Left Is The New Right

NO POLITICS HERE.

Sorry to burst your bubble, this isn't a political post.  

This article is about Fender Telecaster style right handed and left handed bridge plates.  It can apply to Fender Stratocaster style guitars too, but this article focuses on Telecaster style guitars.(Fender, Telecaster and Stratocaster are trademarks of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation)

What Is The Difference?

Have you ever looked closely at a Tele style bridge plate?  

Have you ever wondered why the bridge pickup is at an angle? 

Here are pictures of right handed and left handed Tele style bridge plates.  Take a look at the angles of the slot for the pickup.

LEFT HANDED BRIDGE PLATE

RIGHT HANDED BRIDGE PLATE

 

 

 

 

 

(The bridge plates pictures are Gotoh hardware sold by Warmoth Guitar Products)

Why Angled?

I have always thought the story behind the pickup angle is interesting, at least the version I've read about.  The Tele bridge pickup was designed to help to push high notes (from the plain thinner strings) at a volume that makes the high notes sit in the mix, rather than the high notes being buried by the low end notes from the thick strings. 

Apparently, back in the day, there was some engineering thing about getting the treble tones to cut through the overall sound.

There is a lot of science behind how notes resonate and how that works with guitar strings of different size, material and design, how that works with the pickup magnets and electronics, and on to the amplifier and speakers.  My eyes glaze over and my brain shuts down after I read too much of that stuff.  So, I will spare you the agony.  ...moving on.  

If you've played guitar, electric guitar in particular, you know that the sound is much brighter and high pitch sounding closer to the bridge/tailpiece.  Basically, the string vibration is tighter closer to the bridge, resulting is a brighter tone.  By angling the pickup such that the thinnest strings pass over the pickup at positions closest to the bridge, the brighter tones created  closer to the bridge are picked up through the pickup. 

That is one of the main factors in the bright cutting tone of a Fender Telecaster, and Stratocasters for that matter.   

For me personally, that is also the main reason I don't like the classic Fender Telecaster sound; I don't want the ice pick, quack, bright sound coming from my guitar.

Left Is The New Right

Don't get me wrong, I like the feel and play-ability of a Tele style guitar.  I love my FrankenTele guitar.  Mine is kind of like the Nashville Telecaster, with three pickups instead of two, but different.

Focusing on the bridge pickup, at different times I've installed Humbuckers and P-90 pickups, using a bridge plate with a Humbucker pickup slot, which are not angled. 

Now, I am thinking I want to try a Lindy Fralin Blues Special Tele Bridge pickup, because I like the tone of those pickups. 

When that happens the humbucker bridge plate will be replaced with an angled Left Handed Tele lead bridge plate.  Why?  Because I want the higher treble strings to have a richer signing tone, and I want the lower strings to not resonate the lower bass notes as much.

The result: warmer high notes and less intense low notes.  At least, that's the plan.

Enjoy the Music!

Jimmy