The Fender Telecaster is probably viewed by most as being a somewhat specialized guitar, but it is also surprisingly versatile. Best known for it’s “Twang”, this guitar has been used most often for country as it lends itself well to chicken pickin’ and other similar sounds. Some players have a stratocaster pickup installed in the middle position for more tonal options. This is called the “Nashville” setup. Although most associated with Country, the Telecaster also does a bunch of other things quite well.

Judging by the number of articles related to the Fender Telecaster in this site, anyone can guess that I am a big fan of this guitar. In some ways, the Telecaster is for me, the perfect guitar; it looks right, it feels right and it sounds right. But out of the box, the Telecaster might not be equipped for exactly what you had in mind. Fortunately, most Telecaster modifications are fairly painless.

Before you start your first guitar building project, take a few moments to think through some important details.

Nowadays, between digital modeling and overall great engineering, you can make virtually any guitar sound like just about any other guitar. Except, you cannot make any guitar really sound like a Telecaster. You can try, but it will never really quite smell right. If you are looking to upgrade your Telecaster neck pickup, you are in good luck. Many great sounding models are out there that offer not only a high-quality tone but they do so at a pretty reasonable price.

If you are embarking on a project that involves upgrading or building a Telecaster, these links might help you to find some of the parts you need.