One of my students got a ‘road worn’ Tele because of Tim. I followed the good example - these are hip guitars, especially with Lollar pickups and the mentioned upgrades.
I am thinking of buying either es 335 or telecaster these past days. And I realized all my favorite guitarists like Tim, Ted Greene, Julian Lage, Josh Smith, all playing teles so its a no brainer to buy tele over es 335
I'm on the brim of doing the same because of the nice warm sound he got out of the neck. I went the long route and built my own partscaster with a rosewood neck and I am pretty dissapointed. It just not what I was looking for tone-wise. Better to shoot for a sure thing.
Based on your results and advice, I did all that to my $300 Squier Tele. I chose it out of a lineup because it had the best acoustic sound of the lot - I didn't even plug any of them in. I put in the Charlies, changed the pots to Emersons, installed all the Glendale hardware (including the back plate!), and I swear that every change I made improved the acoustic quality of the guitar. The Lollars put that sound through my Vibrolux as well as the Henriksen, and I finally have a Jazz sound that is lovely and usable, for remarkably little money - though the price is around $1000 now! I knew I couldn't afford an archtop, and while looking into what Ed Bickert used I came across Tim Lerch, and I am so grateful for your generous shares. Not to mention your inspirational playing! Thank you!
Here are a few things I left out Radius 7.25 (I have my luthier slightly flatten the radius above 12th fret but is done on the fret rather than the wood.) String Gauge round wound 12-54 Plain 20 G, P90 sized Route for the CC. The frets are Stew Mac 0152.
Hi Tim, I put a Fender original 50's tele neck on a 2007 50's road worn body, brass saddles and joe barin pickups. it's a great tele (been playing them for 50 years) and I didn't have to remortgage my home.
Hi Tim, 7.25 radius and heavier strings - does it mean you'll have to sacrifice bending ability on E and B to keep it relatively low and easy enough to play? Mine is also 7.25 and I like the sound of bigger strings but could never make up my mind to setup a tele like acoustic or acrhtop, so at the moment I'm still with 10s and a rather high action(and a dilemma) 😂
I expect I'm not the only one who can say this, but I never knew how lyrical a Tele could be until I heard one in your hands Tim. It's wonderful that you've had such a long relationship with this instrument.
I just grabbed a Vintera Roadworn 50’s and my goodness it’s so good. The pickups aren’t even half bad. Great neck, fret job, and the finish feels great. Thanks for the tip, Tim!!!
Tim, Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge and playing. You truly are fine human being. BTW really enjoyed the "Scale and Modes" video. I really took the final comments to heart. Thank You
I always loved how your CC pickup Tele looks and sounds. Built myself one with the Lollars because of that. Thanks for turning me on Teles for Jazz, I never really liked typical Jazz guitars for playability. Using the Tele like you explained in another video really is a gamechanger. Thanks for that detailed video.
Hey Tim. I am loving your new book! I'm not an accomplished guitarist. The way this book is laid out, with the melody note as the top note, is allowing me to make a lot of progress in my playing. Thank you!!!!!!
@@TimLerchGuitar lol. :-) WORTH IT ! BIG respect guy ! 'Love my Squiertele with Fender decal ! rofl Amazing build great feel, tone $200. Butterscotch, falls in the hand.. It ain't Gilmour's #1, but thar's blues in them there frets ! Keep doing what you do ! Ciao !
I have so slowly built my tele, that it isn’t even finished. The wood dried in the corner of my house for years, then obsessed by Collings dog hair finish, I dyed it black with India ink, sealed, pore filled it with silver gilt cream the ash body. A fat v-neck with yellow and variants leather dye and nitro, a Peter Florence bridge with an Eric Dawe neck to match. We will see. I have a DeArmond Now comes the wet sand which I’m teetering on nerves. 6lbs + some change. Now if I could just play like you......well I play like I do and that’s the best that can be said. It really is hard to imagine how much some folks will pay. I think I’m in for $600 with supplies to build 10 more. Not bad. I really enjoy your videos and I loved to hear about your breakdown of it all. Next one will have the classic U carve and right 1 5/8”. Stay well my friend and thanks for what you do.
Hey Tim, Small potatoes? You sold yourself way short. Fender would be privileged to have a Tim Lerch model. If, when...they do, I’m buying. Stay healthy Tim and thank you. Your the best. DM
Always wanting to get into Teles and boy do I love your playing and sound! When I do make the jump, I’ll keep these specs in mind. Thanks for the lovely playing and info.
LOL, I can't tell you the number of times I have given clients virtually the same speech, love to hear this coming from an "influencer" even if its not a Bon-a-Fide Fender guy...! Thank You...! B-)
This is just as cool as any signature guitar! Most signatures are just reproductions of players own modified guitars like yours. I think the upgrades and personal preferences are really what make guitars special to each player and in turn make them iconic.
I bought a 50s road worn tele and got it routed for a humbucker in the neck position. I put in a Seymour Duncan jazz (without the cover) and it sounds fantastic!
You’re a very slick player Tim! Love the lessons especially your breakdown of Teds material, love the sound of the guitar also - props from Ireland 🇮🇪🤗
Tim it's really cool to see somebody who's so humble and willing to share their knowledge with us lowlifes thank you and I agree Fender should make it tours of The Regular Joe can afford not these freaking Showboat $7,000 stratocasters and Telly's it's ridiculous not everybody can afford Rockstar prices
I bought a tele and put a cc pickup in it because of you. Followed your advice on bridge and string gauge too. Very happy with it. (Turns out I still can't play like you :-). Fender is really missing out.
