I traded a USA-made Strat for this Mexican Tele. 13 years later, I don’t regret it one bit.
This is my Baja Tele. It’s done a lot of gigs. It’s been modded to exactly what I want. And today I want to tell you why I changed it, and what I changed.
First, some context.
I used to work in a guitar shop. I’d always wanted a Tele in classic butterscotch blonde, and when this Baja came in, I fell in love with it straight away. So I swapped a 1993 USA Strat for it.
I know some people think that’s insane, a USA-made guitar for a Mexican one. But I’ve had this guitar for 13 years now, and I’ve never once wished I’d kept the Strat.
Why I Modded It
Two things really annoyed me on gigs.
The S1 switching. The Baja has a four-way blade switch instead of the classic three-way. The fourth position, or what I’d call the first position, moved the neck pickup one click further away. So mid-gig, when I wanted that classic Tele neck sound, I’d flip the switch all the way to the back and land on something else every time. That’s a nightmare when you’re playing live and you’re not looking down.
There were also some out-of-phase sounds on the S1 switch. Honestly, I found them totally useless. I never used them.
The stock pickups. Too bright, too noisy, and ice-pick-like in the highs. I just didn’t like them.
So I decided to change it.
What I Changed
I hunted around on eBay and found a set of Bare Knuckle Flat 50s pickups. I had those installed, and at the same time I had the S1 switch completely ripped out and a classic three-way Tele switch put in.
Shout out to my good friend Mat, who did all of that work for me.
And here’s the nice bit. I sold the S1 switch on eBay, which helped pay for the pickups.
Now it’s a straight-up classic Tele. No gimmicks, just exactly how I like it.
How It Sounds Now
In the video I run through clean, slightly dirtier, and dirty sounds, in the neck, middle and bridge positions.
It’s got that classic Tele sound going on. It’s got the twang. It’s got that mid-range kind of sparkle to it as well.
I prefer the Bare Knuckle pickups. They’ve just got so much more character, so much more body, so much more bite. Much more aggressive. Much more of that classic Tele sound.
I’ve had a lot of compliments on this guitar over the years. The best one was about 11 years ago. I did a session in London for a producer, and at the end he said the guitar sounded great on the recording. He even offered to buy it off me.
That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said about any guitar of mine. And fortunately I didn’t take his offer. I didn’t sell it.
How It Compares
I’ve also got a Richie Kotzen Tele, and I’ve got an Ibanez AZ Tele as well, though I couldn’t tell you the exact model number off the top of my head.
The Kotzen is a brilliant guitar. But as I said in that review, the Chopper T is an excellent pickup, it’s just not as Tele-like as a classic Telecaster bridge. It doesn’t twang quite the same.
If you want that traditional Tele twang, this kind of guitar is for you. With some Bare Knuckle pickups in it, you can’t go wrong. If you want a humbucker with a little bit of a Tele voicing, get the Richie Kotzen Tele.
They’re different tools, and I would not be without either one of them.
The Verdict
Would I sell it? No. I’ve had it 13 years.
You can see the battle scars on it. I put one of those on there myself. It’s marked, it’s dinged, it’s great. It’s a tool. I love it.
If you’ve got a Baja Tele and you’re happy with the S1 switching, that’s great. If you’re happy with the stock pickups, that’s awesome as well. Plenty of people love it. It wasn’t for me.
But I love the way this guitar played. I love the way it felt, and I love the way it looked. I just wanted a straight-up classic butterscotch blonde Tele with a little bit of a pickup upgrade.
I’m not sure if Fender still make this as a stock production item anymore, but they do come up second-hand. If you get the chance to grab one, I’d highly recommend it. You can get a great sounding Tele without spending custom shop money.
Would you trade a USA guitar for a Mexican one? Let me know in the comments.
And if you’re in or around Colchester and want help getting the most out of whatever guitar you’ve got, book a one-to-one lesson with me. You can see all the options on my pricing page.
Until next time, take care and enjoy your guitar playing.