Awesome project Dylan. I've been researching Micawber for quite a while for a replica build. I love that you did the rough "ugly" cut on the pickguard. A note on the aged gold bridge: Micawber's bridge isn't gold. It is a Schecter unplated brass bridge with unplated brass saddles which age quite easily. An aged version is available from ABM Custom Shop (through Thomann) and an unaged one through Armadillo Guitars if you or your friend are interested in updating this part.
Why didn't you tune it to Open G and do the demo? That is the whole friggin' purpose of Keith's 5 String Tele??? It's tuned to open G. Hence no need for a low E string tuned down to G. It gets in the way.
He said himself in the video he doesn’t know how to play in Open G, which I get but it’s also as simple as watching a couple tutorials to learn a couple riffs for the video.
12:05 That pattern you were playing around this point in the video… If you just dropped the 1st & 5th strings by a whole step, you’d be playing most of what Keef plays. He just moves it up & down the neck. It’s a lot of fun and worth playing around with.
Thanks for showing that wiring setup, with the tone out for the middle position + volume blend. I think that's just the thing for me. Would be great to see a walkthrough of how you wired that, as a learning exercise. Just getting the nerve up to start soldering my own instruments.
Nice job Dylan Keith original has clay dots on the fret board and one of them famously fell out live on stage and to this day I’m not sure it’s been replaced
You definitely should have given that guitar a try first. The Wilkinson pickups sound great. I've replaced some of my Gibson humbuckers with Wilkinsons.
He has a solid brass bridge not gold plated. Also, the bridge pickup is a lap steel guitar single coil. Gotah sells a solid brass tele bridge in chrome or gold. Not sure what the deal with the lap steel bridge pickup is. But I am assuming it is wound hotter to better.match the output of the paf humbucker. Like how you did the wiring. Building a paf neck tele parts caster. Been rummaging the Internet for ideas.
I’m making a 5-string out of a child’s acoustic -very narrow neck at 1-1/2 inches, kinda crowded for old-man fingers. It’s for slide, so I’m moving the high E-string toward the edge of the neck by moving it’s bridge notch over 2mm (not enough room at the nut-end to move it over) and raising the high-string-end action slightly (at the bridge only), both things to reduce slide-clatter. The low-string (now the A-string) takes the place of the low-E string in a normal six-string set-up, and it’s notch (bridge and nut) doesn’t need to change location. Then I simply divide the distance between high and low strings to locate the middle string (the G-string), dividing the two halves thus formed again by two to locate the other two (the D-string and the B-string). I’m still gonna use five of the six peg-holes-meaning a couple of strings do a dogleg before crossing the bridge. Looks weird but it work’s: I’ve tried more extremes bends before so I know this’ll be fine, long’s the bridge notches are deep and narrow enough. I’m gonna plug the unused tuning peg. I’m not sure what gage or metal I’ll use-prob’ly something mid-tone, mid-weight-see how it sounds. Why am I doing this? Anybody-not just Keef-who plays open-G (I usually wind it up to an open-A, same configuration) hates that bass-string on an open-tuned 6-string set-up. It’s the dominant note and gets in the way all the time. I discovered removing it quite independently and quite by accident when I was a teenager (I’m 67 now) when I broke the low string. Anyway, I bought this little Peavey child’s guitar from a neighbour’s widow. They bought it for their granddaughter who apparently didn’t want to play it anymore and grandma didn’t want to keep being reminded of better days now over. So She sold it to me for $40. It’s really a kid’s guitar, not just the modest size, but also the el-cheapo quality, painted banding, totally flat-grain I-don’t-know-what for the top (not even sure it’s spruce)-typical gift for someone who’s hedging that the recipient might not take to it. The neck can stand a little tweak-no biggie. Otherwise it plays not bad. Good for a slide guitar. Had some super bright, brassy strings on there as a six-string: sounded terrible. Tone it down for the 5-string. I’ve just cut out the new nut and bridge blanks from a piece of solid moose antler my grandson gave me-hard as rock. Wish me luck!
That's cool. I've got an old Carvin kit guitar that's about to see some seafoam green paint a new tortoise shell pickguard with vintage pickups. Gonna be fun.
