nightlight
Well-known member
Bought this guitar earlier today, it's an ESP Ronnie Wood signature telecaster. Here are some pictures.
Apparently Wood has been playing these guitars in concert for the last 20+ years.
Some light scratches and stuff, but not bad for a guitar that was purchased from Sam Ash in the early 90s. Completely stock.
I played for a few hours today to try and figure out whether it was a keeper, and so far, I really like what I'm hearing. It's very different from the other guitars I own, I was really digging the single coil bridge pickup. It is as people describe, a very twangy sound.
But what really surprised me was how it responded to playing dynamics. Gently strum it and it's a kitty cat, crash down on the strings and it roars like a lion. A very rock and roll sound, that also sounded ridiculously gorgeous when playing clean tones.
I wasn't too impressed with the neck humbucker though, at first it was very muddy on the bass end of the spectrum. Got out my screwdriver and lowered it and it was better but there was still a lot of mud. I then lowered it all the way into the cavity and did the same on the treble side.
This was much better, but there was now a volume difference between the bridge and neck, so I raised the treble side of the pickup to balance things out.
In the end, I only got a sound that I think was passable on the neck, so I need to experiment with its height some more to see if I can get it to sound as gorgeous as the bridge.
But I could definitely live on the bridge pickup. It has such a sweet clean sound, I spent almost two hours with some reverb and delay on a clean patch noodling away.
I really like the finish as well. It's almost like a chameleon - from some angles it looks dark blue, while from others it looks teal.
I had actually seen the guitar a while ago and thought, "Nah, that's not for me."
Then I was doing some reading about the guitar during my free time and saw an interview where Bill Kelliher said that he used it extensively for clean tones while recording Hushed and Grim.
In his words, "It's the best sounding Tele ever." So I just had to acquire it and see what the guitar was all about. Of course, he's an ESP endorsee, so I take what he says with a pinch of salt.
But it's quite an exquisite instrument to play. I loved how silky the fretboard was and how the guitar had tonnes of sustain. Quality is right up there, great fit and finish and eminently playable.
I'll try to put up a video of some clean tones, and maybe some crunch sounds.
Apparently Wood has been playing these guitars in concert for the last 20+ years.
Some light scratches and stuff, but not bad for a guitar that was purchased from Sam Ash in the early 90s. Completely stock.
I played for a few hours today to try and figure out whether it was a keeper, and so far, I really like what I'm hearing. It's very different from the other guitars I own, I was really digging the single coil bridge pickup. It is as people describe, a very twangy sound.
But what really surprised me was how it responded to playing dynamics. Gently strum it and it's a kitty cat, crash down on the strings and it roars like a lion. A very rock and roll sound, that also sounded ridiculously gorgeous when playing clean tones.
I wasn't too impressed with the neck humbucker though, at first it was very muddy on the bass end of the spectrum. Got out my screwdriver and lowered it and it was better but there was still a lot of mud. I then lowered it all the way into the cavity and did the same on the treble side.
This was much better, but there was now a volume difference between the bridge and neck, so I raised the treble side of the pickup to balance things out.
In the end, I only got a sound that I think was passable on the neck, so I need to experiment with its height some more to see if I can get it to sound as gorgeous as the bridge.
But I could definitely live on the bridge pickup. It has such a sweet clean sound, I spent almost two hours with some reverb and delay on a clean patch noodling away.
I really like the finish as well. It's almost like a chameleon - from some angles it looks dark blue, while from others it looks teal.
I had actually seen the guitar a while ago and thought, "Nah, that's not for me."
Then I was doing some reading about the guitar during my free time and saw an interview where Bill Kelliher said that he used it extensively for clean tones while recording Hushed and Grim.
In his words, "It's the best sounding Tele ever." So I just had to acquire it and see what the guitar was all about. Of course, he's an ESP endorsee, so I take what he says with a pinch of salt.
But it's quite an exquisite instrument to play. I loved how silky the fretboard was and how the guitar had tonnes of sustain. Quality is right up there, great fit and finish and eminently playable.
I'll try to put up a video of some clean tones, and maybe some crunch sounds.
