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Post subject: New active MIM Tele
Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 1:48 pm
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Saw a Mexican tele in the Boston GC today with "noiseless" pickups, a 9v battery, and a stacked tone knob. Stacked knobs seemed to be treble and bass but there was no center detent. It was pearl white with a tort guard, oldschool 3 saddle ashtray bridge, maple board, vintage style tuners. Unfortunately it was at Guitar Center so the intonation was way off and the B string buzzed pretty bad. Neck felt good otherwise but the bass knob was also not attached properly. I had all the knobs maxed out which meant I was probably boosting the bass and treble a good bit (hard to tell without a center detent) and it was LOUD. Output was significantly hotter than the two other tele's I played next too it. Can't comment too much on the sound as there was some 14 year old blasting right next to me.
Price tag was $599. I can't find anything online and I'm wondering if anyone else has heard or seem these.
Thanks


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Post subject: Re: New active MIM Tele
Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 5:40 pm
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mexican fenders are always a bargain. i'd like to see this tele

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Post subject: Re: New active MIM Tele
Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 9:21 am
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Yeah, I saw these yesterday too. Caught my attention as I'm currently tele hunting. The tag said "Player",but I have not been able to find anything on the site introducing them. I was curious about the tone knob and how it functioned. There was a nice sunburst, and a blizzard pearl, both with tort guard (iirc). They also had strats which looked nice as well.

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Post subject: Re: New active MIM Tele
Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 7:18 pm
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I've had trouble to find any info about this "active" Telecaster.

The only current "active" MIMs are basses. Never saw a Tele with the Clapton circuit. Fender did a Powerhouse Stratocaster with active electronics a couple of decades ago.

I believe the guitar you're talking about has dual concentric pots for the TBX and MDX controls as shown below:

Image


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Post subject: Re: New active MIM Tele
Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 6:55 am
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That is how the controls looked. Did the TBX and MDX controls always require a 9volt?


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Post subject: Re: New active MIM Tele
Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 7:09 am
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eight0eight wrote:
That is how the controls looked. Did the TBX and MDX controls always require a 9volt?


The TBX does not require battery; it's a passive pot. You'll find them in American Standards (1986 - 1996), Pluses, and some other models.

The MDX, however, is an active circuit so it does require the 9 volt.


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Post subject: Re: New active MIM Tele
Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 11:50 am
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Saw them in the new GC catalog - they're an exclusive. Here's what it says:

Fender Special Run Player Tele
Alder body in 3 tone sunburst or blizzard pearl
Modern C-shape maple neck with tinted satin back, rosewood or gloss maple fingerboard
Classic Series headstock logo
Fender Vintage Noiseless Tele single-coils with 25dB active mid-boost
6 saddle string-thru-body bridge (though the picture shows a three saddle)


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Post subject: Re: New active MIM Tele
Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 4:30 pm
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chromeface wrote:
I've had trouble to find any info about this "active" Telecaster.

The only current "active" MIMs are basses. Never saw a Tele with the Clapton circuit. Fender did a Powerhouse Stratocaster with active electronics a couple of decades ago.

I believe the guitar you're talking about has dual concentric pots for the TBX and MDX controls as shown below:

Image


Ummm, MDX IS the Clapton mid-boost circuit.

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Post subject: Re: New active MIM Tele
Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 2:20 pm
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So I hit another GC today and guess what? Same issues as the first one I tried in a different store. Fret buzz on B and high E, one of the knobs falling off. They adjusted the action slightly to try and get me to buy it but it was still buzzing. I did get to play it against some other tele's and I really like the sound. I know not everyone digs the vintage noiseless pups but they sound great to me. Output is plenty hot even with the mid-boost the whole way off. I really like the sound and options but they said they couldn't order more because it's a special run. I also played an active strat from the same series which had and incredibly hot output! I was actually having trouble getting clean sounds on the clean channel of the Mesa I was playing through without pulling back volume on the guitar. Wasn't as in love with the sound of the strat though.
I'm going to try to hit a few more Guitar Centers and see if I can find one that's actually well put together. Thanks for the info guys.