Hello Tim , i have created my own "signature " telecaster , it's an fender american special telecaster ( with texas special pick ups , wich i really like ) . I put another neck on it though , i didn't like the thin c shaped neck that comes standard on these tele's , so i put an lindy frailin tele neck on it and that did the trick for me . It's basically an thick U shaped neck , but lindy has made some changes to it wich gives the neck a kinda soft V kind off feel . This is a keeper now , i have really fallen in love with this guitar ( as far as a person can "fall in love " with an object/tool that is ) .
Thanks for the video, I just viewed your Video on scales and modes, great! I have been a fan of Ted Green for awhile and now I am pleased to find you as one who carry's his torch now. I built a Tele kit from Stew Mac recently based on Ted . I love it and now just beginning to upgrade as a jazz axe, Cutting a bone nut right now and feel that I now have a roadmap to follow for my next upgrades. Thanks for your inspiration and music. I was going to change out my strings for flat wound chromes but might just stay with my regular rounds based on your tone.
It’s very generous of you to do this. On the other hand, I’m wondering how many Fender actually sells of some of their custom shop models. It may very well be in the groundswell of support my generate enough interest. The custom shop Nocaster is pretty close to your spec.
Awesome to hear about your Tele spec preferences :) I'm similar in the respect that I'm not into any fancy/special alterations/mods other than pups and some hardware upgrades (at times).. For the most part my fiddles are mostly stock... My #1 (Mexi Blacktop Strat) is completely stock.. only mod I made to it was to wire the tone pot to the bridge pickup (I do this with all my Strats...)... Thanks for being awesome :)
I just sent Fender a check as a deposit down on the Tim Lerch Signature Telecaster. Now they are commercially and legally obligated to produce it, right?
Telecasters are truly the desert island electric guitar. They do everything so well. I even like the traditional neck pickup that some many others seem less than satisfied with. I've never tried a Charlie Christian although every time I listen to you play a guitar with one it gets me jonesing in that direction. One thing I have trouble with is the narrow nut on most Fender guitars. At least they seem narrow to my fingers. I much prefer 1&11/16 or ideally, 1& 3/4ths. This applies to jazz playing where I'm not bending as much as well as other styles where bending is a big part of things. This has pushed me in the direction of making my own teles from scratch and/or buying from after market suppliers like Warmoth. Do you have any issues with neck width? I don't have particularly fat fingers but narrow necks and string spacing seem to make some things, particularly some voicings harder than necessary. I would by a Fender and get another neck, but that seems like a bit of modification overkill. I'd rather buy parts and exactly the pickups and hardware i like and go from there. Your thoughts?
I'm currently putting together a 'Tim Lerch Inspired' hardtail Fender Jazzmaster using the same pickups found on the Mike Lull Signature guitar. The neck on my Jazzmaster is also similar to the dimensions described here. I'm hopeful of a good result.
The Jazzmaster project went in a different direction but I ended up modding an American standard tele with a no name alnico 2 humbucker and a Dimarzio Area T single coil (I hate hum & buzz). Standard 3 way switch, no treble bleed. Works great for jazz styles.
The telecaster is beautiful in it's simplicity, the simplicity is what makes telecasters elegant. A solid body, bolt on neck, pickups, simple controls. It has become my favorite electric guitar. My only issues is that because of many injuries I would be better off with a 5 lb. telecaster as it is mine is not too bad at 7.9 lbs., but it is just a little too heavy for me to not suffer neck pain when I play all day, every day. So I switch to my Strat that weighs only 7.3 lbs. and the change helps. I am thinking about purchasing a $179 Tele and carve out a a lot of wood from the back and get it down to below 6 lbs. I may even carve out enough wood to get down to 5 lbs. Then I would no longer suffer from pain in my neck. I spend 30 min every day messaging my neck and arms and hand with a bristle long handle brush and this really helps. I also use over the counter pain creams and sprays. I used to me on doctor prescribed pain killers. At one time I could not play guitars at all because I could not hold them. My neck and my back hurt severely. I sold my entire studio, my biggest mistake in my entire life. Somehow after no longer working, and about 10 yeas of resting and doing yoga and light weight lifting every day I was able to hold my guitars once again. So now I am playing every day, all day long-with breaks of course. I love my Tele. It's only a simple Fender Made in Indonesia Squire Affinity model but it did not require a lot of work to make it very easy to play. The second fret needed to be filed down under the high E string-that was unexpected, but it was easy to do. No fret sprout, no bad pots, neck was straight with just the right amount of concave to allow medium low action, which is how I like it. It's a guitar, it does what I want. I'll get another Squire and carve it our in the back as I said and see if a very light weight Tele is my perfect instrument. Hint, I already know it will be, -Peter age 70
Hey Peter! I’m a young luthier and I’m playing around with your exact concept in my shop right now. If you’d be interested in commissioning something, I’d love to put the perfect instrument in your hands :)
why don't you buy a swamp ash or ultra light swamp ash body from a place like Guitar Mill, Warmoth or MJT? That will significantly reduce the weight of your guitar. These bodies aren't that expensive - especially if you don't buy a one-piece.
I got an Anderson tele in the right color and neck dimensions off of Reverb for a good price. The only thing that kind of gets to me is the 12" - 14" compound radius. I wish it was 9.5" to 12", or even 14". Also they don't do figured necks so they're a bit stiff for neck bending vibrato.
Hi Tim, thanks for sharing. I am very impressed how well you play and the sound of your NoTele guitar. I'm good with keyboard instruments and am learning guitar on an acoustic. But so far, my dream sound has always been that of a jazz guitar. Now I have only seen a few videos of Julian Lage who also played with a Tele. With a brighter sound, but also jazzy. That has confused me. Why not on a jazz guitar? Why a Tele with full body? Are they not supposed for other styles of music? I always thought that the other guitars are probably more for rock etc.. But apparently you can get a smooth jazz sound on other guitars too. So why not a hollowbody? I think they are more versatile than jazz guitars. An all in one solution. But that would be the only explanation for me, as a non-knowledgeable person. And yes, I’m looking up for a budget guitar. Not to expensive. I’m not earning any money for that. Thanks for helping.
