well hello friends and welcome to ask
0:16
Zac today's episode is six telecasters
0:20
and Counting uh I felt the need to do
0:22
this uh after recently my collection
0:26
just this year went from four to six
0:29
and also there was a crazy documentary
0:31
that came out and I couldn't help but
0:34
spoof on that a little bit so forgive me
0:36
for that but yeah so I guess a Shiny
0:39
Happy telecasters
0:40
the ask Zack story so yes so today I'm
0:44
going to walk through all six of my
0:46
telecasters that I have here that I love
0:48
dearly
0:49
and I'm gonna show how they sound a
0:52
little bit and talk about uh you know a
0:54
little bit how I got them and I'm gonna
0:56
put some links in the description so if
0:59
you want to find out more about any one
1:01
of them and yeah
1:03
and today I'm very happy to say that my
1:08
sponsor for today's episode is Glaser
1:10
instruments and their sister company
1:12
Glaser bender and Music City Bridge I
1:17
have been working you know using uh
1:20
Glaser as a repairman and vendor
1:23
installer and such for 30 years
1:26
I love their products I love their work
1:31
Joe and Nick and the other guys at
1:34
Glaser instruments have worked on every
1:36
single one of my guitars
1:38
I have their convertible Bender system
1:41
on two of my telecasters here I have
1:44
their Music City Bridge three pickup
1:46
wiring set up in one of these I have
1:49
their nut driver set that's really
1:52
really useful they make a locking
1:56
saddle kit for wraparound Bridges they
2:00
have a wonderful uh you know replacement
2:02
for wraparound Bridges they have tons of
2:05
tools and recently they became a dealer
2:09
for Ron Ellis pickups and they have tons
2:12
of Ron LS pickups in stock so I'm going
2:14
to put their contact information and all
2:16
of the website information in the
2:18
description and you need to make sure
2:20
and contact Glaser instruments for a b
2:25
Bender or get some parts or pick up some
2:27
Ron Ellis pickups all right let's Dive
2:32
In
2:33
[Music]
2:43
thank you
2:52
[Music]
3:05
foreign
3:06
[Music]
3:12
[Music]
3:23
[Music]
3:34
[Music]
3:57
thank you
4:00
foreign
4:11
here's Telecaster number one that you
4:14
just heard and you heard all the
4:16
different sounds you've heard all the
4:18
different pickup combinations and such
4:20
including the two outside pickups at the
4:22
end
4:24
this is the guitar and I'm going to go
4:26
in with these guitars I'm going in order
4:28
of how long I've owned them and so this
4:30
is the one I've owned the longest this
4:33
is a Phil Kubicki body made in 1982 and
4:37
a DanoCaster neck that was put on in
4:40
the last couple years the body I
4:42
purchased in 1997 and it was formerly
4:46
owned by a guy named Mike McAdam great
4:49
player that played with Steve Earle
4:52
during the guitar
4:54
Guitar Town era in fact he used this
4:57
guitar and some videos on Austin City
4:59
Limits and some music videos
5:01
he also played with Rodney Foster and
5:03
Foster and Lloyd
5:05
great guy so uh I got this guitar and
5:09
immediately uh had a a b Bender put on
5:12
it and I had it wired up like uh uh
5:16
Brent Mason for a while and then more
5:19
recently I decided to set this up like a
5:24
Glazer tele so that's what I always
5:25
wanted when I was a kid and the thing
5:27
about this guitar it's single bound like
5:29
the Glazer tellys that uh Ricky Skaggs
5:32
and Steve Warner had
5:34
so I uh I set it up like that so this
5:37
has the Music City blend wiring so this
5:40
is not a tone control this is a blend
5:41
it's got a push pull pot so that you can
5:43
get the two outside pickups this of
5:46
course acts as a blend for the middle
5:48
pickup and I don't miss having a tone
5:51
control on this guitar because blending
5:54
this in really softens this and unless
5:56
you turn it up all the way it doesn't
5:57
really sound like a strat and it's nice
5:59
that it's a preset so whenever you go to
6:01
the other positions the blend control
6:03
only works in this back position
6:04
everyone else you get everywhere else
6:07
you get full output on this and I have
6:09
this wired top coil only and that's the
6:12
way Joe did it back in the day
6:15
