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| HOME | CUSTOM GUITARS | UPGRADES | ON SALE & READY TO SHIP | ENTER THE VOODOO LOUNGE | GALLERY | ||
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Brand New Light Weight Fender Solid Swamp Ash Body!
Gorgeous Premium Transparent Butterscotch Blonde Finish!
Genuine Fender American Deluxe One Piece Maple Neck!
Superb Duncan '59 Humbucker at the Neck!
Amazing Duncan Strat Vintage Rails in the Middle!
Twangin' Duncan Vintage Stack at the Bridge!
7 Pickup Combinations plus Blender!
Modern Fender 6 Saddle Chrome-Plated Solid Brass Bridge
Modern 9.5 Inch Fretboard Radius and Medium Jumbo Frets!
Gorgeous Abalone Dot Inlays, and Highly Detailed Fretwork!
Fender G & G Blonde & Black Tolex Hard Shell Case Included!
All Papers & Accessories!
Only The Best!
Here comes another unique and tasty Pat's Guitars Voodoo Lounge Edition Telecaster, freshly baked and made from only the finest ingredients, in a Triple Voodoo" configuration. This brand new guitar is a delicious stew of the best, all new Fender USA and Seymour Duncan components, in a configuration that is just as unique as the player who orders one today. This Tele has so many fine features that it will take some time to show and describe everything you need to know.
This is the right guitar for the player who is looking for quality, value, and a mountain of tone and playability. Before moving on, just one more warning and an apology. I have included many high resolution images in this description, and if you are on a dial-up Internet connection it is going take some time for all of them to load. I apologize for that, but if you'll kindly be patient and allow them to pop into view, I think you'll agree that seeing the photographs will be very worthwhile.
Lots of people love the look of the famous 1952 Telecasters and wish that Fender would offer that look on Tele's with more modern features than one finds on the 52 Reissue. Lots of people also love the special look and sound of the the legendary Tele owned by Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones -which he named Micawber- that features an old Gibson "PAF" humbucker in the neck position.
This Telecaster will satisfy all of those desires, and more, thanks to a highly versatile three pickup combination and powerful player friendly control layout that uses all three pickups to maximum effect! The beautiful guitar has been carefully thought out and lovingly restored from only the very finest genuine Fender USA components.
Let's take a tour of this very special musician's guitar:
The foundation of this Telecaster is a brand new top-of-the-line Fender American Deluxe Ash Telecaster. I hand-picked this Tele to upgrade because of it's exceptional woods and inlays, light weight, and amazing tone.
This fine Telecaster's body is made from Southern swamp ash. In that species of ash, the portion of the tree that is suitable for premium quality lightweight guitar wood is actually submerged under water for years, which yields a porous and gloriously light wood. This premium species of ash delivers both a deep low-end and crisp, bell-like highs. Swamp Ash is what Leo Fender originally used for the earliest (and best) Telecasters he built in the 1950's, and today it shows up only rarely in Fender's best solid-bodied electrics. Swamp ash is the mother-of-all woods when it comes to tone for the Fender Telecaster model.
The best pieces of swamp ash are porous and light, which adds to the natural resonance of the wood.
Check the weight on any Telecaster you are considering, and don't get stuck with a toneless "brick."
The gorgeous transparent butterscotch blonde finish reveals and highlights every detail in the grain of the ash. The finish is thin, and allows the body to resonate properly. The toning of the blonde is just right, less "butter" yellow than the finish on so many of Fender's reissues, and to my eyes it is far more beautiful than most (more "scotch" in the butter!). Can you spot a seam in this body?
Isn't that butterscotch blonde beautiful over the grain? This top-of-the-line American Deluxe Telecaster body is just out of this world. It rings like a bell. It feels alive against your body as you play, and it sounds good even when you are unplugged. And it is an absolutely beautiful piece of wood, true eye candy for anyone that loves the look of classic swamp ash -- the mother-of-all wood for Telecasters.
I've installed a beautiful thick Black Satin custom cut pickguard with a beveled edge. Only the best!
The bridge is the modern Fender American Deluxe solid brass chrome-plated bridge. The heavy solid brass bridge plate adds to the guitar's amazing tone and sustain, and the smoothly machined heavy brass chrome-plated saddles provide a friction-free string path, easy and accurate adjustment of intonation and action on every string, and excellent tone. There is no "lip" around the rim of the bridge (like on the light-weight stamped metal vintage-type Tele bridge), so there is nothing to get in the way of your right hand technique while playing. This is the most advanced Telecaster bridge available, and the right choice if you want only the best for tone, correct intonation on every string, and complete playability.
