with the two string trees on my ‘78 Tele.
if hes willing to put a bender on, I dont get what his issue with an extra string tree is. Sounds a little hypocritical. Enjoy your 78 tele. I got a deluxe. There were great ones made in that era for sure. Some dogs too though, lol.
@@adeptgopnik Those ‘70s Deluxes are cool.
Eyy, 70’s deluxe tele gang.
Always love a clever cheap mod
I bought one of these for my jazzmaster… It is brilliant, simple and looks great. Zero G string issues since replacing 🙏
bouhht 4 three trip trees for eack of my strats and my jazzmaster
my teles have the circle tree
its a great simple mod that stabilizes the g string. genius
Every single stringtree guitar needs this. I have several strats and teles where the distance of the G tuner to the nut is exactly a harmonic of the G string. So I whack a G chord, damp it and the piece of string behind the nut rings out. This solves that. The tuning wasn't the problem. Also don't want to cut a tighter nut slot. It's too close to dampen the lateral movement that excites the string behind the nut and keep it from sticking.
I have had a triple tree on my 2020 American Original '50s Stratocaster for a couple years now ... works quite well! I add some nut lube via a tiny flathead screwdriver, into that gizmo.
Love seeing the process to creating new gear and the guys who actually came up with it. Keep up the good work.
Just got one, $11 with shipping and excited to see how it does! Thank you both for sharing!!
where did you order it at? thanks
I buy the reverend triple tree
Amen
I'm thinking about a b-bender so I've been looking up stuff about Joe Glaser and I stumble across this.... Four years ago when I was putting together my tele I found the 3 string tree on Reverb and fixed my ringy G string. That was a very important addition and just now realised it was Joe's invention! Definitely planning a Nashville trip for the Glaser B-bender mod. Thanks.
He didn't invent it.
I bought one of these for a fender mustang. Although it worked, I was surprised that the tension of the string bent the string tree slightly. Maybe the first ones weren’t that strong??
to all the people who either don't understand the problem this is fixing, or have a tele and don't see the reason to get one. The triple string tree can fix multiple problems especially if you don't want to put a second string tree. It can give a better break angle to stop the string from popping out of the nut slot, stop ringing behind the nut on the G string, or help your guitar stay in tune better if you have a G or B bender. some teles need it, some don't.
Like traveling to the temple on the misty mountain to present your baby to the wise man to be healed.
Wow, great invention! Great story. My Squier Telly has two string trees, holding down four strings.
"A sin against nature" LOL!!! No extra holes -- great invention!
My Tele's from the 70's all have two string tree's because that's all we had back then. I never took them off because the second hole would have to be filled and show. When I first caught wind of Joe's invention it made total sense to me. I immediately ordered some to install on my Teles that I hadn't added a second tree to and to have on hand for any future Telecaster purchases. Joe is a practical hands on problem solver who just happens to work on guitars. Pay attention when he talks and you'll learn something.
My '74 tele has two.
Makes sense, except I would like this made from a material with graphite/teflon, or with rollers. Pure for tuning stability's sake.
I use 2 separate string trees with steel rollers for that reason.
Amen!
Claude and William, I think the ball ends on the early model were rollers on an axle with spacer bushings, on a yoke. So he sorta had the roller idea. In the end I think a stamped, bent and plated one looks more correct on a Fender. My Tele has one tree and the G is going a long way at a pretty good height above the headstock face, it could use a Triple Tree.
Robert, when this video started, I thought, how is he gonna make a video out of this little thing lol? That was a wonderful video. Well done. I really enjoyed the interview and I learned more than I thought I would.
I just installed one on my guitar. Now it sounds like a guitar. Well... in fact it sounds exactly as before. Thanks for this excellent tip.
Reverend Guitars has had a 3 string tree for a long time
Yes, and a better design in my opinion.