swamp Ash body uh soft v DanoCaster
6:19
neck
6:20
his usual Frets this is an old Adder
6:24
pickup which of course is no longer in
6:26
production this is a Seymour Duncan hot
6:28
Strat stack which still is in production
6:31
and this is an old Peter Florence te 59
6:35
which of course Peter Florence has
6:37
passed away so and of course this has a
6:40
convertible Joe Glazer Bender which I
6:44
think is just fantastic the fact you can
6:46
switch it between a b Bender or a g
6:48
Bender is a wonderful here's the the
6:52
back
6:53
and uh it's a great guitar I've had this
6:56
with me all over the world I've played
6:58
the Grand Ole Opry I've played uh
7:01
you know yeah literally all over the
7:04
world it's a great great guitar
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[Music]
7:25
one more time
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[Music]
7:40
thank you foreign
7:44
[Music]
7:53
[Music]
8:04
[Music]
8:15
all right
8:16
here's Telecaster number two this is a
8:19
1967 Telecaster
8:21
this is the first vintage Telecaster I
8:25
ever bought
8:27
with encouragement from redd volkaert and
8:31
others I I found this in Ron Ellis
8:34
helped me purchase it it was kind of a
8:36
Craigslist deal and it was uh back when
8:39
these guitars were still under under
8:41
five grand and still affordable this of
8:45
course has a maple cap neck
8:47
it's late 67 you know because early 67
8:50
would have a gold transition logo and
8:52
it'd have kluson tuners this has F
8:54
tuners it has the big black CBS logo has
8:58
the thicker headstock that this era is
9:00
known for and uh
9:03
for those interested it has Reggie
9:05
Young's autograph the only autograph
9:06
I've ever gotten in my life and uh yeah
9:10
because uh Reggie's the king
9:13
oh let's see
9:16
yeah swamp Ash body Maple cap neck stock
9:21
pickups this one I believe was rewound
9:24
by Lindy Freeland probably many many
9:26
years ago long before I bought it this
9:29
is the stock neck pickup that's been wax
9:31
potted by Nick over at glazers
9:34
I've wired it up where it's of course
9:37
tone control only works on the bridge
9:39
pickup no tone on the neck that's that's
9:41
the way all my guitars are wired except
9:43
for this three pickup Telly that you
9:45
already saw
9:46
pots have been replaced but the switch
9:48
is original also it has a Rudders cup
9:51
here because somebody put some type of
9:52
big Gibson
9:55
um
9:56
you know plate on here at one point also
9:59
it has uh compensated saddles on there
10:01
from uh Advanced plating
10:04
really great guitar it's got some fun
10:07
wear on the back from the owner before
10:10
me
10:12
thank you
10:13
foreign
10:20
[Music]
10:45
foreign
10:47
[Music]
11:10
this is my crook Paisley and of course
11:14
you'll see that you know he did not
11:17
reshape the headstock or put another
11:19
logo on there which now I uh I kind of
11:22
think that maybe that wasn't the best
11:23
idea on my part but that's the way it is
11:26
now uh this is a reproduction of a 1968
11:30
Paisley uh the neck and body were cut
11:34
out by Mark Rutter's
11:35
and this is a true Maple cap neck and uh
11:39
it's wonderful
11:42
um we've got one of those Music City
11:44
Bridge three string trees on here which
11:48
is nice for keeping the G string down
11:51
and getting good brake angle there
11:54
uh of course it's got the uh the Glazer
11:57
bender on here that of course there's a
12:01
whole video of Joe installing this on
12:03
the guitar you see the entire process
12:06
oh this uh you know again tone controls
12:11
only on the bridge pickup this is an old
12:14
Peter Florence t E60 that was underwound
12:18
so I used to and other guys used to do
12:21
this too or they would order these from
12:24
Peter that were underwound so they were
12:26
about 7.2 k and a really great pickup
12:30
and uh
12:31
this is another one of those Adder
12:33
pickups that uh you know of course this
12:37
is as
12:38
as Bill you know wired it up you know
12:42
for me and uh it's a really great guitar
12:46
and this is the only guitar I have that
12:48
has an older body
12:50
so all the other other ones have swamp
12:52
Ash
12:53
and uh yeah
12:55
love it
12:57
great great great telly