Now let's talk about pickups and electronics.
My very popular "Classic" Voodoo Lounge model uses a Duncan Antiquity humbucker at the neck and a Duncan Hot Rails at the bridge. It would have been simple to add a third pickup to that combination, but instead I have spent months experimenting with countless pickups and control schemes in search of a three pickup Telecaster with the very best possible tones in every combination, matched with controls that are uncluttered, easy and intuitive to use, and which will produce the widest possible array of great sounds. After long hours of development, here's the outcome.
The bridge pickup is a Seymour Duncan Vintage Stack. The Vintage Rails produces outstanding twangy Tele leads with the classic 50's style vintage Tele single coil tone. Just like the Tele pickups, it is yarn-wrapped with a copper base-plate. But guess what? It isn't really a single coil. This amazing Duncan pickup utilizes a stacked coil arrangement to create a noise-free humbucker that fits in a single coil space. You'll love this pickup for your leads, and you'll love the crisp Tele bite you'll hear when the Vintage Rails blends with the other pickups in the Triple Voodoo.
The middle pickup is a Seymour Duncan Vintage Rails for Strat. What a fine pickup this is! Clean and clear Strat bell tones, lot of chime and transparent glassy sounds, with just the right output to balance well with the other two pickups (I tried the Hot Stack, as used in Brent Mason design and the copies you often see, but its hot output strikes me as inappropriate for the middle position....the Duncan Duckbucker is a good choice but the string spread on the Modern Tele bridge is just not right for the pole placement on the Duckbucker). The Vintage Rails for Strat gives you the unmistakable Stratocaster sound, and brings a whole new tonal dimension into the Voodoo Lounge.
And what about that Humbucker in the neck position? This is the classic humbucking pickup for PAF tone: Seymour Duncan's '59 humbucker!
The '59 is very similar to the Antiquity pickup used in my 2 pickup "Classic" Voodoo Lounge Edition, in fact you could think of it as an Antiquity that is machine wound and not given the "relic" treatment. Tonally the two are quite similar, with classic fat and creamy PAF tone. I find the '59 to be just a little brighter (though just as warm) and that slight pinch of added brightness results in the most pleasing tone when blending with either or both of the other two pickups in the Triple Voodoo. The '59, like the Antiquity, is an outrageously accurate reproduction of the late 1950's Gibson PAF's. Seymour worked closely during the 1990's with Seth Lover, the man who developed the PAF's, and Seymour learned the inside scoop from Seth. Seymour even bought the old machinery Gibson used "back in the day" in Kalamazoo to craft the pickups that secured Gibson's place in electric guitar history. This is a great humbucker for the big Les Paul tone we all crave. Some three pickup Teles will settle for a mini-humbucker at the neck, but I did not want a thinner sounding neck pickup - this is a Tele that can make the classic full bodied sound of the PAF era. At Pat's Guitars "only the best" is good enough.
You may notice that I have mounted the pickup right side up with the pole pieces nearest the lower edge of the neck. Keith mounted his PAF in his original "Micawber" upside down, in order to achieve a slighter brighter sound at the neck position. I love the way it sounds, but if you'd prefer the pickup in the Micawber orientation, I'll be happy to set it up that way before shipping, just let me know you'd like me to turn it around at the time of payment.
This '59 PAF, Vintage Rails and Vintage Stack pickup combination has simply INCREDIBLE tone, and thanks to the true humbucking design of all three pickups, and the complete shielding in the body, this Tele will stay dead quiet at idle.
A major design goal of the Triple Voodoo was to create a control layout that preserves the clean, simple, user-friendly classic Tele set-up, with the best possible exploitation of the full potential of this terrific Duncan pickup combination. Some Teles try to incorporate controls for a third pickup by adding a third knob in between the other two, and/or by adding push-pulls. I have never liked crowding a Tele's control plate with a third knob, or having to work push-pulls or toggles. After much experimentation, I came up with what I consider the most elegant and powerful solution.
The Triple Voodoo stays with one switch and just two well spaced control knobs. However the switch is a five way, giving you the same five pickup combinations you can select on a modern Stratocaster, and I added a "blender" control in a concentric knob arrangement under the master tone control.
