Hi - Dave From South West Victoria - Australia

I hope my attachment works. But I have finished my build and the attached shows a quick video of the net result. I certainly learned a lot doing this and have some mixed results with sound but I like the way it plays. Its action is a little high but overall it feels great.
The really good thing is that I Have been able to adjust the intonation and it is as good as my PRS CE24 and my 2004 Deluxe Strat.
The audio issue I have is that the E,A & D strings are very powerful concerning output, in fact they have a fantastic tone but the G,B & E are quite low in output comparatively so they are lost when playing chords.
I understand that not all guitars tones are the same when playing chords (like my PRS and Fender) but this is just bad.
When you play notes in the G,B & High E they sound fine on their own and you can turn them up and get good sounds but when combined …..Nooooo.
I would be interested if anyone else has experienced this and found a way to address the balance and I will post this in other areas to try and gain some feedback.

Have you adjusted the pickup heights?
You typically need to have the "treble side" of the pickup adjusted slightly higher than the "bass side".
You don't want either side so high that the magnetic field of the pickup is "pulling" on the strings or strings hit the poles when strumming though. You may find that lowering the bass side will balance the the output, or conversely, raising the treble side.

Pickup height adjustment is more or less an individual preference and not all pickups react the same but a good place to start is 3mm on the bass side, and 2-2.5mm on the treble side. (then adjust to taste or as needed from there)
When you measure, depress the E strings (one at a time) at the last fret and measure from the bottom of the string to top of the pickup pole piece.


The only other comment I'll make, is that your string alignment is not even. The low E is much closer to the edge of the fretboard than the high E.
You need to slightly loosen the neck screws and pull the headstock "down" the direction of the high E until each string falls evenly from the fretboard edge. Then re-tighten the screws.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by McCreed

Have you adjusted the pickup heights?
You typically need to have the "treble side" of the pickup adjusted slightly higher than the "bass side".
You don't want either side so high that the magnetic field of the pickup is "pulling" on the strings or strings hit the poles when strumming though. You may find that lowering the bass side will balance the the output, or conversely, raising the treble side.

Pickup height adjustment is more or less an individual preference and not all pickups react the same but a good place to start is 3mm on the bass side, and 2-2.5mm on the treble side. (then adjust to taste or as needed from there)
When you measure, depress the E strings (one at a time) at the last fret and measure from the bottom of the string to top of the pickup pole piece.


The only other comment I'll make, is that your string alignment is not even. The low E is much closer to the edge of the fretboard than the high E.
You need to slightly loosen the neck screws and pull the headstock "down" the direction of the high E until each string falls evenly from the fretboard edge. Then re-tighten the screws.

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Hi McCreed

I have adjusted the pickups but only generally without any variance so thought "not gona work". Also they are no way near as close as you have mentioned in your advise, so I will get a little scientific about it and let you know the results. All other facets of the guitar are spot on, I.E. volume, tone control along with intonation as mentioned. So I thought there must be an answer. I will advise...

Good stuff Sarg.

You mentioned the action is a bit high. Do you have any downward adjustment in the saddles left?

If so, I would do that first, then adjust the pickup height based on the final string action. If the saddles are as low as they can go and the string action is still too high, you will need to shim the neck and adjust the saddles accordingly.

I had to shim the neck pocket in my TLA-1 to get the action where I wanted it. However, when I changed the bridge to a 6-saddle hardtail, I didn't need the shim anymore. Not a big deal, and not that uncommon.

What strings are you using? The basic kit strings are only really useful for basic setting up and have poor output and tone. So if they are what's currently fitted, use the Ernie Balls that should have come with the kit, or whatever your favourite string choice is.

Oh my, that’s tasty. I have not been a huge Tele fan, but clean striking builds like this one turn my head! Very nicely done Sarg. I hope you can rectify the output issue.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Simon Barden

What strings are you using? The basic kit strings are only really useful for basic setting up and have poor output and tone. So if they are what's currently fitted, use the Ernie Balls that should have come with the kit, or whatever your favourite string choice is.

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Sounds like good advice Simon. I will without doubt try that as well

Thanks Franklin. I certainly like the blonde timbers and before they Yellow. It’s also important not to use products that yellow in time as well. This just adds insult to injury. Most polys or hydrocarbon products yellow, so one of the best ideas is to look for products with acrylic binders. They cure completely after a month or so and will not continue to age / yellow out. I think this is what gives it the clean simple look.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by McCreed

Good stuff Sarg.

You mentioned the action is a bit high. Do you have any downward adjustment in the saddles left?

If so, I would do that first, then adjust the pickup height based on the final string action. If the saddles are as low as they can go and the string action is still too high, you will need to shim the neck and adjust the saddles accordingly.

I had to shim the neck pocket in my TLA-1 to get the action where I wanted it. However, when I changed the bridge to a 6-saddle hardtail, I didn't need the shim anymore. Not a big deal, and not that uncommon.

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So I have adjusted as suggested and found a change. Without doubt. I was able to increase volume I’d the high strings and lower the volume of the base strings. I measured it with a noise meter in between changes. Still not good enough Though I am afraid. So I will change the strings to Ernie ball 9’s that I have in stock. Will advise results

Before completing all the changes required I thought I would post this Youtube link that shows a better view of the guitar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MEl7CjpaB0

Thanks

Quote:

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Originally Posted by McCreed

Good stuff Sarg.

You mentioned the action is a bit high. Do you have any downward adjustment in the saddles left?

If so, I would do that first, then adjust the pickup height based on the final string action. If the saddles are as low as they can go and the string action is still too high, you will need to shim the neck and adjust the saddles accordingly.

I had to shim the neck pocket in my TLA-1 to get the action where I wanted it. However, when I changed the bridge to a 6-saddle hardtail, I didn't need the shim anymore. Not a big deal, and not that uncommon.

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I can report that this issue of output has been resolved. It is my opinion the both the positioning of the pickups and replacing the strings contributed to the fix. I can also say that it is important to apply the string trees on the headstock as well. As I have been trying to lower the action the b & E strings and they where buzzing when ever I got near to better, so I was lifting the action again until I decided to put the trees on. This stopped the buzzing and the need to adjust back out or upward with the bridge. So Thanks Simon and McCreed.

Glad you got a result you're happy with!