FENDER American Deluxe Telecaster

One of the best things about electric guitars is that you can pretty much customize them to your liking. Much like cars, the more popular brands will have a bevy of manufacturers working towards creating products for the model when compared to lesser known guitars (although several smaller guitar manufactures circumvent this by modeling the size of certain aspects to match that of their more mainstream rivals, such as all of those Strat clones out there that can use pretty much any official Stratocaster product). With that said, there are fewer guitars out there as popular as the Fender Telecaster. Although the stock sound of the guitar is what makes many players gravitate towards the Telecaster, sooner or later they tend to want to tweak the timbre, even just slightly, to reflect more of their personal taste in tone. So, just in case any of you Telecaster owners are in the same boat and are looking to fine tune the sound of your instrument, what better way than a brand new set of pickups!

Obviously, the first thing you need to do is decide on what kind of Tele pickups you might want, so for those of you who have yet decided on what kind of sound you’re going to want your baby to play, check out PALs selection of Telecaster pickups past the link.

Before we get started, familiarize yourself with your guitar and the how the pickups work in terms of size and interchangeability. For the Telecaster, you will be working with two pickups, the neck and the bridge. The neck pickup is on the side right next to neck and the bridge pickup is obviously close to the bridge of the guitar. This is important because you don’t want to go and accidently buy a neck pickup for a Tele when you are trying to get a bridge because they will not fit on the opposite slot. Although some guitars do allow for interchangeable pickups, some don’t, which is why it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself, or go the easier route and buy the complete set (although it’s NEVER a bad idea to be knowledgeable about your rig). This guide is for replacing your Standard Telecaster pickups with standard sized Telecaster single-coil pickups. It is essentially the same technique if you’re going to be replacing your pickups with something else such as a minihumbucker neck pickup except that it will include an extra wire (because humbuckers have two coils, one wire for each coil, although these two wires will be twisted together and soldered as you would with a single coil pickups wire, so essentially it works very similar to a single coil as far as installation goes when it’s all said and done).

Familiarize yourself with this diagram and the corresponding spots on your guitar's wiring

Step One: Gathering your Tools and Prep Work

There will be a few things you will need before you will be able to change the pickups on your Telecaster, but you should be able to easily find everything at your local home improvement store. A few of these tools aren’t explicitly necessary but trust me; it will make it so much easier.

Here is what you will definitely need:

Soldering Iron and Solder - Lead free is the best way to go for any electrical system.

Full Set of Screwdrivers - You will need two, but its best to find the exact fit so as to not strip the screw.

Pliers – Unless you have very thin fingers, you’ll need a way to feed the wires through the cavity.

Wire Cutters – Most new pickups will not have exposed wiring. Use these to take some of the plastic coating off, but remember, don’t cut through the entire wire.

These will make things easier:

Electrical Tape – To hold the wires in place inside the guitar body cavity, especially important in keeping two separate wires from touching which will cause a short, breaking the entire electrical component.

Wire Strippers – Used to cut the piece of plastic surrounding the new pickups wires. Work better than wire cutters in that they don’t cut all the way through.

Exacto Knife – Used to strip the pieces of plastic around the wire in case you don’t have wire strippers.

Paper Towels – Solder tends to get messy. Place around the control panel's wiring to make sure it doesn't get inside the guitar or on the body.

Step Two: Opening up the Control Panel

Since you will be taking apart most of the guitar, it’s not a bad idea to clean up some of the gunk that has accumulated over time while you’re at it. This would also be the perfect time to do any other tuneup job you’ve been meaning to do such as replace your strings, adjusting the action, replacing the jack, etc… 

Alright, now that you have your tools gathered, the first thing you will obviously do is take off the strings. For our younger and less experienced readers, don’t forget about proper string removal which is similar to proper string installation. Don’t just go removing low E down to high E. Balance it out; if you remove low E first, remove the high E, then A to B, D to G. Get it? Keep it balanced! Unbalanced pressure is not a good idea in terms of the guitar neck. Same applies when stringing a guitar. I tend to go D to G, A to B, E to E so I work my way from the middle to the edges.

Alright, so the first actual thing you will be doing is removing the control panel which is where your volume and tone knobs are at. There are two screws on either side of the plate. Remove them and gently pull out the connection plate. Remember to be careful and not pull anything to hard. You don’t want to go rip a connection. If you have a camera handy, like on your phone, it will be a good idea to take pictures of the connections so that you don’t lose track of where each goes once you remove the old pickups. Set the exposed control panel off a bit to the side for now, but don’t pull too hard on the wires or you will make a simple job into a much longer one.

Step Three: Removing the Bridge Pickup

Now that you have the control panel unscrewed, you will need to remove the bridge plate which houses your bridge pickup. There can be as many as eight visible screws depending on your model of Telecaster. Remove the actual corner plate screws first and not the ones near the pickup as those hold the pickup in place. After you remove the bridge plate, then remove the pickup screws and the pickup.

Follow the two wires from the bridge pickup to the control panel and desolder them. It is a VERY good idea to either write down or take a picture of where the connections go so that you don’t mix up the wires when soldering the new pickup wires. You might have noticed that your black wire was connected on the same point of the volume knob as another black wire (NOTE: some guitars have their black ground wires on the back of the tone knob or even somewhere else. Ground wires just need a spot of metal so that they can complete the electrical connection, so it doesn’t really matter exactly where they are as long as they are out of the way and on a spot of metal. Just use the spot that the manufacturer used as a grounding spot for best results). That other black wire is coming from the neck pickup. There should be a third black wire that will either be connected at the same spot as the other two or in its own spot on the same knob. This third black wire is coming from the input jack. Only remove it if it is connected with the other two black wires that come from the pickups. If they are not connected to each other, leave it alone. They are the ground wires and as long as you remember (or take a picture) which wires connected to that same point when you’re ready to solder your new pickup’s corresponding ground wire, you’re good. Again, write it down, remember, or take a picture.

The other wire, which should be white or sometimes red, is your hot wire and it is connected to the three-way-selector knob. Desolder and remember which spot you removed it from so you can solder the corresponding bridge pickup wire to the same spot when you install the new pickup. You don’t want to accidently wire the bridge’s hot wire where the neck’s wire should be, or vice versa.

(NOTE: You will bump into other colors too in the world of pickup wiring, such as green. Follow the instructions of the pickups manual. In most cases it is because they are humbucking pickups.)

Step Four: Solder the New Bridge Pickup’s Hot Wire to the Three-Way Selector Knob

Now that you have removed the bridge pickup entirely, replace it with your new bridge pickup. Feed all the wires through the bridge plate cavity to the rest of the wiring. You can go ahead and screw the pickup to the bridge plate and the bridge plate back to the guitar. Most pickups will either have all the wires inside a large bundle or two separate bundles, although that is not the case 100 percent of the time. Read the manual of your pickups to make sure you which wires are hot and which are the ground wires, although most are as easy as differentiating between black being ground and white being hot. As I mentioned above, humbuckers will have an extra wire because of its extra coil so just keep that in mind if you’re replacing it with one of those. You can go ahead and solder the hot wire (and only the hot wire) of your new bridge pickup to the corresponding spot on the three way selector knob.

