So I have a Twisted Tele pick up in my possession. Sitting in my room is my 52 Hot Rod Tele. I am back and forth, but leaning towards slapping the pickup in as a mid. Looking for your thoughts and opinions before I go through with it.

I say no mod just because a 52 is like my dream Tele and it is one I could never imagine modding unless it was to upgrade the pups to Kinman Boradcasters.

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Blues with a feeling.

GUILD GUITARS: MADE TO BE PLAYED!

As I always lean, do what you wanna do. My personal opinion, no.

Flip a coin.

Modify something if you plan to keep it forever. If not, leave it stock. Mods like that will only de-value the instrument.

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Tim

All my guitars are modded, it makes them sound the way I want them to. Go for it.

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

Leaning heavily on doing it. Butter of the SD mini HB, quack of the Twisted Tele, and the Twang of the vintage bridge should cover all bases. Just wondering if I WILL get the full quack I want if the Twisted PUP is in the mid position. Keep the opinions coming!

Leave the '52 stock, some things just don't need improving. Get a used MIM and have at it, the changes are bound to be more of an inprovement
IMHO.
Good luck,
John.E

As long as what you do can be reversed and does not damage the guitar I say go for it.

If it was just as easy as slapping it in there, I would say give it a shot. Unfortunately, a 52 Hot Rod body has no space for a middle pup so you have to route one out. Which I could see happen if said guitar were a Squier or something, but I would just walk away from routing a 52 Hot Rod unless you are a professional luthier. Even if you had those skills, as so as that bit touches the guitar the value just dropped by a couple hundred. Before I would even think about doing a modification such as this, I would see if anybody else has done this sort of thing with a twisted tele pup just to make sure you don't do all that work and end up disappointed.

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I traded my car in for a microphone.

Why do people keep obsessing on the resale value of the guitar? And why is a Squier or an MIM less worthy of keeping original than a RI (that isn't even true to the original specs)?

Are we musicians or salesmen?!

Buy the guitar
Play the guitar
Mod the guitar
Enjoy the guitar
Love the guitar

Repeat as necessary to relieve GAS attacks

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

Originally posted by mthorn00

Question no. 1: I wouldn't say it's something to obsess about, but as musicians with GAS in a tough economy it is something to consider. A penny saved is a penny spent on more gear.
Question no. 2: Not less worthy, every guitar holds its value best in its original state. Fact of the matter is a Squier or MIM costs a thousand dollars less than a RI. So if you screw up the routing or decide to sell in the future, your wallet will thank you.
Question no. 3: Musicians....always looking for a good sale

I'll say this as a closing point: If the OP plans on keeping the guitar forever even if he goes broke, never plans on buying another electric guitar ever again, knows for sure this mod will make the guitar perfect, and will not even consider selling it til zombies take over the world and he needs to trade the guitar to buy a Chainsaw or shotgun, then he should take it to an experienced luthier and have said mod done. Otherwise, buy something already routed for 3 pups or just keep it as is.

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I traded my car in for a microphone.

I had done some research and knew the body would need to be routed to accommodate the pickup. A buddy who is the guitar tech in a local shop has done them before and is able to do it. Highly unlikely this would ever be sold, so I am not worried about someone considering it being devalued. Though, I am still back and forth whether it's gonna happen.

Oh well in that case, I suppose the only question that remains is if a twisted tele will sound just as good in the mid position o_O Well, my 57 AVRI strat's pickups are identical in every way, the only variant is where they are positioned. Compared to the neck position, the mid has a little less output, less low end and a little more treble detail. That being said, it's my favorite position ^^ I'd play a few teles that have a middle pup to make sure it's what you want, because once you do it there is no turning back O_o I can see this going one of three ways: Epic win, Epic fail, or not a big difference. If you go through with this and it's an epic win, please post some sound clips, as an owner of a 52 Hot Rod I am intrigued ^^

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I traded my car in for a microphone.

Go for the mod, everyone deserves a custom guitar

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"