Here is what the blender will add to each of the five switch positions:
Switch Position |
without blender |
Blender adds: |
with blender |
1 |
Bridge |
Blends in neck pickup |
Bridge/Neck |
2 |
Bridge/Middle |
Blends in neck pickup |
Bridge/Middle/Neck |
3 |
Middle |
- nothing - |
Middle |
4 |
Middle/Neck |
Blends in bridge pickup |
Bridge/Middle/Neck |
5 |
Neck |
Blends in bridge pickup |
Neck/Bridge |
As you can see, the blender extends the basic 5 positions on the switch to all 7 possible combinations. The blender also allows you to fine tune the degree of the blend, so if you simply want to warm up the lead tone with just a little of the neck, you can just bring it slightly. Likewise if you want a little more edge at the neck position, you can blend in just a little of the bridge. You can shape your tone in what feels like an infinite number of ways. Some Teles use a blender to just bring in the middle pickup in a standard Tele three-way switching arrangement, but this Triple Voodoo layout is much more powerful, blending whatever pickup is not already selected on the switch, as well as giving you the five standard Strat-style switch positions plus the traditional Tele Neck + Bridge, and the BIG sound of all three pickups together. 7 sounds, and the power to blend.
That's the Triple Voodoo Advantage!
And if you prefer no blender, it can be left out, upon request. But I think you'll love what the blender adds to the Triple Voodoo.
TWO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE "TRIPLE VOODOO" CONTROLS:
Question: My question is about the blender pot. When it is all the way down, does it still allow any signal from the other pickup to come through?
Answer: NO. When my blender is rotated down, the blend effect is completely off, and the only signal you will hear is the pickup that is already selected on the switch.
Think of the blender as a volume control dedicated only to the added pickup. That's really what it is. When the master volume on your present guitar is all the way down, is there any signal coming out of your guitar? NO. The blender works the same way. You will not hear the blended pickup at all when the blender is all the way down. When you leave the blender down, the signal passing through the 5 way switch is the same as if there was no blender at all. Anyone who might tell you otherwise is either using inferior or incorrect parts that allow a signal "bleed," or that person simply does not understand how to properly set up a blender.
Question: My question is about concentric knobs. Do they ever stick together so that I will accidentally turn one while turning the other?
Answer: NO. Unlike a crowded three knob layout, or push-pull pots, the beauty of the high end CTS concentric controls is the fact that you will never turn a knob that you don't mean to turn. Turning the tone knob will not also rotate the blender control, and turning the blender knob will not also rotate the blender control. The two knobs do not bind together, you won't bump anything accidentally, and you will enjoy all the open space between the concentric controls at the back and the volume knob at the front that you have on a conventional 2 pickup Tele control layout. So my Triple Voodoo system is the most easy to use and "accident-free" system available for expanding the power of a Tele's tonal range with 3 pickups, 7 combinations, and the power to blend.
That's the Triple Voodoo Advantage!
This body is fully shielded in every one of the pickup and control cavities, and every cavity is grounded to every other, and grounded in turn to the controls, using only vintage cloth-covered wire, for absolutely dead quiet operation. You'll see other guitars that are shielded in the pickup cavities only, and/or without the point-to-point grounding that is needed to effectively box out all noise and interference. But at Pat's Guitars, "only the best" is good enough.
Consistent with the top quality of these pickups, the controls are equally first rate. he switch is a genuine USA CRL 5 way switch. The CRL switch has a real coil spring, just as they did in the 50's and 60's. Most newer Fenders use a cheaper form of switch, one that does not have the same positive contact, and the same satisfying feel of the click, that these more expensive and durable old-school CRL switches have. The control wiring is neat and tidy, as you'd expect from Pat's Guitars, using high quality vintage style cloth covered push back wire, just like the kind that was used in Leo Fender's day. The volume, blender, and tone controls are all genuine USA CTS 500K control pots with a real SPRAGUE "Orange Drop" .022 microfarad tone capacitor (ask any tube amp tech about why Sprague capacitors set the industry standard for great audiophile-quality tone and long life!).
Also please note that I have completed the control harness with the perfect finishing touch: my very popular resistor-capacitor volume kit. If you have a good ear, you have probably noticed that when you roll off the volume control on a guitar your tone changes. There is a subtle yet significant treble roll-off that occurs along with the volume roll-off. Although the treble cut in the volume control is not nearly as steep as the treble roll-off that occurs with your tone control, it is still strong enough to annoy any player who makes much use of the volume control on his or her guitar. The treble loss problem is solved on this Telecaster, thanks to a 1000pf capacitor and a 220K resistor wired together to the volume pot, which work to eliminate the usual loss of high frequencies at lower volume settings. Finally your volume control will only cut your volume, it will not cut your highs as well!
