This might be the most ridiculous demo track I've ever written lol. Slide guitar and full octave drop? Seems to have worked, though! Also, let's go Braves!
15 y.o. me: I’ll never own a Telecaster. HAH!!!! 29 y.o. me: You know, I kinda want a Telecaster 31 y.o. me: I LOVE my butterscotch blonde blackguard Telecaster!
It's too true. I converted to Telecasterism last year after I bought a very cheap one to mod and play around with. I upgraded to 6 brass saddles, Twisted Tele pickups, custom 4 way selector to run the pickups in series as well. It's so good in fact that I never pick anything else up now.
Dude, you have no idea how happy it made me to hear you play this with all that distortion in that super metal heavy mix. Like I know that's "your thing" anyway, but there are too many people who think Teles and Strats are ONLY for Blues/Country, thank you for showcasing that those pickups can ROCK HARD too!
Same, thought I'd hate them as I despise strats buy there's something about teles, like they become the instrument you need them to be due to their simplicity you can shape the sound so easily
@@preston8836 it's also the only guitar you want to have on you, if you get run up on, or jumped by more than one dude lmao. The fuckin things are basically big 2x4s that are just ready to god damn crack a mafucka lmao
I hate to be one of those guys, but it appears you aren't using locking tuners as intended. The way folks like Phil McKnight explain it, the point of locking tuners is not to wrap the string around the post any more than is absolutely necessary. You should actually pull the string more or less taut before you lock it down, and you'll find you only get like 90-180 degrees of wrap once it's in tune. That eliminates the wraps as a place where there is room for play where the string can loosen or tighten as you tune, which can destabilize your tuning.
Some say he's mellowed because there's insufficient organic honey in Savanah (which is odd because he lives in Atlanta.) But he will get frenetic in the presence of haphazard black lace in the bedroom. And the best way to nest his tones involves shocks off a '69 Road Runner, memory foam and a girl willing to wear low-heeled shoes after all that black lace is discrarded. The man! The Legend! Der Fish!
Totally get the suddenly liking teles feeling. I didn’t like them at all when I started playing and the somewhere along the way I just realized I really wanted one. Still my favorite Fender guitar. I’m usually a Gibson fan but the tele is one of my favorite guitars.
Understand it wasn't in the budget or limit of the sponsor, but definitely recommend checking out the Rock Rabbit Tele control plate down the line. They slightly angle the switch and move the volume pot a little further away to make switching pickups more natural. Have one on my partscaster and now am more inclined to pick it up if we're being honest.
I second this. As someone who switches pickups constantly, I replaced the plate on my Richie Kotzen with one of these and made it actually usable. I always thought, "wow, tele players really must just use one pickup OR the other, because selecting pickups blows!"
@@InGrindWeCrust2010 Note that I'm speaking as someone who prefers Strat and LP style control layouts so take this as you will. In my mind, while flipping the control plate defiantly mitigates a few issues (especially if you use a tophat knob instead of a barrel knob), there's still the issue of it being too close to another control for my comfort which the rock rabbit eliminates pretty much entirely. Still, flipping it is what my cousin does and is definitely a vibe I can get behind. No harm in trying both and seeing how it goes.
Ill think of these upgrades. I have a squier cv 50s tele with some lollar special and vintage ts and aome brass saddles in them for about the same price as one of these, maybe a tad bit cheaper. Great video!
A greatly underrated modification is rewiring it to have the control plate installed upside down. That makes it much easier to use the volume knob as a swell and fade effect on both pickups and much easier to use the tone knob as a wah effect on the bridge pickup. Please check for videos of Bill Kirchen from Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen.
That's just a great looking tele. Speaking of white guitars, your review of the 2017 SG Standard in Alpine White put me over the edge and I ended up pulling the trigger. Love it!
Server dad early catch. I totally agree on the Tele. One needs a Tele. I was late into it too. I always played LP's and superstrats for the most. Until I got my first Tele, recently. A gift from my girlfriend. Now, I can't go without a Tele. Also, holy sh*t, Hunter, this video kicked major ass !! \m/
I think I'm one of the last guitarists that detests locking tuners. The clamping mechanism can wear down over time, usually 15-20 years, longer if you're lucky, and give you tuning issues down the line because a divot forms where the strings are held in place, and starts allowing string slippage. Most people think it's worth it to just get more replacement tuners once this happens, but a set of regular tuners, especially slotted tuners, never have this happen and will work for pretty much ever.
Locking tuners can never fully break. They just become standard tuners. Also, depending on the type of locking tuners it could just be a $5 part that needs replacing.
@@mophead1666 if a company came out with brakes that were said to be better than standard brakes, but wore out quicker and didn't actually address what causes brakes to go bad in the first place, then i think i'd stick with good old fashioned disc brakes. This isn't the trump card you think it is.
@@thebreakfastmenu That was not the argument I was trying to make. I said that because it's a little silly to think something lasting 15-20 years to wear out is bad. I think you get your mileage out of them at the point. You are just using it. It does not have some sort of defect by eventually wearing out, much like brakes do. The only way they wouldn't eventually wear out is if you didn't use them. With the same amount of play it's very likely other aspects of the tuner (gearing, bushings) have already worn out as well, and those are things regular tuners also have. Even old school plastic buttons can be decaying by that point. Sounds more like a subjective preference, or you're just being contrarian.
I started playing and looking for a telecaster way back in 1996 didn't find one I wanted till 2015. Now I have a MIA a MIM and a Hufschmid baritone Tstyle ahaha.