Love these kinds of vids where you show your guitars and talk about them. Can you show off your dual p90 nocaster? I think of all your videos I've seen that one the least.
Hi Tim, Thanks for the details on this guitar. I have been following you on RUclips for years and recently enjoying your excellent teaching and courses on TrueFire. I only play fingerstyle and love the sound of jazz on a tele but wonder if narrow string spacing might pose an additional challenge for me. Can you please say what the string spacing is at the saddles/bridge on this guitar? Thanks very much!
Hi Tim, Any tips on dealing with 60-cycle hum with a Charlie Christian pickup? I’ve got a TK Smith CCII in the neck of a tele, and it sounds fantastic but is very susceptible to hum...
hey brother Tim, thanks for that. Such a great video. now listen - i was wondering if you could recommend a decent, affordable amp for home practice; i do not like digital solid state amps like the Boss Katana which everyone hypes to the max. I am down a major rabbit hole on Fender-style tube amps in the 5-15 watts (max) range. something that sounds great clean, is simple and maybe even upgradable? I know this might be a bit to take on but i like your philosophy so if not in a comment response, maybe a future video? I know TOO much gear talk. sorry, mate. Thank you.
Is because of you Tim that i got Lollars to go with my Godin Stadium tele, replaced the TV Jones Classic neck and Starwood bridge for the Lollars Novel CC neck and the good person at Lollars recommenced the Special T to go with it. I wanted the 52, i love how the 52’s sound but he said the output difference would be noticeable. I am No where near you Tim but i just love these Lollars and playing this guitar. I like D’addario NYXL 11-49 strings. Thank you so much 🙌🌟 for being so down to earth and sharing so much. How close do you setup your CC neck to the strings? 🙂👍🏻 Take care Tim.
I'm retired now and I have time and I always wanted to learn to play the guitar and learn as much as I can BUT something happened overseas a long time ago and I'm never going to be able to finger pick; I can bend my ring and little fingers only if I use my left hand to bend it but I can flat pick without problems or issues. I feel fine in my thumb, index and middle finger...nerve damage in the other two. Would you make any changes to your recommendations for constructing a proper Tele like yours? Thanks in advance for any advice. Cheers
I would love to see Warmoth develop a fat boy body like you have on another one of your Tele’s. Hollow core and dual slabs front and back. They do offer a cambered body but at at 1.75”. Best suggestion I got from you is flat rounds and Eb tuning to bring my 52 Hot Rod Tele to life with the Seymour Duncan mini humbucker.
Thanks for sharing the details about your !#1". How important do you think the ash body is? I have a 2014 MIM road worn Tele with an alder body. It's heavy (!) and seems to lack some resonance that I've heard out of ash bodied Teles.
Hey Tim, I'm curious about that Mike Lull signature model you used to play in some videos. That guitar pops in my head from time to time. The chubby, think you called it
I’ve asked you tele questions in the past..fender SHOULD make one for you...I’m sure you sold a few for them..i bought a relic on your recommendation..i have a couple of nash too.. i wonder why makers don’t make those U shape necks as standard issue? Those are the best necks for teles in my opinion.
You have such a beautiful sound. I'm considering making some of these changes to my thinline tele. Do you have any recommendations on where I could find a nice thick neck?
Hello Tim, Love your playing and bought your recent book. Great stuff! Will those Lollar Charlie Christian neck pickups fit in normal pickup postion without modifying the body? Thanks.
Curious about your preference for a 50s style, one-piece maple neck as opposed to a neck w/ separate rosewood or ebony fingerboard. Additionally, would you prefer a wider neck at the nut if A fender Telecaster was spec'd that way? I ask because a 1 5/8th" wide nut is a bit narrow for me. Thanks for all of your well-delivered and generously given information!
So I went back and listened to this video again. How does this guitar sound compared to your Nachocaster? What does that one give you for quite a bit more? How does it compared to your Roadworn or Vintera projects? Just curious whether in hindsight you see or hear things differently? Thanks. Shally
Hi Tim, the specs you listed are all fine and dandy and important for the comfort factor but what I also would love to know is this : what are the POT and CAP VALUES in this guitar ? Do these two - quite different - pickups in your guitar work really well together , i.e. is the neck pup not too dark when both units "see" the same 250 Kohm pots ? Not sure whether you discussed this with your luthier or not when he did the work but if you DO know then please let us know, Thanks !
The pots and caps are what were in the guitar when I got it. 250k pots don’t know the brand. I don’t know the type, value or brand of the caps. The both pickups on sound is perfect for what I do, the bridge pickups sounds great by itself and I choose to use a cleanish boost when that pickup is selected rather than a hotter pickup. I set the neck pickup rather low in relation to the strings and the bridge pickup is very close to the strings.
@@TimLerchGuitar Thanks Tim, very good to know ! I've wired a 450 Kohm resitor in line with the bridge pickup so that one sees 250 and the front pup the 500 KOhm pot . In the end it's the touch that makes the tone and since I play with nails (doubling on classical guitar) I have to keep working on my plucking ....
Hi Tim, Did you leave the pickup wiring configuration as it was originally? I was at a local music store last week and played a "nocaster" at bit. on the neck position it has a built-in low-pass filter and in bridge position, the tone knob acts as a blend control between the two pickups. this could really change the sound of the guitar versus standard tele wiring. perhaps most significantly, the low-pass filter would make the neck pickup even mellower than it would otherwise be.