A weak spot in many Telecasters is the jack design, Tele jacks tend to get loose and noisy with the passage of time. There is only one solution that works, and this guitar has it: the patented "electro-socket," in combination with a military spec Switchcraft jack.
The jack itself is a military spec Switchcraft USA part. It may look somewhat similar, but it is designed completely differently than the standard Switchcraft version normally used in even high-end guitars. This uprated part has an extra layer, with the ground contact nearest the base of the plug (where it belongs), and other enhanced features including superior silver plated contacts. Again, only the very best.
The electrosocket secures directly to the body, and will not wiggle or come loose over time. Your cable snaps in with a solid and satisfying click, then stays rigid in the jack. No more static and noise. The electro-socket has that special look of quality too, with its "bowl-shaped" rather than "cup-shaped" contours.
In 2006, the Electro-Socket name and patented design came under new ownership, and production was out-sourced overseas. The new import version is of very high quality, but I am proud to have located a significant quantity of New Old Stock American-made electro-sockets, built in Oregon before the buy-out, and I bought I every last one of them. I use these USA electrosockets only in my Voodoo Lounge Series Guitars, and you won't find them elsewhere.
What about the neck?
The neck is a brand new Fender USA American Deluxe Ash Telecaster neck. The neck is crafted from a single piece of maple (no laminated separate fretboard). It features beautifully figured grain, and a gorgeous satiny-smooth polished satin finish with a vintage tint. The tint is just the right coloration for the transition from the Butterscotch Blonde body.
This neck is a very special combination of vintage "mojo" and the advanced features that modern players need. The neck has the classic back contour, correct headstock logo and round string tree of the 52 Reissue, to give a correct 1952 appearance.
But appearances can be deceiving, because the construction of this neck is thoroughly modern. It has the Fender bi-flex truss rod system, with a convenient adjustment at the headstock.
Instead of the skinny frets and the round 7.25" fingerboard radius of the vintage reissues, this guitar has the modern medium-jumbo frets and a flatter, more modern 9.5 inch fretboard radius, so this guitar will allow long, buttery string bends, and low buzz-free action. The American Deluxe neck has Fender's most highly detailed fret and nut work, with rolled fretboard edges for that comfortable broken-in feeling. Pat's Guitars leaves the natural patina of the nickel fretwire in place (we don't hold the fretboard to a buffing wheel to impose a garish un-natural shine). And as an added touch of beauty, this neck sports choice paua abalone shell dot inlays along the fretboard, which flash glints of firey color from the golden amber maple backdrop. This beautiful maple neck is a player's dream come true!
This neck features Fender's state-of-the art sealed Schaller-built chrome tuning machines. These tuner have the Fender logo engraved on the back, and feature staggered height pegs that ensure every string will cross the nut at the precisely correct angle.
Now I can install the standard Fender chrome neck plate, but unless that's your preference your guitar will be shipped with the Pat's Guitars deluxe engraved chrome plate!
The real Fender-Schaller strap lock system is included too, so you need never worry about damaging this beautiful guitar by a fall from the strap.
The Tele definitely has it all and will give you a "bigger bang" for your buck. This guitar has all of the virtues of the great Teles of the 1950's, mixed with some terrific modern enhancements like strap locks, the updated jack design, state-of-the-art body and finish work, and the amazing "Triple Voodoo" pickup and control layout. It really is difficult to stop looking at this guitar, especially the absolutely entrancing butterscotch-over-ash body.
I know it is a cliché to make the following two statements in an eBay guitar description, but this instrument truly does "play like butter," and the pictures truly "do not do it any justice." If you think it looks nice in the photos, wait till you see it in "real life." It is a very special guitar that shows excellence in every aspect.
Pat's Guitars: where beauty meets tone!
Who are those guys, anyway?... Back to business-
The greatest guitars deserve only the best in protection and so this guitar will come to the buyer in a genuine Fender Custom Shop G & G 1962 style Blonde Tolex plush-lined hardshell case. This is the same case shipped with the Fender Artist Series Eric Johnson Stratocaster. The case has bound leather ends with white piping and locking hardware. This is in my opinion the most perfect case for a butterscotch Tele -- blonde and black just like the guitar! You also get the key, complete owner's literature from Fender, a Fender leather strap, original retail hang tags, strap locks, all the original Seymour Duncan paperwork and packaging, adjustment wrenches, and more. The guitar is strung with a fresh set of DR Pure Blues hand wound .010 - .046 strings, and it is beautifully set up by Pat's Guitars with low easy action and perfect intonation.