I did a similar version of running the pick ups in series instead of parallel, I put it on a push pull pot instead of a 4 way switch and I found that it’s a lot cheaper because it’s less parts and easier to wire
Did the same series/parallel mod on my Tele but with a push/pull on the tone knob instead of the 4 ways switch. Such a nice addition to the tonal palette of this guitar!
I bought a Squier Danish Pete purple Tele. Following upgrades: Locking tuners, Graphtec nut & saddles, four way switch and Fender noiseless PUs. Sounds and plays great
I was in the same boat. I used to hate telecasters then I re-read the manga BECK and I had to have one. I don't know what magic they did to this thing but I love the tuning stability of it. I could not play my tele for weeks and pick it up and like one string will be out of tune. Its really an impressive guitar. Always on the middle position for that emo/math rock tone. Its by far my favorite sound I get from a guitar.
I wasn't a Tele fan when I was younger. Then I tried a HSS Strat and fell in love with the single coil pickup in the neck, but didn't like the middle pickup, so I wanted a guitar with a single coil in the neck, humbucker in the bridge. Seeing stuff like Rabea's signature Chapman made me get a Tele, and then I tried a Telecaster with a very hot bridge pickup and got blown away. So yeah I'm now definitely a Telecaster fan.
I thought it was Yeehaw-core, tho it's been a minute 😂 Also not sure why it's so noisy in the isolated tracks, I can hear that fizz even on the cleans through a phone speaker. Did something happen? Or maybe it's just the amp?
Oh true! lol it is "yeehaw-core", it's been gone too long. And Teles are inherently noisy, then my apartment has the world's poopiest power that is quiet or noisy depending on who knows what. Sometimes when I'm recording, I'll get conservative AM radio coming through the amps at damn near full volume lol
I hated teles for years and then woke up one day, bought one, now own 6. The accuracy of your statement of "just liking them out of nowhere" is to true.
Quick story: my mom bought me a MIM Fender Tele in 2005 because I was obsessed with The Clash back then. I wasn't good at guitar and had a Line 6 Spider. Back then I didn't know the crap sound was the amp. I ended up trading it and whatever. Years later I got it back from a buddy on a trade (sentimental because my mom bought it for me, I didn't appreciate that as much when I was young). Turns out that I've finally bonded with the damn thing and it feels like one of my best guitars despite it being maybe the cheapest. I think putting 9s on the tele is a hack as well, it just feels more natural. I'll be adding these upgrades, Hunter. Thanks!
I was never a fan of the Telecaster until a few weeks ago...bought one this week. Now I'm wondering why it took me so long to buy one. I got a Fender Vintera 50's Telecaster in Sonic Blue. I love it.
Funnily enough I just ordered a 4 way switch for my Hannah Montana tele mod project. I can’t wait to install it and hear the hot rails pickup and the teisco pickup in series
Great video! My Fender Player Plus Tele came with locking tuners and push-pull pot for serial mode. But my old Squier CV 50s Tele was unmodified, so I bought cheap Harley Benton locking tuners (roundabout 40 €). I have them on a Harley Benton PRS-clone and they´re really good, so I decided to buy some for the Tele. Together with the tuners I bought a barrel-stringtree and replaced the old one. But the best mod was the 4-way-switch and a new control-plate with angled cutout for the switch and more space between switch and volume knob. 👍
4 way switch is a must on a Tele. Recommend an Electrosocket jack too. But the benefits of locking tuners are somewhat lost if you don’t pull the strings through taut before you lock them. There shouldn’t be more than one wind round the post when tuned at pitch.
dude i totally understand what you mean! i hated teles for a long time because i didn't like the way the looked. but one day i just all of a sudden started to want a tele. still haven't got one yet, but will likely be my next guitar! thanks for the vid!
I just got my 1st telecaster my brother bought me on and I can't believe I never got into these iv worked in music stores had them hanging all around me but never thought of it past a country guitar
For anyone wondering I did this to my telecaster years ago because I'm more of a humbucker guy but ended up with a telecaster... I don't regret this mod at all it's amazing. I also flipped the controls upside down because I used to hit the pickup selector every time
Speaking of the Telecaster phenomena. I was just recently hit with this. I have a Schecter C-1 Plat and an old Aria II with a Les Paul body style and a Blackstar ID:150 head and 2x12 Cab. Both of these guitars when hooked to the amp have this muddy muffled sound. I love me some bass but it was just overwhelming the rest of the tone that if just sounded like a deep "MMMMMMMM" over top of the rest of the tone. So I started asking myself what sound am I looking for. I started listening to Amp videos (Hardly anyone uses the amp so it's a pain to find user reviews and Tones. Suppose I could hook it to my PC and use the software it has.) and then once I realized it may not be the Amp I started looking at the difference between Single Coil and Humbuckers. This was the first bell that rung for me. I like the clearity of a single coil so much more than a Humbucker. With that said a Strat was just too sharp for me. So I was listening to a video that was different body styles and the tone difference. BOOM. My love for Telecasters started. The sound was just SOOO crisp and clear without being overly shrill like a Strat always seemed to me. It also seemed to do away with the Low end hum that covers everything I try to play with the equipment I have now. Now I just need to save up so I can buy one. I want the JV Mod 60's Tele but I'll likely end up getting the 40th Anni Squire Tele or the Squire Thinline (but I haven't heard the difference in sound between the semi hollow and the solid body)
The Telecaster is my favorite guitar design but when I wear it on a guitar strap while standing, the guitar sits awkward and uncomfortably against my body. I found through testing various guitar strap lengths that only when the Tele sits high on my chest (like the Beatles' George Harrison and his Tele) does the Tele feel somewhat comfortable.
