Flaneur

I recommend the Biyang X-Drive, if you can find one. A cheap, well made and very versatile TS clone.

Cedar tops and thin finishes are off the agenda for serious strumming......way too soft. You'd be in Willie Nelson territory in no time

Who are you calling large?

I've bought three guitars from Dave. He can make a cheap guitar play good and a good guitar play better.....

Could be a bunch of reasons for this. Unless you are really lucky, adding fresh glue to the dried-out residue will just be a temporary fix. When you take this to the luthier, he will need to know if you've been tuning up two steps, or using 14s, on a skinny cedar top. He'll likely shove a mirror into the body, to see if braces behind the bridge are broken or loose and he'll perhaps tell you to pay more attention to the heat and humidity in the room where the instrument usually lives. I've seen bridges 'fixed' with bolts and wood screws. Your Luthier will not be doing this. He'll remove the bridge with heat, remove all the old glue, prepare the mating surfaces carefully, re-glue and clamp the repair, for a day or two. He'll also sort out any internal braces, that might have been causing the problem. Cheap, fast and good............ in repair terms, you can only pick two.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Make-Your-Electric-Guitar-Great/dp/0879309989/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1360513363&sr=1-2 Highly recommended read. Even if you lack the confidence to do all the work yourself, at least you'll understand what your Tech is talking about........

Getting good sound is like having good guitar tone..... it doesn't happen by accident- and the best musicians usually seem to have both. Unless the PA is actually broken, it's the player's responsibility to make sure he or she is happy with the sound- on stage and in the room. Blaming external circumstances is weak and slagging off the sound guy, in public, is pitiful.

http://www.thomann.de/gb/danelectro_de56_guitar_red_blk.htm Nice price, if the colour combinations work for you.....

Dr Hip and the Blues Operation is a good one...... And I saw Wayne County & the Electric Chairs.... before he became Jayne County;)

And You Will Know us...... as Brian Poole and the Tremeloes ?

mint pickguard? Classic 60s Tele............

As you've found, the repro WRHBs on Mexican Tele Customs (and Deluxes) are the Achilles heel of an otherwise well built and designed guitar. The original WRHBs- with CuNiFe magnets- were rightly revered as classics....... but I believe the magnets are no longer made. Jason Lollar is the guy most American owners look to, for a solution to your problem. This is a great but expensive way to go. http://www.guitarexperience.co.uk/pickups/lollar-pickups/lollar-regal-humbucker.html I have no experience with this company - but I see you can buy an interesting alternative made in Manchester...... http://www.at-the-creamery.co.uk/custom-handwound-pickups-from-the-creamery/wide-range-thinline-humbucker-replacements.html Not sure what kind of tones you like. You might prefer to have a custom pickguard made and drop in some Gibson sized alternatives? This wouldn't be cheap, either- as I'm sure you've surmised. You might get a company to rewind your existing pickups, which would save some cash. Hope I've given you somewhere to start looking from......... good luck.

Bill Lawrence (although most makes are going to get you nearer to the tone you want than hot rails)

Quite a restrained performance for Little Richard............ but great

What are you looking for?

I sent you a PM.........

Destroys two popular guitar myths at once:- 'Real' guitar players don't need/use a capo and It isn't possible to play a Tele with the bridge cover on.....

Try detuning all the strings and jiggling the cone around, making sure it can move freely. Then re-tune- the 3rd and 4th strings first, to stop the cone from moving about. (I was a bit hasty suggesting the cone was cracked. Hopefully it's just needing adjustment.)

http://www.fineresophonic.com/contact.htm This Guy. Problem being, he's in Paris It's a really specialist thing. Most people in Britain who claim to have lots of experience with Resos....... don't. Dropping a National cone in your guitar would improve the tone no end. Sounds like the original one may be done...... For all the talk of 16-60 sets on Nationals, serious dealers like Frailers don't recommend anything past a 14. If you're using super low tunings, you might get away with it though.

To be fair, Ronz, you are speaking more as a trader, than a player, when you say that. If I'm looking for an affordable, upgradeable guitar- and someone has already done the work- especially on a fiddly instrument, like a Hollow or Semi-Hollow body, then I might easily pay a premium for that. I'm sure people buy guitars with a view to cannibalising them, too. A cheap purchase with a good pickup added might have a quick profit in it, for the right person. Korean guitars are commanding a premium over similar Chinese instruments. In terms of fit and finish, the good ones can be very good indeed. I think the OP has set his price at a reasonable figure (with room to haggle?).

Obviously there are huge differences in tone between metal and wooden guitars and between bridge types. This is just a matter of taste, although you won't hear many country players using metal bodied instruments, or Delta blues lovers using Dobro type instruments. http://www.frailers.com This is a good place to look for new and used guitars- the best selection outside of London (and they will haggle). Ozark and Recording King guitars are pretty good for the money, as are the Chinese Hound Dogs (made for Gibson). The Goldtones, that Frailers sell, are better value, IMO. Great second hand- but you need to know what you are looking for, with resonators. Faults are hard to correct and the stresses the instruments suffer can be terminal. Busker guitars are building a reputation among steel body players- but I have never had my hands on one, so can't comment from experience. Ozark and Recording King are often sold locally and come up second hand, from time to time. Expect to pay no more than £250 and walk away, if the neck isn't perfectly straight and solid, or if the cone rattles and squeals excessively. If you were thinking of spending much more than that, look at a new Goldtone Dobro- and play as many steel/brass bodied instruments as you can. Amplifying a Resonator can be a pain- so don't get your hopes up:). Some of the best players use an SM57, rather than messing with Piezos. Others nail on a humbucker- which works, in a not very Resophonic way...... We are not talking about the difference between a Mex and a US Tele, if we compare an Ozark with a National, by the way. If you are really into slide blues and want to spend £500 plus..... save your money and buy a used National, for £1100 or so. It's an investment, in every sense of the word.

Wood or metal body? Spider or Biscuit bridge?

bump

A friend of mine took a beautiful vintage amp to the Oxjam last friday- but ended up playing through a Fender Mustang, with no complaints about his tone. I A/B'd a CV Squier Tele with a Partscaster full of boutique pickups, on sunday. The pickups would cost as much as the Squier, if you bought them new. Both guitars sounded great and work well in a live mix. Most posters here could think of similar examples, I'm sure. The incremental differences we obsess about- and pay for- are near-indiscernable to the audience.

-or if you love your Baja but can't get on with the fat neck........ just sell me the neck