Would be so much more interesting if a bridge was custom made for 5 strings and a new nut cut for 5 strings. Should be easy for Dylan to make custom wound pickups specifically for 5 strings allowing for a new string spacing.
@@DylanTalksTone No and I'm in no way belittling what you have done. I think it's great work like the whole of your channel really. The thing is I have been thinking about building a 5 string guitar, though not neccesarily a Telecaster, but the goal would be to use Keiths tuning exclusively on that guitar.
Messing with a Vintage? Not too scary, but can you imagine how the guy felt when he was carving up Keith's original 54'? Think I might have had shaky hands!
9:38 Yeah this Guitar can be strung any way you want, it can always be restrung as a 6 string Guitar again if you wish. All you need to do is add the 6th saddle to the bridge.
Cool build, especially the wiring. One thing I dont understand is why so many people still used humbucker rings when they modded their strats or teles back in the day for humbuckers. Probably a looks thing.
The 'Vintage ' brand is not so cheap here [NZ] plus a relic one costs $NZ100 more! There are many Chinese versions that are half the price & just as good ; Vintage is made in Vietnam but designed in UK. I made a Keith Tele, American Ash body, Canadian maple neck, Humbucker & Tone Rider bridge single coil. Sold my Fender.
First, it’s Micawber. Second, Keith’s first guitar tech Alan Newman Jones did the original pickup swap, using an original PAF in the neck and a Fender lap steel pickup in the bridge. His second guitar tech, Alan Rogan, said that he did the bridge and tuner swap in the early 80’s. It was a Schecter brass bridge that he installed when the band was rehearsing for the Tattoo You tour at Long View Farm, and the he also said that the tuners were Sperzels, iirc. These later swaps were to help the guitar stay in tune better and play better than the original Fender parts, which had become quite old and worn by that time. I’ve never heard the story that he got the bridge from Pete Townsend, the guitar itself was a gift from Eric Clapton for Keith’s 27th birthday, and was first heard on Exile on Main Street, in its original Tele specs.
Hi Dylan, such a wonderful job you've done! Only thing I've always wondered is -though I am aware you just made carbon copy of original guitar- is there particular reason or tonal difference for having a humbucker slightly foward towards the neck? Another tele from same era and probably second most well-known humbucker-equipped tele, Jeff Beck's TeleGib, has neck humbucker in "regular position" which most tele with humbuckers including ones in regular production lines follow till this day. It'd be grateful if you could share your insights once more.
I need some of that metal blackening stuff! I've got a strat neck pickup in the neck of one of my Mustangs, and would love to black out the pole pieces to make it better match the whole no exposed poles look of the Mustang! Link to product? Pretty please?
where'd you get that bridge? The link you gave is for a modern 3 screw bridge, and I got a white telecaster body I am converting into an esquire that I need a gold six saddle bridge for, and it's a 4 screw bridge body.
Dylan don’t know how Vintage guitars are good, actually pickups are very good. Those are not “some” Chinese knock offs, they use Wilkinson pickups/hardware which people buy to upgrade Fenders&Squiers. Guitar is maybe better stock, but many Americans live “under a rock” 😂
I’ve bought mine some years ago, and it was made in Vietnam. I’m still surprised on how these pickups are hot and good sounding. They are even more hotter than the HB of my Gibson SG. Honestly this is one of my main three guitars with my US PRS and my Fender « upgraded » Jaguar.
Dylan, why didn't you use MFD magnetic field design in the bridge pickup? Try showing in a video of winding up a Dylan talk tone MFD pickup because I want to see the MFD special sauce
@@DylanTalksTone I typed it in in the search Dylan talks tone m a d magnetic field design pickups nothing comes up g&l MFD magnetic field pickups made by g&l magnetic field pickups MFD specialized by G&L
Cool. Only it's not at all like the Keith Richards guitar. Honestly dude, you talk a lot but you don't show the actual working progress with cutting, wiring, soldering, routing etc. That's what I came to see. And to listen to it in open G tuning. The bridge on Keiths guitar is a Schecter brass.
It’s a bad idea children, you’re installing expensive hardware in a crappy instrument, which feels cheap and have all sorts of issues starting from keeping in tune. You ends up with expensive unplayable unsalable dust collector.