Telecasters (and LP Jrs) are the epitome of cool guitar for me. No bullshit, no frills, tons of character, great tones, endlessly playable, easy to mod. What more could you want?
I recommend the Rabbit Hole control plate. Easier access to the pickup selector. That's what I have on my Fender Player Series Tele. Mine is the same as yours...Maple fretboard with a white body. But I also replaced the pickguard with a mint green pickguard to make it look more vintage as well as the vintage style Bridge plate with 3 brass barrel saddles.
I would go total nuts and mod on Agufish style adding in the midle position a bridge hotrails pickup, so I could switch between a tele single bridge or a humbucker bridge, for high gain a bridge pickup in the midle wouldn't make as much difference as the difference that a real single has to a real hot rails, it will never sound the same when split
Interesting and entertaining video, thanks for posting. I bought my first electric after years of playing acoustic and I chose a telecaster. It’s the American Performer and I love it. My mods to it so far are new brass compensated saddles from Philadelphia Luthier Tools and a 4 way ObsidianWire solderless wiring harness. I’ve had it for over 2 years now and I don’t think about any other guitar. I’m so glad I went with a telecaster. Thanks again for the video.
I just received one of these from Adorama, and am enjoying it. Not sure if I'm going to keep it, as it's a bit heavy for my liking for a Tele. As for upgrades, if I keep it... I've never had need for (or desire for) locking tuners, so I'd pass on those. I'll likely go with the vintage style tuners that you feed the string through the top. I will upgrade the bridge construction to a 3 brass barrel set-up, I just prefer it. I'll maybe upgrade the pickups down the road. Either way, Fender did a really nice job with this series. Great video, thanks for sharing this!
Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would have owned a tele. Until now and I love them. I have the 60s classic vibe custom and a Jim root signature!
As someone who started playing guitar strongly disliking the existence of Telecasters, then in more recent years craving the possession of a Telecaster or Stratocaster and now being in the process of buying an old Fender Squier Tele from a friend's dad, I absolutely feel ya.
I actually bought one recently (just a Grote) because I liked the color (bright yellow) but I love the damn thing. I never liked the look of them until I saw this one and fell in love with it. I'm going to upgrade all hardware and electronics to Fender specs and have a blast. It's cheap but it pretty much stays in tune and sounds like something from a 40's blues album. I am a convert.
After buying a player strat, I'd say it's not worth getting for a mod platform cause the satin neck on Squires is more comfortable and if you are already gonna swap stuff out might as well save on initial buy in and put it into parts.
I bought a player Tele earlier this year. The only modification I felt was necessary was replacing the string tree. With the stock tree, it didn''t keep tune very well. I replaced it with a roller tree and now it's fine.
I got a telecaster I built from fender parts. Built it to have the vibe of a white les paul custom, white body, black pickguard and gold hardware and neck pickup. It's got gotoh non locking tuners in it, and I swear it never goes out of tune, and that's with a handcut nut cut by myself
This rite of passage just happened to me last week. I started playing around 2003 and I just always hated teles. Out of nowhere I just got the itch for one and I had to pick one up. Been having so much fun with it, can’t put it down.
I love my player Tele very much. This machine made me realize I sucked as a guitarist. And that I needed work. And it make doing that work very satisfying.
Nice video, but why did you wind the strings around the shaft of locking tuners? I use locking tuners on all of my guitars, but winding the strings is not what you do. I pull the string tight and then lock it in place, and then bring it up to pitch and the string is winding a bit more than 45 degrees. That's the whole purpose of locking tuners, not to wind around shaft, like on standard tuners
I actually bought that same guitar last November. GC had three white on white Player Series Telecaster on sale for $499.00. I went there to look at a Strat but that price was too good. I absolutely love it. I already had a pretty decent Strat style guitar anyway. Now the Tele is usually my go to. Thanks for the Telecaster love man.
Even Affinity Squiers come with synthetic bone, which is actually not bad, and is way better than normal plastic. But graphtec is still better. Honestly high quality nuts should be a requirement for any guitar out of the factory.
@@MarciRayn synthetic bone is just a fancy name for a shitty plastic nut. Mexican Fenders also come with “synthetic bone” nuts. Amazing guitar but it’s got nut binding.
@@luistijerina the one on my squier still isn't as bad as the one on my Jackson tho (which is listed as plastic). Prolly just up to quality control at that point.
4-way switching on Teles needs to be the new normal, there's literally no reason to not do it especially if you have true singlecoils. My Tele has hot rails and I still use position 4 as my default, there's just something magic about it.
I always thought that telecaster's looked dumb until I randomly got obsessed with them a few months ago. Now, my Harley Benton TE-90QM is my main driver guitar. I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who had that random switch lol.
I miss my MIM Tele but it didn"t sound like a tele. I'm getting a used Squier Classic Vibe 50's someday for studio cleans and overdubs and some shit.Very complementary to my strat and these Squier are simply fantastic when it comes to sound and build quality. I just don't like the 7.25" radius but I'll make an exception since they are so good for the price. Highly recommend them
I have this guitar and love it! I made most of the same changes except for the 4-way switch and I added a red pickguard for looks. I may have to add that switch, too.
I've tried about every Tele mod there is. 5-way with one position half out of phase, 3-way with push-pulls for series and phase, neck humbucker with split and parallel options, you name it. There's a lot you can do with two pickups. Now my current plan is to route a middle pickup and try the James Burton Strat-o-Tele mod. You don't get the neck+bridge in serie like you have, but you get all the standard Strat positions, all the standard Tele position, but also neck+middle in series and bridge + middle in series.
