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Post subject: Esquire or Tele?
Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 11:47 am
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I've been playing Telecasters for many years, but I don't think I've ever played an Esquire. I was looking at the Classic '50's Telecaster but the Esquire version caught my eye. What exactly does an Esquire sound like? What's the neck switch position like? Does bypassing the tone control in the bridge position make a big difference? Is this the way that Esquires were always wired? I have a nice Tele and I love the sound of the neck pickup - but, should I get an Esquire?


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Post subject: Re: Esquire or Tele?
Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 10:52 pm
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Redfarfisa wrote:
I've been playing Telecasters for many years, but I don't think I've ever played an Esquire. I was looking at the Classic '50's Telecaster but the Esquire version caught my eye. What exactly does an Esquire sound like? What's the neck switch position like? Does bypassing the tone control in the bridge position make a big difference? Is this the way that Esquires were always wired? I have a nice Tele and I love the sound of the neck pickup - but, should I get an Esquire?


I have a Squier Affinity Tele that I converted to an Esquire and an Fender AVRI 52 Telecaster. I love them both. And yes, a Tele bridge pickup that bypasses the tone control can be quite piercing. :shock:

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Post subject: Re: Esquire or Tele?
Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 1:37 am
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If you already have a tele, an Esquire is not really necessary.
The difference in tone on the bridge pu is not so important.

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Post subject: Re: Esquire or Tele?
Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 5:47 am
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alainlafrance wrote:
If you already have a tele, an Esquire is not really necessary.
The difference in tone on the bridge pu is not so important.


The bridge pickup of my AVRI 52 Telecaster sounds very different from the bridge pickup of my homebuilt "Esquire".

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Post subject: Re: Esquire or Tele?
Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 3:05 pm
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Check out a Nocaster. :wink: (or a Broadcaster).

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Post subject: Re: Esquire or Tele?
Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 11:12 pm
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alainlafrance wrote:
If you already have a tele, an Esquire is not really necessary.
The difference in tone on the bridge pu is not so important.

Tsk! Alain! That's like saying if you have one Custom Shop guitar you don't need another. You know that's not true!!! :)

RickyD

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Post subject: Re: Esquire or Tele?
Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 8:39 pm
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I would go with the Esquire...I love the tone and honk of mine. I do not miss the front pickup a bit. And as stated, the lead pickup going straight to the output with no tone control does add some very good bite.

T2

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Post subject: Re: Esquire or Tele?
Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 5:17 am
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RickyD wrote:
alainlafrance wrote:
If you already have a tele, an Esquire is not really necessary.
The difference in tone on the bridge pu is not so important.

Tsk! Alain! That's like saying if you have one Custom Shop guitar you don't need another. You know that's not true!!! :)

RickyD

You're right but you may look for another guitar which may be a little bit farther from the Tele; a Nocaster is a good start as Mike said

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Post subject: Re: Esquire or Tele?
Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 7:57 am
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Redfarfisa wrote:
I've been playing Telecasters for many years, but I don't think I've ever played an Esquire. I was looking at the Classic '50's Telecaster but the Esquire version caught my eye. What exactly does an Esquire sound like? What's the neck switch position like? Does bypassing the tone control in the bridge position make a big difference? Is this the way that Esquires were always wired? I have a nice Tele and I love the sound of the neck pickup - but, should I get an Esquire?



Hello Redfarisa,

I have a lot of Telecasters and two Esquires (Photos below). An Esquire is quite a bit different than Telecaster. The lack of a neck pickup does have an impact on the magnetic pull on the strings and increases sustain, however, I personally can't tell that much difference.

The three positions of the switch typically are:
Full Back - No Tone control
Middle - Tone Control
Front - Bassy Sound

Having the tone pot out of the circuit most certainly changes the sound, this is why Fender now uses the No Load Tone pots on most of their Telecasters. The middle position is similar to a Telecaster's Bridge only position.

The front position was originally developed to replace stand up bass players, but a few years later, Fender introduced the electric bass with frets for precision intonation (Precision or P-Bass). The bassy sound is not very usable in my opinion, and many people have developed circuits for this position to allows the sound of a cocked wah using caps and resistors of different values. You can also put in a four way switch for a few more options.

In the end, it is up to you and what you like. It is my opinion that there is a just a certain Mojo that goes along with an Esquire.

Don

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