Tele or Modded LP

[James Rock]

I have a epiphone les paul studio but i don't like it clean i was thinking of changing the pickups to TV Jones TV Tron's (hum sized filtertrons) for a brighter more singcle coil like sound but also a nice dirty tone. Is it worth it or should i buy a fender MEXICAN tele instead (are these better then modded epi's).
I play through a Fender Pro Junior and My Dad's AC30 I want a chimy bright clean sound but i want to still have a nice distortion sound (r the MEXI tele to icepicky for overdrive)

 

[MikeS]

Re: Tele or Modded LP

Does the unplugged tone of your epi bother you, or is tone you don’t like coming more from the pickups? If the natural resonance of the guitar is good and the guitar plays well then I would invest in pickups before investing in a new guitar.

Even though the MIM Teles are made from poplar, they are still a lot brighter than a mahogany LP body. To answer your question, though, I find that the stock “vintage” pickups found in MIM Teles are brittle and icepicky under high gain (and they are overly noisy, especially for single coils). That said, for a chime-like bright clean tone with a little twang, the tele cannot be beat. As far as the MIM teles are concerned, they are great values for the money, but they still require a couple Benjamins to really turn them into great great players.

 

[James Rock]

Re: Tele or Modded LP

I like the sound of my LP unplugged (it has gibson bright wires which adds a bit of zing) but i think i like the TELE sound better for clean and was wondering if a tele was more versatile (good clean and dirty) as a modded LP. And if the MEXI tele has better resonance then the epi LP acoustically.

 

[James Rock]

Re: Tele or Modded LP

any one else have any info on the MEXI tele??

 

[James Rock]

Re: Tele or Modded LP

anyone?
i gave up on this before now im asking for 1 last time

 

[Baby Evil]

Re: Tele or Modded LP

I bought a MIM Tele last week, after I sold my LAG (Les Paul type guitar). When I was playing mainly higain, it was a fantastic guitar, but I couldn't stand it anymore for clean.
I put a HotStack into the Tele yesterday, and it's a fantastic sounding guitar now : clear for clean, and warm enough for overdrive and distortion.

Jan

 

[zionstrat]

Re: Tele or Modded LP

Yep, MIM Teles are fine for the price range-
Just keep in mind that the scale lenth and the wood will give you more snap and twang- As Babyevil points out, a pup swap might get much of both worlds-

Look at Pete Townsend- He went between Lps and teles in the 70s and 80s-
Cheers

 

[bert123]

Re: Tele or Modded LP

Since you like the sound of your guitar unplugged maybe you could try a set of GFS Fillertron like pickups from GuitarFetish. People seem to like them and they only cost $70 to $80 for a pair versus the $200+ for a pair of the TVTrons.
The mounting ring allows them to fit in a humbucker slot.
I've got a pair of nashvilles to use in my 60's Japan hollowbody that I'm slowly getting modded.

 

[Curly]

Re: Tele or Modded LP

James,

here's my take on your dilemma ...

neither LPs or teles will be "all things to all people" ..
LPs are great for fat lead tones, but tend to get muddy for chords on the neck pickup
teles are most often, at least in stock form, great for twangy clean tone, but IMO really need a boost or OD for overdriven lead tones.

also, Pro Juniors are really known for their overdriven tones - some describe them as having a Marshall type tone for a Fender, although I'd say they are more derivative of old Champs

AC30s to me excel at clean crunch tones with a lot of harmonics

so your problem is not just your equipment, but your combination of equipment for all the tones you want

a lot of players have both LPs and teles because they're really two different types of guitars, with a different tone and feel due to the wood, the pickups, and scale length

the other alternative for you is to use brighter pickups, such as a Jazz neck/ '59 bridge, and/ or get 4 conductor versions and split the coils

even so, I think you will still have a bit of a limited range of clean tones because of the amps you're using ....
you have some great equipment, but IMO the combination just isn't really well suited for the whole range you want

as far as the TV Jones, if you decide to do that, you should verify which model to get - I don't think his TV Classics are an exact fit for a humbucker rout, but some of his other models are.

I'd suggest you take a good look at the type of music you want to play, and the type of equipment that similar players are using

however, if your budget is an issue, then I think the best inexpensive solution is to replace the pickups with a brighter set, or split the coils as I suggested above

hope that helps some

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Tele or Modded LP

I have a set of Phat Cats in my Sheraton and use it for jazz, R&B, funk, country, rock, and blues. Try them in your LP, they're probably what you want.

 

[saladin]

Re: Tele or Modded LP

My #1 started as a MIM tele. I've changed the neck and routed the body for humbuckers. I have a set of 59's in it. Now I have a guitar that can cover any situation.

 

[Simon_F]

Re: Tele or Modded LP

+1 to what Curly said.

 

[dr.barlo]

Re: Tele or Modded LP

I have a set of Phat Cats in my Sheraton and use it for jazz, R&B, funk, country, rock, and blues. Try them in your LP, they're probably what you want.

Right on!

I love the phat cat bridge I have in my LP. Can do very good PAF HB tones with the tone rolled off. Clean has that p90 tone with lotsa mids. And if I were to wash off them mids on the amp, and slightly decrease the volume on the guitar, then I get a quite good tele tone.

I love that pickup. I think I am becoming a p90 convert. :smokin:

B

 

[Frebnedzo]

Re: Tele or Modded LP

On one hand, I feel like you are yong enough that you should try
the tele so as to get the experience of playing a 25.5" bolt on
neck with Fender fingerboard (get maple as well). Just that
its good to experience a lot of different guitars since those things
(what kind of fingerboard you like, etc) are really important to
your playing experience.

On the other hand, I think that if just changing the tone in the
manner you describe is whats needed, and you like the look, feel,
weight of the Epi LP, then pickups change can do what you want.

I saw here adapters for Fender style pickups in humbucker slots, but
have had trouble finding them online. If you are handy with wood, you
could make them yourself. Putting in a couple strat or tele pickups (a
clean and a hot bridge), might be a really good experiment. Then if
you wanted a little more grunge, you'd know to go to Phat Cats, if
you didn't like the hum, go to various humbucker combos, or if you
love the tones, you could revert the guitar, buy the tele, and put the
pickups into the tele.

Enjoy the process.

 

[Al Heeley]

Re: Tele or Modded LP

I love my mim tele, its a great workhorse, and you can use it to shovel snow in winter - very versatile.
The feel is so different to a gibson, it makes me play in a different way, which really enhances your guitar skills. I think everyone should have at least one fender and one gibson in their axe collection if possible. There's no substitute for variety, and trying to get a tele-like sound out of a gibson by 'synthetic' methods, to me is looking at like the wrong way round.
Have fun!

 

[James Rock]

Re: Tele or Modded LP

Thnx for all the replies im thinking off changing the bridge pickup to something more chimy (a hum sized filtertron) and keeping the neck.

 

[James Rock]

Re: Tele or Modded LP

Since you like the sound of your guitar unplugged maybe you could try a set of GFS Fillertron like pickups from GuitarFetish. People seem to like them and they only cost $70 to $80 for a pair versus the $200+ for a pair of the TVTrons.
The mounting ring allows them to fit in a humbucker slot.
I've got a pair of nashvilles to use in my 60's Japan hollowbody that I'm slowly getting modded.

Thnx man the rickenbacker ones are xactly what im wanting i love rickenbacker sound but i like the les paul neck sounds (rick necks sound too muddy and weak)
Also the guy who said about my gear the clean i like is ricky in to Vox tones and im planning on gettin some overdrive and fuzz pedals.