@@TimLerchGuitar Thanks for that Tim. Also, you mention stainless steel frets weren't for you. Could you please evaporate on that a bit? What prompted you change them to lower profile nickel frets?
Hey Tim, how do you feel about the 7.25 radius? I tried a guitar at a music store what that vintage radius and felt it was super comfortable. But I I’m a little apprehensive about making the purchase, I guess I’m preconditioned to think that vintage radius means not being able to do lead properly. For what it’s worth, I think that your own signature guitar would sell a ton of models.
Hey Tim! have you ever had trouble balancing the sound of a tele with a humbucker in the neck and a traditional tele single coil bridge pickup? I know the differing pot values can cause alot of headaches for players. Great stuff as always !
inspired by you (i remember an old video were you were praising RoadWorn Tele) I bought a second hand 2018 Telecaster Road worn and it has already on Pickups Fender Vintage 64...extremely pleased, even if i was "hoping" for less relic :)
I don’t care for the series sound that’s available for instance with a 4 way switch. I prefer the three way switch with conventional parallel wiring. Thanks for watching .
Hi Tim, thanks for sharing this, really love your sound and would love to see a Fender Tim Lerch Tele. How do you compare this guitar to your Mike Lull signature?
Hi Tim, what’s the weight of the instrument? I agree on the second run road worn telecasters. Really great even if you only upgrade the saddles. Thanks for sharing the info.
Hi Tim: about the CC pickup, who built it? It's a single coil shielded somehow? Thanks in advance and best things for your career, just because... you deserve it!!! :) V.
Tim, I'm embarrassed to say that I just found your channel. I love it. Sorry if you answered this below but can you tell us your string height? Your fingers dance over the fretboard and I'm looking to achieve that with my G & L. Many thanks!
Could you describe the differences between using 2 Charlies vs 1? I’m a strat guy so I can kind of imagine what it would be like but I was hoping you could tell me what would make you choose one or the other.
Hey Tim, I had heard that in '81ish when Fender wanted to first do the "52 reissue" tele, they went to Ted because his collection of early teles was massive. Do you know anything about that relationship? Anyways, hi from a facebook-youtube-instagram follower person. Great specs and great playing as always!
Not ready to buy another guitar myself. That said... small potatoes. Nah, you're like a... a whole potato salad... prepared for an army... of runners. Yeah, I know--corn was on the menu as well. Let's just call you one of the few that is a "keeper of the flame" for all that is jazz and Telecaster like :)
I'm a relatively new subscriber, so it may have already been addressed on your channel before i knew about you, but could you describe your typical signal chain?(amp you customarily use/any pedals or effects?) I know you have talked about a Princeton/the quilter ToneBoxes, but I'm still curious. I love your tone and I would love to get tele to sound as much like yours as i can. 8)
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I think Fender should recognize that you influence a lot of people. In fact, I just bought a Road Worn because of you!
True, Tim is an influence. I have hired an invisible bass player like Tim uses.
One of my students got a ‘road worn’ Tele because of Tim. I followed the good example - these are hip guitars, especially with Lollar pickups and the mentioned upgrades.
I am thinking of buying either es 335 or telecaster these past days. And I realized all my favorite guitarists like Tim, Ted Greene, Julian Lage, Josh Smith, all playing teles so its a no brainer to buy tele over es 335
I'm on the brim of doing the same because of the nice warm sound he got out of the neck. I went the long route and built my own partscaster with a rosewood neck and I am pretty dissapointed. It just not what I was looking for tone-wise. Better to shoot for a sure thing.
Based on your results and advice, I did all that to my $300 Squier Tele. I chose it out of a lineup because it had the best acoustic sound of the lot - I didn't even plug any of them in. I put in the Charlies, changed the pots to Emersons, installed all the Glendale hardware (including the back plate!), and I swear that every change I made improved the acoustic quality of the guitar. The Lollars put that sound through my Vibrolux as well as the Henriksen, and I finally have a Jazz sound that is lovely and usable, for remarkably little money - though the price is around $1000 now! I knew I couldn't afford an archtop, and while looking into what Ed Bickert used I came across Tim Lerch, and I am so grateful for your generous shares. Not to mention your inspirational playing! Thank you!
Ed Bickert the master of minimal sheer genius saw him many times missed by all
Here are a few things I left out
Radius 7.25 (I have my luthier slightly flatten the radius above 12th fret but is done on the fret rather than the wood.) String Gauge round wound 12-54 Plain 20 G, P90 sized Route for the CC. The frets are Stew Mac 0152.
Hi Tim, I have a Tele with a mini humbucker in the neck position. Any idea if the CC would fit in that route?
Hi Tim, I put a Fender original 50's tele neck on a 2007 50's road worn body, brass saddles and joe barin pickups. it's a great tele (been playing them for 50 years) and I didn't have to remortgage my home.
I think the mini HB route might be about right but might need to be deeper, not sure though. The guys at Lollar will be able to say for sure.
Hi Tim, 7.25 radius and heavier strings - does it mean you'll have to sacrifice bending ability on E and B to keep it relatively low and easy enough to play? Mine is also 7.25 and I like the sound of bigger strings but could never make up my mind to setup a tele like acoustic or acrhtop, so at the moment I'm still with 10s and a rather high action(and a dilemma) 😂
I don’t bend much with this set. What I was doing a lot of bending I used 11-50.
I expect I'm not the only one who can say this, but I never knew how lyrical a Tele could be until I heard one in your hands Tim. It's wonderful that you've had such a long relationship with this instrument.
Check out Julian Lage as well hes a phenomenal telecaster jazz player
Check out Ed bickert and Ted Greene too
How the hell no big guitar company sponsors you. I mean, u r one of the greatest players around.