Step Five: Removing the Pickguard and Neck Pickup

The neck pickup on a telecaster is held in place by the pickguard much like the bridge plate held down the bridge pickup. Unscrew the pickguard and remove it. When taking out the neck pickup, be careful not to lose the springs and screws inside that hold the neck pickup in place. Once you have removed the neck pickup, do as you did with the bridge. Follow the wires from the pickup to their spots. The black ground wire should already be loose since you should have removed it from the back of the volume knob when taking off the bridge pickup’s hot wire. If not, you can remove it now. Remove the hot wire from its spot on the three-way-selector knob and remember where it went. All the wires of the neck pickup should now be off so you can remove the old pickup entirely.

Step Six: Solder the New Neck Pickup’s Wires

Now exactly like you did with the bridge pickup, feed the wires of the new neck pickup through the cavity and solder the hot wire to the corresponding spot of the three-way-selector. Both hot wires from the neck and bridge pickups should now be in their place. Take both of the loose black ground wires from the neck and the bridge pickups and twist them together. Solder these two joined wires to the spot on the back of the volume knob where they belong. If there was a third black wire from the jack that was originally there along with the other two, join that one in there as well.

Step Seven:  Testing it Out

Before you go and screw back the control panel, it’s a good idea to make sure all the connections are working so that you won’t have to unscrew it all over again in case there’s a problem. If you have an amp and cable handy, go ahead and plug it into the input jack. Since there are no strings, you can take the tip of your screw driver and touch one of the pole pieces of the pickups or in the case of single bar pickups, anywhere that’s metal. If you hear a buzz when touched, everything should be good to go and you can go ahead and put the control panel back in, restring your guitar and enjoy your brand new pickups!

Recap: What’s Been Done

Removed bridge plate and bridge pickup from bridge plate

Desoldered bridge pickup hot wire from three-way-selector knob

Desoldered ground wires (of both the neck and bridge pickups) from back of volume knob

Removed old bridge pickup

Put in new bridge pickup and re installed it to bridge plate, put bridge plate back on guitar

Soldered new bridge pickup hot wire to correct spot on three-way-selector knob

Removed pickguard and neck pickup from pickguard

Desoldered neck pickup’s hot wire from three-way-selector knob

Removed old neck pickup and replaced with new

Put neck pickup back on pickguard, pickguard back on guitar

Soldered new neck pickup’s hot wire to correct spot on three-way-selector knob

Connected both neck and bridge pickup ground wires together and soldered them to their proper spot on back of volume knob

Replaced control panel

Restrung the guitar

Finished!

There you have it, although it can be a bit complex and overbearing, it is actually a simple form of electrical engineering. As long as you make sure everything is connected securely and in its proper place, you shouldn’t have too much trouble at all. Some guitars will work a tab bit more complex if it has an extra pickup like the Stratocaster, and some pickups might have more wires than you would expect like humbuckers, but even still, same process in the end.

As any normal music fan, we sometimes aren’t satisfied with simply the songs when it comes to our favorite bands. Some of us want to know their back story, some of us want to know who they’re dating, and some of us even want to know their favorite food! While some fans are simply casual and other are downright fanatical, musicians are a different breed of fans, more like brothers in arms actually. Rather than wanting to know things that have little to do with music and more to do with the trivial personal matters in the artist’s life, musicians want the gear info! And why not? It’s a chance to look at the tools in their repertoire, compare it with themselves, or even just gain a deeper sense of what makes the band work. So, for all you musicians and fans of a little band from Sheffield, England, this week’s Artist Gear story will feature one of the most exciting bands in rock today, the Arctic Monkeys!

The Beginning of the Arctic Monkeys

 

The beginning of the band can be traced back to the Christmas of 2001 where future Monkeys Alex Turner and Jamie Cook both received guitars as presents. Within two years, the duo had learned to play and brought in fellow Stocksbridge High schoolmates Matt Helder and Andy Nicholson on drums and bass, respectively, forming the core lineup of what would become in a matter of years one of the biggest bands in Britain. By 2003, they were rehearsing at Yellow Arch Studios in Neepsend and played their first actual gig later that year on June 3 at The Grapes, a venue in the Sheffield city center. After a few more live performances, the band cut a 17 song demo at 2fly Studios in Sheffield which they in turn burned on CDs and gave them away to fans free of charge. The demo was quickly distributed among fans, most notably via online file-sharing, further creating a buzz around the band. The demo, now known as Beneath the Boardwalk, got its name when the first sender of the file needed an album name for the file and went with that title, leading many to believe that the Arctic Monkeys themselves chose the moniker.

As the songs spread across the internet and the band’s fan-created Myspace page got absurdly popular, local periodicals began to take notice of the young up and coming band. Even BBC Radio and the local tabloids were not immune to their buzz, both featuring the Arctic Monkeys regularly on their medium.  In May of 2005 the Arctic Monkeys released their first single through their own ‘Bang Bang’ label, featuring the song “Fake Tales of San Francisco” and the B-side “From Ritz to the Rubble,” releasing about 500 physical discs and sold digitally via iTunes.

By June of 2005, they signed with Domino Records, choosing the label due to owner Lawrence Bell’s DIY ethic and propensity to only sign bands that he personally enjoys. On October 17, 2005, the band released their first single with Domino, the song “I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor” which went straight to No.1 on the UK charts. They repeated the same success with their subsequent single, “When the Sun Goes Down,’ reaching No.1 as soon as it was released, selling 38,922 copies. They would release their first album, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, on December 23, 2005. The album was an instant success and beat out Oasis’ Definitely Maybe as the fastest selling debut album in UK history, a record that it still holds to this day.

The Gear that Makes the Arctic Monkeys

Alright, now that you know how the band got its start, now it’s time to look at the other side of the story – the gear! During their earlier years while recording and touring for Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, their gear was pretty basic, all things considered. We will be focusing on the two guitarists, Alex Turner and Jamie Cook, as they are the ones that use the bulk of the gear and effects.

Guitars:

Alex Turner: Frontman and singer Alex Turner’s main guitar was black Fender Bronco which gave the Arctic Monkeys much of their early tone due to the odd bridge pickup that comes with the Bronco – until it was stolen in 2011! It featured a single pickup in the bridge position and was sold as a student guitar between 1967 and 1961. Meant as a “lite” version of the two-pickup Fender Mustang, the Bronco used the body and neck of the Mustang but featured a unique tremolo arm that has only ever been featured on the Bronco, probably because the design itself was Leo Fender’s least popular.

