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Post subject: New Tele w/ Strat Trem (Re-Issue)
Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2009 1:32 am
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Since well over 90% of the most common versions of the Tele (like the LP) have been all 'hard-tailed' or 'stop-tailed', ones sporting a Strat Tremolo (NOT a Bigsby -Yuk!- ), seem to be rarer than a Fender Strat without a Trem...... until now......

With the 're-issue' of a Tele with a Strat Trem, what are the opinions of the Tele "fan-collector-player" Community?

If it sells well, do you think Fender will make other models of the Tele and add the Strat Trem? IE: Which other models would you like to see?

Personally, I'd like to see Fender issue a 'Nashville' model (3 pickups) with the smaller Strat Headstock, NOT the '70s big headstock. Maybe they'd also put a normal Tele headstock on one with the standard 2 Tele pickups.

Note: I have owned 2 Teles in the past (as well as 2 LP's), but I'd love to add a Tele w/ Strat Trem to my arsenal.

> What are other's thoughts on this??? Thanks


My Guitars:
Fender Koa Strat, moded with a 4x Villex Tone Booster, Grover Auto-Lok Tuners, Roller String Tees & a Graphtech graphite nut, in a Fender Black Tweed (G&G) case.
Squier Sunburst Jagmaster (24") in a standard black Hard-Shell case.

Parker HSS Nitefly in a Strongbox Alligator case.
3 PRS guitars: an '86 w/ sweet switch, an '09 SE 24 & an '09 SE-SC w/ Tremolo.

1 PRS bass, 1 Washburn CB4 bass & 1 Dean Edge 09 bass.
1 '72 Rickenbacker 370-12 BYRD (custom-built at the factory) in a Calzone ATA case.


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Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 3:40 am
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NO Tele Fans here appreciate the addition of a Strat Tremolo???


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Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 2:36 pm
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I've wanted one of these for years, had, I think 4 Deluxes without Trems but always wanted one with. I bought the John 5 just for the Trem but it was too heavy, I can't wait to get my paws on one of these. I only hope the weight is sensible amd they have a decent neck profile!


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Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 3:28 pm
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Thanks for your response. I have wanted one as well, mainly because....
I once owned a Tele with a (Yuk) Bigsby; (wishing for better) and.....

Some years later, I walked into a small local music shop & saw a Sunburst Tele with a Rosewood fretboard, (normal Tele Headstock) front bound rear-contoured body, 3 Lace Senors, Fender Tweed case, Strat Trem and a 5-way switch (looking like the 3-way) with Tele's standard Master Volume & Tone. Needless to say, I was stunned.... So much so that I left without putting some cash down on it right then.... but when I came to, it was after hours, so I got up early the next day and went right down to lay it away. I was (for a second time) shocked again when the shop owner said that someone had been in the night before just prior to closing and paid cash. It was a trade-in that didn't even see one over-night in the store. I figured the previous owner let someone know what he'd done and they jumped on it. I've never seen such a gorgeous Tele like it before or since. The only thing that could have made the Tele any better was Gold-Plated hardware. For some strange reason, the people at Fender (& Squier) have ignored this model for too long. It's the same, in reverse, for guys (& maybe gals) who prefer a hard-tail Strat. Sure, a Standard hard-tail WAS made at one time, but (other than the Robert Cray, Acoustasonic & the Xll) I haven't seen anything else on the roster in ages. (Note: The cheapest Bullet doesn't count). I suspect that Fender's attitude is: You want a hard-tail, buy a Tele; You want a trem, get a Strat. One thing I've NEVER seen (and probably never will, unless it's a 1-of-a-kind custom order): A Fender XII MAPLE neck on a Tele (Thin-Line?) body.


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Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 7:18 am
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I'm not a big trem user even on my Strats, but I would be curious to play a Tele with a Strat trem just to see what it was like. It might go over well with people other than the Tele purists.

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Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 8:02 am
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Randy: Thanks for your input. For some (maybe "Purist") reason(s), this topic doesn't seem to be all that popular. Could be that is why most Strats have trems and most Teles don't.... similar to Fender's market research & sales ?
BTW: I'm not a big trem user either, but I do like having it available. I've seen some hard-tail guys either push down on the string above the nut or push 'up' on the back of the neck while pushing down on the body near the joint. Both of these old-style 'effects' actually get minimal results no matter how strong you are..... and if you are too strong &/or do it too much, over time that double push can kill your tight neck joint and it will even ruin the intonation and tuning stability in the process. From my own experience over the years and what I've been told by many dedicated 'hard-tailers', it's more of an issue regarding 'style of play' or approach; guitarists who started out on bass, any acoustic or simply learned on a non-trem axe seem to find that their best excuse for avoiding a trem is somehow a tuning problem.... yet giving time for a new set of strings to settle, including any string bending, is actually universal, right along with tuning key stability & gear ratio, string gauge & age, quality of strings and (ab)usage. I have owned both types of guitars (trem & non) and IMHO, "tuning problems" is a 'pizz-poor' excuse just because it may take a little extra time (at first) to tune-up new string(s) on a trem model. I'm quite sure that cheap, unstable trems on cheap guitars with cheap (slipping) tuners and a non-slip (string catcher) nut are the major cause of such unwarranted prejudices. Besides, 5-spring trems need ALL 5 springs for the maximum stability, yet many (over the years as a 'cut-back' and especially more recently) only come with 2 or 3....... duhhhhhh.

