Another Tele Pickup Question.

[markb]

My apologies if I sounded critical, wings. I thought you had pasted that from a web page somewhere. I've got a bit hyper sensitive about the amount of misinformation around the web lately (older is better, magical properties of valve amps, that sort of thing). I usually find Tony Bacon a reliable source. Fender just seem to make it up as they go along in their desperate efforts to keep selling us their past over and over again

First playing OP's Teles and then actually owning & playing a '65 Tele with a '65 Deluxe Reverb or '66 Bandmaster...just knowing the neck pup alone was a pure dull, thick bassy tone, the bridge twanged like hell, and in between (mid-switch), the tone pot acted really cool in what happened.

Yeah, now that's the sound of an old style tele : . The bassy sound was designed to either reinforce or substitute for a double bass in the country and western swing bands that were Fender's original market (source: interview with Don Randall from somewhere, maybe Bacon). Mike Bloomfield used it to great effect on Bob Dylan's Tombstone Blues through a fuzzbox (maybe a Maestro??). Listen hard and you'll hear him throw the switch over to the bridge position on his second or third chorus and a thick, syrupy fuzz turns into biting, snarling mayhem so that front position does have its uses.

[wingsdad]

It's all good, mark. Ya know we've 'chatted often' here, and we're really on the same page...T21 hounds, so to speak, eh? (speakin' of the pish about 'magical qualities of valves/tubes..)

Gibson Maestro fuzz...yep...another part of that kiddie days kit of mine. Shoot...it was the only fuzz for a while. I sold that gorgeous blonde '65 Tele in '69 or '70 to help fund college. For probably 1/10 of what it's worth today. Ce'st la vie.