Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi, I may be adding to the collection soon. I have a Squire CV 60's Strat (love it) and am considering a CV 60's Tele. I'm looking to get as much chicken scratch Nashville twang as possible from it. So..... if there are any Tele owners out there that might be of help, here's my question: What replacement pickups, tone circuit, strings, pedals, etc. would make that cheap guitar into an absolute twang monster. I know that technique is very important, but let's keep that out of the equation for now; just the hardware only. Any ideas? Thanks. Tom

I own a MIM Classic 60s Tele that I bought two years ago on eBay for very cheap. It's the best Tele I've played, and I've played a lot of them. It's hard to believe, but the stock pickups actually get me where I need to go. It's perfect for the Nashville Chicken-pickin' and also nails the tone of Kinks songs very, very well. Of course, it's easy to get Let It Be tones, and with some fuzz, instant Yardbirds. Overdrive nails early Zeppelin. The right pedal to get that twang, you should look no further than your Janglebox.

If you want to replace the pickups, some people like Custom Shop No-Caster pickups, and there are Texas special Tele pickups, too, which I like.

I've put C/S Nocaster pups in both of my Teles.

I've got a pickup set from Dave Stephens in my Tele...bridge is a Broadcaster and neck is a '51, patterned after another friend's real '51 Tele. I've compared both guitars and the pickups are extremely close to the real one. They cost a fair bit but worth it for me! Not sure if you would want to go to that expense for a cheaper Tele, but you can check it out if you like. His site is www.sdpickups.com and he has a bunch of youtube videos under the sdpickups name.

Greg

wmthor wrote:I've put C/S Nocaster pups in both of my Teles.

They absolutely nail the classic Tele sound. IMHO the bridge is a bit more "twangy" than the Texas Specials and the neck is less aggressive.

Luv my Tele and my Esquire. Maximun chicken scratch-Make it in to an Esquire. One '51 Nocaster bridge or one S.Duncan Antiquity bridge around $85 and a $20 pickguard. There is just somethig about an Esquire.

Hi, Thanks for all of the suggestions. I will probably go with the nocasters eventually. I did a cover song recently with the Tele and it sounded decent. It didn't get very much attention on this forum, however (very few country fans?). A lot of the twang I'm looking for will likely show up as my technique gets better. Tom