I bought my Tele in 1967. It was a special order because of the Bigsby (no string holes through the body), which made it somewhat of a rarity back then.At the time, I was a
beginning player, really into Don Rich, doing gigs in local bars. After a year or so, I went on
the road for about 15 years. From the beginning, I have always tuned a full tone below standard pitch, which meant that I was
always playing in a different key from the other guy (well, it looks that way when they tried to follow my finger positions!). Anyway, with that and the lightest strings i could find (banjo
strings at the time), I could do some major string pulls without too much effort. Some said I had a unique sound because of this, but I think the guitar had a lot to do with it. My neck pickup was the bassiest pickup I have ever heard, and my
bridge pickup really honked. I finally broke the neck pickup trying to adjust it, so I had it replaced. Of course, a new pick-up was way too hot to match up with the bridge pickup, so I had it
replaced. I guess that qualifies it for a mod. I should mention that Tele finish was blond when I bought it, but 45 years of bar smoke have turned what's left of brown.
Last year, I had a guitar built for me by Seppo Valjaka ( Frankinstein Guitar Works), a local guy who builds custom one of a kind guitar. The body is Tele-shaped, from a one inch real quilt maple top over birch, one pickup only,
no tone or volume pot (straight to the amp makes it real hot response) . The neck is a stock Tele neck. I had a him put a Bigsby on it because I played for so many years with one; I'd make a
grab for it and almost get whiplash when it wasn't there! The pickup is a split coil and I have a three-way micro switch hidden in the tailpiece. |