Known Guitars:

Custom Warmoth "Frankenmaster"

Fender Bronco

Fender Jazzmaster

Fender Stratocaster

Fender Telecaster

Gibson J-45

Gibson Les Paul Custom

Gibson LG-2

Gretsch Duo Jet

Gretsch Spectra Sonic baritone

Martin GT-75

Ovation Viper

Jamie Cook: His main guitar during most of the early years was a red Fender Telecaster ’62 Reissue with a white pickguard although he has since been favoring two of his Gibson ES-335 guitars, one brown with a black pickguard and the other red and fitted with a Bigsby tremolo arm. Of the two his main axe is the red, a ’75 model that originally came with Frequensator tailpiece until he switched to the Bigsby. At times recently, he can also be seen using a Fender Starcaster, such as during their recent Australia and New Zealand tour.

Known Guitars:

Fender Telecaster 62 Reissue - Red w/white pickguard

Gibson ES-335 Brown w/black scratch plate

Gibson ES-335 - Red - Fitted With Bigsby

Fender Starcaster

Effects:

Alex Turner: During their first album, Turner used a Pro Co RAT 2 pedal for all his distortion needs and a BOSS TU-2 tuner pedal and nothing else. A pretty simple setup, although it would grow as soon as they moved to their second album, Favourite Worst Nightmare. For that album, he pretty much completely ditched his old effects and instead added a Ibanez Ts-808 Tubescreamer for his overdrive needs along with  a Hughes & Kettner Tube Rotosphere, a preamp pedal that simulates the sounds of a Leslie speaker, a Danelectro Reel Echo, an Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man and a Boss LS-2 Line Selector. By the time of their third album, Humbug, his main pedal board configuration in order was Boss LS-2 Line Selector > Boss TU-2 Tuner > Cornell First Fuzz > Ibanez TS-808 Tubescreamer > Boss DM-1 Analogue Delay. Also thrown in the mix at times is an Electro-Harmonix Hum Debugger to take care of noise related issues when using vintage equipment.

Pedalboard during Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not

Known Effects Used By Alex Turner:

Boss Chorus Ensemble CE-1

Boss DM-1

Boss LS-2 Line Selector

Boss TU-2 tuner

Coopersonic Valveslapper

Cornell First Fuzz

Danelectro Reel Echo

Dunlop DC Brick Power Supply

Dunlop Univibe

Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man

Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Plus pedal

Fender Blender

Hughes & Kettner Rotosphere MK2

Ibanez TS-808 Vintage Tubescreamer overdrive pedal

Morley Power Wah

MXR Micro Amp pedal

Pro Co Rat 2 distortion pedals

Jamie: While Alex stuck with his single effects pedal during the early days, Cook’s setup was fairly simple too, although it wasn’t nearly as straight forward as Turner’s. His main effects during the days of the first album was an MXR M-104 Distortion+ , an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff, a T-Rex Dr. Swamp Twin Distortion and a BOSS TU-2 tuner.  Pretty much all distortion pedals save for the tuner, but by the time the second album came out, he progressed just as Alex did, if not more so. By the time My Favourite Worst Nightmare came around, Cook had added a few pedals to his repertoire, most notably a Little Big Muff (instead of the bigger original one, probably to conserve space on his growing pedal board), one Electro-Harmonix HOG, two Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man pedals and one Electro-Harmonix Pulsar tremolo pedal while getting rid of most of the older pedals. More recently, Cook has added a BOSS RE-20 Space Echo as well as a Z-Vez Super Distortion.

Jamie's pedalboard during Humbug

Known Effects Used By Jamie Cook:

Boss LS-2 Line Selector

Boss RE-20 Space Echo

Boss Tuner pedal

Death By Audio Fuzz Gun

Dunlop DC Power Brick

Electro Harmonix Big Muff

Electro Harmonix Little Big Muff

Electro Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man Delay

Electro Harmonix HOG Guitar Synthesizer

Electro Harmonix Hum debugger

Electro Harmonix Pulsar Tremolo

Ernie Ball VP Junior

Fulltone OCD

MXR M-104 Distortion+

T.Rex Dr.Swamp Twin Distortion

ZVEX Super Duper

Amplifiers:

Alex: As far as amplifiers go, it’s a lot more straight-forward than with their effects. In the early years, Alex exclusively used Orange AD30T amplifiers. As the sound matured (and he began making tons more money) he switched over to a few amps instead of just the one kind. He now uses a VOX AC30 for most of the sound, a Selmer Zodiac 30 watt for his more distorted tones and a Fender Vibroverb for his clean tones.

Known Amplifiers used by Alex:

Orange AD30T

Fender Vibroverb

Selmer Zodiac 30 watt

Vox AC30

Jamie: Unlike Alex, Jamie has pretty much stuck with his amplifier choices for most of his career. In the early days, he only used Hiwatt Hi-Gain Combo amps which gave the Arctic Monkeys’ rhythm that crunchy tone they’re known for. He’s still using his combo amp, but has added a Badcat Hot Cat 30R amp head and Hiwatt 4x12 cabinets.

Known Amplifiers used by Jamie:

Hiwatt Custom 50 Watt 2x12 Combo

Hiwatt 4x12 Cabinet

Badcat Hot Cat 30R Amplifier

Lindy Fralin Blues Special

Hard rock seems to get most of the attention when it comes to shredding solos and being the atypical music star, but that doesn’t mean blues guitarists can’t melt faces with the best of them! Last week, we brought you our picks for three of the best pickups for hard rock, and while there are plenty more great choices than just those three, it gave our newer music fans a taste of what’s out there. Today, we make things a little bluesier as we bring you our top three picks for that good ol’ American sound. It does come to mind that pickups aren’t made to fit on all guitars, so we’ll do our best to get a little variety in there as far as featured guitar bodies go. Well then, read on and check out our list for the top pickups for blues!

Blues Pickups for Stratocaster and Stratocaster-styled Guitars

One of the most popular guitar bodies ever produced is that of the Fender Stratocaster. There are innumerable clones of varying quality and even a diverse model assortment of the real thing, and while certain aspects may be different from one to the other, one thing that you can always count on is the uniformity of the pickup slot sizes, letting your Fernandes Strat don the pickups of the real thing. The Stratocaster and their clones use three single-coiled pickups with only very few exceptions in the case of special models, but for all intents and purposes, these are for your standard Strat pickup configuration.