All this guitar needs now is a happy new owner, LIKE YOU!
Any imperfections? None...Zero...it is perfect and pristine, everything is new, it is perfection!
Where else can you buy a Fender USA Tele:
with a light American Deluxe solid swamp ash butterscotch body?
also with the one piece maple abalone-inlaid American Deluxe neck?
also with the superb modern heavy chrome & brass American Deluxe bridge?
also with the "vintage-modern" neck, tuners, and bridge combination?
also with the superb Duncan '59 PAF, Vintage Rails and Vintage Stack pickup array?
also with the 7 pickup switching and blender combination?
also with the hand wired premium control layout using vintage cloth wire, and the electro-socket?
and also with the premium Fender G & G Vintage Blonde & Black Hard Shell case?
So like I said at the outset: This is an auction for the resale of a previously owned (though unused) guitar with upgrades. I am sure that the good people of Fender Musical Instruments would want you to understand that this guitar does not come with any warranty from Fender, since it is now previously owned (by me) and has been reconfigured to a much higher level of excellence.
This is not some "Franken-Tele" thrown together from left-over parts, by some person who spends his or her evenings screwing mis-matched resprayed used guitar parts together and copying other listings for fun and profit. Unfortunately, there are a LOT of those amateur-made mutant "parts guitars" roaming the back alleys at places like eBay and ("by some strange coincidence") some of these "Monkey See" sellers appear to mimic my designs, my presentation style, and even my fonts, phrases, images, and camera angles. So be careful, compare feature-to-feature, and don't get confused or misled by a copycat and end up with a "Putrefaction Edition" instead of a Voodoo Lounge, because the amateur builders that sell these mutant parts guitars on eBay often can't distinguish their frets from their nuts, if you know what I mean!
This beautiful Pat's Guitars Voodoo Lounge Edition American Deluxe Ash Telecaster is something else completely.
This is a tastefully restored and upgraded guitar, made using ONLY the highest quality authentic Fender USA and Seymour Duncan elements, which compliment each other in complete harmony, and which together result in a guitar that is unique (and to many eyes so much finer) than any mass produced corporate product. Most importantly, the construction was carried out by a respected professional who operates a legitimate full-service guitar business.
Guitars ARE my business, not something I dabble in, and guitars are my passion in life. This is your avenue to a completely special and unique guitar. The tone, the feel, and the appearance of this 2009 American Deluxe Ash Triple Voodoo Edition Telecaster are all nothing short of exceptional. Life is just too short to play mediocre guitars. I think you've earned the very best, don't you agree?
What Buyers Are Saying About Pat's Guitars Voodoo Lounge Edition:
I just spent 4 hours playing my new Tele.
Phenomenal.
Fantastic tone, solid action...not too tight...not too sloppy...freaking perfect.
YOU are THE man my friend.
My appreciation for a job very well done.
What Strats do you have available? I'm ready pal.
Any Gibsons? Again...ready!
Bud P. (Livonia, MI)
Hi Pat
The Telecaster arrived about two hours ago. I have been playing it for two hours!!!!!!!!!!!! HOLY S@!T!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This guitar feels like it's been played for ten years. The neck is so nicely rounded and comfortable. It looks fantastic! The vintage color of the body and neck are just outstanding. And the setup is remarkable. I just tuned it up and away I went. The playability is absolutely first rate. This guitar plays like one that you have in your dreams, because the real ones never quite measure up. Everything is in tune at every point of the neck, it sounds good everywhere. And for a Tele, the sustain and the tone up at the octave are just awesome.
The clarity, the absolute no hum clean signal it gives, and the sound of the guitar is just so appealing. I'm playing it at the moment through a small vintage Carvin tube amp because my Mesa Boogie needs some new tubes, but even through the Carvin, it is just so toneful. And with a tube amp, it has that amazing stretchy feel of tone to it.
This is a true professional guitar!! I love the case and all the fun stuff, but it's the quality and the perfect attention to detail that really knocks me out. There's no substitute for people that are in love with their craft, taking the time to do it right. And all of the little tricks that you learn over the years that almost can go unnoticed. Except I noticed.
This is a lifetime keeper!!! I had to swallow hard to buy this guitar from you. I guess seeing all of those beautiful digital photos made me believe that you would take the same care on a guitar. Of course I feel like a genius now having decided to get this guitar. Just amazing!!!!! As soon as I send you this e-mail, I'll leave you the most positive feedback I can think of.
Another extremely happy customer!!!!!!
All the best,
Randy F. (Southern California)
