Roy Buchanan

Here's a great Tele player that goes far to frequently uncredited. Roy Buchanan is a legend in small circles, due to his string bending and quick staccato runs. He was also a pioneer of the volume swell technique, as well as mimicking a wah-wah with his pinky on the tone control.

Buchanan's favorite axe was his 1953 Telecaster. His playing has inspired some great players, including the late Danny Gatton. Unfortunately, Buchanan's luck combined with criticism from music critics that were not receptive to Buchanan's take-no-prisoners style left him out of the spotlight.

Youtube has some great videos of Buchanan, one with him accompanied by Albert Collins, another tele-slinger.

Buchanan's life came to a tragic halt in 1988. He was arrested for causing a domestic disturbance while intoxicated and jailed. He was found dead in his jail cell, reportedly a suicide in which he hung himself from his own T-shirt. However, there is still some debate and evidence that suggests police brutality. Nevertheless, Buchanan's music lives on for those who are willing to search for it. If you like the sound of a well-played telecaster, you need to hear Buchanan.

Rare Custom Shop Telecasters

Here's something drool-worthy:

Wild West Guitars carries some very interesting custom shop Telecasters. Check out the Copper Metallic colored 1952 reissue. It is one of 100 made. It is a relic, which means it has cosmetics that include the standard wear-and-tear of an instrument built in 1952. Interestingly, it has custom shop pickups different from a standard '52 reissue, as well as modern 3-position wiring (neck-bridge combo in position 2.) It also has medium-jumbo frets rather than the small vintage size, and a real bone nut.

This is the beauty of Custom Shop instruments. You get the cool features of a vintage reissue, along with the conveniences that "modern" guitar technology provides in terms of playability. It is also much easier to justify carrying a less than $3000 instrument into a club gig than its $50,000 and up original counterpart.

Dating Fender Telecasters

This is a great article on how to determine what year a given telecaster was built. Using the location of the serial number and the number itself, this guide will pinpoint you to exactly what year tele you are dealing with. A must for collectors. Print this off and bring it with you when shopping. It could land you a great investment in a vintage telecaster.

Brad Paisley's gear

Check this out! A detailed description of Brad Paisley's guitar collection. You can navigate around the gear page to see amps, effects, and accessories in Brad's rig as well.

Brad is definitely one of today's hotter tele players. Listen to any of the instrumentals on his albums (he usually features at least one) to hear some very amazing, tasteful playing.

Brad uses a lot of telecasters with McVay G-benders. He also has some Glaser-equipped guitars, like his '68 pink Paisley, as well as B- and D-bender equipped tele's. He seems to prefer Lindy Fralin pickups, and has quite the collection of Crook Custom guitars.

Paisley's tone (like you haven't heard it) is great, in my opinion. A little dirty, while still retaining classic country twang. His tone also has a lot of low-end beef, which is very cool. He uses Dr. Z amps, and has replaced the pickups in nearly every one of his guitars with aftermarket ones. Paisley is definitely out for great tone, and his gear page can give you a hint into what works for him. A great resource for those looking for that fat telecaster tone.

My Newly Completed Telecaster Project

I would not feel right having a blog called the "Telecaster Fanatic" without actually being one. I am, indeed a tele-fanatic. I recently finished a rather rewarding Telecaster modification project, which launched me beyond the bounds of just another Tele owner and player to a new realm of fanaticism.

The project began with a Mexican-made Fender Standard Telecaster. I have owned this guitar for several years, and considered replacing it with a Nashville B-Bender model. However, I chose to create my own concoction, and ended up spending about what a U.S. made Nashville B-Bender would cost. I'm glad I wasn't trying to save money with this project.

I began by swapping out the stock pickups for a set of Fender Custom Shop Texas Special Telecaster models, which I bought here. I wired them to Fender's 4-way Tele mod switch to achieve both series and parallel tones.

Then I sent the guitar to Charlie McVay in Pennsylvania to have a B-Bender installed. Charlie installs benders similar to those of Joe Glaser, with a strap actuated lever. Very cool unit. (See blog entry "best bender on the market" for more information and a rant from me on how great they are!)

While the guitar was being worked on by Charlie, I ordered a custom replacement neck from Warmoth. It is flamed maple, with stainless steel frets. It has Warmoth's patented compound radius, which helps keep the string action low. I had it drilled for Schaller locking tuners, and ordered them with the neck. The neck has a 1 11-16 inch nut width (identical to my favorite Strat) and plays like butter.

I had the guitar back with the bender for two days, and then I bolted the neck on, with the help of a very talented friend of mine. So now I have a Mexican telecaster body, with original volume and tone knobs. Everything else has been modified. It turned out really well. Plays great, killer tone, flawless intonation, and one-of-a-kind looks.

Oh, and I replaced the stock white pickguare with a black one, for style points. To further inspire confusion from those wondering what I am playing, I left the headstock blank. It looks fairly normal from a distance. I like that.

"Blackguard" Telecasters

"Blackguard" Telecasters are those produced between 1950 and 1954, named after their black pickguard. Fender began installing white pickguards on Telecasters in 1956, so any tele before that is considered a "blackguard" tele.

Blackguards had flatpole alnico 3 pickups and ash bodies, which provided a somewhat different sound from that of a modern tele. Also, at least until 1952, their pickup selector was wired differently from the modern 3-way configuration. The switch still had 3 positions, but the first two were both neck-pickup-only selections, one voiced "dark" and one normal. The third position was the bridge pickup, with the neck pickup blended in depending on the position of the tone control.

Blackguards are the most sought after tele's for collectors purposes, and are also quite pricey if you can find one. Fender does make a reissue of the 1952 model that is quite accurate, including the pickup wiring schematics, ash body, and neck shape (blackguards had really deep necks, U-shaped.)

Next time someone talks about a blackguard tele, make sure they know what they are talking about. Some use this expression to refer to any tele with a black pickguard. Now you can correct them (or not.)

Warmoth Telecaster Necks

Warmoth is a great source for replacement necks for telecasters. They also sell bodies, and enough accessories to build a Telecaster exclusively through them. In fact, here are some who have done just that.

You can custom order a neck with the features that you want, or you can look through their showcase and choose one already made, either finished or unfinished. They will drill the neck for any size tuner that they sell, at no additional cost.

I bought a neck from Warmoth for my modified Telecaster project, and am very happy with it. I ordered one from their showcase, a flame-maple Vintage-Modern model with Warmoth's patented compound radius. It is the "standard thin" contour, the nut width is 1 11/16 inches, and it has stainless steel frets and a clear gloss finish. A beautiful piece of wood. The frets are well-dressed, and the neck edges are very smooth. The neck arrived well packed and in perfect condition on my doorstep, within a week. I had to sand a little finish off of the neck cavity on my Tele's body to get it to bolt up, but that was Fender's fault, not Warmoth's.

The compound radius idea is great, as it allows you to set your action much lower without buzzing. It also makes chords really easy to grip, while keeping twelfth-fret and up playing comfortable.

Definitely consider Warmoth if you are looking for a replacement guitar neck.