What My Builders Are Up To: Obeche Tele
This was the last day for this one, and it is beautiful! We finished connecting the pickups and jack, tested the wiring, and placed and installed the control plate and pick guard. We got the nut slots perfect and installed the string guide. The strap buttons are on, and the knobs, too.
Final setup was perfectly straightforward. Truss rod, saddle height, intonation, and pickup height all fell right into place. The pickups are Duncan Vintage Stacks, which look and sound great, and are very affordable. I always discuss pickup choice at length with my builders, and more than half of them choose a noiseless option. These are actually more authentically Tele-sounding than the Bardens, and are less than half the price. Don’t get me wrong: I love the Bardens and have them on a Tele, a Strat, and my ’51 P-Bass. I also know that great pickups are critical to the overall tone and response of the guitar. But not everyone can justify that price tag. Fortunately there are several good, and quiet, options out there.
Single-coil fans, I’m with you, too. No noiseless pickup I’ve heard is exactly the same as the old-school stuff. I have guitars with those pickups, too, because sometimes you need the most twang you can get, you know?
This builder’s wife told him she thinks this is the best-sounding guitar he owns! And it’s never a bad thing to get support at home, is it? This is another cool guitar!