Telecaster: getting used to bridge?

[mercifulfuzziness]

I dunno what sounds you are going for, but I'd say as with all things the earlier in the chain you can fix things, the better -- which here is pick an amp that's going to complement the tele the most first. And then, yeah, turning down treble a little; presence definitely coming down. Also some embracing that its going to be a brighter sound than what you may be used to. As a rule, when I pick up my tele, I turn to my tweed preset on my AxeFx where when I pick up my 335, I turn to my Blackpanel preset. In Helix, the Victory Queen or whatever its called is a KILLER amp with a tele.

Never tried the Victorian :) my amps are Super Reverb, GSG and Vox :)

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

Playing around with the amps in Helix actually makes it a lot better.

Not done yet but the Voltage queen is the one i landed on and played some more with.

The ac30 should be great but have not found the settings yet to liking. Same with the Fender amps but it’s probably because I am used so much to the neck

 

[Eagle]

If you playing through a modelling amp fix it there because changing pickups makes a lot less difference through modelling.
Also a lot of tele tones are using vintage black guard type setups. The three saddles and hotter bridge pickup is quite different to an American Standard. The stock pickup is pretty bad , thin and bright but a helix is a personality filter.

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

If you playing through a modelling amp fix it there because changing pickups makes a lot less difference through modelling.
Also a lot of tele tones are using vintage black guard type setups. The three saddles and hotter bridge pickup is quite different to an American Standard. The stock pickup is pretty bad , thin and bright but a helix is a personality filter.

Haha but what am I missing here in my understanding? I have an American Telecaster, made in 1996. Wouldn’t that be a “standard”?

The Strat is a player. But not the Tele.

 

[Eagle]

Haha but what am I missing here in my understanding? I have an American Telecaster, made in 1996.

The Strat is a player. But not the Tele.

Ahh sorry I may have got the wrong end of the story. I thought you wanted to tame the treble in an American Std Tele bridge pickup .

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

Ahh sorry I may have got the wrong end of the story. I thought you wanted to tame the treble in an American Std Tele bridge pickup .

I do. So because it’s an American standard the bridge pick ups are hotter, which makes them brighter?

 

[Eagle]

I was saying that the setup on a vintage black guard is bright but it also has a lot more meat .

 

[Eagle]

You can change the pickup for something vintage inspired. Old tele pickups can be 10k alnico 3 AWG 43 . So radical difference from a modern one. The BK Yardbird is one of my favourite sets for tele with less ice but still tele sets.

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

You can change the pickup for something vintage inspired. Old tele pickups can be 10k alnico 3 AWG 43 . So radical difference from a modern one. The BK Yardbird is one of my favourite sets for tele with less ice but still tele sets.

Need to be careful and aware that I will not become this constantly gear buying dude who can’t play for shit

 

[Eagle]

Need to be careful and aware that I will not become this constantly gear buying dude who can’t play for shit

Fair, start with settings in the modelling and so how you go.

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

Fair, start with settings in the modelling and so how you go.

Yeah man. I mean, a lot of the guitar industry must be built on hobbyist buying stuff and buying stuff.

 

[Sascha Franck]

Fwiw, there's good reasons why many Tele players like using either a compressing amp or a compressor pedal. Works quite well to tame icepicky peaks (outside of the country realm as well).

 

[Eagle]

The modelling does that anyway.

 

[Byrdman]

Playing around with the amps in Helix actually makes it a lot better.

Not done yet but the Voltage queen is the one i landed on and played some more with.

The ac30 should be great but have not found the settings yet to liking. Same with the Fender amps but it’s probably because I am used so much to the neck

Try the HX AC15 instead of the 30 and see how that sounds. Just enough difference to make a difference. I mainly play the AC30 with my LP & 335, but when I had my last strat, I liked the 15 a little better with it.

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

Try the HX AC15 instead of the 30 and see how that sounds. Just enough difference to make a difference. I mainly play the AC30 with my LP & 335, but when I had my last strat, I liked the 15 a little better with it.

Thanks, will do.

I notice I find myself forcing myself in a way playing a certain amp or pedal in helix because X played that. For example a Marshall, but a Marshal def does not help with brightness :)

Same happened a bit with Vox. AC30 is “the” amp.

 

[Will Onyx]

I missed that you were using HX modeler! Might want to give one of the fender tweed amp styles a try. They can add some warmth and fullness to the sound.

I’ve never been in love with the vox amps on any modeling unit I’ve played. IMO they’ve never captured the magic of a real AC30 or AC15. On my stomp, AC30 fawn normal and the matchless were the ones I liked best, but they were still kind of disappointing.

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

I missed that you were using HX modeler! Might want to give one of the fender tweed amp styles a try. They can add some warmth and fullness to the sound.

I’ve never been in love with the vox amps on any modeling unit I’ve played. IMO they’ve never captured the magic of a real AC30 or AC15. On my stomp, AC30 fawn normal and the matchless were the ones I liked best, but they were still kind of disappointing.

Victoria amp + small tweed combo + York cream 25 seems a good starting point too ;-)

 

[Jarick]

My current Tele and probably the favorite I've owned to this point of a dozen, is a Fender American Special. It's the "budget" USA Tele and of course I modded it a fair bit.

If you find the Tele to sound bright/sharp, see if you can swap the bridge for a modern Gotoh style. You'll have to make sure you have the right screw holes and dimensions, but I found going to the thicker and heavier stainless steel bridge with six cast brass saddles evened out the response of the guitar, added more sustain, and made the intonation better.

Pickups can make a big difference too. I don't like the vintage style pickups with the bright bridge and dark neck. I prefer a hotter wind bridge that adds muscle and warmth and brings the output up a bit. A little like a Tele with P90 mixed in. That's super versatile to me. And then for the neck I like something wound a little brighter and not so muffled, which really lets the middle position pop. I'm using K-Line Signature T pickups now but I think the classic Fender Broadcaster/Twisted Tele combo is a good pairing, and there's a lot of other similar options. Dimarzio Area can be good hear if you really like a warmer tone.

For tones, it's easier to dial in with the right bridge and pickup combo. Just get whatever sounds good. I don't have to mess around with adding a compressor or dialing back high end.

Now all that said that modern Tele is going to be different than a vintage Tele. If you go for maximum twang and brightness, you probably will need to mess around with comps and amps and play into that sharp tone more.

 

[Jarick]

Also worth adding, the Gotoh bridge is a relatively inexpensive upgrade. It's about $50 plus a set of strings. That's going to be cheaper than one new pickup, let alone a set.

And of course there's the old tone knob which is free...although that will only help if you have enough beef and midrange already. If you've just got a thin and bright tone it just makes it thin and muffled.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Victoria amp + small tweed combo + York cream 25 seems a good starting point too ;-)

Small tweed is pretty good - 1st step is turn hum and ripple down to 0.