Awesome project Dylan. I've been researching Micawber for quite a while for a replica build. I love that you did the rough "ugly" cut on the pickguard. A note on the aged gold bridge: Micawber's bridge isn't gold. It is a Schecter unplated brass bridge with unplated brass saddles which age quite easily. An aged version is available from ABM Custom Shop (through Thomann) and an unaged one through Armadillo Guitars if you or your friend are interested in updating this part.
Those Vintage V52 ICON guitars are excellent sounding as they stand...
Totally agree! 👍🏻
Why didn't you tune it to Open G and do the demo? That is the whole friggin' purpose of Keith's 5 String Tele??? It's tuned to open G. Hence no need for a low E string tuned down to G. It gets in the way.
He said himself in the video he doesn’t know how to play in Open G, which I get but it’s also as simple as watching a couple tutorials to learn a couple riffs for the video.
@@DH_Artist Got cha!
This is the same cat who once said Leo Fender was just cheap and didn’t care about tone. 😂
12:05 That pattern you were playing around this point in the video… If you just dropped the 1st & 5th strings by a whole step, you’d be playing most of what Keef plays. He just moves it up & down the neck. It’s a lot of fun and worth playing around with.
Yes, GDGBD tuning.
Thanks for showing that wiring setup, with the tone out for the middle position + volume blend. I think that's just the thing for me. Would be great to see a walkthrough of how you wired that, as a learning exercise. Just getting the nerve up to start soldering my own instruments.
Dylan, this video was great. I love the concept of blender knobs.
ive been wondering about the 5 string teles, awesome video!
Dylan, I saw my name scrolling across the screen there at the end. You're quite welcome. Thank you for what you do!
Wow!blacking out the unused magnet makes it sound great!
😂
Nice job Dylan Keith original has clay dots on the fret board and one of them famously fell out live on stage and to this day I’m not sure it’s been replaced
Love these kind of mod videos. I don't have a guitar that I haven't tinkered with and these always inspire new projects.
You definitely should have given that guitar a try first. The Wilkinson pickups sound great. I've replaced some of my Gibson humbuckers with Wilkinsons.
Thanks 🙏 Dylan very interesting. Do you have a schematic of that particular wiring? Thanks
Nice job!!! Has the Keith tone but more umph to it, I like it!
He has a solid brass bridge not gold plated. Also, the bridge pickup is a lap steel guitar single coil. Gotah sells a solid brass tele bridge in chrome or gold. Not sure what the deal with the lap steel bridge pickup is. But I am assuming it is wound hotter to better.match the output of the paf humbucker. Like how you did the wiring. Building a paf neck tele parts caster. Been rummaging the Internet for ideas.
I’m making a 5-string out of a child’s acoustic -very narrow neck at 1-1/2 inches, kinda crowded for old-man fingers. It’s for slide, so I’m moving the high E-string toward the edge of the neck by moving it’s bridge notch over 2mm (not enough room at the nut-end to move it over) and raising the high-string-end action slightly (at the bridge only), both things to reduce slide-clatter.
The low-string (now the A-string) takes the place of the low-E string in a normal six-string set-up, and it’s notch (bridge and nut) doesn’t need to change location.
Then I simply divide the distance between high and low strings to locate the middle string (the G-string), dividing the two halves thus formed again by two to locate the other two (the D-string and the B-string). I’m still gonna use five of the six peg-holes-meaning a couple of strings do a dogleg before crossing the bridge. Looks weird but it work’s: I’ve tried more extremes bends before so I know this’ll be fine, long’s the bridge notches are deep and narrow enough. I’m gonna plug the unused tuning peg.
I’m not sure what gage or metal I’ll use-prob’ly something mid-tone, mid-weight-see how it sounds.
Why am I doing this? Anybody-not just Keef-who plays open-G (I usually wind it up to an open-A, same configuration) hates that bass-string on an open-tuned 6-string set-up. It’s the dominant note and gets in the way all the time. I discovered removing it quite independently and quite by accident when I was a teenager (I’m 67 now) when I broke the low string.