But it doesn’t fit a Strat or a Tele.
thanks for the video, this is such a great solution. I have a telecaster with a horrible chimey/ring on the g string. the chime goes away when I apply a little bit of pressure on the string behind the nut. I've tried winding the entire length of the string, to get more break angle, but I reckon this triple tree is going to fix it entirely. Just ordered myine now, will let you know how it goes
If Joe says this is the way to go on a Tele, I’m all ears and will do it. He’s done work for me since the 90’s, and I’ve had the pleasure of playing some of his builds that are so awesome. He’s the mastermind of anything Bender and Tele/ any guitar in my opinion. Nice video. I’ve learned more from Joes concepts and applied a bunch to my own builds here in Florida. There’s only a handful of guys out there that have the skills to do the best and Joe is right there. 🇺🇸
Reverend makes something similar that's awesome that you can buy aftermarket from them.
my"solution a couple of years back was to put 2 double string trees on my tele......a bit staggered towards the nut on the G and D string....workes fine...cheers.
"Garage Engineering" at its finest.
I love that he used what was lying around the shop too!!!
Reverend sells a superior, just my opinion, one of these for about 14 bucks. It is just a round bar like the one that comes on a lot of Reverend guitars as stock. This means that the string is not cradled, nor does it have two ends to catch on. Reducing that surface area and eliminating two drag points per string can greatly help with tuning and stability. If you want to make a million dollars invent one that rolls. You can pay me later. Lol.
I was trying to remember which manufacturer used a triple string tree, thanks.
Just came by to say this same thing, I use Reverend's triple trees on all my Fenders.
I have a 75th anniv (2021) Tele Player Plus (MIM) with belly-carve, rolled fretboard edges, push-pull for parallel/series pups (Fender noiseless) and a string tree with a roller bar! brilliant indeed! Reverend also sells a sweet drop-in replacement roller bridge which I put on my Bixby-equipped axes.
Love my Musiccity compensated wrap tail piece but didn’t know they had these string trees. I am definite need of one. Thanks for the video.
I bend the g syring behind the nut to do a bunch of steel guitar licks.
In my case the teles nut needs to be cut perfectly or it won't function properly.
Try this F trick:fret the "e" and "b" strings on the first fret with your pinky and ring fingers. Hit the bottom three strings with pick.now reach behind the nut with your first finger and bend it(push down) the g string whole step, to make a nice country sounding "F" chord.
I do a few more ,but this trick can get you started on those behind the nut fake steel guitar licks.
Unfortunately I don't think you can do thees things with that mod your talking about.
I do a lot of behind the nut bends' I use small eyelet screws for the first and second strings' don't have to be bothered with strings slipping outta the string tree' never found the need for a tree on third string.
Well I’ve had an annoying buzz ringing issue with the G string on my 2012 Tele from day one that I haven’t been able to eliminate. Doesn’t matter whether it’s played plugged in or not the buzz is there. It’s not caused from the frets or saddles, it does it when plucked on the open G string. I have checked everything I can think of. It never occurred to me the break angle would cause this even though it does have staggered tuners. I’m going to check this out maybe this might just be the problem and fix. Thanks Robert much appreciated.
How do you feel about the staggered tuners? Supposedly they remove the need for string trees. Would you still go with a string tree anyway?
I have them and there really is no need for any string trees. Now you got to fill holes where the trees used to be 🤣
That is so cool. I have a tele and now I'm going to get a triple tree!
I put a Reverend Triple tree on my Tele and it works perfectly. I put a bit of nut sauce underneath every few re-restrings, and it just works.
My tele is a parts caster with a Warmoth solid rosewood neck, three pickups and the things I put on to it to make it do everything I need it to.
I thought Reverend had been doing this for a while.
The Reverend is a more elegant design.
I can understand using this on vintage tuners, I have a 2007 deluxe with modern tuners with a shortened G string post and I put maximum raps on it, works for me.
Great behind-the-scenes information. Loved it.
I agree, a tree for the G string is very often needed with Telecasters (and other models that lack them). I'm not bothered about drilling holes in headstocks, so I usually add a G-D string tree. The only guitar I've ever owned that _hasn't_ needed one is my Squier CV 50s Strat, and I assume that by some stroke of luck, its nut was cut perfectly.
