Ask Zac

Leo Fender was heavily influenced by the work of Paul Bigsby in the late 1940s, yet in all of the interviews he did, he never acknowledged it. Today we look at both the influences, and the reasons why Leo did not give the credit that Paul Bigsby deserved for his innovations that filtered into every Fender guitar. 

To help us, we have an amazing copy of the 1948 Bigsby "Merle Travis" guitar, that clearly spotlights the influence on the Fender Telecaster, Stratocaster, and just about every instrument that Leo designed.

Amazon affiliate links:
The Bigsby Book by Andy Babuik
https://amzn.to/4iwxtO6

Sixteen Tons, By Merle Travis & Deke Dickerson
https://amzn.to/4hgE6mC
 
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I love Peavey amps from the early-to-mid 1980s, because I grew up with them in my favorite music shop, Clawson's Music in Corpus Christi, TX. In my last 80s Peavey episode, I looked at the Special 130, that is a killer amp, but is heavy, way too loud for most gigs, and at times a bit non-intuitive due to the mid-shift and multiple gain controls. My buddy, Mike LoPinto, who plays with Chris Stapleton, clued me into the Studio Pro 40. It checks all of the boxes, as it is easy to carry, has plenty of volume, a full sound with an Eminence 12 inch speaker, and is pretty cheap at the current going price of $100-$200. For me, it is a great grab and go amp, and the perfect amp to take to the gig as a backup to my Headstrong Lil King, or my Fender 1965 Deluxe Reverb. 

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With the recent visit  with a real-deal 1950 Broadcaster, I had the chance to experience the unique tonal options that Leo Fender's original blend control offered over your run-off-the-mill tone control. The only problem, was that awful #1 position, that put a suffocating blanket over the neck pickup. I started searching for a modified wiring scheme, and I found my episode from a couple of years ago with Rick Holmstrom, Mavis Staples' guitarist and bandleader. In it, he described his modified Broadcaster blend wiring that made the first position just a slightly lower volume, and slightly darkened neck pickup sound in position 1. I tried it, and loved it, and am sharing it with you now. 

I also share 2 YouTube Channels I have been enjoying, Adam Levy's, and Shane Theriot's.

https://www.youtube.com/@AdamLevyGuitar

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheRiotguitar


Info on the wiring:
https://www.askzac.com/post/rick-holmstrom-mavis-staples-my-birthday-trip-to-new-orleans-ask-zac-162

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Scott Baxendale sent me a 50s Harmony H-162 that he had done his conversion work on to check out. So we take a look at it, laying out the conversion process, and also looking at my Baxendale mandocello, and my Dan Lambert converted/repaired Buck Owens American. We end with a look at my refinished Waterloo WL-14, that also has a dual pickup system, and under-saddle, and a magnetic sound hole unit.

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Today we get introduced to Gabe Tonon, and he shows off his 50s Esquire with a long throw Bender, and his two 60s maple-cap Fender Telecasters with Glaser B-Benders. Gabe is a wonderful player you can see opening for Zach Top in 2025 with Jake Worthington. 

Find Gabe here:
https://www.instagram.com/gabe_tone_on/

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Today we look at one of the rarest and coolest members of the Telecaster family, a December 1950 Fender Broadcaster. To  give some context, I cover what Fender was up to in late 1949 through the Summer of 1950 with the single and dual pickup Esquire, and how the addition of a truss rod caused the Broadcaster to be born. We also take a look at what makes the Broadcaster different feature wise from the later Telecasters, including the unique blend control that would be phased out in 1952.

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Today we look at this cool Glaser B-Bender equipped Strat that I put together using a Glaser made neck from the 80s, and a non-tremolo swamp ash body. We get to hear the Seymour Duncan Hot Strat Stack pickups, and get a bit of history along the way. 

Much thanks to Jason Cornelius for the buddy deal on the Glaser neck, and to Brad Paisley for donating and painting the body.

Get a Glaser bender on your Strat or Tele here
https://www.glaserbender.com/scheduling-and-options

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A comparison between flat wound, pure nickel, and ground wound strings on my Tele. I was inspired to do this by the back of a set of D'Addario strings, showing a chart of their string offerings, from mellow to bright. Today, we start at the mellow end of the spectrum with the flat wound, going mid-way through the chart to the all-steel half-round set. 

Thanks to Andy Pitcher at D'Addario for supplying the various strings.

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#askzac #daddariostrings

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I love honest, beat-up, Telecasters. Today we tell the story of one of the most aged butterscotch Telecasters I have laid eyes on. Besides telling its story, we also compare it to a near mint 53 Telecaster. Thanks to Andy T, for letting me borrow his beautifully aged Tele. 

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#askzac #52telecaster

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Today I sat down with one of the finest solo-Jazz guitarists of our time, Tim Lerch. We discuss how a non-jazz player might get into solo guitar, his influences, his highly modified Fender Nocaster, and how he approaches tone and touch. Much thanks to Tim for taking the time for this interview while he was in Nashville teaching at a guitar seminar.

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To Support the Channel:
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#askzac #timlerch #jazztelecaster

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