Anyway, I bought this little Peavey child’s guitar from a neighbour’s widow. They bought it for their granddaughter who apparently didn’t want to play it anymore and grandma didn’t want to keep being reminded of better days now over. So She sold it to me for $40. It’s really a kid’s guitar, not just the modest size, but also the el-cheapo quality, painted banding, totally flat-grain I-don’t-know-what for the top (not even sure it’s spruce)-typical gift for someone who’s hedging that the recipient might not take to it. The neck can stand a little tweak-no biggie.
Otherwise it plays not bad. Good for a slide guitar. Had some super bright, brassy strings on there as a six-string: sounded terrible. Tone it down for the 5-string.
I’ve just cut out the new nut and bridge blanks from a piece of solid moose antler my grandson gave me-hard as rock. Wish me luck!
That's cool.
I've got an old Carvin kit guitar that's about to see some seafoam green paint a new tortoise shell pickguard with vintage pickups.
Gonna be fun.
@DylanTalksTone You Are The Man 🎸 💪
Would be so much more interesting if a bridge was custom made for 5 strings and a new nut cut for 5 strings. Should be easy for Dylan to make custom wound pickups specifically for 5 strings allowing for a new string spacing.
Except that it wouldn’t look like Keith’s guitar.. which is the whole point
@@DylanTalksTone No and I'm in no way belittling what you have done. I think it's great work like the whole of your channel really. The thing is I have been thinking about building a 5 string guitar, though not neccesarily a Telecaster, but the goal would be to use Keiths tuning exclusively on that guitar.
That's was a cool project Dylan!
Very cool video Dylan!! Thank You!
I’m planning to buy some PAF ‘s from you soon!
Messing with a Vintage? Not too scary, but can you imagine how the guy felt when he was carving up Keith's original 54'? Think I might have had shaky hands!
Probably wasn’t worth then anywhere near as much as it is now…
9:38 Yeah this Guitar can be strung any way you want, it can always be restrung as a 6 string Guitar again if you wish. All you need to do is add the 6th saddle to the bridge.
Try it in open G. It won't take long to adjust and is a lot of fun!
Open G tuning opens up a whole new world
REMOVE LOW E TUNER ALSO HELPS WHEN YOU GO TO G TUNING
They are really well made guitars actually. Guitar snobbery is alive and well i see.
Very Cool !!!... makes me want one !!!
Cool build, especially the wiring. One thing I dont understand is why so many people still used humbucker rings when they modded their strats or teles back in the day for humbuckers. Probably a looks thing.
Can’t find the link to the Stones cover band. Did you post it in the description?
Harley benton makes a tribute Mcawber
for 200 bucks if you aren't handy buy nice build!
The 'Vintage ' brand is not so cheap here [NZ] plus a relic one costs $NZ100 more! There are many Chinese versions that are half the price & just as good ; Vintage is made in Vietnam but designed in UK. I made a Keith Tele, American Ash body, Canadian maple neck, Humbucker & Tone Rider bridge single coil. Sold my Fender.
It actually sounds really good. Wish I could hear Honky Tonk Woman on it. 😅
McCawber has Schaller tuners on it. The brass bridge was given to Keith by Pete Townsend.
This is a working guitar …. Remember the part about “50 footer for the stage”?
Personally I don’t think the details are important, Keith Richards tone is not really that unique
First, it’s Micawber.
Second, Keith’s first guitar tech Alan Newman Jones did the original pickup swap, using an original PAF in the neck and a Fender lap steel pickup in the bridge. His second guitar tech, Alan Rogan, said that he did the bridge and tuner swap in the early 80’s. It was a Schecter brass bridge that he installed when the band was rehearsing for the Tattoo You tour at Long View Farm, and the he also said that the tuners were Sperzels, iirc. These later swaps were to help the guitar stay in tune better and play better than the original Fender parts, which had become quite old and worn by that time. I’ve never heard the story that he got the bridge from Pete Townsend, the guitar itself was a gift from Eric Clapton for Keith’s 27th birthday, and was first heard on Exile on Main Street, in its original Tele specs.
Black sharpie or nail polish would cover the pole piece
Where did you get the knobs? These Vintage guitars are close to $600 on Reverb
Keith uses 5 string open g on many tunes. Played brown sugar hundreds of times using 5 string open g
8:11 Yes the 6th string is staying off the Guitar for this Video.
Hi Dylan, such a wonderful job you've done!
