Do you have a Magic Neck? I do.
I have an old Tele neck from Stewart-McDonald that seems magic to me. Since the early 90s I've used it on countless guitars and it fits me like the proverbial “old pair of boots”. The nut is perfect and the frets are worn just right so it allows some really slick low string action, but the comfy feel isn’t the best part of the magic neck.
This neck seems to improve the sound of any guitar. Years ago it got the “ ‘51 Deluxe” and pinup girl graphics you see here as part of a Squier 51 project.
Magic Neck hung unemployed on the wall for several years. Then in early 2013 I drunk-balled a Xaviere XV-610 on eBay and the rabbit died. I didn't know it yet, but thus began today’s project.
The XV-610 is a semi-hollow Telecaster Thinline-style guitar with a 3-way blade selector and a 1v-1t control bank. Body construction is solid poplar core with laminated maple wings. Depending upon the production run an XV-610 may have the small rectangular string-through hardtail bridge or the large “Tele style” plate with humbucker mounting. This one arrived in as-new condition. If the name “Telecaster” conjures images of dense ash bodies and single-coil pups with a tight brassy snap, then “poplar core with laminated maple wings” probably don’t sound like the right stuff. For someone accustomed to semi-hollow jazz guitars this composition isn’t so far fetched.
The Fender Telecaster Thinline had a chambered body and after the earliest production runs it was outfitted with those famous huge warm Seth Lover split-pole humbuckers. The result was a lightweight, compact, affordable, and highly serviceable alternative to a 335 or 175.
Although the poplar/maple composition of the XV-610 may not be as Gibsonesque as chambered mahogany it has a pleasant mellow timbre that is, if not sonically next door, just down the street.
Under the hood the 610 sports Dream 180s, rather than the more appropriate "Vintage Split Humbucker " also in their lineup. The Dream 180 isn’t my favorite pickup but it seems to be the default shipping humbucker for Xaviere bolt-ons.
Frets are adequately dressed and leveled but scantly polished. Neck profile is a shallow "C" shape with typically Fenderesque width. Overall the guitar competes quality wise in the Squier-Epiphone market and probably provides better !/$ than either.
What's cool, what's not? Body is cool. Dream 180s are not. Neck rates an "OK". The black-on-black look is just dumpy.
For many weeks The Magic Neck and the XV-610 hung on opposite walls in the same room, studiously ignoring each other like a pubescent boy and girl at the mall. Then one day the GFS sale page whacked me across the face with not only a fauxtoise pickguard for this guitar, but their “Vintage Split Humbucker - Classic Fender Style” pups as well. The obvious connection finally happened in my head and more of my dead presidents immediately went flying across the internet. The fauxtoise guard and a pair of fake Lover-splits were on the way. Magic Neck would soon ride again. Today's project became a primordial lump in my addled brain.
I'm not a fan of tortoise on black but the native black-on-black scheme was so bland that this was a welcome change. I'd still rather have black pearloid but haven't found it.
Happily the Vintage Split Humbuckers are on a standard sized bobbin rather than the oversized package that the genuine Seth Lovers used. To my ear the Vintage Splits are a big improvement over the rather metallic & harsh Dream 180s. I like the way they honor the original sound of the Seth Lover pickups, with a warm and slightly woody timbre and a low-ish “vintage” output. They present a round velvet-covered bottom and a subtle upper midrange beauty mark that makes them intriguing.
Dream 180s taste like Budweiser from a can.
Vintage Splits taste like a microbrew honey lager with a hint of smoke.
Splits aren’t made for your Stetson, Wranglers, suede vest and Tony Lamas.
They are not made for your black tee, black Levi's, and Doc Martens.
Vintage Splits are made for your turtleneck, wool flatcap, and little pointed goatee. Snap your fingers. Bop 'til you drop.
“Lovers & Pinup Girls” was a successful project. The guitar looks, feels and sounds good enough for stage or studio anytime smoky, warm and mellow timbres fit the bill.
... but the Magic Neck soon found a higher calling. *cue mysterious soundtrack*
Later this month Mr.W&theBPF blog will delve into true-n-sentimental story land again. Look for "My Father's Hands" 12/15/13.
That guitar looks like a winner... even with the Tortoise shell guard. Usually I am not crazy about shell, but it does look better than a black on black. Myself, I would prefer either a white pearloid or black pearloid.
ReplyDeleteIt is ironic to me that you brought up the Seth Lover Wide Range clones for this project. The past week I have been rattling around a Tele project in my head that I would like to tackle in the near future - sort of a Micawber/Keef style Butterscotch job with some sort of different pickup in the neck. Whether I end up with a P-90 (love love love 'em), a mini-bucker, PAF style, or a split Wide Range bucker I'm not sure yet. The nice thing is GFS has pretty much all of those pups and a corresponding Tele guard covered!
I don't know if you recall, but my late Uncle had a black '68 Tele Custom that had an Original Seth Lover Wide Range in the neck. My God that thing sounds good! I may go that route to honor that guitar. So many options....
Anyhow, great installment! Always look forward to these Ray!
I really dig tort on sunbursts, creams, butterscotches, and natural grain finishes. Black pearl for this is proving elusive except for the custom-cut places.
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