I always wondered what that removable knob was for! I've just been using those little springs from strat cases as a slide for years. This makes way more sense!
@@producer.james1 fr Ik I’m being a nick picky dumb ass rn but when sm1 (even as a compliment) say sm1 is talented or smart it kinda demeans their efforts. But a compliment is a compliment. So it ain’t wrong.
@Dale Macarena the last thing he did where he slides the pick along the strings emulates the sound that a slide makes. Slides are a staple of country guitar, as is the telecaster itself. So the joke is that even if you're not trying to play country / slide, a Tele will still make you want to
I love the way you just calmly decide to use it for slide like that. I’ve had the other knobs occasionally pop off as well. Innovation is the key that has led to many great discoveries & musicians. 😉👍
hell yeah, tbh whenever I play my tele (and I don't need to cut through a band mix), I'm on the neck's pup 90% of the time ; I don't know how to explain it, it sounds wet af and I love it, like a smooth twang/drip in the mids.
@@clmdeprav yes! My Tele has the "no load" tone knob with the center detente thing... Should be standard on every Tele, imho. Just a hair north of center adds enough treble to give the neck pup a bit of cut... Adds huge variety to the guitar, and makes the neck and middle positions way more useful in a live setting!
More than 45 years of owning and playing tele's, I bet I've purchased over 45 selector top hats. Super glue and loctite dont last long. Just like the auto industry, selling parts is more profitable than selling the car. Perhaps Fender makes big profits on guit(car) parts? Your post is fantastic!
i think it's the simplest way to keep the blade switch removable from the inside; if the hat were permanent you'd need to be able to pull the full blade out from the top of the guitar to get the rest of the switch out. fender definitely charges a high premium tho especially for pots
That's not true! I've used superglue for over 40 years and it never failed me. I just put a small amount on the inside of the tip and let it dry. Then I put it back on and it never falls off. Of course I've only had to do this with the cheap guitars. I see that this is a Squire Tele in the video. I use actual CRL switches with the DAKAWARE tip. I haven't had this problem with them - EVER!
I always wondered what that was for. It only comes off on my most expensive and loved Tele. But the sound you produced in this video is why the Tele is the BEST electric guitar EVER!!!!
@@almostnowhere915 well it’s about 90 percent in the fingers and mind but you still need a decent tool...that said nowadays about anything over $900 should get you that
@@matthewprosser5516 the switch cap coming off. They’re generally pretty loose from the factory and prone to coming off when you flick the pickup switch
Blue Loc-Tite might be a better solution, in case you end up needing/wanting to replace the switch cap later on. It would keep it on tighter, but not make it impossible to remove non-destructively.
@@alyssa2242 It's not only about the strength of the glue, but the size and durability of the objects being glued. CA glue _is_ extremely strong when applied properly. Though I suppose using the stuff very sparingly may result in a strong, yet weak enough, hold to pull it back off later. Loc-Tite is still my recommendation though, as it isn't made to be permanent like CA glue is.
My telecaster is the only guitar that I smashed on stage. I did it earlier this year. I am 63 years old. IT WASN'T PART OF THE SHOW. THEN I PICKED UP ONE OF MY SIX PARKER FLY'S THAT I GIG WITH AND WE FINISHED THE SHOW. ONLY MY BAND MATES KNEW I HAD IT WITH THAT PIECE OF GARBAGE!
-Very true! I am not a Tele guy really yet it happened to me not once. The same goes for the Gibson toggle switch, when you are in some action and not careful enough ( I am always hit the button up and down with my little finger) the bloody thing often catapulting itself. Very cool little vid, made me laugh. Thanks! 👍
The Fender Tele knob plastic is super brittle. Mine felt of in less then a year and i didn't play that guitar too often. Every asian tele knockoff has a higher quality switch knob.
i was feeling a little left out cuz i dont have a tele yet, but then i read ur comment and looked at my bare metal les paul toggle switch and now im smiling hahaha
@@heikojakob6491 Lol my Made in China Tele knockoff that cost less than a decent Squire has a wonderful knob. It's a soft plastic, not brittle at all and it grabs the switch nicely, doesn't fall off...