If you're willing to try this, may I suggest the setup on a build I did? I had a custom tele body made for me with zebrawood and walnut, then I put three dragonfire hot-rails in it, with a 3-way toggle on each pickup, with split coil in top, off in middle, and humbucker on bottom. That gives you 27 distinct pickup configurations, from all 3 on in humbucker to all 3 single to various combinations. Now, if you switch around a lot in your playing, this might get complicated, but if you (like me) like to play with just one pickup on, and add a second for tone change, it's extremely nice 🙂. You can see it (along with others I've done) at my website; dmd-guitars.com/files/past/past3.htm
From these mods you've done the only one I would have done is the 4-way switch, and with the money you'd have saved you could have done a cooler, cheaper mod instead. Of the numerous Teles I've owned I have only changed one tuner with a locking tuner and that was on the B string of my B-Bender Telecaster. That was the only string that benefited with having no wraps around the post for tuning stability, plus you have multiple wraps around your locking tuners you've installed making their advantage totally useless. I have used those Schaller strap locks before but ditched them for two reasons. First, over time the clip part on the strap would slowly cut into the strap button to the point it would have to be replaced. Second, the nut and washer on the strap would always work itself loose and sometimes fall apart when playing. You have the updated model with a thumb wheel instead so if it works itself loose it's easy to tighten up again I guess. I'm happy with the tried and true Grolsch beer red washer rings that everybody uses that work, are basically free if you buy 2 beers, and you can keep your original strap buttons. The four way switch I totally agree with and if the jack needed replacing, good, but the pots and cap were not needed. Instead I would have got from rockrabbit.com an angled switch control plate with an added kill switch that is probably more useful for your style of playing and you still would have spent less money. The angled switch is easier to maneuver and it allows more space to hook your pinky between the switch and volume knob. You would still have money left over if you avoided the strap locks, locking tuners, and pots and cap and it could have gone towards compensated traditional saddles and/or a dual top-loader or string through bridge plate.
I have a Harley Benton Tele. Its they style that Prince played. I was rather impressed with it but decided to add a solderless Mojotone 4 way selector wiring harness. And boy did the new pots plus the 4th position that gives a "humbucker" sound really make a huge difference. Other than done locking tuners some day, I don't think I'll ever do anything more to it.
😂 My Tele up grade was: remove the 4 way switch, convert S1 switch to knock tone off neck pu, can control plate to one with slanted switch slot. Also change from standard vintage bridge to vintage bridge with sides cut back. By the way, I see no point in locking tuner but love fender slotted tuner posts. One man's upgrade is another's step backwards 😉
This might be the most ridiculous demo track I've ever written lol. Slide guitar and full octave drop? Seems to have worked, though! Also, let's go Braves!
THAT INTRO RIFF IS FyeahING AMAZING
Position 4 has that Jimi H tone
Random bullshit go!!!
@@KingJackstone
Voldemort loves you.
@@allanallan4791😊
You hit the nail on the head when you said it is a phenomenon that some people just aren’t into telecasters and then suddenly they are. That is me.
Yeah they look weird when I first started getting into guitars.
And then I heard the tone they make, then I tried playing one....
Now I have one 😂
15 y.o. me: I’ll never own a Telecaster. HAH!!!!
29 y.o. me: You know, I kinda want a Telecaster
31 y.o. me: I LOVE my butterscotch blonde blackguard Telecaster!
@@damienalvarez2957 wtf why is this accurate. Literally got a Tele this year at 31 y.o hahaha
It's too true. I converted to Telecasterism last year after I bought a very cheap one to mod and play around with. I upgraded to 6 brass saddles, Twisted Tele pickups, custom 4 way selector to run the pickups in series as well. It's so good in fact that I never pick anything else up now.
FINALLY - someone who has been waiting for more fender videos
Respect for the ODST pic!
Dude, you have no idea how happy it made me to hear you play this with all that distortion in that super metal heavy mix. Like I know that's "your thing" anyway, but there are too many people who think Teles and Strats are ONLY for Blues/Country, thank you for showcasing that those pickups can ROCK HARD too!
Exactly. I got it for bluegrass/country but when you turn the gain all the way up and throw some distortion it hangs with the best metal guitars
Love the sound of those pickups what ones would they be? cheers
I was one of the people that wasn’t particularly interested in telecasters until I tried one lol
It’s almost a rite of passage for guitarists 😂
@@agufish LMAO! exactly 😂
And the design haven't changed in what 60-70 years? Freaking genius
Same, thought I'd hate them as I despise strats buy there's something about teles, like they become the instrument you need them to be due to their simplicity you can shape the sound so easily
@@preston8836 it's also the only guitar you want to have on you, if you get run up on, or jumped by more than one dude lmao. The fuckin things are basically big 2x4s that are just ready to god damn crack a mafucka lmao
1:29 this so hard. I hated telecaster, especially thr way they looked, now I love them and I don't know why
That demo track is ridiculous in the best way.
I really like this NOSTALgufish series. Keep it up!
hi gen z
MIJ Aerodyne Telecaster (P90 in the neck) is the one that got me... Teles are legit.
KILLER demo track! Definitely one of the best you composed so far! Congrats!
I really love this upgrade videos
The thumbnail you made with frodo is the best thing I've seen all day... "alright keep your secrets then."
