Members Selsaral Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 I've never seen one, so for all I know I'd hate it, but I've been pondering the idea of modding a strat to have a telecaster bridge sound. The reason I like this idea is because I prefer the body contours and neck pickup on the strat, and there are way more strats out there, making it easier to find a platform to mod off of. Is it as simple as swapping the bridge, pickguard, and pickup? Does the trem route complicate things or prevent the telecaster bridge pickup from sounding like a tele? Is the telecaster bridge pickup closer to the bridge, so that the route on the strat won't get me what I want? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members paulskirocks Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 Check out the one in the middle... I am using one on my next tele build... Not sure if it will still get some twang, but I will find out... http://www.tremking.com/prod2.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Selsaral Posted February 25, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 Interesting! I was assuming one had to go with a traditional hardtail tele bridge but I guess that this hybrid thing is an option! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members notjonahbutnoah Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 FWIW: My strat had a phat cat in the bridge and still has a tele neck pickup in the middle (its the vintage for tele by sd) and I found them to be an awesome combo. They both sounded awesome clean and dirty, I also had a tele with the fender custom shop pickups in it, and they were both in the same tonal neighborhood, but I always like the strat more. Bridge and neck. Just got more clarity and punch, and the twang was there when I needed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Orange Jackson Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 HP has been running ads in some magazinzes that show a guitar that is a Stratocaster HSS body with a wilkonson trem, with a Tele neck, rosewood finger board, and Jackson style white shark tooth inlays. It is a really cool looking guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stevieb Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 Check out the one in the middle... I am using one on my next tele build... Not sure if it will still get some twang, but I will find out... http://www.tremking.com/prod2.html IMHO, that company is NOT to be trusted: "The TK-1 is a drop in replacement for most vintage style tremolo units. Some routing inside the spring cavity may be needed on certain models..." Either it's drop-in, or it's NOT. And $130???? PU_LEASE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frets99 Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 These come pretty close to having a strat/tele sound. Squier 51s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BmoreTele Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 I think that Sonny Landreth is working on a new model - Strat body, Tele bridge. Also - Robbie Robertson had his bronzed Strat with just two SC pups. I've been thinking of switching the bridge HB pup on my Squier "51 with a Twang King I have lying around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ugameus Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 You can get a tele body from Warmoth with comfort contours and routed for a strat neck and middle pickup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Selsaral Posted February 25, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 You can get a tele body from Warmoth with comfort contours and routed for a strat neck and middle pickup. Yeah this is a pricey, but good option. Would any Fender strat or tele neck drop right in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Selsaral Posted February 25, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 These come pretty close to having a strat/tele sound. Squier 51s Yeah I like the idea but I am looking for the traditional single coil bridge telecaster sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gtrjones Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 There are some pickup builders (rio grande, harmonic designs) that build strat bridge pickups with a metal (usually brass) plate beneath the pickup, like a tele bridge pickup. Sometimes this works, though I think the bridgeplate does add to the tele sound... both the metal influencing the magnetic field of the pickup, and the 3 brass saddles. as far as putting a tele bridge on a standard-trem routed strat, I don't see that as being very straightforward. It would have to be easier, and maybe even quite simple, to put a tele bridge on a hardtail strat body, I haven't measured. However, I would expect that the hardtail strat body would need a little routing for the tele bridge pickup. Finally, I think the best option is a warmoth body... you can get a strat body routed for a tele bridge and bridge pickup, a tele neck or strat neck rout, a strat or tele control rout, etc. Or you could buy a Robin Ranger... doesn't have the actual tele bridge, but sounds and plays great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ugameus Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 Yeah this is a pricey, but good option. Would any Fender strat or tele neck drop right in? They should, the heel is different on strats and teles though. The Warmoth site has a good explanation in the "will my neck fit" section. A way to save money would be getting it unfinished and finishing it yourself. I just did a rattlecan finish for less than 20 bucks. Or leave it unfinished like my Warmoth is: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members El Glom-o Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 .Finally, I think the best option is a warmoth body... you can get a strat body routed for a tele bridge and bridge pickup, a tele neck or strat neck rout, a strat or tele control rout, etc. Warmoth Stratosquire that I assembled for my brother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ten56gibby Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 That Tele hybrid trem is badass! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members d_dave_c Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 You might look into a Robin Ranger: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Belva Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 http://www.8fdtexas.com/Wood-Tone/Bodies/Options.htmGood starting point would be the Stratatele on this page. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Selsaral Posted February 25, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 That Robin looks cool, but I assume it's out of my price range® and I've never seen one in a store. Thanks for the suggestions everyone. It's not looking good for me. Apparently this is not an easy conversion. There's no way I can finish a body, and those finished warmoth bodies are quite expensive. That's probably my only option. The body alone is more expensive than any of the used MIMs I've bought. My dream of getting some used MIM parts and having a party appear dashed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members d_dave_c Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 If'n painting is too hard, you could always just tru-oil a body. Also - Robin's aren't too expensive on the used market. You could probably get a Benford made to robin ranger specs for a good price, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.