The dude abides
you make it look so easy
I just grabbed a Vintera Roadworn 50’s and my goodness it’s so good. The pickups aren’t even half bad. Great neck, fret job, and the finish feels great. Thanks for the tip, Tim!!!
Mr. Tim Lerch you are Greatest!!!
Tim, Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge and playing. You truly are fine human being. BTW really enjoyed the "Scale and Modes" video. I really took the final comments to heart. Thank You
Lovely playing
I always loved how your CC pickup Tele looks and sounds. Built myself one with the Lollars because of that. Thanks for turning me on Teles for Jazz, I never really liked typical Jazz guitars for playability. Using the Tele like you explained in another video really is a gamechanger. Thanks for that detailed video.
Glad you got your version that is working for you .
@@TimLerchGuitar absolutely, I love it! You're a big Inspiration! You carry a lot of Ted Greene spirit in your playing.
Hey Tim.
I am loving your new book! I'm not an accomplished guitarist. The way this book is laid out, with the melody note as the top note, is allowing me to make a lot of progress in my playing. Thank you!!!!!!
Thank you Dave.
who needs a signature model when you can play like you can :)
"Go around the middle-man". Love your ethos, and playing Tim! Needless to say, this video reveal of your #1 is much appreciated.
@TimLerchGuitar Thank you for everything you do, sir.
It ought to be illegal to be that good and that relaxed...
It is and I've definitely spent time in the penitentiary because of it. : )
@@TimLerchGuitar lol. :-) WORTH IT !
BIG respect guy ! 'Love my Squiertele with Fender decal ! rofl Amazing build great feel, tone $200. Butterscotch, falls in the hand.. It ain't Gilmour's #1, but thar's blues in them there frets !
Keep doing what you do ! Ciao !
I have so slowly built my tele, that it isn’t even finished. The wood dried in the corner of my house for years, then obsessed by Collings dog hair finish, I dyed it black with India ink, sealed, pore filled it with silver gilt cream the ash body. A fat v-neck with yellow and variants leather dye and nitro, a Peter Florence bridge with an Eric Dawe neck to match. We will see. I have a DeArmond Now comes the wet sand which I’m teetering on nerves. 6lbs + some change. Now if I could just play like you......well I play like I do and that’s the best that can be said. It really is hard to imagine how much some folks will pay. I think I’m in for $600 with supplies to build 10 more. Not bad. I really enjoy your videos and I loved to hear about your breakdown of it all. Next one will have the classic U carve and right 1 5/8”. Stay well my friend and thanks for what you do.
Twenty year plan for the relic look…
Keef would approve!
Hey Tim,
Small potatoes? You sold yourself way short. Fender would be privileged to have a Tim Lerch model. If, when...they do, I’m buying. Stay healthy Tim and thank you. Your the best.
DM
Always wanting to get into Teles and boy do I love your playing and sound! When I do make the jump, I’ll keep these specs in mind. Thanks for the lovely playing and info.
Wow, you're truly amazing man! Really enjoy your playing, your attitude, and your channel. Thank you!
Great sound
Thanks for sharing! -Jared
This was fantastic, Tim!! Thanks for the spec info. You are an inspiration....
LOL, I can't tell you the number of times I have given clients virtually the same speech, love to hear this coming from an "influencer" even if its not a Bon-a-Fide Fender guy...! Thank You...! B-)
This is just as cool as any signature guitar! Most signatures are just reproductions of players own modified guitars like yours. I think the upgrades and personal preferences are really what make guitars special to each player and in turn make them iconic.
I bought a 50s road worn tele and got it routed for a humbucker in the neck position. I put in a Seymour Duncan jazz (without the cover) and it sounds fantastic!
Just want to hang with you Tim…casual vibe but A+ niche knowledge. Thanks for your videos.
Sounds fantastic. And is actually unique
Thanks, Tim. This was great as I have been contemplating the Jason L CC for one of mine.
I had my MIM Tele modified to a 52 set of Lollards because of your recommendation a few years back. I am ok with that. Znks.
Always admired it!!
You’re a very slick player Tim! Love the lessons especially your breakdown of Teds material, love the sound of the guitar also - props from Ireland 🇮🇪🤗
I want one. Thanks for the video.
Looks and sounds great! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching!
Tim it's really cool to see somebody who's so humble and willing to share their knowledge with us lowlifes thank you and I agree Fender should make it tours of The Regular Joe can afford not these freaking Showboat $7,000 stratocasters and Telly's it's ridiculous not everybody can afford Rockstar prices
I bought a tele and put a cc pickup in it because of you. Followed your advice on bridge and string gauge too. Very happy with it. (Turns out I still can't play like you :-). Fender is really missing out.
Grolsch used to be my favorite beer! Someday we’ll have to have a pint together when thing are somewhat “normal” again.
I have a tele-custom and I love playing jazz on it.
Hello Tim , i have created my own "signature " telecaster , it's an fender american special telecaster ( with texas special pick ups , wich i really like ) . I put another neck on it though , i didn't like the thin c shaped neck that comes standard on these tele's , so i put an lindy frailin tele neck on it and that did the trick for me . It's basically an thick U shaped neck , but lindy has made some changes to it wich gives the neck a kinda soft V kind off feel . This is a keeper now , i have really fallen in love with this guitar ( as far as a person can "fall in love " with an object/tool that is ) .
Damn, you got some chops
After having locking tuners for years , that eventually don’t hold tune , I’ve gone back to vintage tuners , Leo got it right
Thanks for sharing Tim! You helped get me into Tele's!
Glad to help!
Very Special " Musical Istrument ". .. So' Nice ... ☺😊😉/💙💙💙/👍👌👏👋
DIY punk ethos meets Jazz! I love it. It's a beautiful guitar too.
Thanks for the video, I just viewed your Video on scales and modes, great! I have been a fan of Ted Green for awhile and now I am pleased to find you as one who carry's his torch now.