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Post subject: Re: New active MIM Tele
Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 6:05 pm
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I brought a Blizzard Pearl Special Player Tele home yesterday. The setup on the one I bought wasn't bad but I had my favorite GC tech dial it in for me. I would have done it myself but the truss rod adjustment is at the heel of the neck rather than on the headstock.

She's a player for sure. The fretboard edges are nice and smooth and the fit and finish are excellent. I like the big beefy neck too and the Noiseless pickups sound good to me. I'm still trying to master the stacked tone knob. :)

Here's a pic so it did happen. :wink:

John

Image000_0787 by John Bohn, on Flickr


Last edited by john.bohn on Wed Dec 04, 2019 1:27 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Post subject: Re: New active MIM Tele
Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2011 2:07 am
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Looks nice John! Great picture.
I almost took one home yesterday if they could have worked out the fret-buzz issue:(
I haven't given up on finding mine yet...


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Post subject: Re: New active MIM Tele
Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 3:16 am
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eight0eight wrote:
Looks nice John! Great picture.
I almost took one home yesterday if they could have worked out the fret-buzz issue:(
I haven't given up on finding mine yet...

Thanks. It had been a while since we had cool weather here and those dark clouds were a welcome sight. The cool breezes felt great, too.

Good luck with your hunt. :)

John


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Post subject: Re: New active MIM Tele
Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 6:33 am
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bluesky636 wrote:
chromeface wrote:
I've had trouble to find any info about this "active" Telecaster.

The only current "active" MIMs are basses. Never saw a Tele with the Clapton circuit. Fender did a Powerhouse Stratocaster with active electronics a couple of decades ago.

I believe the guitar you're talking about has dual concentric pots for the TBX and MDX controls as shown below:

Image


Ummm, MDX IS the Clapton mid-boost circuit.


:o

Image


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Post subject: Re: New active MIM Tele
Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2011 1:36 pm
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Third one was the charm I guess. Found a Blizzard Pearl in Natick that's pretty damn sweet. John.bohn's picture won me over on the color and I was sick of waiting for a sunburst to come in. Overall fit and finish is pretty good. Wiring is solid with quality pots and wire. I found a few tiny imperfections in the paint but nothing worth complaining about. Factory set-up is another issue, As I've mentioned this is the third I've tried and the first that didn't buzz horribly. I'll probably get the nut looked at to lower a few strings as well. Also I can't quite sort out the intonation with the 3 saddle bridge. I'd rather not go to a 6 saddle bridge and was thinking of this to keep it as close to stock as possible.
http://www.guitarfetish.com/Wilkinson-C ... _873.html#
Anyone ever used this type of bridge?

Thanks for the input guys


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Post subject: Re: New active MIM Tele
Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2011 4:31 pm
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eight0eight wrote:
Third one was the charm I guess. Found a Blizzard Pearl in Natick that's pretty damn sweet. John.bohn's picture won me over on the color and I was sick of waiting for a sunburst to come in. Overall fit and finish is pretty good. Wiring is solid with quality pots and wire. I found a few tiny imperfections in the paint but nothing worth complaining about. Factory set-up is another issue, As I've mentioned this is the third I've tried and the first that didn't buzz horribly. I'll probably get the nut looked at to lower a few strings as well. Also I can't quite sort out the intonation with the 3 saddle bridge. I'd rather not go to a 6 saddle bridge and was thinking of this to keep it as close to stock as possible.
http://www.guitarfetish.com/Wilkinson-C ... _873.html#
Anyone ever used this type of bridge?

Thanks for the input guys


The three-saddle bridge is not that hard to set up. Yes, it takes a little more time, but so would the Wilkenson. Neither the stock bridge nor the Wilkenson will achieve perfect intonation on all 6 strings. After you have things set up you will find that on each saddle one string may be slightly sharp and one may be slightly flat. Even if you had a six saddle bridge and got each string perfectly intonated you would still have notes along the neck of the guitar that are flat or sharp. It is the nature of equal temperment tuning on a guitar. Take your time and get things as close as you can and unless you are one of those (un)lucky enough to have perfect pitch, I doubt you will notice the difference. I tried Callaham compensated saddles on my AVRI 52 Tele and after a few weeks went back to the stock Tele saddles. The Callahams really did not make that noticable a difference. Beside, the stock saddles are all part of the "Telecaster sound". :D

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