NGD Been Too Long

akstrat61 · Feb 15, 2017

It's been too long since I've owned a Tele. Found a great deal on a mint 2009 NOS Nocaster. :dude:
I love the neck, weight and Tele vibe. I may want to look at different pups? Other than that, it was a cool score! Hope you enjoy!:jim

renderit · Feb 15, 2017

Beautiful in it's simplicity. Just like my mind....If I had one...

sonar · Feb 15, 2017

Elegance!

Congrats. :salude

Nick-O · Feb 15, 2017

Love the grain showing thru. Great look.

J T · Feb 15, 2017

Great! Nice one.

Stock pickups are OK.

Lollar makes good ones.

A few years ago, I put Harmonic Design pickups in mine. It sounds great.

Cliff Gress · Feb 15, 2017

Beauty!

akstrat61 · Feb 16, 2017

I'm really starting to bond with the guitar. It plays beautifully and the light weight makes it a joy to play.:dude:

I really think it could sound better with some different pickups. I had Bardens in and older 52ri that I really liked. However, I hear tremendous stuff about the Don Mare stuff? Any thoughts?:hank

sapi · Feb 16, 2017

akstrat61 said:
I'm really starting to bond with the guitar. It plays beautifully and the light weight makes it a joy to play.:dude:

I really think it could sound better with some different pickups. I had Bardens in and older 52ri that I really liked. However, I hear tremendous stuff about the Don Mare stuff? Any thoughts?:hank

Yep! I have a Don Mare Tweed Monster bridge and it's super :dude:

Nick-O · Feb 16, 2017

Jim Rolph makes some fantastic tele pickups. Almost worth it just to chat to him on the phone.

akstrat61 · Feb 17, 2017

Nick-O said:
Jim Rolph makes some fantastic tele pickups. Almost worth it just to chat to him on the phone.

I had Jim wind some Strat pups for me, although nice, still just not there. I think I will try some Mare's. Looking on his site, he has a ton of stuff for Tele's. I think I'll give him a call and have recommend a set for my rig, playing style, and amp.:hank

ewhip17 · Feb 17, 2017

That's a great looking guitar. Congrats!

akstrat61 · Feb 18, 2017

I have an email in to Don asking for his recommendation. Looking forward to what he recommends??:hank:hank

Red Baron · Feb 18, 2017

akstrat61 said:
I really think it could sound better with some different pickups

Congrats for your Nocaster, they're fantastic guitars.

My advice is to not rush into swapping the pickups unless you really don't like them. I find Nocaster pickups to be top-notch and equal to (or better than) many of the boutique pickups I've used in the past, but you do need to take some time to really get to know them - use the tone knob a lot and spend time setting up your amps/pedals to get the best from them.

If you still don't like the Nocasters, consider a set from Ron Ellis, he makes the best aftermarket pickups I've used.

Good Wood · Feb 19, 2017

Great Guitar!

I've been a tele man myself for over 20 years. I currently have around ten pieces. Including vintage. I spent a small fortune in trying all kinds of pickups. Including Don Mare's. He offers a lot of models and I only tried the Hot Bakelite set. I had big expectations and the wait was long. FWIW they went back in the box after 2 weeks.

It is all very subjective, depending on your rig or taste. I settled on two combinations. 4 way switch with Seymour Duncan Antiquity Alnico 2 in the bridge and Fralin Blues Special RWRP Alnico 5 in the neck or Barden if I go noiseless. It's remained that way for the last 4-5 years. So you can say I'm all set.

:salude

P.Walker · Feb 19, 2017

best pickups for that kind of guitar are CS Nocasters (10k, 7k both are good), raise them up high. I've owned a couple of Fender CS offerings and tried a couple pups and those are my favorites.

ch willie · Feb 20, 2017

P.Walker said:
best pickups for that kind of guitar are CS Nocasters (10k, 7k both are good), raise them up high. I've owned a couple of Fender CS offerings and tried a couple pups and those are my favorites.

Nocasters are great pups. Twang and snarl forever; neck pup can either be smooth or growly. They sound good in front of OD and distortion too.

akstrat61 · Feb 20, 2017

The more I play it, the more I get to know it. I'm warming up to the pups.:jim

I've had to tweak a few of my settings, both amps and effects, and the guitar is sparkling like it should!:2cool

CoyotesGator · Feb 21, 2017

Very nice!

slammintone · Mar 26, 2017

Beauty for sure. I gotta say back when I got my second (and current) Nocaster I wasn't as impressed with the pickups either. I left the guitar stock though when I let it go and now that I have her back I'm even more inclined to leave it stock and maybe find another Telecaster to experiment on. I already know I absolutely love Seymour Duncans Broadcaster bridge pickup. It's one of the strongest tele flavored, twangin' huge 3D sounding things ever. It rocks and it does everything I'd ever want a Telecaster to do all by itself or as part of the Broadcaster Set. But the Nocaster sound reminds me strongly of the Jimmy Page Telecaster sound. Listen to "I Can't Quit You Babe" on LZ I. Played clean with a touch of slapback, it's a good full sound without plumbing the depths of low end and not too ice-picky on the high end. His Tele also isn't the most twanging sounding either. But it is balanced. I'm reminded of that every time I plug in my Nocaster. The twang is there but you kind of have to pluck it out with the bare fingers! But it's there. And it's supposed to sound different. Oh well, easy enough mod to find something more to our tastes. If you do get the Mare's please review them here cause I might like to get a couple from him as well.:2cool

Red Baron · Mar 29, 2017

Something I love about the Nocaster bridge pickup is how humbucker-like it can sound when you roll off the tone, such a versatile pickup.

NGD Been Too Long

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