hulika

Author Topic: I need suggestions on my Tele Esquire project  (Read 603 times)

Offline vigie rivera

  • Senior Member
  • ***
I need suggestions on my Tele Esquire project
« on: November 22, 2016, 11:28:28 PM »
So I have this really old tele that I want to mod. I want to "Esquire" it, but I still want to have a 2 pickup configuration.

After doing some research I found out that I can install a pickup under the pickguard. The problem is, since the neck pickup far from the strings, the sounds gets muddy. There is a solution though, people that did the same mod used higher output pickups (p90's and HB's) in the neck position so the neck and the bridge are balanced.

My problem is since this guitar is really old I want to do no drilling and as much as possible no carving in the cavity.

Then I remembered that Artec has a single coil sized humbucker pickups which I really liked before. I used to have a couple of them before.

My question is, will the artec pickup give enough "juice" to balance the sound? Even if it's under the pickguard.

I really need help. Thank you in advance. I will post pics here when the project is done.

Sent from my Lenovo A5000 using Tapatalk

HUMBOOGERS.

Offline horge

  • Senior Member
  • ***
Re: I need suggestions on my Tele Esquire project
« Reply #1 on: November 28, 2016, 02:36:20 PM »
There's obviously only so much you can do (lowering the saddles) to try to bring the strings
closer to your pickguard and the neck PU underneath, so I understand why you're turning
to a high-output  PU.

However... you will possibly have to shield the heck out of the PU cavity so that increased
PU sensitivity doesn't lead to noise. Furthermore, while you may get enough sensitivity in
the neck PU to clearly pick up the highs, the lows may come out murky --which is precisely
what you DON'T want from a neck PU, kasi nga the bridge pickup is already very bright,
and profits the most from balancing with clear lows from the neck PU. I am generalizing,
because I don't have direct experience with sub-pickguard -mounted Artecs.

Older tele PU cavities can be a little tight (with some variation in dimensions), so...
the neck PU cavity will almost certainly need to be reroutered: kasi you'll need ways to
securely anchor the neck PU (with your new Esquire guard off limits to the PU screws);
and because I don't think a typical Tele neck PU cavity in a Tele is quite deep enough to
host a super-lowered PU.

Reroutering is a serious mod, leading me to the real problem:
If the guitar is old (meaning old enough to have value for being old), reroutering the neck
cavity will harm its value. The most prudent (least harmful) mod might be to go for a proper,
authentic Esquire harness: bridge PU only, with an unaltered, empty neck PU cavity hidden
from view.

JM2.
« Last Edit: November 28, 2016, 02:47:14 PM by horge »

Offline vigie rivera

  • Senior Member
  • ***
Re: I need suggestions on my Tele Esquire project
« Reply #2 on: November 28, 2016, 03:19:08 PM »
Thank you sir for this. I'm actually having second thoughts about this project. I'll leave it as it is na lang. Salamat uli

Sent from my Lenovo A5000 using Tapatalk

HUMBOOGERS.