Therefore: If you have no need whatsoever for a trem, that's fine.
However, if you do, take these precautions (below) before complaining about any "tuning problems" that assumes the trem (alone) is to blame .....
1) Buy & use top-quality strings and install top-brand tuners (if needed).
2) Be sure your guitar has either a graphite nut or a roller (LSR) type.
3) Make sure your axe is set-up with maximum spring stability.
4) Have your guitar checked over & set-up by a pro... it's worth it.
If you are a real heavy trem user (yank up &/or dive into 'spaghetti').... it's best you get and use a locking type. (ala Floyd?)

Lastly: Always take the time to stretch your new strings during initial tune-up(s) to help them settle into a reasonably stable performance level. If at all possible, allow a least a couple days for this process. If you are always replacing a broken string during performance, you are either stressing out the string or check for burrs on the bridge saddle(s) and sand or file them away. >>> Do NOT make the notch any deeper.


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Post subject:
Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 1:28 pm
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My first partscaster attempt is a Tele w/Strat trem. Body/neck are from Warmouth, P90 pickups are from TV Jones, and all other parts have been collected from various other sources, including my deciding to go with a Wilkinson trem. through Guitar Fetish. This one will be my first "if Fender don't build 'em that way, I will" projects; the only thing holding up the works now is currently being unemployed, and I still need to get the body painted.

Alternately, another Tele variation in the works is to modify a used Squier Affinity Tele that I bought in late 2008. For this one, I bought all of the parts from Guitar Fetish, being locking tuners, GFS Pro Tube Lipstick pickups, black/white/black pickguard cut for the Lipstick, Gibson style roller bridge and a Hofner Vibrola style vibrato. I'm not sure if the current pickups in this Tele are stock, or not, but when I was trying it I could tell the previous owner had done work/had work done to it. If pickups are stock, that might explain having to dial the tone control way down, to eliminate the "ice pick through the temple" highs, but the neck was the biggest thing that sold me on it, other than buying it for the specific purpose to modify. It's the one thing that definitely screams "this cheap Squier Tele is NOT stock," with the combination of fretwork and the action set just right to make it lightning fast and smooth as butter.

Once I manage to find another job, and can get back to my partscaster efforts, a couple of future partscaster Teles will be a 12-string "Tele Deluxe," and what I'll call a Jagcaster (Tele body/neck w/Jaguar trem, pickups and wiring).

Matt

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Post subject:
Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 4:32 pm
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Matt: I really hate to disagree with you, but it seems to me that you are breaking some unwritten rules regarding the 'proper' nomenclature of body-shape terminology that has come to standard use over the last 60+ years through-out the industry, world-wide. But enough of the apology in long, big-worded sentences and back to a simpler, more basic explanation in a straight-forward, up-front fashion.....

Since Squier already makes a Jagmaster, I'd suggest that it would make a lot more sense to call your Tele (with a Jag trem) a TELEMASTER. Such terms with altered rear-end attachments (like Stratosonic), are obviously built upon the front half, that indicates the body shape. Maybe TELESONIC could also be used to indicate an altered version of a Tele. IMHO, using the word "Jag-" immediately brings to mind (and implies) the off-set body shape of the Jaguar and Jazzmaster guitars. No matter what the back end of the term is, if you are employing a Tele body, you've still got a Tele-'something'. However, another possibility utilizes the original term Esquire, re-organized as ESQUIER Deluxe, paying homage to Fender's less expensive brand.

Facts are that model names of (primarily) Fender and Gibson guitars are the common (and in actuality, standardized) reference to body shape of guitars the world over. Strat style, Tele style, Jag, LP, SG, Explorer, Firebird and V all bring to mind a specific shape, each in their own right, exclusive from all others, as the original, or (especially when) tagged to a copy. All I'm saying is; If you put any effort at all into building this Tele, it seems to me that it behooves you to put a bit of mental sweat into an appropriate name. (But then, that's just my 2 cents.)