@@BaroqueBlues No _what's_ not? Please explain.
@@BaroqueBlues Thank you. I rarely bend the G string behind the nut, but I've just tried it on my red Tele, and I can easily bend up a whole tone, despite having fitted a string tree. I've also just taken the G string from under the tree and re-tuned it: immediately hearing a very high pitched sympathetic note (about the same as "D" played on fret 22 of the top E string). So for me, that G string tree is a no-brainer, no matter how many guitars some dude on TH-cam says he's played.
@@BaroqueBlues Mediocre! Thank you, I didn't even think I was _that_ good, so I'll definitely take that as a compliment. Maybe you could check out my videos and suggest areas for improvement, or maybe I'll watch some of yours to see where I'm going wrong. What do you think? What, no public videos on your channel? Also, I think I might have identified something that's different on my guitar: if I play every note in every position, that's 132 notes; if I play chromatically from the open bottom E to the highest note on the top E string, that's just 46 notes. Even with some crazy harmonics, I can't get close to 246 possible notes. Are you sure we're even talking about the same instrument? Maybe you've got confused. The topic of the video (and my comment) is the Fender Telecaster, which is a _guitar._ Maybe you're thinking of a keyboard, or some exotic instrument with 246 notes.
I got a Les Paul that Joe put stainless steel frets on, I think that it was when he first got his Plek machine. A decade later it still plays like a dream.
What a great guy Joe is. A true innovator and guitar lover.
I also have a Surf Green Tele. It's a Fender Custom Shop La Cabronita Relic with a TV Jones in the bridge.
Thank you both.
As a non-purist, the first mod I made to my modern Tele was to add another string tree to give the G string the proper break angle. For the vintage Tele purist, the triple tree makes total sense.
If you wrap the string so it winds upward instead of winding down, it has the same effect. Same goes for Les Pauls, really improves tuning issues on the 3rd string on Les Pauls.
I noticed that right away on both my Teli & Strat you have an annoying double note when you pick the G string. You get a G note & D note ringing out behind nut. I also try to make all strings level across in back of the nut.
Hey Robert, hope you are well. Gotta say, when you were moving to Nashville I was thinking how cool of a studio you had and was hoping things would work out well for you in Nashville. It looks like you are doing well there and it really seems that there are more resources, like these really good shops. I think these videos have been a great addition to your channel. They are fun to watch and informative. Thanks for sharing everything and have a good one.
Although I personally see nothing wrong with having two string trees & aesthetically for me it’s fine. But certainly love the simplicity of the triple string tree. On one of my Fenders I’ve certainly changed string trees from the standard form to a roller version.
Nice interesting video. 🍻
My USA Tele standard 2007 stays in tune really well ❤
Man I love Robert Baker , but this mod didn’t work with a crap for me. I use a tc poly tune 3 , it’s great but I noticed my G string was tuner was starting to glitch a little If it was a little sharp and I flattened it out a little it would just jump way flat and then I’d have retune. I thought it was the tuner but they are really good USA fender tuners and almost new. Right before I was about to order a replacement I thought “ what about that sting tree “. Switched back to the Og fender tree and it snapped right back into shape. It was so relieving to have it back staying in tune like it always did and Also it wouldn’t jump on the tuner. If I flattened it out a touch or sharpened I could see it on the tuner immediately and that’s how is should be. If u do this mod make sure u save the old tree, u might need it later on.
Good time for some Tele love on the channel. Just been playing and enjoying mine more recently. I like the Triple Tree, will look into that.
This is great. Just ordered 4, one for each of my Telecasters.
Actually, thats exactly what i need for my Esquire build. I put a graphite nut on a Fender player tele neck. It didnt come with a string tree. Thats what im going to do. Thank Rob
Hey, I have a triple tree on my Tele (and Strat). I need to email Music City Bridge about a bridge for my Epi SG. Been loving the videos! Can't wait to see what's next.