I literally hated Telecasters with every fiber of my being and now it’s my favorite shape
"Rudimentary", I think the phrase you're looking for is "platonic ideal"
I hate to be one of those guys, but it appears you aren't using locking tuners as intended. The way folks like Phil McKnight explain it, the point of locking tuners is not to wrap the string around the post any more than is absolutely necessary. You should actually pull the string more or less taut before you lock it down, and you'll find you only get like 90-180 degrees of wrap once it's in tune. That eliminates the wraps as a place where there is room for play where the string can loosen or tighten as you tune, which can destabilize your tuning.
I used Fender locking tuners for my tele build, and they are actually awesome and look great on a....Fender.
Some say he's mellowed because there's insufficient organic honey in Savanah (which is odd because he lives in Atlanta.) But he will get frenetic in the presence of haphazard black lace in the bedroom. And the best way to nest his tones involves shocks off a '69 Road Runner, memory foam and a girl willing to wear low-heeled shoes after all that black lace is discrarded. The man! The Legend! Der Fish!
Totally get the suddenly liking teles feeling. I didn’t like them at all when I started playing and the somewhere along the way I just realized I really wanted one. Still my favorite Fender guitar. I’m usually a Gibson fan but the tele is one of my favorite guitars.
The 90s! 😁 I love and miss them so much!🎵🎸 I appreciate the Nirvana riffage!💟
30th anniversary of Nevermind, had to do it!
Understand it wasn't in the budget or limit of the sponsor, but definitely recommend checking out the Rock Rabbit Tele control plate down the line. They slightly angle the switch and move the volume pot a little further away to make switching pickups more natural. Have one on my partscaster and now am more inclined to pick it up if we're being honest.
I second this. As someone who switches pickups constantly, I replaced the plate on my Richie Kotzen with one of these and made it actually usable. I always thought, "wow, tele players really must just use one pickup OR the other, because selecting pickups blows!"
Flipping the control plate upside down like J Leonard Jay's Telecaster is probably more useful, still...I can't decide which to do for my next build.
@@InGrindWeCrust2010 Note that I'm speaking as someone who prefers Strat and LP style control layouts so take this as you will. In my mind, while flipping the control plate defiantly mitigates a few issues (especially if you use a tophat knob instead of a barrel knob), there's still the issue of it being too close to another control for my comfort which the rock rabbit eliminates pretty much entirely. Still, flipping it is what my cousin does and is definitely a vibe I can get behind. No harm in trying both and seeing how it goes.
Ill think of these upgrades. I have a squier cv 50s tele with some lollar special and vintage ts and aome brass saddles in them for about the same price as one of these, maybe a tad bit cheaper. Great video!
A greatly underrated modification is rewiring it to have the control plate installed upside down. That makes it much easier to use the volume knob as a swell and fade effect on both pickups and much easier to use the tone knob as a wah effect on the bridge pickup. Please check for videos of Bill Kirchen from Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen.
The Player and Player Plus series Telecasters are some of the best they have offered in years. Really great guitars at a great price.
That's just a great looking tele. Speaking of white guitars, your review of the 2017 SG Standard in Alpine White put me over the edge and I ended up pulling the trigger. Love it!
Server dad early catch.
I totally agree on the Tele. One needs a Tele.
I was late into it too. I always played LP's and superstrats for the most.
Until I got my first Tele, recently. A gift from my girlfriend.
Now, I can't go without a Tele.
Also, holy sh*t, Hunter, this video kicked major ass !! \m/
That demo track was heavy dude. Instant bop.
I think I'm one of the last guitarists that detests locking tuners.
The clamping mechanism can wear down over time, usually 15-20 years, longer if you're lucky, and give you tuning issues down the line because a divot forms where the strings are held in place, and starts allowing string slippage. Most people think it's worth it to just get more replacement tuners once this happens, but a set of regular tuners, especially slotted tuners, never have this happen and will work for pretty much ever.
I agree. Locking is pretty much useless if you have high quality non-locking tuners and know how to properly string a guitar.
Locking tuners can never fully break. They just become standard tuners. Also, depending on the type of locking tuners it could just be a $5 part that needs replacing.
Do you avoid using the brakes in your car?
@@mophead1666 if a company came out with brakes that were said to be better than standard brakes, but wore out quicker and didn't actually address what causes brakes to go bad in the first place, then i think i'd stick with good old fashioned disc brakes.
This isn't the trump card you think it is.
@@thebreakfastmenu That was not the argument I was trying to make. I said that because it's a little silly to think something lasting 15-20 years to wear out is bad. I think you get your mileage out of them at the point. You are just using it. It does not have some sort of defect by eventually wearing out, much like brakes do. The only way they wouldn't eventually wear out is if you didn't use them.
With the same amount of play it's very likely other aspects of the tuner (gearing, bushings) have already worn out as well, and those are things regular tuners also have. Even old school plastic buttons can be decaying by that point.
Sounds more like a subjective preference, or you're just being contrarian.
Using the slide was ridiculous but sounded so fkn awesome
I love this Nostalgufish series it's dope
I started playing and looking for a telecaster way back in 1996 didn't find one I wanted till 2015. Now I have a MIA a MIM and a Hufschmid baritone Tstyle ahaha.
How’s the Hufschmid? I keep seeing him on Instagram and his stuff looks great
Music is win just demoed a sick squier baritone tele cabronita, you should check it out!
A great video for me to watch while I'm cleaning my own guitar, preparing it for its next set of strings. :)
I did a similar version of running the pick ups in series instead of parallel, I put it on a push pull pot instead of a 4 way switch and I found that it’s a lot cheaper because it’s less parts and easier to wire
That is the absolute truth. I hated Telecasters my whole life until about 2 years ago. Now I have 3 of them
Did the same series/parallel mod on my Tele but with a push/pull on the tone knob instead of the 4 ways switch. Such a nice addition to the tonal palette of this guitar!
