This one was built using a WD Music Products body and neck, and originally, with a set of Seymour Duncan "Lil 59er" pickups (scroll down to see that it now has a Fender Tex-Mex set in it). This axe was really assembled as kind of a "parts-mule" project/testbed to ear-test the S-D Lil 59ers.
It's already picked up a nickname: "Black Bart!"
CONSTRUCTION NOTES: The WD body and neck were a nice, snug fit, but, disappointingly, I had to shim the neck to get the action I wanted. Bummer. I also decided that I don't like this bridge with the "barrel" saddles . I far prefer the StewMac with the Strat-like saddles that I used on my thinline - we live and learn. It'll be one of the next things that gets swapped out...
I installed a StewMac Super Switch, wired for my '"Five-Tone Tele" setup, and put in a push/pull for coil shunt.
With the pups in humbucker mode, the "Lil 59er" in the neck is pretty convincing, if you're hoping for a "regular" humbucker tone, but the bridge pup, even in humbucker mode, retains a solid Tele twang. The shunt setting is... well, more like a real Tele. The biggest thing I notice is a drop in output/volume, rather than much of a change in the tone. The neck-alone-shunt does a bit of a "Strat" single coil, but you have to use your imagination...
Update 6/2009: So, I've been playing with adjusting the polepieces of humbuckers, trying to unbalance the coils to get a sweeter tone and make the coil-shunts less of a drop in gain - see my ES-333 page. I just did those types of adjustments to the Lil' 59ers in the Foto-flame Tele, and I must say I was quite pleased with the results. it really brought the coil-shunt tones to life, and they have a lot more twang and body. Next up, get a pair of Lil' 59ers for the Black Magic Strat!
Here's a link to a drawing of how I wired the Super Switch.
OK, the Lil' 59ers have been tested, approved,
and moved over to my pal Mychael's three-pup foto-flame MIJ Tele.
Yes, three pup. I rewired it with the same Super Switch setup I used in "Black Bart" for five tones out of two pups; a coil shunt push/pull does 'em both (that's ten tones) and the middle pup is on a push/pull for on/off - and that makes TWENTY COMBOS! Mid off=Tele tones, mid on=Strat tones - and they all sound pretty swell, if I do say so myself... and were nicely improved by the adjustments done 6/2009.
So, I loaded "Black Bart" back up with some pups that were represented as "Genuine Fender Tex-Mex Tele Specials" on eBay, sold as 2/3 of the set out of an MIM Nashville, and used a stock-looking W/B/W white pickguard - so it LOOKED like a regular ol' stock Tele, "lipstick" style neck pup and all. I was afraid it was gonna seem tone-deprived, after them S-D Lil' 59ers, but I was pleasantly surprised - it's STILL a kickin' little Tele!
I do believe them pups actually ARE Tex-Mex Specials - an honest eBay deal!
Of course, I did leave the five-tone switch in it, and chanted my magic over the pup adjustments... I always mount the neck pup HIGH and TALL to get it a bit hotter, I feel it's a better balance with the bridge pup that way, and the series tones are just a tad "sweeter."
It certainly has a nice Tele vibe, now. But, after a week or so, that stock-looking white pickguard was just too big of a visual letdown... So, because the guitar still works so well, I snagged a stock-cut black pearl pickguard for it. It was such a nice look...
And, it's another keeper!
The switch is run through all five notches, neck to bridge, one notch at a time. It's Black Bart, as you see it here with the Tex-Mex set loaded, playing the same riff (more or less) on each notch. The amp and guitar volume and tones were untouched - you are hearing it exactly as I played it, warts and all. I dropped a mic in front of my amp and ran it into my computer's sound card. NO TWEAKS!
NOVEMBER 2006: OK, so you say you don't think you'll find a use for the series/out of phase tone? Check out the solo in this tune: "Eldorado/PB&J" from my '03 Christmas CD (produced for family and friends). All the guitar tones are ol' Black Bart, but played with a little enhancement here to better demonstrate the combos. The solo is the series/out of phase combo played through a Behringer V-Amp and recorded into my Roland VS840EX. The MP3 file is almost 3MB, so if you're on dial-up, click at your own risk...