Trem for Telecaster?
- shinealight
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Trem for Telecaster?
My Telecaster (a 2010 American Special) is perfect for me other than the obvious lack of whammy. So I'm toying with the idea of adding one. I kind of already know the answer to this....a Bigsby would be the easiest thing, and I could do it with a Vibramate so I wouldn't have to put any screw holes in the body. I'd go for the Chet Atkins arm assembly because it swivels the whole way around so I could strum with it in my hand.
But what about a Jag/Jazzmaster trem? I've seen a few modded Teles on this site with them. I mostly play ambient/shoegazy stuff so it seems like a logical option to me even if it involves some irreversible routing and would no doubt cost significantly more to get done. Plus I'd be hacking up what is a ~$1500 guitar here in Aus.
I've got a few other purchases planned out for the next little while (a couple of pedals + recording gear) so getting another decent guitar isn't really an option right now, and I'm too attached to the Tele to let it go.
I guess I'd like to hear some opinions
But what about a Jag/Jazzmaster trem? I've seen a few modded Teles on this site with them. I mostly play ambient/shoegazy stuff so it seems like a logical option to me even if it involves some irreversible routing and would no doubt cost significantly more to get done. Plus I'd be hacking up what is a ~$1500 guitar here in Aus.
I've got a few other purchases planned out for the next little while (a couple of pedals + recording gear) so getting another decent guitar isn't really an option right now, and I'm too attached to the Tele to let it go.
I guess I'd like to hear some opinions
- Larry Mal
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Re: Trem for Telecaster?
Well, first of all, are you all that familiar with the Bigsby tremolo unit? That is to say, are you sure you would like it?
What kind of tremolo use do you plan on doing? Because the Bigsby does its thing, the Jazzmaster tremolo does what it does. Both are pretty different.
And I don't even know if a Jazzmaster tremolo can be put in a Telecaster or what.
There is another alternative to the Bigsby, it's a Stetsbar:
https://www.stetsbar.com/t.style.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
What kind of tremolo use do you plan on doing? Because the Bigsby does its thing, the Jazzmaster tremolo does what it does. Both are pretty different.
And I don't even know if a Jazzmaster tremolo can be put in a Telecaster or what.
There is another alternative to the Bigsby, it's a Stetsbar:
https://www.stetsbar.com/t.style.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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- autodoner
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Re: Trem for Telecaster?
Don't do something that isn't completely reversible unless you are sure you will like the end result. Because a JM trem will change the sound of your guitar to some degree, and if you don't like that change and decide to sell the guitar, you've already made it harder to sell once it's been routed. So unless you can play someone's JM trem-equipped tele, I vote for the vibramate or stetsbar as your best option. Or trading it for a JM.
- cincinnatiharry
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Re: Trem for Telecaster?
You know, if I had to have a trem, I would go for a Mosrite style trem. Those things always return to pitch.
Hallmark sell a dead on replica.
http://www.hallmarkguitars.com/parts/parts.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Hallmark sell a dead on replica.
http://www.hallmarkguitars.com/parts/parts.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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- noisepunk
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Re: Trem for Telecaster?
If you like the telecaster as is, don't mess with it- save for a second guitar, maybe a telecaster you feel okay modifying.
- andy_tchp
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Re: Trem for Telecaster?
Totally agree.noisepunk wrote:If you like the telecaster as is, don't mess with it- save for a second guitar, maybe a telecaster you feel okay modifying.
If I had a dollar for every online discussion I'd read over the past two decades about guys who'd put a Bigsby on their Tele and been disappointed with the resultant changes in tonal character/playability, I'd have... several dozen dollars I suppose.
There's a reason they sound great stock, the simple but functional bridge is a huge part of that.
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- sookwinder
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Re: Trem for Telecaster?
relaxing alternative to doing actual work ...
- MKR
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Re: Trem for Telecaster?
i put a bigsby on my tele and i have to say it was the single best mod i could have done to that guitar. I play a lot of surf and even my other stuff is kind of surf inspired so being able to put a little vibrato down with my tele has been great.
I have nothing but good reviews on how it came out for me. Tone wise it still sounds like a tele and tuning has been A-OK.
I have nothing but good reviews on how it came out for me. Tone wise it still sounds like a tele and tuning has been A-OK.
- øøøøøøø
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Re: Trem for Telecaster?
If you want a whammy on your Telecaster, I suggest asking whether you really want a Telecaster at all.
Changing the bridge configuration in any way so radically changes the sound of any Tele, in my experience, that it might not be the worst idea in the world to just get a guitar that already does what you want it to do.
Changing the bridge configuration in any way so radically changes the sound of any Tele, in my experience, that it might not be the worst idea in the world to just get a guitar that already does what you want it to do.
- Telliot
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Re: Trem for Telecaster?
I suppose this parrots much of what Brad mentioned above, but thought I'd chime in:
Learning certain string bends, vibrato styles, and neck wiggling goes a long way to simulating a lot of what you can do with a vibrato system. If you're looking for more than that, I suppose you could do it, but a large part of the beauty of the Tele is the 3-barrel bridge (IMO), so putting a Mastery or some other floating type of bridge would change the sound, and subsequently, the character of the guitar quite a bit. Some people have modified the ashtray bridge by notching the lip behind the barrel saddles to allow for strings to pass through from a Bigsby, but I've never tried one myself to speak on its results.
Learning certain string bends, vibrato styles, and neck wiggling goes a long way to simulating a lot of what you can do with a vibrato system. If you're looking for more than that, I suppose you could do it, but a large part of the beauty of the Tele is the 3-barrel bridge (IMO), so putting a Mastery or some other floating type of bridge would change the sound, and subsequently, the character of the guitar quite a bit. Some people have modified the ashtray bridge by notching the lip behind the barrel saddles to allow for strings to pass through from a Bigsby, but I've never tried one myself to speak on its results.
The cool thing about fretless is you can hit a note...and then renegotiate.
- Larry Mal
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Re: Trem for Telecaster?
That's quite possibly one of the best things that I've ever read on this site. The image of somebody hammering a vibrato unit on the side of a Steinway filled my head and just cracked my shit up over here.øøøøøøø wrote:
Telecasters don't generally have vibrato bridges. Neither do pianos. Both tend to be most useful if you embrace them for what they already are, instead of trying to make them into something they're not (IMO, of course)
Back in those days, everyone knew that if you were talking about Destiny's Child, you were talking about Beyonce, LaTavia, LeToya, and Larry.
- Dan.
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Re: Trem for Telecaster?
THIS might be the answer to your problems, if you're ok with a bigsby.
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- Larry Mal
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Re: Trem for Telecaster?
The original poster talked about that in literally the first paragraph of the thread.Dan. wrote:THIS might be the answer to your problems, if you're ok with a bigsby.
Back in those days, everyone knew that if you were talking about Destiny's Child, you were talking about Beyonce, LaTavia, LeToya, and Larry.
- DesmondWafers
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Re: Trem for Telecaster?
I, for one, would love to hear a piano with a tremolo system.
- Danley
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Re: Trem for Telecaster?
Agreeing with the sentiment not to mess with it, buy another guitar.
But.
But.
King Buzzo: I love when people come up to me and say “Your guitar sound was better on Stoner Witch, when you used a Les Paul. “...I used a Fender Mustang reissue on that, dumbass!