1950 Broadcaster VS 1953 Telecaster - A Comparison by Nacho Banos - Ask Zac 191

[@dwocelot6913]

I keep grimacing thinking he's going to smack a headstock on that cinderblock wall! 😂 Fascinating stuff. Where'd I leave my checkbook?

[@alanthorne3921]

Yes I was thinking the same thing.

[@EstevanOsorio]

It’s a Tele.. Might damage the cinder block instead ;)

[@telecasterbear]

In the end, the simplicity of the telecaster is what has drawn me to it. Thanks Zac.

[@mattrogers1946]

Nacho will forget more about vintage Telecasters than most of us will ever know. He makes some beautiful Blackguard replicas, too! Thanks for a great episode!

[@UncleBuckDallas]

Man, Zac, this is just awesome, and it couldn’t be more timely-I just ordered a 53 build from Nacho!

[@AndrewAHayes]

I have 52 Fender re-issue, I love it, but it doesn't compare to the tone of my 84 Japanese Squier, this guitar is amazing, it is like an extension of my body and is so easy to play.

[@Jam-m7m]

Great episode Zac. Thank you for your insight and dedication to the Fender Telecaster and KZbin community. You need a raise ❤

[@ricksmith6154]

Unbelievably cool and informative. Nacho IS the Early Telecaster guru. Fantastic video!

[@mattrogers1946]

Yup!

[@giulioluzzardi7632]

I bet he is the only person on Earth who could locate my 53 Tele lost in London 35 years ago!

[@marklarkinsmusic5543]

Shear Magic seeing these Two Vintage Telecaster guitars! and the extensive knowledge from Nacho! Thank You for this Video!

[@svbarr]

WOW talk about a Master Class...thanks for all the trouble you went through to produce this. It's just plain weird that it takes a European to be the world's greatest expert on Leo Fender's work circa '49-'54

[@AskZac]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@7171jay]

@svbarr It's not all that weird because there are many experts on Fender guitars and like many "American" things from electric guitars to rock music or blues or jazz there are people all over the world who appreciate these things and are smart and knowledgeable about them. American blues, jazz, and early rockers got way more appreciation in the mid 1960s and beyond in Europe than they did in the United States. Love for the electric guitar traveled beyond the borders of the U.S. in a big way and a long time ago so I'm kind of surprised at your surprise here.

[@svbarr]

yup well said @@7171jay

[@jonathanhandsmusic]

Very interesting. Nice to see such vintage Telecasters with such a knowledgeable guy. Thanks

[@davidhoover3537]

Don’t know how I missed this one!! Thank you so much for putting this together. Good stuff!

[@Heavenreck]

That was a very educational soundbite on pine casters, amazing how much changed between the two guitars. I recall you mentioned meeting him and filming this backstage. Was the neck on Nachos 53 a Birdseye maple neck? couldn't tell in the video, may have just been the finish. Great video thank you for sharing.

[@AskZac]

No heavy figuring. We enjoyed the treats you sent! Thank you again.

[@bogarbill6331]

Great show thanks! Unfortunately the Pinecaster book site is under construction, but I hope that will be resolved soon. I ordered a Nacho Telecaster last year. Arriving this summer. Can not wait..

[@Noitpure]

A Telecaster lovers treasure trove!!! Thank you!!! 🙏

[@AskZac]

Thanks for listening

[@jacknorton3771]

I built a few teles from kits, i k ew i couldnt find a broadcaster if i found one so i made my own. Both are upgraded electronics. Love the difference in tone between the 2. Great video, very informative. Leo fender is the GOAT.

[@joeldowdy404]

Thanks guys!! Great Video and walk through from Nacho!!

[@marks2254]

Thanks for letting us look at your guitars guys!! Zac - if you’re ever looking for subjects, I’d like to hear more about them he blend control that was mentioned.

[@anthonyc1883]

Agreed.

[@alisterrae5822]

Couldn’t afford the guitar but I bought the book, it’s astonishing!