Fender Texas Special Stratocaster pickups

Texas Special Pickups

These are definitely one of the most popular Strat-styled pickups you can get your hands on, working great not just for blues, although the benefits shine best with the genre. Those looking for a clean sound with plenty of presence will love the tone on the Texas Specials. Although these aren’t humbucking pickups, the reverse wound design on the middle pickup clears most of the extra noise, giving you a much cleaner sound than stock Stratocaster pickups. Those looking for a bit more bite than the standard will love the rich tone the Texas Special. Just give it a bit of gain and you’ll get a nice thick tone with a decent amount of twang, all with very little hum, perfect for the harder rock form of blues. All in all, the general consensus out on these pickups is that they rock- blues style!

DiMarzio DP408 Virtual Vintage ’54 Pro

Although these are not actual humbuckers, these pickups will amaze you in the chimey clear tones it can produce along with the controlled snarl and punch when played with a little distortion, meaning no worries about unwanted noise when maxed out.  Being a Stratocaster pickup, you won’t get as many of the highs and lows offered on the Telecaster but as long as you keep the frequency within its range, fewer Strat pickups can give you as many rich tones and direct command of sound as these, all with a warm vintage resonance.

Blues Pickups for the Fender Telecaster

The Telecaster is probably just as popular as the Stratocaster when it comes to the history of the electric blues. Although it is naturally a bit more popular for country music due to its unmistakable twang, the Telecaster can rock out, blues in, metal up, or do any sort of directional-based jamming you’d like, and while many will tell you that nothing beats the stock pickups on a classic, those who have given these pickups a try have been thoroughly convinced about making the change. If you’re looking for something a bit bolder than your standard Tele pickups, it is highly recommended you give these a try  

Seymour Duncan ST59-1 Little ’59 for Telecaster

Made specifically for lead guitar players who want to add a bit of the hard rock bite to their solos while maintaining that vibrant bluesy feel, Duncan’s ST59-1s offer a lot to like. Based off of a 1959 patent for a humbuking pickup that featured that signature Telecaster twang, the Little ’59 offers beefed up tone with warm execution creating a smooth blend of rock and blues. The ST59-1 is sold as a single lead pickup so try combining this with a bridge pickup of your choice to create your ultimate signature sound!

Lindy Fralin Blues Special pickups for Telecaster

Those looking for a bit of the vintage ’50 Telecaster twang with modern output strength should definitely check these out. While the bridge might be a bit brighter than you would expect, a simple EQ configuration will subdue the extra tone into a subtle sparkle much more appropriate for the moody stylings of the blues. On the other hand, if you’re looking to be a bit more of that country feel, the brighter mids are definitely a welcomed feature of the pickups, with just enough twang and plenty of resonance. The strong output ensures you get a fat chunky bite when you want to add a bit of rock into your twelve-bar guitar tune and can masterfully handle maxed out settings without any noticeable slip. For those of you looking for to keep that signature Tele twang while beefing up the tones, look no further than the Lindy Fralin Special Blues Telecaster pickups!

The Best of the Rest

Seymour Duncan SHPR-1s Hot Rail Pickups for Humbucker Slot- Style Guitars (Les Pauls, SGs, etc)

Those looking for something definitely out of the ordinary will love what the SHPR-1s can bring to the table. These hybrid pickups will ensure that your Les Paul (or any other humbucker slot-style guitar) is uniquely its own, taking several popular features of different pickups and putting them into a great solid package. Yes, these are humbuckers, so expect no noise for all of your controlled situations, but more importantly than that, these pickups give you the vintage feel of the P-90s as well as the tone balance and flavor of a bluesy Stratocaster, something that up until now would require three separate guitars to attain (as the P-90s and Strat pickups will not fit humbucker slots). Besides the blend of sought after specs, the entire product gives you a very sparkling and sustained sound when played clean and a nice fat tone when a bit of bass and gain is applied. So for those of you a bit bored of your standard humbucker sound without wanting to get rid of its best features, Seymour Duncan’s SHPR-1 Hot Rails are just what you are looking for. Come in black, white or cream as a set.

There you have it, five admirable choices that will work for most of the standard popular models of guitar. As time goes on and we get plenty more feedback from guitarists, we will be adding to the list in order to give you the ultimate concensus based off a wide array of players. We will never feature more than ten pickups per genre (three Tele, three Strat, and four “other”) and will be refreshing the top choices as more pickups are reviewed and sent in by users, ensuring you that we will only list the best of the best. Know of something we’re missing? Any suggestions? Send me an email at mareo@proaudioland.com and let me know what pickup should make the list!

And for more outstanding pickup choices visit our huge selection from a wide array of brands at the best prices here at PAL!

Photo Credit

Things are getting a bit cold over here in sort of sunny Southern California, and while the rest of the country is enjoying the warm nudge of Spring, us west enders are being punched in the face with thunder and rain. What can we say? We’re not used to anything but precisely 70.3453454 degree weather (as we all know, that is precisely the optimal temperature for getting tans and surfing, which is required of all Southern Californians). With that being said, have a great weekend music fans! Here’s a recap of the weeks business!

We reviewed a pedal that would make even King Henry VIII proud... if he played the electric guitar

We gave you more options to waste your time with... Finally, something to do at church!

Axl Rose spoke a lot about his feelings... and then wrote a short story about it! (Spoiler: it was all Slash's fault)

We checked out beauties and bodies of all kinds because we don't discriminate. Warning! Dangerous curves ahead!

We pitted family members against each other in a battle to the death! Find out who was left standing!

We went old school to bring you some much needed renaissance flavor! Sorry, plague not included.

We get a little hardcore in the performance department with three special ladies!

From Left; '60s Stratocaster, '60s Telecaster

In the world of rock and roll, fewer names are bigger than Fender, and in the world of Fender, fewer names are bigger than the Telecaster and the Stratocaster. When I first delved into guitars so many years ago, this question naturally came to mind; “Telecaster or a Stratocaster? What’s the difference? Ah…They’re both casters, obviously.” Not satisfied with my own answer, I decided to get to the bottom of it and ask around.

My first victim was a bright eyed employee of my local music store who happened to cashier at the electric guitar section. “Hey, can you tell me the difference between a Telecaster and a Stratocaster?” His normally cheerful but empty demeanor suddenly got stiff. As he rolled his eyes upwards to pause ingest what I had just asked, I quickly wish I didn’t. After a few seconds of gathering his thoughts, he responded with a quick and direct “This one costs more,” pointing at a white ’72 Telecaster reissue. Well, I got an answer, but not the one I was looking for. I quickly went over to an older looking employee with much longer hair (because as we all know, you can count the years employees have been there via inches of hair) and asked the same question. If I could remember the ten minute explanation, I’d tell all of you right now, but it was far beyond my one year of music experience.

For those of you who have yet asked what I have, let me just give it to you straight; there definitely is a difference between the two, obviously, but maybe more so than most would think. Some things are cut and dry while other aspects are a bit more intangible, but it is in these small but precise differences that I truly saw the beauty and love that the Fender Company has put into crafting both of these guitars, because when you find two people arguing over something as meticulous as amount of stagger in a certain pole of a pickup, you cannot deny their wholehearted passion of a masterfully crafted guitar.