I always thought that liking a telecaster out of nowhere means you’re in Chill dad mode
Honestly, every Tele should have a 4-way switch by default. I mean, look at the Washburn Nele. It has many tonal options, since it has a 6-way switch.
Hunter is missing the brass saddles upgrade
Lol you mean downgrade
I bought a Squier Danish Pete purple Tele. Following upgrades: Locking tuners, Graphtec nut & saddles, four way switch and Fender noiseless PUs. Sounds and plays great
I was in the same boat. I used to hate telecasters then I re-read the manga BECK and I had to have one. I don't know what magic they did to this thing but I love the tuning stability of it. I could not play my tele for weeks and pick it up and like one string will be out of tune. Its really an impressive guitar. Always on the middle position for that emo/math rock tone. Its by far my favorite sound I get from a guitar.
Your cat is a Tele fan 😻
I have the same guitar except for the pao ferro fretboard. I love it so much
I wasn't a Tele fan when I was younger. Then I tried a HSS Strat and fell in love with the single coil pickup in the neck, but didn't like the middle pickup, so I wanted a guitar with a single coil in the neck, humbucker in the bridge. Seeing stuff like Rabea's signature Chapman made me get a Tele, and then I tried a Telecaster with a very hot bridge pickup and got blown away. So yeah I'm now definitely a Telecaster fan.
That same apiffany happened to me ...never wanted a "country" guitar 🎸 until I got one in a trade and me-oh-my I'm hooked!
Hey, thats my main axe too! And I did the same upgrades months ago. So happy with my tele since the 4 switch and the locking parts
1:27 That’s totally true! I’ve been playing guitar for over 40 years and it’s just happened to me 😂
I thought it was Yeehaw-core, tho it's been a minute 😂
Also not sure why it's so noisy in the isolated tracks, I can hear that fizz even on the cleans through a phone speaker. Did something happen? Or maybe it's just the amp?
Oh true! lol it is "yeehaw-core", it's been gone too long. And Teles are inherently noisy, then my apartment has the world's poopiest power that is quiet or noisy depending on who knows what. Sometimes when I'm recording, I'll get conservative AM radio coming through the amps at damn near full volume lol
Now that is, by far, the worst thing that could ever happen to a guitarist, my condolences
I hated teles for years and then woke up one day, bought one, now own 6. The accuracy of your statement of "just liking them out of nowhere" is to true.
Thanks for reminding me to get a nut so u can finally mod my 1984 Epiphone Explorer. Been holding onto this project for almost 2 months now lol
Quick story: my mom bought me a MIM Fender Tele in 2005 because I was obsessed with The Clash back then. I wasn't good at guitar and had a Line 6 Spider. Back then I didn't know the crap sound was the amp. I ended up trading it and whatever. Years later I got it back from a buddy on a trade (sentimental because my mom bought it for me, I didn't appreciate that as much when I was young).
Turns out that I've finally bonded with the damn thing and it feels like one of my best guitars despite it being maybe the cheapest. I think putting 9s on the tele is a hack as well, it just feels more natural.
I'll be adding these upgrades, Hunter. Thanks!
This video is PERFECT. I just bought my player tele and locking turners.
I was never a fan of the Telecaster until a few weeks ago...bought one this week. Now I'm wondering why it took me so long to buy one. I got a Fender Vintera 50's Telecaster in Sonic Blue. I love it.
Funnily enough I just ordered a 4 way switch for my Hannah Montana tele mod project. I can’t wait to install it and hear the hot rails pickup and the teisco pickup in series
Another vote for the rock rabbit control plate , tht little distance makes a big difference . I really like it .
Great video! My Fender Player Plus Tele came with locking tuners and push-pull pot for serial mode. But my old Squier CV 50s Tele was unmodified, so I bought cheap Harley Benton locking tuners (roundabout 40 €). I have them on a Harley Benton PRS-clone and they´re really good, so I decided to buy some for the Tele. Together with the tuners I bought a barrel-stringtree and replaced the old one. But the best mod was the 4-way-switch and a new control-plate with angled cutout for the switch and more space between switch and volume knob. 👍
4 way switch is a must on a Tele. Recommend an Electrosocket jack too. But the benefits of locking tuners are somewhat lost if you don’t pull the strings through taut before you lock them. There shouldn’t be more than one wind round the post when tuned at pitch.
dude i totally understand what you mean! i hated teles for a long time because i didn't like the way the looked. but one day i just all of a sudden started to want a tele. still haven't got one yet, but will likely be my next guitar! thanks for the vid!
Upgraded mine with vintage fender 3 brass saddle bridge and vintage tuners. Going to add a vintage pickguard sometime.
Also suggest an 022 cap vs a 047, and a no load tone pot. This will open up some room between the dark and bright tones.
022 vs 047
Me: 033 👼
I just got my 1st telecaster my brother bought me on and I can't believe I never got into these iv worked in music stores had them hanging all around me but never thought of it past a country guitar
For anyone wondering I did this to my telecaster years ago because I'm more of a humbucker guy but ended up with a telecaster... I don't regret this mod at all it's amazing. I also flipped the controls upside down because I used to hit the pickup selector every time
Geez. I’ve been loving my new Tele, but that selector switch issue was getting to me. I never thought of that simple fix. Great idea.