Only thing I've always wondered is -though I am aware you just made carbon copy of original guitar- is there particular reason or tonal difference for having a humbucker slightly foward towards the neck?
Another tele from same era and probably second most well-known humbucker-equipped tele, Jeff Beck's TeleGib, has neck humbucker in "regular position" which most tele with humbuckers including ones in regular production lines follow till this day.
It'd be grateful if you could share your insights once more.
Looking for the link to the Stones tribute band you mentioned?? Please provide. Thanks p.s. Or at least tell me their name so I can Google 'em
Your missing the key ingredient, Strat switch tip 😆
I need some of that metal blackening stuff! I've got a strat neck pickup in the neck of one of my Mustangs, and would love to black out the pole pieces to make it better match the whole no exposed poles look of the Mustang! Link to product? Pretty please?
How do you control the overall volume of the guitar with the switch in blend mode?
Not a relic fan but that is a cool guitar.
Just buy the new Harley Benton TE53KR it's already a Micawber Tele just needs a little aging😏🤘🎸
why dont tune it on open G like the Keef?? without that 5 string have no sense though
Kieth plays Ernie Ball regulars.
Sorry I was wrong they are black not clay but one is missing on the 17th fret I was right about that much 😂
Love it!! Wiring diagram? Maybe I'm blind...but don't see it. Thanks
Sorry!!! Fixed!!!!
@@DylanTalksTone thanks
😊
where'd you get that bridge? The link you gave is for a modern 3 screw bridge, and I got a white telecaster body I am converting into an esquire that I need a gold six saddle bridge for, and it's a 4 screw bridge body.
amzn.to/3PF9gbu sorry about that. I also fixed the post
Pretty sure it was brass bridge
Dylan don’t know how Vintage guitars are good, actually pickups are very good. Those are not “some” Chinese knock offs, they use Wilkinson pickups/hardware which people buy to upgrade Fenders&Squiers. Guitar is maybe better stock, but many Americans live “under a rock” 😂
Well… what I see in person… cheap knock off.
I’ve bought mine some years ago, and it was made in Vietnam. I’m still surprised on how these pickups are hot and good sounding. They are even more hotter than the HB of my Gibson SG. Honestly this is one of my main three guitars with my US PRS and my Fender « upgraded » Jaguar.
Dylan, why didn't you use MFD magnetic field design in the bridge pickup? Try showing in a video of winding up a Dylan talk tone MFD pickup because I want to see the MFD special sauce
We did that video
@@DylanTalksTone I typed it in in the search Dylan talks tone m a d magnetic field design pickups nothing comes up g&l MFD magnetic field pickups made by g&l magnetic field pickups MFD specialized by G&L
Love how Americans talk about "Overseas" as if it's one place.
I like how overseas people assume all Americans are the same.
Kewl
Micawber, from Charles Dickens' book "David Copperfield") - pronounced 'Mic-AUB-er'. Rhymes with 'dauber'. Otherwise cool.
Didn’t Trev Wilkinson design that guitar?
Leo Fender designed this guitar
@@DylanTalksTone well, yeah…but I think Vintage Guitars is one of the million things Wilkinson is involved in.
@@mvenuti1980 asian knock off guitars just don't usually get me excited
Cool. Only it's not at all like the Keith Richards guitar. Honestly dude, you talk a lot but you don't show the actual working progress with cutting, wiring, soldering, routing etc. That's what I came to see. And to listen to it in open G tuning. The bridge on Keiths guitar is a Schecter brass.
UK company, made in Vietnam... would help if you did SOME homework
I don’t really care actually. I’m not really interested in the guitar and this was not a review … just a build project.
@@DylanTalksTone that's cool... I'd like to have seen you actually do the work though... been contemplating doing just this for a while...
“Do the work”…
It’s a bad idea children, you’re installing expensive hardware in a crappy instrument, which feels cheap and have all sorts of issues starting from keeping in tune. You ends up with expensive unplayable unsalable dust collector.
Idk what you are on about. The owner of this guitar is on tour currently playing it every night as his main guitar.
@@DylanTalksTone well, maybe it a case when something is better than nothing
Gold hardware generally sucks…gaudy, doesn’t age well. Really only looks good on whiteish guitars.