A Brief History of the Telecaster and the Stratocaster

Before we get into the specifics of the differences between the two, it really helps put things into perspective when you know how each guitar came to be, because they are definitely closely tied to each other even within the Fender family of guitars.

When electric guitars first hit the market in 1931, they were simply modified hollow bodied variants much like the archtops of today, although with a sound more comparable to that of a tone-less acoustic electric plugged into a crude amp. In these early years, increased volume was the main reason a player would go electric as the idea that an electric guitar can give a guitarist greater tone was not so much unheard of as it was un-thought of at the time.

While Leo Fender was running his electric instruments and repair shop in the early ‘40s, he would test pickups on a piece of solid wood he had made into a simple crude guitar. He began to get curious at its potential when local musicians would ask to borrow the guitar that had been purely made to quickly test pickups as they loved the shiny and sustained sound it produced, much different than that of the spacey hollow body. Although there was definitely knowledge at the time that a solid-body design offered greater advantages for electric instruments, none were successful in impacting the market until the release of the Fender Esquire in 1950.

When the Esquire was originally released, it shipped with a single pickup and only about 50 were ever made, most of which had to be replaced under warranty as these models shipped with a pretty big manufacturing flaw as the guitars did not include neck tuss rods, making them highly susceptible to permanent bending (known as warping among musicians). Later that year, the Esquire was given an extra pickup, a tuss rod and renamed the Fender Broadcaster, which didn’t sit well with Gretsch as the company had a line of drums with the similar name Broadkaster. Rather than fight, Fender renamed his brand new solid body guitar the Fender Telecaster.

Floating bridge and tremolo arm on Stratocaster

Three years later, looking to add variation to his very successful solid body and fight back growing competition from the equally popular Gibson Les Paul, Fender took the same basic principles that had made the Telecaster a success and applied it to their new model, the Stratocaster. Unlike the flat body of the Telecaster, the Stratocaster offered a very contoured and ergonomic design, along with three pickups and an adjustable bridge with a tremolo arm. The adjustable bridge had mixed reviews from players, as some loved the added versatility and consistently used the tremolo affect while other such as Eric Clapton hated the bridge’s propensity of detuning the guitar. Today, Stratocasters that do not implore the tremolo bridge are known as “hard tails.”

The Differences between the Telecaster and the Stratocaster

Although to the unknowing person it seems as though the Stratocaster is the natural evolution of Telecaster (seeing as how it came out later, featured an extra pickup, “better” body shape and an added tremolo bridge), those who have played the two are more likely to akin it to a little brother big brother relationship, as the two are similar but uniquely their own, with players on both sides of the argument.

As mentioned above, while the added tremolo bridge seems like an extra, it detuned guitars quicker so those who had no interest in the tremolo affect saw it as a negative. The added pickup also didn’t necessarily make the Stratocaster superior as many still preferred the sound of the Telecaster (and nowadays you can get a three pickup Tele, nullifying that argument). I think I’m making my point that what works for some doesn’t for others and that doesn’t necessarily make either guitar “better.” So now, on to the deeper differences and what they mean for those trying to decide between the two.

The main differences that matter as far as tone and timbre are a bit harder for those unfamiliar with electric guitars to comprehend, so newcomers might have a hard time deciding which sound they prefer from simply reading about it. The best way to compare the sound of two guitars is to play both CLEAN (I can’t stress that enough, as any two guitars will sound similar enough if you give it enough distortion), this will allow you to be able to hear the natural timbre of the instrument. If you would like Eric Clapton’s take on the Strat versus the Tele, he has described the sound of the Stratocaster as more compressed while the Tele has more highs and lows. From personal experience I found this to be true, although which sound is preferable is up to what kind of music you will be looking to play. Those searching for a twangy  and bright sound like that prized in country or rockabilly gravitate more towards the Telecaster while those looking for a bit more simple with greater gain control such as that found in several types of hard rock, such as punk and metal, more often head towards a Strat.

Other general consensus descriptions regarding tone describe the pickup timbre of the Telecaster as snarling and biting on the neck and warm and smooth on the bridge, with a jangly sound in the middle. The Stratocaster on the other hand is more or less described as smokey and woody with a bit of quack on the neck while the bridge pickups a bit more brazen, otherwise confirming the breakdown of Mr. Clapton. Those confused by the use of colorful words should do well by getting used to it, as there is rarely a uniform way of describing the little details in guitar timbre better than the use of emotional adjectives. Then again, you can simply try the two out yourself and decide first hand.

The Choice between the Telecaster and the Stratocaster Depends on You

Eric Clapton with Stratocaster

In the end, the differences between the Telecaster and the Stratocaster may not seem apparent at first, but once you spend time with the two, they are truly and uniquely their own. Those looking to exploit the tremolo effect and don’t mind a bit more frequent tuning along with a slight growl would be wise to pick up a Stratocaster while those more prone to playing bright and clean with a nice versatile set of pickups will love the sound of the Telecaster. Ultimately though, they are both great guitars that have lived on strong ever since they were both introduced in the ‘50s. Whichever side of the fence you end up leaning on, just know that there are plenty of greats at your side.

Jim Marshall (July 29, 1923 – April 5, 2012)

Early in the day on Thursday, April 5, 2012, Jim Marshall passed away from complications due to cancer. Known as the man behind “THE” amp and the “father of loud,” Marshall leaves behind an unbound legacy and thousands of loyal musicians. In order to celebrate the life of one of the most important innovators in rock and roll history, we here at PAL would like to take a look back at the history of the man and the company that would forever change the sound of rock.

The Early Years

James Charles Marshall was born in Acton, West London on July 29, 1923 to a family which included boxers and music hall performers. During his youth, Marshall suffered from tuberculosis of the bones, a potentially fatal bacterial infection of the spongy bone tissue which inevitably caused his exemption from World War II due to poor health. With a great portion of the men drafted for the war effort, Marshall found a job as a singer and eventually doubled as a drummer as well. By 1949, Marshall had become a drum teacher with notable pupils such as Mick Waller and Mitch Mitchell who would go on to play for Little Richard and the Jimi Hendrix Experience, respectively. With 65 students a week, Marshall’s income had risen to today’s equivalent of $170,000 per year.

The Birth of Marshall Amplification

With his newfound wealth, Marshall opened a music shop in Hanwell, West London, selling first drums and later electric guitars. After several of his guitar playing clientele (including Pete Townsend) began expressing their want of a different kind of amp, Marshall seized the opportunity and decided to manufacture some of his own. He hired 18 year old former EMI electronic apprentice Dudley Craven and his shop repairman Ken Bran for help with the first prototype amps which eventually led to the 1962 formation of Marshall Amplification.

