Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Not really a '52 Tele, but a RI. I'm very excited about getting it, and I bet it'll be a world of difference to my Mexican Standard Tele!

What are some things I can expect from the '52 Tele? Can I get a distinct tone from it? How versitale of a guitar is it?

Have fun with it Jake. You'll dig it.

In my mind the original Blackguard Tele model is a design that seems to be hard to improve upon, a true benchmark guitar design, as the Jazz Bass is to basses. Having said that, there were/are good ones and bad ones.

Here is my Esquire, which may get a neck pickup at some point to make it a Tele...

Jake, I'll tell you what...I'm sorry that the 1997 fell through. That said, and seeing your resolve to go with a '52 RI tele, I can tell you that this is a really good guitar. It has a lot of twang to it, thanks in large part to its all-maple neck. This one can nail a lot of Rolling Stones songs obviously and does a good job of replicating the biting tone of the Vox teardrop in addition to the bulk of everything that the Stones have recorded since their inception. Also, you'll get some access to some good Beatles type tones...The Who as well as Townshend played a lot of Teles in the 60's as he and his management found that they were cheaper and easy to rebuild. A lot of different sounds are available to you on this one as this is one of the true workhorse guitars and it is used in almost every style of music. The tones on this can sparkle in their clarity, bite in the twang and high end, or be very muted if the neck pickup is left stock. Just make sure that you've tried it out and like how it pairs up with your new amp and that you can get the tones that you want out of it for your rhythm playing.

The '52 RI Tele's are excellent guitars. I've wanted one for a loooong time. Not a 1997, but something different and very cool, Jake.

TomPettyandHeartbreakersFan wrote:Not really a '52 Tele, but a RI. I'm very excited about getting it, and I bet it'll be a world of difference to my Mexican Standard Tele!

What are some things I can expect from the '52 Tele? Can I get a distinct tone from it? How versitale of a guitar is it?

Hi Jake -

Teles are really wonderful instruments, particularly 50's spec with the one-piece maple neck. They're almost indestructible and easy to mod (pickup wise) should you every feel the urge. The '50s neck is a lot thicker than you may be used to, but I find it comfortable. In terms of range, an example with great pickups can go from mega-bright to smooth and warm with a flick of the pickup selector. The US built RIs seem to be very competitively priced right now as well - you shouldn't have to pay up to get a nice example. I'm not sure how great the pickups are, but you can deal with that later!

Jake, a lot of folks has at least one Tele in their arsenal and a 52 RI is not a bad choice. It should match up very well with your Blues Deluxe. While I don't have a 52 RI, I do have a 62 Custom RI with Fender's C/S Nocaster pups.

wmthor wrote:Jake, a lot of folks has at least one Tele in their arsenal and a 52 RI is not a bad choice. It should match up very well with your Blues Deluxe. While I don't have a 52 RI, I do have a 62 Custom RI with Fender's C/S Nocaster pups.

I have both a '52 RI and a '62 RI. Between the two, I think that the '62 is the more versatile despite the high versatility of the '52. It can warm up in tone much nicer than a '52 can. That may be the difference in fretboard material...I'm not sure. I know that I often go to it for a wider pallette of tone as it can "growl" a little more than the '52 can when the amp starts to break up. This may be worth looking into. If you're going after the '52 strictly for the look and image of Keith Richards/Tom Petty, etc., that's only a little bit of the equation. Playability, tone, and versatility are much more important. I had thought about suggesting looking into one of these, but didn't want to muddy the issue, but since it's been broached, I'd try one of these out too.

If the saddles aren't compensated, consider:

http://www.glendaleguitars.com/saddles.htm

Their bridge plates are good, too!

sir_andrew_of_left_coast wrote:If the saddles aren't compensated, consider:

http://www.glendaleguitars.com/saddles.htm

Their bridge plates are good, too!

The saddles on my Esquire are compensated, and it will make a difference.

I got mine from Callaham Guitars.

http://www.callahamguitars.com/

leftybass wrote:I got mine from Callaham Guitars.

Another good aftermarket provider!

I got my reverse-wired Esquire control panel from there.

Hearing all these good things, I'm glad to say that I'm definately buying this. A nice Ric comes along, oh well, it can wait!

I'm really looking forward to trying it out on Friday when I head into IVG. I've definately got my lead guitarist Chris using it most of the time, while I'm on my Strat. If we do some Stones songs, I'm going to probably be on this Tele most of the time.

Mike Campbell and Keith Richards are assoiciated the most with this model, and they happen to be two of my favorite guitarists! I'm anxiously waiting for Friday!!

Nice choice..I like this model a lot. You should get an updated switch packet with the guitar (you can buy one cheap if not), The guitar comes "stock" as the orig 1952 model with switching: neck--- neck through a cap that bleeds off the treble(this was done with the idea that the guitar could be used as a bass)--- and bridge....you cannot combine pup's . The updated switch will give you neck--neck and bridge...and bridge (many player will knock down the tone control a bit when playing through the bridge pup to avoid the famous "icepick in the ear" tone..have fun!

I've come home from a bad day of school today, and I was even angrier when my mom told me I'm not going to get it (and the new amp) tomorrow, and that I'm going to have to wait some more. My performance in my History hasn't been that good, so that's why I'm not going tomorrow. Saturday, if I'm lucky, she told me.

It really sucks having to wait!!!

Jake never mind it will come round soon enough!and remember youve got a nice ric to play with at the moment!Dont fret hang on in there
Best regards scott

TomPettyandHeartbreakersFan wrote:....I'm not going to get it (and the new amp) tomorrow, and that I'm going to have to wait some more....

Now there's a surprise....