Speaking of the Telecaster phenomena. I was just recently hit with this. I have a Schecter C-1 Plat and an old Aria II with a Les Paul body style and a Blackstar ID:150 head and 2x12 Cab. Both of these guitars when hooked to the amp have this muddy muffled sound. I love me some bass but it was just overwhelming the rest of the tone that if just sounded like a deep "MMMMMMMM" over top of the rest of the tone. So I started asking myself what sound am I looking for. I started listening to Amp videos (Hardly anyone uses the amp so it's a pain to find user reviews and Tones. Suppose I could hook it to my PC and use the software it has.) and then once I realized it may not be the Amp I started looking at the difference between Single Coil and Humbuckers. This was the first bell that rung for me. I like the clearity of a single coil so much more than a Humbucker. With that said a Strat was just too sharp for me. So I was listening to a video that was different body styles and the tone difference. BOOM. My love for Telecasters started. The sound was just SOOO crisp and clear without being overly shrill like a Strat always seemed to me. It also seemed to do away with the Low end hum that covers everything I try to play with the equipment I have now. Now I just need to save up so I can buy one. I want the JV Mod 60's Tele but I'll likely end up getting the 40th Anni Squire Tele or the Squire Thinline (but I haven't heard the difference in sound between the semi hollow and the solid body)
The Telecaster is my favorite guitar design but when I wear it on a guitar strap while standing, the guitar sits awkward and uncomfortably against my body. I found through testing various guitar strap lengths that only when the Tele sits high on my chest (like the Beatles' George Harrison and his Tele) does the Tele feel somewhat comfortable.
Telecasters (and LP Jrs) are the epitome of cool guitar for me. No bullshit, no frills, tons of character, great tones, endlessly playable, easy to mod. What more could you want?
I recommend the Rabbit Hole control plate. Easier access to the pickup selector. That's what I have on my Fender Player Series Tele. Mine is the same as yours...Maple fretboard with a white body. But I also replaced the pickguard with a mint green pickguard to make it look more vintage as well as the vintage style Bridge plate with 3 brass barrel saddles.
What is your opinion on the t-chopper humbucker?
I would go total nuts and mod on Agufish style adding in the midle position a bridge hotrails pickup, so I could switch between a tele single bridge or a humbucker bridge, for high gain a bridge pickup in the midle wouldn't make as much difference as the difference that a real single has to a real hot rails, it will never sound the same when split
Interesting and entertaining video, thanks for posting. I bought my first electric after years of playing acoustic and I chose a telecaster. It’s the American Performer and I love it. My mods to it so far are new brass compensated saddles from Philadelphia Luthier Tools and a 4 way ObsidianWire solderless wiring harness. I’ve had it for over 2 years now and I don’t think about any other guitar. I’m so glad I went with a telecaster.
Thanks again for the video.
Makes a video about worthwhile upgrades.
Installs strap locks.
Doesn't use a strap.
Lol like the concept is worthwhile, I meant to swap one on for the video from the ML2 or my signature, I just forgot :(
For a moment, I thought you might try to convince me it was an invisible strap. But you went with honesty instead. Haha!
I just received one of these from Adorama, and am enjoying it. Not sure if I'm going to keep it, as it's a bit heavy for my liking for a Tele. As for upgrades, if I keep it... I've never had need for (or desire for) locking tuners, so I'd pass on those. I'll likely go with the vintage style tuners that you feed the string through the top. I will upgrade the bridge construction to a 3 brass barrel set-up, I just prefer it. I'll maybe upgrade the pickups down the road. Either way, Fender did a really nice job with this series. Great video, thanks for sharing this!
Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would have owned a tele. Until now and I love them. I have the 60s classic vibe custom and a Jim root signature!
Hunter!! I’ve missed you!! A week is too long!
As someone who started playing guitar strongly disliking the existence of Telecasters, then in more recent years craving the possession of a Telecaster or Stratocaster and now being in the process of buying an old Fender Squier Tele from a friend's dad, I absolutely feel ya.
I think Gojira used this or a very similar guitar in the music video for grind wich sounds just amazing
Those heavy 6 saddle bridges suck all of the twang out of a Tele. Swap it out for a stamped plate, with 3 saddles, and watch it come to life.
I snagged a MIM Blacktop HH Tele from a pawn shop in 2017. Love it.
I wasn’t into them really until I built my first one. Now They’re the first guitar I grab.
I actually bought one recently (just a Grote) because I liked the color (bright yellow) but I love the damn thing. I never liked the look of them until I saw this one and fell in love with it. I'm going to upgrade all hardware and electronics to Fender specs and have a blast. It's cheap but it pretty much stays in tune and sounds like something from a 40's blues album. I am a convert.
$116 for the tuners? You could have gotten the exact same product from Reverb for like $70-80.
Or eBay for $40-$60.
After buying a player strat, I'd say it's not worth getting for a mod platform cause the satin neck on Squires is more comfortable and if you are already gonna swap stuff out might as well save on initial buy in and put it into parts.
I bought a player Tele earlier this year. The only modification I felt was necessary was replacing the string tree. With the stock tree, it didn''t keep tune very well. I replaced it with a roller tree and now it's fine.
I got a telecaster I built from fender parts. Built it to have the vibe of a white les paul custom, white body, black pickguard and gold hardware and neck pickup. It's got gotoh non locking tuners in it, and I swear it never goes out of tune, and that's with a handcut nut cut by myself
This rite of passage just happened to me last week. I started playing around 2003 and I just always hated teles. Out of nowhere I just got the itch for one and I had to pick one up. Been having so much fun with it, can’t put it down.