They modeled their prototypes after the Fender Bassman amp as they all felt its sound was the best match that they were looking for, liking its raw power and increased volume capability. The first production units were extremely similar to the Bassman in circuitry but differentiated themselves in the speaker size and placement. At the time, the average speaker could handle about 15 watts which meant that a 50 watt amp like the Bassman and the Marshall prototype had to use four speakers. Fender used four 10 inch Jansen speakers located in the same cabinet as the amplifier while Marshall decided to separate the two, placing 12 inch Celestion speakers in its own closed cabinet separate from the amplifier (many amps would later copy this design, separating the speaker cabinets from the amplifier “head”).

The JTM-45

Another key difference was Marshall’s use of higher-gain ECC83 valves throughout the preamp as well as a capacitor/filter after the volume control. This was the key of the amps signature sound, as the build allowed it to enter distortion at a much lower volume than on the Bassman and its ability to control high treble and gain more efficiently made the amps highly sought after by rock musicians. After about six different prototypes, Marshall was finally satisfied; resulting in an amp dubbed the JTM-45 and thus, “the Marshall sound” was born. As the company continued to grow, he created the Master Volume Marshall amps and the classic JCM800 split channel amps with notable musicians such as Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton becoming huge fans of the equipment.

The Legacy Left Behind

Fifty years after Jim Marshall created his first amp, hundreds of notable musicians around the world have embraced the Marshall sound, from Angus Young to Bruce Springsteen, punk rock to power pop, few amps are as revered and widely used as his. He will always be remembered for his incredible contributions and stands among one of the four fathers of rock and roll equipment with Les Paul, Seth Lover and Leo Fender. On Thursday, April 05, 2012, the last of the fathers is finally at peace, but his legacy remains cranked to eleven.

Fender FB59 Banjo

Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like nowadays everybody plays guitar. Whether it’s a classic acoustic or a custom electric, in the sphere of music, guitarists are a dime a dozen. But don’t get me wrong, it’s the first instrument that got me into music, the same for a lot of us, and how can they blame us? With all those videos of Jimi Hendrix making his axe scream or Eddie Van Halen simply destroying solos… you tell me how I’d ever want to pick up a violin! But with that said, the great thing about music is the shear amount of options we as musicians have to play around with and master.  So, for those of you looking to spice up your instrument skill set, why not try some of these guitar alternatives?

Sure, there are a few differences between them; an extra string or two, an alternate tuning here and there, but nothing that veterans capable of holding chord patterns should worry about. So, for all you axe-men out there check out some of the guitars less popular cousins. While they might not melt anyone’s face soon, they make great partners for YouTube videos!

Last week, we featured a nice little well known instrument known as the ukulele, a fan favorite of the online video crowd and faux guitarists everywhere. This week, we’re getting a little country, so get ready for some bluegrass and read on as we give you all the info you need to get a grip on the one… the only… the banjo!

Birth of the Banjo

The modern banjo is a 4-5 stringed instrument popular in a wide array of genres including country, bluegrass, folk and traditional Irish music. The banjo itself is made up of either a piece of animal skin or plastic stretched over a circular body frame along with a neck and tuning knobs similar to that of most stringed instruments, albeit comparatively thinner.  Although it is normally associated with European and American music styles, the predecessor to the banjo came from deep within Central Africa, as many of the people there have been using variations such as the kora well before the modern banjo made its way to the Americas. Furthermore, it was the African slaves in Colonial America that actually introduced the instrument into mainstream Americana, although the banjo as we know it today came from a Western approach to building the instrument, incorporating frets and tuning knobs whereas before it featured neither.

Anatomy of the Banjo

As mentioned above, most banjos have either four or five strings although six (even seven) string variations are available that try and emulate the tuning and style of a standard guitar. There are a few differences among the two most popular variants than just an extra string.

The Kora

The Four String Banjo

The best candidate for those new to the instrument is known as the plectrum banjo. Unlike the five or six stringed variation, these banjos do not have the shorter drone string. As the name suggests, these are more commonly played with a guitar pick, unlike the five-stringed banjos which typically use a thumb pick, two or more fingerpicks, or none at all. The common tuning for a plectrum banjo is CGBD, although alternate tunings such as the “Chicago Style” which uses the same tuning as the top four strings on a guitar (EADG) are also commonly used. The fret board is usually between 22 and 26 inches and contains 22 frets. Tenor four stringed banjos have a slightly smaller neck with 17 frets and a scale length of 19½ to 21½ inches.

The Five String Banjo

The main difference between the four and five stringed banjo is obviously the extra string, but more importantly, it’s the positioning of the string. The top string is the same gauge as the lowest string but has its tuning knob on the 5^th fret unlike the other four which are past the fret board on the head of the neck like you would find on a guitar. This feature makes it possible for the 5^th string to be tuned much higher than the rest while still using common string gauges and lengths. The higher frequency of this string is used to create drone notes, which we’ll cover in a second. Unlike most string instruments, the pitch of the strings aren’t arranged from lowest to highest as you would find on a guitar or even the four string banjo. Instead, from lowest to highest, they go fourth, third, second, first and fifth. The tuning for a five string banjo is most commonly GDGBD, although like all string instruments, alternates are also used.

Style and Technique

When most people think of the banjo (thanks in part to both Warner Bros cartoons and Deliverance), they usually attribute it to a fast paced arpeggiated plucking style like that of the quicker parts to the song “Dueling Banjos.”The technical terms for the techniques are called rolls and drones. The rolls are fingering patterns consisting of eighth notes subdividing a standard 4/4 measure, carrying the melody. Drones on the other had are also typically in eighths but are used to fill around the rolls and are always played on the 5^th or shortest (highest in pitch) string on the banjo much like guitar finger picking uses the thumb to play the bass notes, just far more frequently. This combination of rolls and drones is synonymous with the banjo as well as typifies bluegrass.

Notice how the 5th string begins on the 5th fret

Now You Are Ready To Go

Alright, so you know the style, the tuning and the correct order of the stings. How about a brand new banjo? Those who are a bit newer to the world outside of the guitar should check out the Fender Five String Banjo pack. It comes with everything you need to get yourself off on the right track including the banjo itself, a gig bag, extra strings, tuner, picks and a beginners booklet. There are also plenty of standalone banjos as well, links after the break. 

  ///FENDER FB59 Banjo///FENDER FB58 Banjo///FENDER FB-55 Banjo///FENDER FB-54 Banjo///FENDER FB 300 Banjo Pack///

Click here for a chance to win!

This April, PAL will be having a drawing for a BRAND NEW FENDER BLACKTOP HSH STRATOCASTER, and although we know all of you love guitars, some of you might be surprised with the rich history of not only the Fender brand, but the Stratocaster model as well. Those of you looking to enter can do so right here! Read on as we give you a brief history of what would become one of the most popular electric guitars in the history of music.

