Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

True, John.... and I know where I can pick one up at the right price. Hmmmm.......

Thanks everyone. Agree, the black pickguard makes a big difference.

Very sweet Aitch, congratulations.

One other note about the Tele (no pun intended). As I’ve been fooling around with it, I noticed that it either wouldn’t get in tune or stay in tune. Especially the higher strings. And I particularly noticed it every time I played a simple open D chord. I’d re-tune the thing and try again.
Finally I realized what was happening. And I’ve done this before but it was happening more so on the Tele. Since I am not a good guitar player, one fault I have sometimes, is “squeezing” the neck when I finger a D maj. That causes my hand to push up on the strings, pending them out of tune. As I’ve said, I’ve done this before, but it is not very noticeable on the acoustic and harder to do on the 12. But the Tele must tune with very loose strings because it was VERY noticeable. It will force me to play better.
One final note in case anyone notices: The Gibson guitar strap on the Tele is a bit of a tongue-in-cheek joke. One, I don’t have enough straps for all my guitars and two, at one time I never thought I’d go over to the “dark” side.

I like the white on white look Aitch, personally.

Mark caress that neck (don't throttle it) and it will produce the sweetest sound you have ever heard.

Thanks, Mark. Brian's advice re: throttling the neck is spot on. I was lucky enough to receive some pointers from him during my stay and they have worked wonders. I also use Super Bullet or Rotosound 10s on my Fenders rather than 9s and they make a substantial difference.

I love your Oly White strat Howard.I used to have one but it had a rosewood board.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v228/fuzztone65/Stratocasters/87AmericanStandard-1.jpg

Thanks, Mitch. For some reason I prefer the maple with white. My Golden Anniversary AM Deluxe Strat has maple also - my Lake Placid Blue MIJ has rosewood.

Yeah the white with maple is very Jimi Woodstock.I think the White with Rosewood is Jimi Electric Ladyland.

Thanks Brian and Aitch.
Good advice and I think I will replace the strings w/ 10s.
I don't know much about electric guitar strings so I'll try a set of Super Bullet or Rotosound.
Thanks again.
(On bass, I prefer Groundwound.)
It's off to the Ranch this weekend for "Jamstock." Should be fun.

Update on my new Standard Tele and it playing out of tune.

I did what Aitch suggested and put on Fender Nickel Bullet 10s. And it did make a HUGE difference.

A couple of weeks ago (at the Ranch) I showed my guitar to a couple of professional musicians and they pointed out that the frets on the Tele are Jumbo! (Sorry, this wasn’t obvious to me). What I think was happening (and they confirmed) was that the high thin strings were getting stretched a lot just by the process of pushing down from the tall fret to the fingerboard. Doesn’t this happen to everyone else? The thicker string prevents this from happening. And now, as Aitch predicted, the tone on all chords is very sweet. The only drawback is that string bending is a little tougher with the thicker strings. I can live with that.
Thanks again!

I actually use 11 guage strings on my Tele, and while it looses some of the twang it gives a thicker sound. They also last longer, and I too don't bend the strings out of tune as much when I play. Of course, it is tough to just bend the strings at all, which is the price you pay with 11s.

Benjamin, understood.
My lead guitar player uses 11s on his Strat. His low E is so thick it looks like a bass string!
The 10s seem to be working fine for me I think I'll stick with that gauge (for now anyway).

10s on my '52RI, 9s on my Muddy and BSB.

I use 11's on my Mustang and 9's on my Tele.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v228/fuzztone65/White%20Telecaster/DSCF0023_edited-1.jpg