what defines the "snap" of a fenders tone and other fender related questions

Keira-WitherKay

hi ya all,

question 1 : what defines that snap that is part of the fender tone....why i ask is i have a tele partcaster , a cheapie..... i recently picked up for just over a grand ...... it sounds great for the money and looks perfect ........ BUT i find the EBGD strings have that true fender snap to them....... but the AE strings (5/6) are round and dull with no snap....... yet the upper ones have 100% snap ......when i compare it acoustically (unplugged) to my USA strat which snaps on every string ....... i compared acoustically so pups have nothing to do with this...and also both guitars have new sets of Daddario in same gauge 9 - 42 ......... sure the partcaster is way below the build standard of the strat and has a plastic nut ....... but i find it odd that the snap is in the higher 4 strngs identical to the strat but totally missing from strings 5/6 on the partcaster which have a round warm sound....... so not like it sounds terrible but just no snap ......

is it the body's wood? or the bridge ? or the nut ........ but why do some strings snap and then the lower ones not ......

question 2....... would it be possible to put a strat neck on a tele body ? are there any structural issues i should know about

question 3 i have a usa strat that i get a fabulous tone with ....... exactly what i want sonically ........ and the neck is awesome , but i "hate" the strat looks and would like to see if there is any way with either transplanting the strat neck and pups into a tele body ,

or even doing some creative woodworking and cut the strat body to more resemble a tele ....i'm sure the headstock could be easily cut to resemble a tele's but the body might actually work if there is a way to fill the routed out cavity in some places.......cos i would like the tele scratchplate and the volume and tone like the tele on a metal mounted plate ........ cos if i place my tele over the strat body i can see that they almost the same size and if one just did the cut to remove the top horn of the body and maybe slightly build it up to help cosmetically or maybe not even ...cos the tele body overlays almost perfectly ......

so kinda thinking to make my strat look more like a tele........... and yes it would not be perfect because of the conturs but it may be an interesting project .if the tone will remain the same.........

again just questions ...... and i'll prob keep the strat as is and buy a tele i like but always fun to ask the questions

it's just so wierd i love the feel of the neck, the weight of the guitar and the tone, even the colour .....but not the look........

ryanguit

interested in what the bridge looks like on the tele. As that is prob the cause of your dullness prob. Cheap 3 saddle bridge?

Hey, just put the strat neck on the tele and setup the intonation. My tele has a strat neck, but only one of my tele bridges has long enough screws to intonate properly. (intonation changes cos the necks have different heel shapes, tele is straight, strat is curved, so the strat neck is a few mills out of place) enjoy the hack!

Ryan

singemonkey

Well, for starters, have you changed the strings on it yet? ? Just wanting to eliminate possibilities. ?

MikeM

Keira WitherKay wrote question 3 i have a usa strat that i get a fabulous tone with ....... exactly what i want sonically ........ and the neck is awesome , but i "hate" the strat looks and would like to see if there is any way with either transplanting the strat neck and pups into a tele body ,

Remember, a major piece of the tone is the bridge. Strat being the trem, and tele being the fixed, 3 saddle. Completely different tones in the single coil camp.

Can't help with the other questions though ?

Keira-WitherKay

singemonkey wrote Well, for starters, have you changed the strings on it yet? ? Just wanting to eliminate possibilities. ?

in answer to your question ......1st thing i do is change strings when i buy anything .......

anyway i said in original post ......

and also both guitars have new sets of Daddario in same gauge 9 - 42

......... ... and both were fitted within a day of each other ( i change my strings on my gig guitar( not my spares) once a week or 10 days tops ..... since i use it for gigs everyday and i use it to rehearse with daily so lotsa use in a week..... and i use extra light gauge which runs the risk of snapping if old or worn ) and this partcaster i just aquired and changed strings before i even plugged it in at home to experiment with ....

so no the strings are way cool.... unless they flawed...... but they d'addario xl's nickel wound which are usually reliablly consistant ....

singemonkey

Then I too wonder if there's something to do with the saddle for 5 and 6.

MikeM

singemonkey wrote Then I too wonder if there's something to do with the saddle for 5 and 6.

Or maybe the trem tension? I've noticed you lose some strat (Not quack, not twang... Maybe plauw?) if the trem is clamped tight..

AlanRatcliffe

The main things that supply the "snap" in a Fender style guitar are the scale length and the bolt-on neck join. If there are dull strings - especially single strings, it's something else specific to that string - usually saddles and/or nut.