The Birth of Fender

We all know the name, but do you know exactly how the Fender Musical Instrument Corporation came to be? Let’s go back to Fullerton, California in 1938 where Clarence Leonidas “Leo” Fender first began repairing radios, phonographs and amplifiers through Fender’s Radio Service. Soon after, Fender began seeing flaws in the design of musical instrument amplifiers and by 1940 he began creating custom built amps using his own techniques. Soon after he partnered with Clayton Kauffman and created the K & F Manufacturing Corporation to design, create, produce and repair musical instruments and amplifiers. Later that year, Kauffman and Fender parted ways after Fender wanted to focus more on manufacturing than repair, convinced that it was more profitable in the long run, and thus, the Fender Electric Instrument Company was born.

The CBS Era (1965-1985)

In early 1965, Leo Fender sold his company to CBS for 13 million and soon after, the dreaded but expected transition to “cost effectiveness” reared its ugly head. CBS began altering the designs of several of Fender’s key products that not only affected the aesthetics of the amps and instruments, but the electronics as well. CBS lauded the changes as improvements such as making a five-way pickup selector standard on most models, although no tangible upgrade in tone quality was achieved by this and in fact led to more frequent mechanical failure.

The peak of the cost-cutting era is marked by most as the introduction of the ’83 Stratocaster redesign. The guitar is infamous for its negative implementation of the barebones mentality. CBS removed the second tone knob, fitted the guitar with less expensive single-coil pickups, and included a lackluster input jack as well as active electronics (required a 9 volt battery to work). Many saw the move as CBS simply trying to sell overstock by implementing changes to their most popular model. Finally, in 1985, employees of the Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company bought the company from CBS and began to reinstate the unmatched quality that Fender was and is now again known for.

Just a side note, but don’t worry about vintage Fender reissues from the ‘60s through ‘80s just because CBS owned Fender at the time. All vintage models have been “fixed” by the current company, although even the CBS variations were by no means low in quality and still regarded in their time as top-notch guitars, not to mention a great collectible.

The Stratocaster

Notice the missing knob on the '83 (left) and flat input jack

Along with the Gibson Les Paul, the Fender Stratocaster is the most popular guitar today in terms of sales and design, with multiple upon multiple copies produced by companies around the world (some authorized, most not). The body design alone is regarded by many as synonymous with the electric guitar. Think for a moment about any cartoon you’ve seen with someone using an electric guitar and chances are they’re replicating the look of the Stratocaster.

The original Stratocaster was designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares in 1954 and has remained in constant production since then. The design featured several improvements over most guitars at the time, including Fender’s own Telecaster. The body itself was contoured and more ergonomic (known as the Comfort Contour Body by Fender) in contrast to the Telecasters flat slab design, the cutaways on both sides of the guitar enabled players to reach the highest frets on the neck which was also thinner than the Telecaster’s, and that’s just a few of the marked improvements. All in all, it was a breakthrough for its time, much of which is copied to this day.

The Stratocaster Today

The Fender Stratocaster remains one of the most enduring and popular electric guitars ever made with a professional player list that resembles a who’s who in rock, blues, country as well as several other genres. Although there have been minor tweaks, additions (subtractions even) and plenty of clones along its history, it remains the go-to-guitar for anyone looking to not only to experience a piece of music history, but create some as well.

Fender Nohea All Koa

Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like nowadays everybody plays guitar. Whether it’s a classic acoustic or a custom electric, in the sphere of music, guitarists are a dime a dozen. But don’t get me wrong, it’s the first instrument that got me into music, the same for a lot of us, and how can they blame us? With all those videos of Jimi Hendrix making his axe scream or Eddie Van Halen simply destroying solos… you tell me how I’d ever want to pick up a violin! But with that said, the great thing about music is the shear amount of options we as musicians have to play around with and master.  So, for those of you looking to spice up your instrument skill set, why not try some of these guitar alternatives?

Sure, there are a few differences between them; an extra string or two, an alternate tuning here and there, but nothing that veterans capable of holding chord patterns should worry about. So, for all you axe-men (and axe-ladies) out there check out some of the guitars less popular cousins. While they might not melt anyone’s face soon, they make great partners for YouTube videos!

This week, we will be featuring the one, the only...

The Ukulele 

The Birth of a New Instrument

Probably the most popular of the alternatives, especially in the aforementioned YouTube department, the ukulele is a four-stringed member of the guitar family credited to being invented around the 1880s in Hawaii after Portuguese merchants brought over two similar stringed instruments along with them. Production of the ukulele as we know it came soon after as King Kalākaua began incorporating the instrument into music at royal gatherings, becoming synonymous with the island.

What's the DIfference?

Besides the obvious difference in string count, what give the ukulele its signature sound are the positioning of the strings according to tone and the type of strings used. Unlike the traditional acoustic guitar which has strings set up from low to high (or high to low if you read tabs), the ukulele incorporates a setup similar to the banjo, with the two outer strings being thinner and higher in tone while the two middle strings are thicker, lower in tone. Just imagine the lower four strings on a guitar and replace the D with another high E string. The ukulele uses nylon strings, similar to classical guitars, which definitely gives it a warm quality and not at all metallic like in regular guitars.

The Importance of Being Properly Tuned

Probably the biggest road block for those wanting to play the ukulele is the tuning setup, but it is definitely a lot easier once you get used to it. Most people make the honest mistake of thinking that the four strings on the ukulele must be the same tuning as the higher four strings on a guitar, meaning DGBE, and in the case of a baritone ukulele, they would be right, but chances are they picked up a standard or soprano ukulele, as are the ones sold in most music shops. Sure, you can use that setup on any uke and it will technically work (because music always technically works), but that is definitely not the traditional setup of the instrument, causing the strings to either be too loose or too tight. Check out this chart to figure out the proper tuning for your ukulele:

So, there you have it. That wasn’t so bad, right? The ukulele is a great instrument in its own right with a rich history and distinctive sound, making it a pretty popular (and portable) alternative when six strings are just too much. Now, how about some soprano ukulele chords to get you running in the right direction?

Don't own a ukulele yet? Check out the Fender Nohea All Koa, Hau'oli or the Pa'ina for top quality ukuleles at a great price!

The Pawn Shop Special Greta (above) and Excelsior (below) models.

Fender introduced its new Pawn Shop Special amplifiers at this years NAMM show, which present a coolly unconventional take on amp design by evoking the enjoyably esoteric finds you might find in a pawnshop or second-hand store. They have the air of the early days of electrified sound, when musicians grabbed whatever amp they could get—be it for guitar, harmonica, lap steel, accordion, vocal mic, etc. Those amps produced sounds that were wonderfully distinctive precisely because they were so primitive, and it was exactly their oddball nature that made them so much fun.