I built a Tele kit from Stew Mac recently based on Ted . I love it and now just beginning to upgrade as a jazz axe, Cutting a bone nut right now and feel that I now have a roadmap to follow for my next upgrades. Thanks for your inspiration and music.
I was going to change out my strings for flat wound chromes but might just stay with my regular rounds based on your tone.
Really hope that the middleman will listen to you. It would be a great tele and we really need one like yours !
It’s very generous of you to do this. On the other hand, I’m wondering how many Fender actually sells of some of their custom shop models. It may very well be in the groundswell of support my generate enough interest. The custom shop Nocaster is pretty close to your spec.
Awesome to hear about your Tele spec preferences :) I'm similar in the respect that I'm not into any fancy/special alterations/mods other than pups and some hardware upgrades (at times).. For the most part my fiddles are mostly stock... My #1 (Mexi Blacktop Strat) is completely stock.. only mod I made to it was to wire the tone pot to the bridge pickup (I do this with all my Strats...)... Thanks for being awesome :)
I just sent Fender a check as a deposit down on the Tim Lerch Signature Telecaster. Now they are commercially and legally obligated to produce it, right?
If enough of us did that it might seriously happen!
I want to be Tim Lerch when I grow up.
If there is anyone who deserves one, it is you Tim!!! Fender are you listening?
He has one. Fender tele w CC pups!
@@steveb9325 Another reason why Tim will never have a signature guitar is that I doubt Fender would team up with Lollar.
@@ryanreeves8931 I don't know, you can get Curtis Novaks in a custom shop jazzmaster.
Fender did recently make a small run of pine teles with a Lollar CC.
Ted Greene inspired me to pickup a Tele and thanks to you Tim for all the inspiration in playing :)
Hey Tim. Can you make a video showing how you use positions 6 and 7 on your other guitar? Thanks and have a great day.
Telecasters are truly the desert island electric guitar. They do everything so well. I even like the traditional neck pickup that some many others seem less than satisfied with. I've never tried a Charlie Christian although every time I listen to you play a guitar with one it gets me jonesing in that direction. One thing I have trouble with is the narrow nut on most Fender guitars. At least they seem narrow to my fingers. I much prefer 1&11/16 or ideally, 1& 3/4ths. This applies to jazz playing where I'm not bending as much as well as other styles where bending is a big part of things. This has pushed me in the direction of making my own teles from scratch and/or buying from after market suppliers like Warmoth. Do you have any issues with neck width? I don't have particularly fat fingers but narrow necks and string spacing seem to make some things, particularly some voicings harder than necessary. I would by a Fender and get another neck, but that seems like a bit of modification overkill. I'd rather buy parts and exactly the pickups and hardware i like and go from there. Your thoughts?
I prefer the 1 5/8 nut.
I'm currently putting together a 'Tim Lerch Inspired' hardtail Fender Jazzmaster using the same pickups found on the Mike Lull Signature guitar. The neck on my Jazzmaster is also similar to the dimensions described here. I'm hopeful of a good result.
How did you wind up liking it?
The Jazzmaster project went in a different direction but I ended up modding an American standard tele with a no name alnico 2 humbucker and a Dimarzio Area T single coil (I hate hum & buzz). Standard 3 way switch, no treble bleed. Works great for jazz styles.
Birdseye maple? Love your phrasing
The telecaster is beautiful in it's simplicity, the simplicity is what makes telecasters elegant. A solid body, bolt on neck, pickups, simple controls. It has become my favorite electric guitar. My only issues is that because of many injuries I would be better off with a 5 lb. telecaster as it is mine is not too bad at 7.9 lbs., but it is just a little too heavy for me to not suffer neck pain when I play all day, every day. So I switch to my Strat that weighs only 7.3 lbs. and the change helps. I am thinking about purchasing a $179 Tele and carve out a a lot of wood from the back and get it down to below 6 lbs. I may even carve out enough wood to get down to 5 lbs. Then I would no longer suffer from pain in my neck.
I spend 30 min every day messaging my neck and arms and hand with a bristle long handle brush and this really helps. I also use over the counter pain creams and sprays. I used to me on doctor prescribed pain killers. At one time I could not play guitars at all because I could not hold them. My neck and my back hurt severely. I sold my entire studio, my biggest mistake in my entire life. Somehow after no longer working, and about 10 yeas of resting and doing yoga and light weight lifting every day I was able to hold my guitars once again. So now I am playing every day, all day long-with breaks of course. I love my Tele. It's only a simple Fender Made in Indonesia Squire Affinity model but it did not require a lot of work to make it very easy to play. The second fret needed to be filed down under the high E string-that was unexpected, but it was easy to do. No fret sprout, no bad pots, neck was straight with just the right amount of concave to allow medium low action, which is how I like it. It's a guitar, it does what I want. I'll get another Squire and carve it our in the back as I said and see if a very light weight Tele is my perfect instrument. Hint, I already know it will be, -Peter age 70
Hey Peter! I’m a young luthier and I’m playing around with your exact concept in my shop right now. If you’d be interested in commissioning something, I’d love to put the perfect instrument in your hands :)
why don't you buy a swamp ash or ultra light swamp ash body from a place like Guitar Mill, Warmoth or MJT? That will significantly reduce the weight of your guitar. These bodies aren't that expensive - especially if you don't buy a one-piece.
I got an Anderson tele in the right color and neck dimensions off of Reverb for a good price. The only thing that kind of gets to me is the 12" - 14" compound radius. I wish it was 9.5" to 12", or even 14". Also they don't do figured necks so they're a bit stiff for neck bending vibrato.