Much underestimated how impressive this style of playing, purely based off timing. Normal people think that some guns ‘n roses or AC/DC riff is impressive, guitarists/musicians die over fairly simple pieces like this being played in perfect time. It’s the perfect 16th notes that do it for me
@@Wooden_iguana14 i'm a big AC/DC fan, borderline die hard but their most technical song guitar wise is Thunderstruck but it is no where near the technicality this song has
@@ewokwarrior2656 it’s a type of super glue that’s hard, yet brittle. You can pull it off if you want to, and it won’t come off when you don’t want. You can find it at any craft store.
@@ben2808 Why just throw that in here??? Absolutely out of place and you're making other true Christians embarrassed by just randomly telling people this...
Yes, you would surmise that Fender would change the design after all of these years. It is held on with a vertical indentation inside the knob which inevitably slips up and off. Those knobs almost always come off on Telecasters, regardless of year , and then you start to wonder.. what are they thinking there at Fender?
@@TeleCaster66 Guitars aren't versatile. Guitarists are. Guitars can be modified. It's up to the guitarists to be able to play a certain genre with them. Strats, Teles, Les Pauls, SGs, Super Strats, Flying Vs, etc... All of them are equally versatile.
TOTALLY did not expect that!🤣 I've never seen your videos before this one, but you managed to gain a subscriber in the 42 seconds it took me to watch it!😎🤙🏽🤘🏽 Nice playing too btw, super smooth and articulate. 🎸
@@kwizzeh They should have set screws to keep that from happening. Check for tiny screws on the side of the knobs and gently snug them down. Not too tight though, you can damage the post . ✌😎👍🎸🎼🎵🎶
They are the perfect guitar for skilled players. They just sound great in the mix and keep everything simple. Good strong tone and the best design Leo ever came up with.
@@user-ew7bq2mw2i I have a Les Paul. Great guitars! But the telecaster wins in the studio with every engineer I've recorded with. They cut in a mix in a very special way. Humbuckers will never get as clean and pristine as true vintage single coils and you can really here it when you play styles of music that need cleans. I play Reggae and Americana/rock/ jam. But It is all subjective 🙌 when I play heavier music I use my flying V and LP for sure.
I always buy blank control plates and replace the switch with a 3-way toggle. I never liked how it was nearly impossible to move from the bridge position to the neck without grabbing the switch with your finger and a thumb. With the toggle I can flip easily in mid strum! Awesome tone and playing!
Many tele players like myself immediately flip the entire control plate around so that the control switch is not where you strum. I always have it flipped during the initial setup. If you don’t solder, it’s maybe a only a $25-40 job done professionally.
You can buy premade Tele plates with three hole for.a toggle. Now, does that plate line up with your Tele? Are those holes big enough for you prefered pots? That is the real issue with that.😉👍✨
Years ago I started super gluing my knobs on any teles or strats that I've owned. I figure the only time I'm going to want to take them back off is when I need to replace a switch and at that point I can just wrench it off with a pair of pliers (which is really fun. HA!). Have not ended up with a bloody hand since. However, I won't be able to take it off mid song and play muted plastic slide guitar. That's fun stuff - great video!! Mike
I lost mine! Yeah, I replaced it, but it's just NOT THE SAME. My old one had a certain smoothness, a certain contour, that the new one just doesn't have. I know you don't ever love again quite as hard as the first time, but damnit i miss that little doohickey. The style of all the available replacements also vary ever so slightly from the stock '83 one. I know, it's not a big deal - but it IS a big deal. /Salute to all those who have loved and lost.
I found an adhesive that will hold the switch tip to the metal lever. It’s no small feat to find an adhesive that will stick to both plastic and plated steel, yet still let go if the knob has to come off for switch replacement. Buy a green banana, one that is so green that it’s hard. The peel of way-not-ripe yet bananas has sticky sap in it that is amazing, just don’t get any on your skin!
If you don't want to use any glue, my trick is to get a pair of end nippers and make little indents in the metal. The tip stays on pretty well after that.
No need to buy anything, just pick a juicy booger and apply it to the end of the metal tip, press the cap back on and within 24 hours it is secure as any glue.