The two new Pawn Shop Special models—the diminutive Greta™ and the elegant Excelsior™—deliver that offbeat no-school-like-old-school spirit in spades. Neither is intended as your everyday main amp (in fact, you’ll be hard-pressed to find the name “Fender” anywhere on them), but you’re nonetheless in for a delightful sonic experience that just might spark some magic creative impulse, spur a great idea or lend a certain never-heard-that-before sound to your recording. Plug in, and you’ll find new voices, new sounds and new songs hiding in these unruly little boxes—all just waiting for you to let them out.

In the playful form of a vintage tabletop radio, the Pawn Shop Special Greta model is quite possibly the most unusual Fender tube amp ever. In fact, nobody would blame you if you saw a Greta and, not yet realizing its true identity, tried to tune in the local weather on it.

But an amp is exactly what it is—a two-watt tabletop beauty with a 4” Special Design speaker, old-school VU meter with “clean to overload” indicator display and simple volume and tone controls. Its charmingly vintage-style enclosure has front and rear wood panels finished in bright red, gold-finished metal top and sides for increased shielding, “Greta” script badge on the front panel and tabletop feet. Under the hood and on the back panel, the Greta features a single 12AT7 output tube and 12AX7 preamp tube, with a ¼” instrument jack and ¼” line out jack (for preamp use with another amplifier). Greta produces a variety of low-volume clean and overdriven guitar tones, but even if you never plug a guitar into it, the 1/8” back-panel auxiliary input is perfect for iPod or other media player use, with great mono tube playback sound that’ll have you rocking right there at your desk.

Alluringly refined yet harboring tones from polite to raw to raucous, the Pawn Shop Special Excelsior model is undoubtedly one of the most distinctive tube combo amps in Fender history. Its brown textured vinyl covering, smartly stylish “E” grille design and bold crossed-swords front-panel badge convey a decidedly stately vibe with a marked air of cold-war cool.

To say nothing of its admirable tone and power. The 13-watt Excelsior elegantly encloses a single 15” Special Design speaker, with a bottom-loaded primary chassis and top-loaded control chassis for operating convenience and low noise (powered by two 6V6 output tubes and two 12AX7 preamp tubes). Distinctive features include “instrument,” “microphone” and “accordion” inputs that each have individually optimized circuitry; tremolo circuit with speed control, bright/dark tone switch (for treble or bass emphasis), volume control and ¼” internal speaker disconnect that lets the amp drive an external speaker enclosure. For playing at home, smaller gigs and studio sessions, the Excelsior is a class act that brings a fresh and unconventional new vibe to your playing.

The current version of the Fender Mustang Bass (above) features, as the model always has, a short 30” scale.

Most bass guitars are long-scale instruments. Students and other younger players, however, may prefer to start with a short-scale bass guitar and then “graduate” up to a long-scale bass.

Fender itself defined the long-scale bass guitar when it introduced the profoundly influential Precision Bass® in 1951; joined later by the Jazz Bass® (1960) and other long-scale models, such as the Telecaster Bass® (1968) and the Jaguar Bass® (2006). All have a 34” scale that, while universally accepted as a standard length, can be a bit of a stretch for younger players.

Realizing this, Fender introduced its first short-scale bass guitar, the Mustang® Bass, in summer 1966. The last Fender bass guitar designed by Leo Fender himself, the Mustang Bass had a student-friendly 30” scale with an accordingly shorter distance between frets and a generally more compact physical size that made it easier to play for kids and players with smaller hands and shorter reach (Fender had been offering smaller student-model electric guitars since 1955). Another short-scale model, the Musicmaster Bass, debuted in 1971 and remained in the Fender line until 1981.

Between the mid-1950s and mid-1960s, several other makers introduced their own short- and medium-scale basses. Standards basically settled into the dominant long scale established by Fender (34”; rarely, other makers have offered longer scales) the less prevalent but nonetheless commonplace short scale (30” and slightly longer) and the much less often-encountered medium scale (around 32”). It bears remembering here that the term “scale length” refers to the distance between the bridge and the nut—the entire vibrating length of the strings—rather than the length of the neck or fingerboard.

Today, Fender’s widely varied bass guitar selection continues to encompass several quality short-scale models. These include the modern version of the Fender Mustang Bass, the Squier Vintage Modified Mustang Bass, Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar Bass Special SS and Squier Bronco™ Bass. All have a 30” scale.

In addition to the obvious size difference between long- and short-scale basses, is there a tonal difference?

Yes, definitely. For one thing, short-scale bass guitars sometimes use a slightly heavier string gauge than their long-scale brothers, which imparts a thicker and more bass-heavy tone than lighter-gauge strings with more brightness and snap. Further, shorter strings require lower string tension for proper intonation, which imparts not only a looser, more “floppy” feel to the strings, but also results in fatter-sounding low notes.

Further, short-scale bass playing has not been the exclusive province of kids and beginners. Plenty of bass greats have used short-scale basses, including Paul McCartney, Jack Bruce (Cream), Bill Wyman (Rolling Stones), Andy Fraser (Free), Glenn Cornick (Jethro Tull), Trevor Bolder (Spiders From Mars, Uriah Heep), Tina Weymouth (Talking Heads), Garry Tallent (E Street Band), Bruce Thomas (the Attractions), Gary Mounfield (Stone Roses, Primal Scream), Mike Watt (Minuteman, Firehose, Stooges) and many others.

Original article can be viewed at Fender.com

Fender Musical Instruments Corp. (FMIC) is very proud to announce the opening of its new Corona, Calif., Visitor Center and the inauguration of free public tours of the adjacent manufacturing facility. Both mark the first time in Fender’s 65-year history that the company has opened its doors to the public for an engaging look at its history and legacy and an up-close look at the manufacturing processes for its iconic instruments and amplifiers.

Inside the 8,600-square-foot Visitor Center, located near Fender’s historical Southern California birthplace, museum-quality exhibits include interactive displays of modern Fender musical products, historic instruments, rare photographs and artifacts, a tribute to Leo Fender, the Fender Hall of Fame, video presentations on the evolution of the electric guitar (including rare archival footage), displays presenting reflections on Fender by musicians throughout the history of modern music, and much more.

The facility also includes a retail shop where visitors can browse and purchase Fender apparel, accessories, collectibles and other items. Guests can also purchase an instrument, or even design and purchase their own instrument. The Visitor Center also serves as the starting and concluding points for the free public tours of the adjacent Fender factory and world-famous Fender Custom Shop.

After a series of grand opening events during the previous week, the Fender Visitor Center will open to the public on Monday, Sept. 19, at which point the twice-daily factory tours will also begin. The Visitor Center is located at 301 Cessna Circle, Corona, Calif. 92880, and will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; the 45- to 60-minute factory tours will take place at 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. every weekday except Wednesday.

Click Here for more information and directions to the visitor center.