Hi Tim, thanks for sharing. I am very impressed how well you play and the sound of your NoTele guitar. I'm good with keyboard instruments and am learning guitar on an acoustic. But so far, my dream sound has always been that of a jazz guitar.
Now I have only seen a few videos of Julian Lage who also played with a Tele. With a brighter sound, but also jazzy.
That has confused me. Why not on a jazz guitar? Why a Tele with full body? Are they not supposed for other styles of music?
I always thought that the other guitars are probably more for rock etc.. But apparently you can get a smooth jazz sound on other guitars too. So why not a hollowbody?
I think they are more versatile than jazz guitars. An all in one solution. But that would be the only explanation for me, as a non-knowledgeable person.
And yes, I’m looking up for a budget guitar. Not to expensive. I’m not earning any money for that. Thanks for helping.
Love these kinds of vids where you show your guitars and talk about them. Can you show off your dual p90 nocaster? I think of all your videos I've seen that one the least.
Hi Tim,
Thanks for the details on this guitar. I have been following you on RUclips for years and recently enjoying your excellent teaching and courses on TrueFire. I only play fingerstyle and love the sound of jazz on a tele but wonder if narrow string spacing might pose an additional challenge for me. Can you please say what the string spacing is at the saddles/bridge on this guitar? Thanks very much!
I think the string spacing is 2 1/8 or maybe just a hair wider.
Thank you, Tim!
Hi Tim, Any tips on dealing with 60-cycle hum with a Charlie Christian pickup? I’ve got a TK Smith CCII in the neck of a tele, and it sounds fantastic but is very susceptible to hum...
I use a EH humdebugger in bad rooms
hey brother Tim, thanks for that. Such a great video. now listen - i was wondering if you could recommend a decent, affordable amp for home practice; i do not like digital solid state amps like the Boss Katana which everyone hypes to the max. I am down a major rabbit hole on Fender-style tube amps in the 5-15 watts (max) range. something that sounds great clean, is simple and maybe even upgradable? I know this might be a bit to take on but i like your philosophy so if not in a comment response, maybe a future video? I know TOO much gear talk. sorry, mate. Thank you.
For me the Princeton reverb is great for me in terms of portability and sound.
@@TimLerchGuitar cheers mate.
Is because of you Tim that i got Lollars to go with my Godin Stadium tele, replaced the TV Jones Classic neck and Starwood bridge for the Lollars Novel CC neck and the good person at Lollars recommenced the Special T to go with it. I wanted the 52, i love how the 52’s sound but he said the output difference would be noticeable. I am No where near you Tim but i just love these Lollars and playing this guitar. I like D’addario NYXL 11-49 strings. Thank you so much 🙌🌟 for being so down to earth and sharing so much. How close do you setup your CC neck to the strings? 🙂👍🏻 Take care Tim.
My guitar has compensated Saddles but will check out the ones you always recommend. 🌟
I'm retired now and I have time and I always wanted to learn to play the guitar and learn as much as I can BUT something happened overseas a long time ago and I'm never going to be able to finger pick; I can bend my ring and little fingers only if I use my left hand to bend it but I can flat pick without problems or issues. I feel fine in my thumb, index and middle finger...nerve damage in the other two. Would you make any changes to your recommendations for constructing a proper Tele like yours? Thanks in advance for any advice. Cheers
I would love to see Warmoth develop a fat boy body like you have on another one of your Tele’s. Hollow core and dual slabs front and back. They do offer a cambered body but at at 1.75”. Best suggestion I got from you is flat rounds and Eb tuning to bring my 52 Hot Rod Tele to life with the Seymour Duncan mini humbucker.
Fender should just build an affordable Tim Lerch signature and be done with it. They can sell it to Lerch's subscribers!
What is that neck made of? Beautiful!
Thanks for sharing the details about your !#1". How important do you think the ash body is? I have a 2014 MIM road worn Tele with an alder body. It's heavy (!) and seems to lack some resonance that I've heard out of ash bodied Teles.
I prefer ash.
Hey Tim, I'm curious about that Mike Lull signature model you used to play in some videos. That guitar pops in my head from time to time. The chubby, think you called it
I love that guitar but it’s kind of it’s own thing.
I’ve asked you tele questions in the past..fender SHOULD make one for you...I’m sure you sold a few for them..i bought a relic on your recommendation..i have a couple of nash too.. i wonder why makers don’t make those U shape necks as standard issue? Those are the best necks for teles in my opinion.
Hey Ed, Thank you my friend. I agree about the neck, fits right into my hand. Stay safe and keep swingin.
@@TimLerchGuitar thanks Tim...I misspoke, I bought a big neck roadworn not relic..
You have such a beautiful sound. I'm considering making some of these changes to my thinline tele. Do you have any recommendations on where I could find a nice thick neck?
Hello Tim, Love your playing and bought your recent book. Great stuff! Will those Lollar Charlie Christian neck pickups fit in normal pickup postion without modifying the body? Thanks.
No they require a P90 size route
Curious about your preference for a 50s style, one-piece maple neck as opposed to a neck w/ separate rosewood or ebony fingerboard. Additionally, would you prefer a wider neck at the nut if A fender Telecaster was spec'd that way? I ask because a 1 5/8th" wide nut is a bit narrow for me. Thanks for all of your well-delivered and generously given information!
I prefer a one piece neck and a 1 5/8th nut. Thanks for watching.
Hi Tim, could you say a bit about your right hand technique for those fast single note runs? Or have you talked about that somewhere else?
cc pickup is sweet
So I went back and listened to this video again. How does this guitar sound compared to your Nachocaster? What does that one give you for quite a bit more? How does it compared to your Roadworn or Vintera projects? Just curious whether in hindsight you see or hear things differently? Thanks. Shally
Hi Tim, the specs you listed are all fine and dandy and important for the comfort factor but what I also would love to know is this : what are the POT and CAP VALUES in this guitar ? Do these two - quite different - pickups in your guitar work really well together , i.e. is the neck pup not too dark when both units "see" the same 250 Kohm pots ? Not sure whether you discussed this with your luthier or not when he did the work but if you DO know then please let us know, Thanks !