13:01
[Music]
13:41
um
13:48
all right this is Numero Uno this is my
13:51
favorite guitar
13:52
I've had this for a couple of years I
13:54
got it down in Tuscaloosa Alabama at
13:57
Guitar Gallery it was spray painted blue
14:01
rattle can blue
14:03
the Frets were completely worn off there
14:06
was no fret life the bridge pickup was
14:10
half dead and so it sounded super anemic
14:12
it had no low end it had very little
14:14
output it sounded terrible
14:16
and it was uh not cheap uh I mean they
14:20
weren't gouging me or anything like that
14:21
but it was an expensive guitar for
14:23
having all the issues that it had which
14:25
is just kind of the deal
14:26
with 50s telecasters
14:29
um
14:30
so I I bought it based just on the
14:34
feeling how good the neck felt the neck
14:36
was just perfect
14:39
and I knew that a refract and you know
14:43
hopefully you know and a rewind on the
14:45
back pickup would would make it
14:47
wonderful and it did
14:49
and of course Dan strain refinished it
14:52
blonde and you know because this was the
14:54
original color it's a one-piece Ash body
14:57
that's what we found out when we took
14:59
the rattle can finish off this is a
15:02
one-piece body
15:04
swamp Ash of course this was the
15:06
original color so we refinished it in
15:09
that color the original pickguard was
15:11
destroyed it was all warped and so with
15:15
the fact it was a refin I I went ahead
15:18
and added this is a 54 neck pickup
15:20
that's been rewound twice I found that
15:23
out when it died on me and Ron Ellis
15:27
rewound it for me and he found that oh
15:29
guess what there's Scotch tape around
15:30
the magnets which Fender never would
15:32
have done in 1954.
15:35
so we found out it's on its second
15:36
rewind of course Ron Ellis rewound this
15:40
original back pickup to original specs
15:43
this is a clear WD pick guard that has a
15:48
thick stock paper underneath with a
15:51
design that Christy Smith and her
15:54
husband Jay
15:55
did together and they put my name on
15:58
there and this is kind of a tribute to
15:59
the country artists of the 50s after
16:02
doing an episode on that and and doing
16:04
an episode on Jimmy Bryant and seeing
16:06
how it was just everyone did it in the
16:09
50s every guitar player that was playing
16:12
in clubs or wherever they would
16:15
personalize their guitar they would get
16:17
mailbox letters they would get a special
16:18
pick guard they would do all these
16:20
things and so I just became a big fan of
16:22
that and I decided with this guitar
16:24
since the original pickguard was
16:25
destroyed that I would do this and have
16:28
some fun
16:31
this guitar is six and a half pounds uh
16:33
it's a really great weight it's a
16:36
everyone
16:37
that I take this guitar to can't believe
16:39
how good the neck feels and and uh one
16:42
of the guys down at Glazer's shop even
16:43
took down all the measurements off of
16:45
this so that he could perhaps have a
16:48
neck made up or or shaped in to be like
16:51
this one it's got great wear on it
16:54
it's got some red coming through from
16:58
the the sealer that the guy put on it
17:01
when he put the blue rattle can finish
17:03
and it just keeps seeping out of the
17:05
pores of the swamp Ash and that's just
17:08
part of the magic of this guitar
17:10
I love this guitar this is my uh you
17:13
know run into the burning house well
17:16
maybe not that but I mean this this is
17:17
my favorite and I take it and I go I
17:19
play gigs with it and I just take it
17:22
with me you know if we go into a
17:24
restaurant or or uh you know I just keep
17:26
it with me at all times but it's just a
17:28
a great instrument that I love and uh
17:31
happy to have
17:34
[Music]
17:47
[Music]
17:56
thank you
18:00
[Music]
18:23
all right a very good friend of mine uh
18:26
called me up and said I want to give you
18:28
a Telecaster
18:29
and so
18:32
my friend put this together from new and
18:36
old parts and he did the finishing
18:39
himself so this
18:42
the finish here and the relicing was all
18:44
done by him in fact he put cigar smoke
18:46
here and
18:49
the cigar label
18:52
is in the control plate you know from
18:55
