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(Date Posted:02/02/2008 21:54:13)
My very first Tele was the Squier Affinity Butterscotch "Special Edition". I loved the look and the price! After some professional set up, this tele played quite nicely, too. I took the giant leap to an American Celuxe version and there was no turning back...especially when I bought the Peavey Delta Blues amp. All of a sudden, the Squier sounded like it cost, well, $169.
What to do? I still liked the way it played so I set my sights on my first project....Squier to Esquire.
I determined that one really nice pickup would sound incredibly better than the two stock ones. I selected a Seymour Duncan bridge APTL1. The electronics were replaced with the standard Fender Esquire wiring switch and pots. I upgraded the control plaate and knobs to American ones. I also changed the neck plate to the more robust American version. I decieded to replace the pickup guard with a three-ply white to change the look a little.
Time to plug it in. What an maazing difference a great pickup and quality wiring make. This Esquire conversion has a powerful and distinct raw and twangy tone.
Was it worth it? Adding $150 in parts to a $169 guitar sounds like a good deal to me. I'll match the sound against most non-American Teles or even the Esquire re-issue.
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