First of all, I love the video, and that guitar playing. Second of all, I’m interested to know what alternate tuning he’s playing in. Judging by the open G he plays on the A string, I would guess that he might be playing in the same tuning that Keith Richards, from the Rolling Stones, uses. Which is 1st string/thickest string - D, 2nd string - G, 3rd string - D, 4th string - G, 5th string - B, and 6th string/thinnest string - D. Keith has applied it to quite a few of their songs - Start Me Up and Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’ come to mind, especially. But then that section at 0:17 confused me. He was strumming on the 9th fret of the G string. But he was playing a D note. Not an E note, which would play if the string was tuned to G. Now, the G string would stay in G if the guitar was in Keith’s tuning, because the tuning of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th strings stay the same as they would in standard tuning. D, G, D, G, B, D. | | | E, A, D, G, B, E. Now, if he were strumming on the 9th fret of the G string if it was tuned to G, that cause an E note to be played. So when I saw him playing the 9th fret, but causing a D note to ring out, that led me to believe that the tuning he’s playing in is more than likely just the same standard tuning, but brought down a whole step. E, A, D, G, B, E D, G, C, F, A, D I don’t know. I just wanted to make an educated guess as to what tuning he was playing in. That’s all I’m saying.
@@Metal_Auditor Convention. It's useful in guitars with more strings: a 7-string guitar or 5-string bass usually has the 7th/5th string at a lower note than the 6th/4th so you don't have to relabel the standard strings or do something like call the extra the 0th string.
I’ve been a tele guy for a long time and I really like the tele switch placement. It might just be familiarity, but I reach down with the middle finger on my right hand and switch it that way. It is a little harder to grab when it’s in the bridge position though - it gets pretty close to the volume pot. I don’t feel like I’m in danger of hitting it when I’m playing though which is part of the reason why I like it better than the switch on some other guitars. All personal preference though!
A couple of solutions here. The quickest fix is to buy a Strat style knob, those do not come off as easy. The no expense solution is to flip the control plate, flip the three way around (so the switch works intuitively), and to switch the pots around so it's a Volume/Tone/Switch setup. I found both of these (and one Tele with a flipped jack and a Strat tip but it has a Bigsby) work very well for this problem. I also have a Tele (I have around six variations) with a a normal control layout like this and I mastered long ago the habit of refraining from grabbing the tip in this manner. For a new Standard Telecaster style model, my go to fix is to flip the plate and controls around. It costs nothing and might require a little bit of electronics work if the factory were cheapskates and gave you shortened wires. I usally replace all the guts anyways so not really an issue for me. Buying a plate with the angled slide helps but if you are "grabby grabby" with the knob like the video, it is only going to help so much. The moral of this story... Don't play like a knob!🤔😜
First thing I do when I get a new Tele is pull that knob off, toss it, smack the tele against something, break the bottom string and start playing the blues.
I love my telecaster, but one night at a party that knob feel off. I was drinking and started aggressively strumming like a jackwagon, and before I knew it I had sliced the palm of my hand. If the knob falls off, just tape the switch with masking tape to avoid that.
An easy fix for this is to take a wire cutter and pinch the metal of the switch. You'll make a little crimp in the sides that will hold the switch tip in place.
Just add one or two layers of thin double sided tape to the lever and slide the plastic cap on. it will adhere strongly very soon but removable if needed. Worked well for me.
I’m a little OCD and when I play my vintage 52 reissue at a gig I’m always thinking about my knob flying off in the dark and going home knobless! It’s a very stressful part of performing. 😂✌️❤️🇦🇺
Got my first Tele a couple years ago, played it about a week before I flipped the control plate around. Didn’t bother swapping the volume/tone pots so it could be put back easily. It took a little while to get used to but works better for me. The way I play that pick-up selector switch is in just the wrong place.
Had that happen while playing on stage recently, went to switch from neck to bridge with a quick flip of the wrist. Selector switch stayed on neck pickup and the cap went flying into the crowd haha
Cut a very short piece of a rubber band, stretch it over the tip of the switch and press the plastic bit down on the tip. Did this 8 years ago and mine hasn’t budged since.
IIRC the Japanese MIJ pickup selector pole is thinner than the American one when I was building teles, I recall US parts were larger with thicker poles and boy they really made a tight fit one thing no doubt tho, telecaster is the ultimate electric
Sounds amazing! I have a Warwick $$ 5 string bass and I play Victor Wooten. The one thing that bothers me is I often turn down the volume knob when I’m playing.
I actually have a bullet tele and it’s never had an issue with the knobs. I actually had to pry it off with quite a bit of force because I wanted to know if it came out or not
Played a tele at the shop back in December, i couldn't believe that knob fell off, cheap strings, and over dislike of it overall. Bought a Harley Benton DB tele style and love it sounded and plays better. Looks better too
