Flaneur

Telemasters are great. Esquired Telemasters look cooler still........... Can't have reliced wood but pristine metalwork and plastic, tho...... all or nothing

Leaving Louisiana for the Golden West........

You probably want to post this in the 'Equipment' sub-forum as well.

Nae probs You might consider the pre-wired scratchplate options, if you are a stranger to soldering. Good marketing and good value- Instant Upgrade!

Axes 'r' Us and Axetec sell pretty good stuff, quite cheap.

If you want Champagne on a beer income, second hand is the way to go. The internet is a great way to learn any new skills you might require- like how to replace tired wiring or pots (not an expensive upgrade). Guitar setup really isn't the Black Art it's made out to be, so long as you can follow instructions and take your time. Cheap guitars are better value than they've ever been- which makes buying top end stuff more of a vanity project, for most of us. The depreciation on £2k guitars can be extreme- which, for my purposes, is a good thing. The only time I ever paid four figures for a guitar was for a used National- a true lifetime purchase, acquired for just over half retail. My rare, vintage Tele cost less than a new Mexican copy and my three gigging valve amps cost £600 in total. I've spent three years looking for the perfect acoustic guitar - but I still can't find one worthy of the price tag. My two favourites cost £200 each, second hand and sound/play great. I don't consider myself particularly skilled and certainly not ruthless, in the Used market- but I'm patient. I could probably afford to spend a little more- but I don't see the need. If a guy wants to drop two grand on a Martin to play in his music room..... more power to him. There's nothing to justify or rationalise there. Problems occur when inexperienced players start thinking that you can't gig or record without expensive, branded everything.......... it's just not true.

When hopeless Luddites like me start downloading their new music, you know it's over for traditional retailing. I've always tried to support One Up- even though they don't really cater to my taste. I hope they can diversify and survive- or some new technology or fashion revives them. Not holding my breath on that, sadly.

There's an Artcore on Gumtree tonight. It would help if the OP had told us what model and colour of instrument we should look out for...........

What a pisser............ do you want to post a bit more information about the guitar, in case it shows up for sale?

shhh.............. the price will go up

Trying to memorise the words to 'Gimme back my Wig' (Hound Dog Taylor is my avatar subject) I'm going to play it in the Pub on sunday, so we'll see how much I recall- and in what order..... :-)

I'm hoping these guys turn up..................

I have a set of Axetec pickups, in a Tele. I like 'em. Ultimately you have to find the right combination of guitar, pickups, amp and effects to get the sound you want, so it'll always be less than an exact science. There's a lot of psychology involved with purchases, of course- and not just in the marketing. If i paid £200 for pickup, like a Lollar WRHB, say- i'm sure I'd be pretty keen to justify the expense to myself:-) The best pickups for you might not cost a fortune. I really like the cut and tone of Gibson single coils, in the right application but I never hear 'experts' raving about them.

Definitely. Pull out the repro WRHBs and slap in some P90s......... and get someone else to do the PITA wiring:-)

Grace Potter

Crushed velvet bell-bottoms and a tie-dyed grandad vest............

Can I refer you to my avatar? (Hound Dog Taylor, for you non-blues hounds.....)

One hot evening in, I think, 1972, Robin Trower had a gig at the Lanchester Polytechnic- now Coventry University, in their large rectangular sports hall. Hearing the beginning of a sound check, at about 6pm, I slipped in through the open fire door and sat in a corner, while Trower played and played, enjoying the acoustics in the empty building. Band members came and went but Trower played for about an hour....... very loud indeed, with fantastic chops and as Stu has found, tone to spare. The gig was great- but the sound check was one of the musical experiences of my young life, to that point............

A mate of mine bought a Japanese 62 reissue Strat in 1991- then left it in my tender care for 18 months, while he went off travelling. Handing it back was one of the saddest days of my life......

http://www.fenderjapan.co.jp/tl69_spl.html This website will make you drool....................

There is a problem with these beautiful La Cabronita Teles............... No tone control- what's that about? All form, no function........... (a concentric pot will fix this, for a tenner- so it's not a deal breaking issue)