MIM tele - Did I score a 1 piece body??

cyberpunk409

cyberpunk409

New member
hi guys, it's been a while since i last posted here!

about 6hrs ago i purchased a MIM fender tele. it was sort of a spur of the moment thing because i was originally going to save up for a highway 1 tele. anyways... i'm lovin the MIM tele :)

Just wanted to ask you knowledgeable bunch of folks some questions:

1. is it possible that i actually have a ONE PIECE alder body MIM tele??? the guys at the guitar store and I tried finding a seam, but it really looks like the body is 1 solid piece... i'll post some pics in about 2 weeks time when i get a chance

2. will upgrading to a 3 brass sadle bridge really improve tone that much?

3. mine has CTS pots, is this common for MIM tele's these days?

4. it also states that p'up are "upgraded"... what exactly does this mean? i read somewhere that FENDER went from alnico to ceramic mags on their MIM guitars, is this true? any info is helpful.

lastly... although it only has 3 different pup combo's, i think they are more versatile than any start i've ever played.

lovin this MIM tele thus far :) pics will come next week...
 
Re: MIM tele - Did I score a 1 piece body??

I thought my '04 Sunburst was a one piece til a bit of finish on the edge chipped away revealing there's alder veneer on either side, and th body is 2 pieces I think. Looks like a 1-piece anyway and it resonates beautifully.

Fender MIM Teles are the shiznit if you want a guitar that does it all for under $500.
 
Re: MIM tele - Did I score a 1 piece body??

nope it's not 1pc, even the high end models like the eric johnson signature strat are 2pc. yours is a 3-5pc body with front and back veneers to hide the seams.

-Mike
 
Re: MIM tele - Did I score a 1 piece body??

when did they start adding veneers??? i thought fender (MIA, MIJ or MIM) wasn't doing that yet! ****, now i'm gonna have to sand her down, i HATE veneers, grrr
 
Re: MIM tele - Did I score a 1 piece body??

I wouldnt worry to much about it. According to Guitar pioneer and engineering legend Chip Todd, the multi-piece bodies are actually preferable to one piece, believe it or not! ;

. QUOTE"-According to Chip, there is no benefit to producing a guitar from one solid piece of wood. The wood will be much less likely to warp and crack if the pieces are first cut, and then positioned such that the grain from one piece is flipped in a manner that it competes with the grain from the adjacent piece. This makes the wood substantially more stable. "-END QUOTE

Whether the expensive Warmoth one piece bodies have better tone I do not know, but i would suspect they in fact do. I have a one piece almost 15 year old 4.2 pound Warmoth swamp ash body that needs a good neck, but I don't know.
 
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Re: MIM tele - Did I score a 1 piece body??

Fender has been veneering bodies since the CBS buyout. My '89 strat plus has an ash veneer, and is one of my best sounding guitars.
 
Re: MIM tele - Did I score a 1 piece body??

The standards are multi-piece. The one I had was old enough to begin showing seems and I could clearly see 5 pieces. Some of the 50s and 60s RIs are two piece, unless they veneer the endgrains that run with the top and back and use a two piece veneer that just happens to align with a visible center seam in the pickup routes. ;) Indeed my MIM 50s tele has a single center seam and the end grain is not opaque, so any other seams would be as easy to spot as the center seam.

Don't know how they are building the new Highway models... mine is pre "upgrade," unfaced (no veneer), and clearly 3-piece.

As for the CTS pots, they are common now, as are switchcraft switches and jacks. The stock electronics in the MIM Standards do not need to be replaced, IMO. Except for the pickups, of course.

The 3 barrel saddle bridges are a matter of taste. Some like them, some love them, still some prefer the more modern look and feel of the standard bridge.
 
Re: MIM tele - Did I score a 1 piece body??

thought i'd add some pics to shed some light on the topic... besides, we all love pics right :)

319457491.jpg


319457490.jpg


319457488.jpg
 
Re: MIM tele - Did I score a 1 piece body??

Do all MIM Teles have that Humbucker rout in the neck? I want to get a tele. I have been GASsing for one since a while.
 
Re: MIM tele - Did I score a 1 piece body??

Fender was veneering MIA models for a long time... even solid finnished models... in my Fender Book it says it helped stopped finnish from sinking into the wood so far...

btw- MIM teles are fun!!!! good buy
 
Re: MIM tele - Did I score a 1 piece body??

Jocelyn said:
Do all MIM Teles have that Humbucker rout in the neck? I want to get a tele. I have been GASsing for one since a while.
Click to expand...


i think most of the MIM Standards are routed that way... At least all the years i've seen them... Current models are that way for sure...

the MIM Nashville model has a huge route under the pickguard...

MIM vintage models may or may not be routed for humbuckers
 
Re: MIM tele - Did I score a 1 piece body??

Thanks... I am not looking at a vitage anyways... a Humbuker rout in the neck would be preffered..
 
Re: MIM tele - Did I score a 1 piece body??

Jocelyn said:
Do all MIM Teles have that Humbucker rout in the neck? I want to get a tele. I have been GASsing for one since a while.
Click to expand...

My '04 MIM has one. I believe they are standard on MIMs (Non-RIs), and for good reason. The stock bridge pickups in the MIM are great, I love the one that came stock in mine, but the neck pup is weak and a bucker is a nice substitute. I also have a 500K vol pot because of the neck pup, which opens up the bridge pup, which is still very much responsive to the tone control.

I LOVE TELECASTERS!!!:D:beerchug::dance:
 
Re: MIM tele - Did I score a 1 piece body??

im not sure what they meant by upgraded pickups cuz your neck pickup is definatly a ceramic
 
Re: MIM tele - Did I score a 1 piece body??

Don't get too wrapped up in 1 vs 2 or more peice bodies, its really more about the wood than how many pieces.

Its easier to find two quality pieces and match them together than it is to find a quality piece of wood big enough to make a one peice body.

Its basically just a principle of economies of scale, the larger the piece you want at a given quality level is going to push the cost through the roof.

As a result, you can get a one peice body, but its often not as nice of peice as a two piece simply because the selection of 1 pieces at a given price is fewer.


This isn't to say a 1 peice body is a bad thing, far from it, but unless your paying top dollar for it, I'd go for a nice 2 piece as its alot more bang for the buck
 
Re: MIM tele - Did I score a 1 piece body??

number of pieces used in a body may make sense to some... but my 1988 American Standard strat has at least 4 maybe 5 pieces.... and i love it!!!
 
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