The pots and caps are what were in the guitar when I got it. 250k pots don’t know the brand. I don’t know the type, value or brand of the caps. The both pickups on sound is perfect for what I do, the bridge pickups sounds great by itself and I choose to use a cleanish boost when that pickup is selected rather than a hotter pickup. I set the neck pickup rather low in relation to the strings and the bridge pickup is very close to the strings.
@@TimLerchGuitar Thanks Tim, very good to know ! I've wired a 450 Kohm resitor in line with the bridge pickup so that one sees 250 and the front pup the 500 KOhm pot .
In the end it's the touch that makes the tone and since I play with nails (doubling on classical guitar) I have to keep working on my plucking ....
Hi Tim, Did you leave the pickup wiring configuration as it was originally? I was at a local music store last week and played a "nocaster" at bit. on the neck position it has a built-in low-pass filter and in bridge position, the tone knob acts as a blend control between the two pickups. this could really change the sound of the guitar versus standard tele wiring. perhaps most significantly, the low-pass filter would make the neck pickup even mellower than it would otherwise be.
Original Fender wiring is what you describe, most folks change to a “modern” wiring (that’s what I do.)
@@TimLerchGuitar Thanks for that Tim. Also, you mention stainless steel frets weren't for you. Could you please evaporate on that a bit? What prompted you change them to lower profile nickel frets?
Perhaps Fender will call you someday...they should really! I personally play a lespaul studio 1992 usa a bit heavy and a godin duet....
Hey Tim, how do you feel about the 7.25 radius? I tried a guitar at a music store what that vintage radius and felt it was super comfortable. But I I’m a little apprehensive about making the purchase, I guess I’m preconditioned to think that vintage radius means not being able to do lead properly.
For what it’s worth, I think that your own signature guitar would sell a ton of models.
I really prefer 7.25 but I don’t do lots of big bends so do me it works out well.
Hey Tim! have you ever had trouble balancing the sound of a tele with a humbucker in the neck and a traditional tele single coil bridge pickup? I know the differing pot values can cause alot of headaches for players. Great stuff as always !
Yes it’s hard to make that work and as such I don’t really do it.
inspired by you (i remember an old video were you were praising RoadWorn Tele) I bought a second hand 2018 Telecaster Road worn and it has already on Pickups Fender Vintage 64...extremely pleased, even if i was "hoping" for less relic :)
Hi Tim -- any thoughts on series vs parallel? Thanks -- your videos are always a treat.
I don’t care for the series sound that’s available for instance with a 4 way switch. I prefer the three way switch with conventional parallel wiring. Thanks for watching .
Hi Tim, thanks for sharing this, really love your sound and would love to see a Fender Tim Lerch Tele. How do you compare this guitar to your Mike Lull signature?
The Lull is quite different , great but different.
Hi Tim, what’s the weight of the instrument? I agree on the second run road worn telecasters. Really great even if you only upgrade the saddles. Thanks for sharing the info.
7 lbs
Tim, I know it's secondary to how well cut the nut is, but do you have a preference for nut material? Bone, Tusq XL?
Bone
Hi Tim, could you elaborate a bit on what you disliked about stainless steel frets? On paper they seem certainly seem like a worthwhile upgrade
I think the SS frets are quicker ( not brighter) but I like the nickel for feel and I think the notes bloom a bit more and I like that.
Did you have to rout the body cavity to accommodate the CC neck pickup? Lollars are great.
Yes its a P90 size route
Hi Tim...how much does it weigh? Thank you and great video
7 lbs
Hi Tim: about the CC pickup, who built it? It's a single coil shielded somehow? Thanks in advance and best things for your career, just because... you deserve it!!! :) V.
Lollar makes the pickup. I have the cavity painted with metallic paint.
@@TimLerchGuitar thanks! :)
Tim, I'm embarrassed to say that I just found your channel. I love it. Sorry if you answered this below but can you tell us your string height? Your fingers dance over the fretboard and I'm looking to achieve that with my G & L. Many thanks!
Not sure what the actual height is but I can tell you I keep the neck straight and the action low
Could you describe the differences between using 2 Charlies vs 1? I’m a strat guy so I can kind of imagine what it would be like but I was hoping you could tell me what would make you choose one or the other.
the neck and middle CC together create a very nice sound ( check my recent video of Lift every voice for an example of that sound)
Hey Tim, I had heard that in '81ish when Fender wanted to first do the "52 reissue" tele, they went to Ted because his collection of early teles was massive. Do you know anything about that relationship? Anyways, hi from a facebook-youtube-instagram follower person. Great specs and great playing as always!
Not ready to buy another guitar myself. That said... small potatoes. Nah, you're like a... a whole potato salad... prepared for an army... of runners. Yeah, I know--corn was on the menu as well. Let's just call you one of the few that is a "keeper of the flame" for all that is jazz and Telecaster like :)
This is so much better. Factory signature guitars are essentially a paint job.
Hello Mr. Lerch. Which model of CC pickups do you use at neck position?
Lollar
I'm a relatively new subscriber, so it may have already been addressed on your channel before i knew about you, but could you describe your typical signal chain?(amp you customarily use/any pedals or effects?) I know you have talked about a Princeton/the quilter ToneBoxes, but I'm still curious. I love your tone and I would love to get tele to sound as much like yours as i can. 8)
Guitar -cable - amp
@@TimLerchGuitar Thanks!
I'll have to try that.. lol 8-D