[@JS-nf1sn]

Nacho will end up selling more Telecasters than Leo in the end. Love it. Thank you for a great video.

[@jltrem]

Very entertaining and informative. Thank you, Prof. Childs!

[@Sammywhat]

Great content! Thank you, sir!! And thanks to Nacho and Olivier!!

[@vayabroder729]

Got his Blackguard book which is superb. Thanks for this amazing video!

[@AskZac]

You're very welcome!

[@badtweed2087]

Why no discussion on the type of body wood, the headstock contour differences between them and newer tele models, the 12th fret dot spacing and tooling locaters etc? Plenty of talk about the finish but just vague pickup talk as well. Oh well.

[@boco1951]

This is so good to see and it’s much appreciated!

[@cory-i1j]

Thank you Zac for all you provide!

[@thesjkexperience]

I have built several blackguards including winding the pickups. So much fun to do and compare. I did have access to a Broadcaster in the early 80s so I have those specs. I also built a non-trussrod Tele but I used swamp ash and 1.75” thick. My favorite Tele and it would be fun to have you review a non-truss rod Tele. The holes on the back…if they are crooked it was top drilled. The drill bit wanders, so they later did it from the back.

[@246810user]

great show with Nacho -- what an amazing source of knowledge!

[@victorbeebe8372]

Aloha Zak! Really enjoyed this show! TY. Well today Mama get here washer and dryer finally. I get my Seymour Ducan MJ wound Lap steel pickups. I got to figure out what I'm going to do. Black guard? Bridge pu for Strat? Keith Richards style Tele?

[@iannicholls7476]

Great video Zac, thanks so much. Cool t-shirt as well!

[@Scaredycat-dad]

Wonderful video Zac! I have about 2 months left for my Xotic XTC1 build and this show makes me want it even more. ( I don’t think I’m alone, and not liking the wait for a new build) I tried to go to the website for the Pinecaster book but apparently it is under some kind of maintenance. My daughter is always asking me for something to get for my birthday that I wouldn’t buy for myself. Hopefully it’s back up at some point.

[@ivan_emege]

Nice to see Nacho again. Greetings from Andalucia!

[@say_when5988]

Just gorgeous pieces of art!

[@AlexMillerCountry]

My question is are they tonally similar? Is one more bright than the other, or are they all a little unique in their own way?

[@monkofwar]

Great guitars, great guests, great video. Thanks Zac

[@anthonymcgill8035]

This was terrific, Zac. Thank you.

[@CrippeJohansson]

Amazing video man!! Thank you Zac🥳🙏🇸🇪🎸

[@johnhoffman3836]

Hooray for Leo Fender! Cheers from the Micronesia Blues Society on the island of Guam.

[@hgostos]

Broadcaster bridge pickups are magical. Great musical compression, darker tone but so full of character. Almost humbucker like in a good way.

[@_avia_]

Love it. Thanks Zac!

[@famousaimless2]

What a treat, thanks 😀

[@zenmaestro04]

Man how did I miss THIS video!! I could watch this stuff for hours...It's a guitar nerds paradise 🤓

[@blueterrace]

I had a old Esquire for a short while. It hadn't had anyone add a second p/u. So it was old but pristine. I played it out a few times. People that knew guitars were amazed by the tone. It played so perfectly. It had been owned by some guy who had quit playing. His brother gave it to a coworker of mine. When the mother found out, she called a local guitar store and asked how much it was worth. Without seeing it, they told her 4000 dollars. So the mother demanded it back. This was in the early eighties. I should have borrowed the money and bought it, but it seemed like a lot of money back then.

[@NiksGuitarThings]

That back wall is awfully close haha, especially at the end I was nervous I'd hear a clank 😅😅 Extremely cool info, bravo!

[@davedekay9620]

Excellent. Thank you.