Ugh! I just added a second string tree to my tele two days ago and this would have been a better option because I only did it for the G string that had a little ping.
Thats a bummer man. Thats what i was about to do and then Joe told me about this. This might still be a better option if you decide to fill the whole from the second tree.
I’m going to build a Warmoth Tele, here’s the specs:
Thin line semi hollow tele body
Sparkle holographic paint
Gotoh Floyd (black)
JB in Bridge
Texas special Strat middle
Jazz in neck
Contoured heel
Asymmetrical neck
Reverse Strat headstock
A guitar craftsman. I love these guys.
i have one on my Strat...will get one for my Tele! thanks for the info of its origins...
Joe is just like my Grandpa was. If he needed something he just fucking made it. Grandpa enjoyed those unplanned benefits like the screw placement letting the tree angle itself.
Install the Reverend Triple Tree, it looks much better
Exactly
i purchased your string tree. thx for the advice. i will def put it on my strat thx. kevin
For my money, the mod that ALL Teles need is the Oak Grigsby 4-way switch. The benefit being that you can have both pickups on, wired parallel, and both pickups up wired in series. Giddyup!
Got 3 teles. None of them have a G string issue. But if you want I sell a 4 strings tree for adressing this non existing D string problem.
I put one on a Kappa Continental. Sure did the job. Great product.
As someone else wrote, Reverend has such a stringtree, but I have one by Wilkinson as well. So nothing new, but it would be nice to be able to buy one at your local store...
I have put these on 3 guitars now. Love them.
Okay, I finally subscribed! I am a recent purchaser of a Fender Telecaster. Oh, I have a debate with a friend of mine about visiting Memphis or Nashville. I'm all in on Nashville. I just want a couple of days of good music and food! I'm a simple man.
Anytime I put a second string tree on my Strats it gets rid of a very off chime at the headstock. It also increases tubing stability. A Reverend string tree is also an option
I put it on my Strat and it’s great! Teles are next.👍
Very interesting.
Reverend guitars has a triple tree from stock, I believe...
I checked my tele's and starcaster and strat and all have a gap in angle on the strings there so I orderd a few to test and feel the difference, really simple to do if it helps i'll give a thumbs up, plus I want to see if it makes a difference in bends.
Really enjoying these videos with Joe and his crew!
Man they are the best. I have another one shot already as well that will be out in a few weeks
I’ve got about 6, 8 telecasters and all I’ve ever done is use staggered locking tuners and a single string tee…..never had any issues.
Ok, so you've got 6 and a half to many..
❤the Trini in the background.
I have a Tele-style guitar which had a dead-sounding G string. I had to add a second string tree to fix it. But I would have had this triple tree done if I knew about it. My new Schecter California Classic strat has a triple tree to start with.
An alternative per Ask Zac is to do many more windings around the G string post.
I use a wound G on my thinline Tele and have no problems .I also needed a new nut so maybe the luthier compensated the G slot.A wound G suits my playing style .
Fender put compensated tuners on my last CS Tele. Told me they would send me the regular vintage if I didn't like them. I have ended up using them on a lot of six in line stuff. That said. This is way more simple and I would assume a bit cheaper than changing tuners.
it may be just the size of my fingers but i do a couple of licks with a whole step bend on the B string inside the first three frets. about every other time i did it i would push the G string up out of its nut slot and would have to quickly slide it back into the slot while playing. put one of these on and i haven't done it since. one less thing to think about. well worth the money. IMO
I started making these without any outside information 10 years ago for both tele and Strat.
Solves a problem that my Tele doesn’t have
Just sales promo blurb for BS! Baker sucks! As per Alice Cooper says in Lost in America " get a nice haircut and get a real job" 😊
@@valjatriogina228 Pretty sure that's George Thorogood.
I pooped and smeared the poop on my tele and it fixed it.
Bro, they're like 6 bucks, chill. @@valjatriogina228
Classic "Solution in search of a problem". Like voter fraud.
I like the brass roller one more.