Make sure:
- Both action adjustment bolts on each saddle are down on the plate
- there are no burrs or grooves where the saddles contact the strings
- that the nut is a decent hard material and that string slots do not go deeper than half the height of the wound strings
- the neck joint is seating OK
- that the inertia block on the Strat bridge is screwed on tightly (three screws under the saddles)

Malkav

The scale length, body wood, fret board wood and bridge I believe play the biggest part in getting the traditional sound. I'm personally of the opinion all teles should have maple necks, and a traditional 3 saddle tele bridge (preferably a compensated brass one), the body wood being Ash or Alder is generally quite cool as well. Also I like normal tele pickups, major fan of the neck single clean sound or the middle position with a little gain for some nice grit and country tones ?

You'll probably find the tele you're talking about is a lower grade basswood or something. The body probably needs to be lighter and more resonant to really get that pop on the low notes as the highs will tend to naturally have more zing. I'm completely sucking this out my thumb in saying that I believe a lighter weight wood would get you more of that snap! ?

Malkav

Keira WitherKay wrote and also both guitars have new sets of Daddario in same gauge 9 - 42 but it may be an interesting project .

Also this is heresy on a tele, you should really be restringing with .011s, at least .010s, but .009s - I would negative rep you for that if I could >☹

?

MikeM

Chad Adam Browne wroteAlso this is heresy on a tele, you should really be restringing with .011s, at least .010s, but .009s - I would negative rep you for that if I could >☹

I have noticed a significantly different attack with heavier strings... I used to use 10-52s, but used a 10-46 set out of necessity and love the sound of the bottom strings. Anyone else experienced this?

AlanRatcliffe

Yeah - the heavier you go, the more percussive. That's why I use .011s. Once again, it was a Tele that taught me that - they just sound sooo good with heavier strings.

---mario---

I thought that snappy sound was from the maple fingerbord on maple neck wich is a wood with lotsa attack :-\
Couldn't it maybe be that your partscaster's fingerbord is made of a softer maple than the strat's?

MikeM

Interesting.. My tele moved me to heavier strings. But my Gibbo has definitely made me go lighter. Thanks

Malkav

MikeM wrote Interesting.. My tele moved me to heavier strings. But my Gibbo has definitely made me go lighter. Thanks

Which makes no sense cause your Gibson's scale length would be shorter so heavier strings should feel lighter.... ?

MikeM

Chad Adam Browne wrote Which makes no sense cause your Gibson's scale length would be shorter so heavier strings should feel lighter.... ?

I'm talking about tone, not feel ?

Keira-WitherKay

re the string gauge

my main motivation to step away from acoustic exclusively and re_introduce electric guitar ,specificically fender tones into my live show has been new york tele maestro Jim Campilongo ....... and i love his tone and sound ....... and have in the last months since i reintroduced the electric tried to take his advice......... which is freely available on his website including his wiring his pots the amps the valves how the bias'd so quite informative , he shares a lot

here's what he has to say re strings ...... and he admits the raised eyebrows re the 9's however i find i get fabulous tone from them and they super soft to play ... and i'm buying into his way of thinking cos at end of the day i love his tone and sound..... and 2nd'ly i tried it (i started the strat with 10's...and use 12-50 on my jazz guitar) so i came from a heavier string position..and i swear i will for the fenders stick to the ligher gauge of 9's .... wish you could hear my tone on my strat ....exactly what i like

btw he also plays toploaders which both my strat and the tele partcaster is......

from jim campilongo website http://www.jimcampilongo.com/about/gear.php

STRINGS and SETUP
I like D'Addario EKXL120 009's-.042 sitting as high as possible over the pickup plate. This helps me avoid picking the pickup plate instead of the low E string. I also have a tendency to miss strings 3 and 4 but an "extreme arch" with the truss rod somewhat remedied this problem. I have a string endorsement but I liked D'Addario well before the endorsement deal. I like their bright sound and feel. Maybe I'm imagining this but D'Addario's seem wound tighter then "Boomers". They feel more "round wound" on my fingertips. I always get these "raised eyebrow" looks when I say I use .009's but I've used that gauge (on my electrics) since 1973. I've always felt that a lighter gauge was easier on the fretting hand but harder on the picking hand. Why? Because there is less string surface to strike. I've used .010's and felt that the sound was too bright. More info can be found at www.daddario.com

so yes i'm happy with my 9's -42 ......... and on the strat i get the sound i want ...(which is more like a warm tele sound than a "quacking "strat sound) it's just that tele partcaster that has just the 5/6th strings not snapping otherwise the tone is great ....and very similar to the strat tone i like........

so yes tone is personal .......

so yes the strings are good for me..and if i'm breaking the mould , so be it , cos my man Campilongo does it too so i'm not in bad company ? ......

check out these vids and not only one or only clean but this tone appeals to me , maybe you won't like it but the 9's give me a what i want