I changed my saddle while I was in there to copper 3. I wish you would have added a pearl pick guard
I love my player Tele very much. This machine made me realize I sucked as a guitarist. And that I needed work. And it make doing that work very satisfying.
Nice video, but why did you wind the strings around the shaft of locking tuners? I use locking tuners on all of my guitars, but winding the strings is not what you do. I pull the string tight and then lock it in place, and then bring it up to pitch and the string is winding a bit more than 45 degrees. That's the whole purpose of locking tuners, not to wind around shaft, like on standard tuners
I actually bought that same guitar last November. GC had three white on white Player Series Telecaster on sale for $499.00. I went there to look at a Strat but that price was too good. I absolutely love it. I already had a pretty decent Strat style guitar anyway. Now the Tele is usually my go to. Thanks for the Telecaster love man.
On all Fenders and Squiers: upgrade nut to TUSQ XL. The shitty plastic nut is most definitely the weakest link on all Fender guitars.
Even Affinity Squiers come with synthetic bone, which is actually not bad, and is way better than normal plastic. But graphtec is still better. Honestly high quality nuts should be a requirement for any guitar out of the factory.
@@MarciRayn synthetic bone is just a fancy name for a shitty plastic nut. Mexican Fenders also come with “synthetic bone” nuts. Amazing guitar but it’s got nut binding.
@@luistijerina the one on my squier still isn't as bad as the one on my Jackson tho (which is listed as plastic). Prolly just up to quality control at that point.
4-way switching on Teles needs to be the new normal, there's literally no reason to not do it especially if you have true singlecoils. My Tele has hot rails and I still use position 4 as my default, there's just something magic about it.
I always thought that telecaster's looked dumb until I randomly got obsessed with them a few months ago. Now, my Harley Benton TE-90QM is my main driver guitar.
I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who had that random switch lol.
I miss my MIM Tele but it didn"t sound like a tele. I'm getting a used Squier Classic Vibe 50's someday for studio cleans and overdubs and some shit.Very complementary to my strat and these Squier are simply fantastic when it comes to sound and build quality. I just don't like the 7.25" radius but I'll make an exception since they are so good for the price. Highly recommend them
I have this guitar and love it! I made most of the same changes except for the 4-way switch and I added a red pickguard for looks. I may have to add that switch, too.
I've tried about every Tele mod there is. 5-way with one position half out of phase, 3-way with push-pulls for series and phase, neck humbucker with split and parallel options, you name it. There's a lot you can do with two pickups.
Now my current plan is to route a middle pickup and try the James Burton Strat-o-Tele mod. You don't get the neck+bridge in serie like you have, but you get all the standard Strat positions, all the standard Tele position, but also neck+middle in series and bridge + middle in series.
If you're willing to try this, may I suggest the setup on a build I did? I had a custom tele body made for me with zebrawood and walnut, then I put three dragonfire hot-rails in it, with a 3-way toggle on each pickup, with split coil in top, off in middle, and humbucker on bottom. That gives you 27 distinct pickup configurations, from all 3 on in humbucker to all 3 single to various combinations. Now, if you switch around a lot in your playing, this might get complicated, but if you (like me) like to play with just one pickup on, and add a second for tone change, it's extremely nice 🙂. You can see it (along with others I've done) at my website; dmd-guitars.com/files/past/past3.htm
From these mods you've done the only one I would have done is the 4-way switch, and with the money you'd have saved you could have done a cooler, cheaper mod instead. Of the numerous Teles I've owned I have only changed one tuner with a locking tuner and that was on the B string of my B-Bender Telecaster. That was the only string that benefited with having no wraps around the post for tuning stability, plus you have multiple wraps around your locking tuners you've installed making their advantage totally useless. I have used those Schaller strap locks before but ditched them for two reasons. First, over time the clip part on the strap would slowly cut into the strap button to the point it would have to be replaced. Second, the nut and washer on the strap would always work itself loose and sometimes fall apart when playing. You have the updated model with a thumb wheel instead so if it works itself loose it's easy to tighten up again I guess. I'm happy with the tried and true Grolsch beer red washer rings that everybody uses that work, are basically free if you buy 2 beers, and you can keep your original strap buttons. The four way switch I totally agree with and if the jack needed replacing, good, but the pots and cap were not needed. Instead I would have got from rockrabbit.com an angled switch control plate with an added kill switch that is probably more useful for your style of playing and you still would have spent less money. The angled switch is easier to maneuver and it allows more space to hook your pinky between the switch and volume knob. You would still have money left over if you avoided the strap locks, locking tuners, and pots and cap and it could have gone towards compensated traditional saddles and/or a dual top-loader or string through bridge plate.
Dude I love what you did with this! Having the series switch must be so nice since you’re probably more used to having humbuckers
"I don't wanna go full High Intergrity with it"
....well then😒
Perfect idea to add some Nirvana riffs to a NOSTALgufish episode 🤘
I have a Harley Benton Tele. Its they style that Prince played.
I was rather impressed with it but decided to add a solderless Mojotone 4 way selector wiring harness. And boy did the new pots plus the 4th position that gives a "humbucker" sound really make a huge difference.
Other than done locking tuners some day, I don't think I'll ever do anything more to it.
😂 My Tele up grade was: remove the 4 way switch, convert S1 switch to knock tone off neck pu, can control plate to one with slanted switch slot. Also change from standard vintage bridge to vintage bridge with sides cut back.
By the way, I see no point in locking tuner but love fender slotted tuner posts.
One man's upgrade is another's step backwards 😉
You should try Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound Tele pickups! Monstrous sound for high gain tones!
Bruh, you're having way too much fun on that slide 😂😂😂