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Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 4:41 pm
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The older model with the Strat Trem is the Tele Plus Deluxe. It was made around 1989 - 1991. They are not that common, so maybe they weren't popular and Fender decided not to make them anymore.

Image

Image

Image

They come up on eBay every so often, but get ready to pay as they go for decent money now, due to their rarity. :wink:


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Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 5:04 pm
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I once owned a Tele with a Fender 2 point Trem. It was a 1989 American deluxe Tele Plus. It was unusual in more ways than one. Humbucker at the bridge with a micro toggle that let you split the bucker exactly like the Tele's 3 way selector switch, Schaller locking tuners. Wilkinson over/under roller nut. It's drawbacks were the Lace Sensors, of course, and the poplar body with Alder veneer. I wish I had kept it because I've never seen another like it.

OOPS There it is. Guess I shoulda paid closer attention to that pic. yes those are locking tuners.

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Last edited by BMW-KTM on Sat Oct 24, 2009 5:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject:
Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 5:06 pm
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Ajay: WOW!! Gorgeous axe!!! Thanks for the photos! Lace Sensors and a roller nut.... are those locking tuners? Beautiful wood; Simply a mind-boggle.


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Post subject:
Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 5:59 pm
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Yep locking tuners. A very high spec. guitar, that one is a 1990 model. :wink:


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Post subject:
Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 11:43 am
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Guitarman1117 wrote:
Since Squier already makes a Jagmaster, I'd suggest that it would make a lot more sense to call your Tele (with a Jag trem) a TELEMASTER. Such terms with altered rear-end attachments (like Stratosonic), are obviously built upon the front half, that indicates the body shape. Maybe TELESONIC could also be used to indicate an altered version of a Tele. IMHO, using the word "Jag-" immediately brings to mind (and implies) the off-set body shape of the Jaguar and Jazzmaster guitars. No matter what the back end of the term is, if you are employing a Tele body, you've still got a Tele-'something'. However, another possibility utilizes the original term Esquire, re-organized as ESQUIER Deluxe, paying homage to Fender's less expensive brand.


Thanks for the education, Guitarman1117. Going from the bit that I've quoted, this custom guitar would be an example of a "Jagcaster." I guess it would depend on the neck scale, however, for what to call it...24" = "Jagcaster," 25 1/2" = "Jazzcaster." Again going from what I've quoted, and that I will be using a Tele body/neck, I'll just call it a "Tele" and be done with it. I have seen one custom made "Jazzcaster" in action, several times over the past couple of years, and I call it that only because it has a Strat-style tremolo instead of the usual Jaguar/Jazzmaster tremolo. I've been thinking about getting a couple of knobs, like what the guitar pictured has, for my Epiphone Les Paul Jr. 90, not because I want to copy the guitar I've linked to, but to compliment the P90 cover and jack plate. Most of my influence for that is from my desktop background of a Butterscotch/rosewood/gold Strat leaning against a blonde Super-Sonic combo.

As for Telecasters with Stratocaster tremolos, if the opportunity ever arrises for me, I'd very likely go after a black Classic Player Telecaster Deluxe with Tremolo. I already love the Telecaster Deluxe, but to add a Strat trem to that package, I figure "why not?" My own partscaster Tele project, as I'd described in my earlier reply, comes close to being a hybrid of the Classic Player Telecaster Deluxe with Tremolo, and the Classic Player Telecaster Deluxe with Black Dove Pickups. The similarities end with my choice of a traditional Tele neck/headstock, and traditional master tone/master volume and switching on one control plate. I almost ordered a reproduction Tele Deluxe body/neck from Warmouth, but when I finally picked up the phone to order, I decided to go with the Standard Tele body instead.

Matt

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Post subject:
Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 1:03 pm
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Very Interesting.... OK, how about TELETREM? or rather than 'Tele', re-spelled as TELLY? .... maybe a TELLOCASTER?? or TREMCASTER???

BTW: How come they don't call the non-Fender Telecaster copies TELEPHONIES? LOL

Ya' know.... when they put Humbuckers in a Strat, (FAT Strat) they really shoulda' called it a STRATOSFEAR ...... 'Fat' isn't the best term...... and at the same time, 'Fat' also (quite strongly) implies that SS or SSS is "thin".

Note to Fender: If you're gonna put Strat headstocks on Teles, then why not a Tele headstock on a (special) Strat??? Especially on a re-issue of a 'standard' Hard-Tail Strat that's not as expensive as the "Cray" model.

NOTE: I got an eMail saying the term TREMCASTER is taken. Sorry about that. Someone else thought of it long before I did.


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