The Electra Forums

D'oh! Upon closer examination I realize it's the humbucker that's working. The old single-coil bridge pickup is the one that isn't. Well, that explains the tone, which is more like a neck HB with the tone turned all the way down.

I wound up easing the HB further from the strings, as it was way too hot and saturated too soon on the volume knob. Now you can get to at least 5 before distorting.

Next to pull the single coil and see what's up with it.

Update: the Telerez has become the most often played guitar at my house (partly because it lives in the living room instead of upstairs in the studio.) I've gone through a couple of pickup and wiring options, and settled into a combination I really like. Here it is:



I'm running a MIM Fender tele pickup at the bridge, and (I think) an MMK 45 humbucker at the neck, with pull-switch pots for coil tap and phase reverse. Instead of a 3-way switch I have a chickenhead on a blend pot, which is essential for getting a balance between these two very unequal pickups- but you can balance them enough to get a phase reverse sound which is very nice and quacky.



Wow I love this guitar. It's really become one of my main axes.

I like the new setup. The addition of a humbucker to anything is usually a plus for me. Have you reset the action since I played it? I bet you can get some slaytanic rhythm tones...

Matthew

Oh my god. I can't belive this is that pile your started with.

The wood is just jumping out of the picture.
Just look at that delicious maple neck, and the hardware.

Dude, you really kicked some good b*tt here.
You get a star for the day. Make that 2 stars

Nice work! I've often found that the don't-care-if-it-falls-over mongrels that are left most accessible become the ones we end up cherishing.

Case in point:

http://tinyurl.com/6t55e

How's the intonation on that Tele, with the wound D and unwound G on the straight saddle? I always liked a Tele with really heavy strings and low action, I'd even consider a set with 4 wounds if I had that type bridge. Just for variety, you know...

je

yep, i love it! very low action, intonation spot-on. wonderful for bluesy lead playing. and sounds great on a sunny day!



i wondered about intonation too, and i guess the GHS CL set I run everywhere works well here too. I like the idea of using odd string sets, to tell the truth I've been thinking of four unwound strings, a big solid D.

I love the flyashtray! You've posted links before, but maybe if you ever feel like starting a thread for it telling the whole story- we could hear about how everything on it earned its place...

Hmmm, maybe next major Worker's Comp injury should get me enough time to type all that out...it'll happen some day (the typing, I mean), there are lots of Vantage/Aria/Westone stories, then we can move on to the Gibson/Fender/Ibanez stories...then the Teisco/Dyko/Silvertone/Conqueror/Aspen/Memphis/etc. stories.

je, gotta get a picture of my dog with my 12-string.

With the fourms re-structuring this was likely better off here for all Electra fans to enjoy. Hopefully the move does not confuse anyone.

Cool, I'd kinda wondered the same thing. I can see arguments both ways when you're restoring a particular model- should it go in Shop or should it go with the brand? In this case (and some of the other like threads, like the Greco 12-string thread)) it makes sense to include it with the brand. Other cases that are more technical over a certain technique or repair would be different, and would be better for Shop Talk, it seems. .

Yeah, I think this thread is home now. I haven't decided if Tech Talk isn't somewhat redundant though. Maybe some new info pages on the site with ALL the diagrams people have done and move the Tech Talk threads to their rightful labels? I've moved close to a hundred already.

I've added another mod to the Telerez: since I've never been over fond of normal tone controls, i decided to go with a passive mid cut/boost. What it does is either cuts the midrange, leaving high and low intact, or it cuts high and low leaving midrange intact.

There are circuits for these posted online, they're based on using an inductor (transformer with only one side hooked up) to filter a notch rather then the usual low pass. I'd thought of building this myself, but instead I decided to buy one from guitar-mod.com because they're pre-made, have all the right component values, and he's got some nice center-detent pots custom made that fit the application perfectly.

Well, after a week of playing with this mod, I love it! I'd have to say though that the response varies hugely depending on the pickups and amp you're using. Some pickups settings it has no effect (like because the pickup is already all midrange etc) and some combinations are not necessarily useful. Not exactly a plug-n-play feature for the newbie. but for someone interested in really custom shaping their tone, who doesnt mind that you've got to be intelligent about what you're doing with it, it's a huge winner! For the Telerez it's just the right thing!

Oh btw, I disconnected the phase reverse switch, since I always want them out of phase, and since the custom pot doesn't include a switch. Happy good! SOme people have criticized these things because they're not active electronics, but they're really quite cool.

Hey X189, great photos of the stages of restoration! I can tell you really enjoy this sort of thing, and your tele came out looking and sounding great, so I'd like to offer to send you up my '81 CS-400 next time you have some time off, so you can restore her good looks as well! Southern Cal to Washington is a pretty close jump...

And I'm actually serious - I'd pay shipping both ways of course, and offer up some additional dollars for any parts and labor! Email me back if you are at all interested, certainly no rush on it, whatever your time would allow. I can even give you a link to hear my two latest recordings online where I played the CS-400. She's a delight to play, just lost a lot of her paint around the edges. I used the color pen and superglue to disguise a lot of it, and smooth over the wood that was irritating my forearm skin, but would love to get her back looking aas good as she deserves!

Well, I'd be glad to help if I can. I don't claim any expertise, so I don't want to take money for it, but if I can help your project get together it would be fun to get to restore another guitar without having to own it...

I'll be out of town for a month till mid-July, let's talk then!

OK X189! I just posted to your vacation thread first, and "bit my tongue" up there regarding restoration, hoping to find a note from you here about it. This is very good news. I will certainly look forward to talking with you more about it when you're back home and settled in from your traveling. It's very nice of you to say you don't want to "take money" for this restoration, but on the other hand, I want to make sure you don't have to spend any of your own money for supplies, just enjoy it, as you did with the tele. I don't have any wood working tools, or even a soldering iron, but I've been around that stuff enough to know that drill bits break, etc., so any of those extra costs should all be covered by me, as well. And, even when you're done, you may have to hold on to her for an extra week or two just to make sure everything has dried and set properly!