the cigar that he used to create this
18:58
little darker area
19:00
uh this is a fantastic guitar and I've
19:04
really enjoyed playing it you know the
19:06
wear on the neck is amazing it's a v
19:08
swamp Ash it's right under seven pounds
19:12
so it's like you know six pounds you
19:14
know 12 ounces or something like that uh
19:18
it's wired up like everything is for me
19:22
where the tone control is only on the
19:23
bridge pickup
19:24
and this is a set of Ron Ellis pickups
19:28
this is the standard Plus in the neck
19:30
and this is the 52t that's kind of my
19:32
favorite set from him I also like the
19:34
Julian Lodge neck pickup but it's super
19:37
microphonic and I have problems with
19:40
hitting it with my pick because I have
19:42
bad technique so
19:44
anyway
19:45
um yeah swamp Ash Maple killer killer
19:49
killer wonderful guitar so
19:53
there it is
19:54
[Music]
20:08
[Music]
20:26
foreign
20:27
[Music]
20:48
guys here is number six and this is one
20:51
I've just been working on just in the
20:53
last couple of days so my good friend
20:56
Bill McCumber that's a friend and also
20:58
helped me out a lot growing up in South
21:00
Texas and I played many many gigs with
21:03
him he contacted me and he said he
21:05
wanted to give me his Telecaster that he
21:10
uh bought in the late 60s and original
21:14
owner that he bought from clawson's
21:16
music which is a store in Corpus Christi
21:18
that I've
21:19
spent a lot of time out and bought a lot
21:21
of guitars there
21:22
and uh
21:24
he uh he did a lot of modifications to
21:26
it and it was kind of needing some work
21:28
and so we had to kind of undo some of
21:31
the modifications because there was
21:32
another one of these Bill Lawrence
21:33
pickups that bill Lawrence himself
21:35
installed on the guitar there was
21:37
another one right here and it was
21:39
against the strings and so we ended up
21:41
pulling it and putting a regular tele
21:44
plate here Bigsby type plate this is the
21:48
original you know Jazz master style
21:50
Bridge
21:51
this is a a Ron Ellis t60 that Dan
21:57
strain aged Dano caster and dancaster
22:00
put a control plate that he aged these
22:02
are Rudders knobs this is the original
22:04
Bigsby this is the original pickguard
22:07
that was cut by Bill Lawrence this is a
22:10
bill Lawrence Arch top pickup as far as
22:12
I can tell looks like it's an a400 that
22:15
has been epoxied to a piece of Steel and
22:17
then screwed directly into the body so
22:19
it's non-adjustable so that was one
22:21
thing I had to work around was trying to
22:23
get it to where everything worked the
22:26
geometry of everything worked out where
22:28
the action was good and uh
22:31
the Bixby worked correctly
22:33
the neck has had some work done on it by
22:37
Nick over at Glazer's they re-fretted it
22:40
and put a new nut on there and it's a
22:44
little bit later than the body
22:46
so yeah you can see this is a factory
22:49
Bixby because there's no string ferals
22:52
in the back
22:53
and of course I've always been a
22:56
naysayer of Bixby guitars on telecasters
22:59
at least Bixby telecasters I should uh
23:03
qualify that but this has really
23:06
converted me and I've really enjoyed it
23:07
I look forward to getting to play some
23:09
gigs with this guitar because this is
23:10
just a lot of fun to have the the Bigsby
23:13
on there and and it's so
23:16
uh significant to have my friend's
23:18
guitar that he played so many gigs down
23:20
in my uh Hometown and home area so uh
23:24
this is another
23:26
killer killer guitar
23:36
all right guys well I hope you enjoyed
23:39
today's episode I hope you enjoyed a
23:41
look at my uh my brood of of telecasters
23:45
uh you notice that they all have maple
23:48
necks and all but one have a swamp Ash
23:51
body yeah it's a sickness
23:53
and uh yeah I'm very fortunate and
23:56
grateful to have them they're a lot of
23:58
fun and uh yeah also need to thank
24:03
Glazer instruments Music City Bridge and
24:05
Glazer Bender for sponsoring today's
24:07
episode
24:09
um just such a big fan and and love all
24:12
the guys down there and so appreciate
24:14
their help alright guys we'll see you
24:16
next time bye