[@andreasfetzer7559]

Wow, what a nice topic about our beloved stradivaries.😊

[@giulioluzzardi7632]

Between the 3 of you not even 1 brought a pignose battery amp into the room, this opportunity will be hard to replicate. Thanks anyway, just wanted to hear those pickups and their character as explained in such detail and so accurately by the Man. Peace.

[@jimh1369]

Nacho is a great Tele expert, and he builds some amazing guitars!

[@MezzMcGillicuddy1]

This is awesome, thanks so much for this video!

[@johnnymalmsteems198]

So entertaining Zac 🙏🏻

[@bflo5210]

I'm on the email list for one of these guitars....hopefully I'll get one this year🤞🤞🤞

[@charlesdespres]

No sounds? Otherwise, it's really nice to get to see the guitars up close! Thanks for sharing!

[@AskZac]

Sorry!

[@charlesdespres]

@@AskZac Still a cool video!

[@notbraindead7298]

I love the Fender Tele and Strat. But as I’ve gotten older I have a lot of problems with the 01.65” nut width.

[@stevesuv]

What about the chisled ot truss rod space?

[@dustinthiessen]

Nacho had me on the edge of my seat, just watching as those headstocks got dangerously close to hitting that brick wall! 😬

[@wheels845]

Great insight fellas. It’s all about the twang 🤪❤️🎸🎸🎸

[@jeffhutchins6874]

I wonder if that Broadcaster came out of Texas in the mid 2000's. If I heard Nacho right he said 0725 for the number on the bridge plate. I have slept a few times but I think that guitar may have come from a friend of mine. I can't ask him cause he is no longer around. If it IS, that guitar I can attest to how great it sounds. VERY rock n roll guitar. The pickup in my friends was hot, but perfectly hot, dark and punchy and had the best mid frequency growl of any single coil I've ever played. Played it for many hours. It was purchased for Vince Gill from C&C guitars in Paris TX around 2004- 2005??? I still think about that guitar a lot. A whole lot. Great episode Zac.

[@jeffhutchins6874]

I have to add, the STORY I was told was that a guy who purchased guitars for people looking for vintage instruments bought it for Vince. A whole lot of bullshit gets slung around guitar stores..... you know..... but 0725, I swear that was the number. Jack had it forever, so he had contacted some people to try to sell it. Who knows.

[@olivieruldry]

Hey Jeff, I apprecaite you gave us hints of the background of my Broadcaster. I wasn't told much about it when I got it, and yes, it's definitely 0725. So, Jack is your friend who got it from C&C Guitars ?

[@7171jay]

The wall behind Nacho looked way too close.... I was getting nervous every time he held the guitar up and leaned it back that the headstock was going to hit the wall. Glad he made it through the video without bonking either one of those amazing looking instruments. It would have been cool to hear a sound comparison of them even just acoustically.

[@paulsmith9542]

Blackguards are awesome !!!

[@ER-yq1lc]

Great stuff.

[@kjmcwig6882]

Talking about how two different guitars "might" sound without a demonstration is a bit like coitus interruptus! Is there a second video where we can hear these two amazing instruments for a real comparison?

[@anthonyc1883]

Sure would be nice but it seems that the setting, and the impromptu nature of that get-together, wouldn't allow for that. I'm glad we we were able to see and hear what we did.

[@patricksailor9190]

Where you here at the Rodeo with Brad on Sunday?? If I’d have known I would have gone!😢😢

[@AskZac]

I was not there. Just the Europe run.

[@jamesonpace726]

Amazing men, amazing guitars....

[@briannacery9939]

Both are beautiful guitars. I've wanted a Broadcaster for years!

[@alexgasiewski4970]

Is history changing, or wasn't the broadcaster a one pickup guitar?

[@AskZac]

In general, The Broadcaster was a 2 pickup guitar.

[@johnbriggs3916]

​@@alexgasiewski4970 The Esquire was the one-pickup guitar. When Leo added a second pickup they needed a new name: until then, for a short period, there was a two-pickup Esquire!

[@snoopywalker1881]

We love Nacho

[@mannydecastro8604]

I wonder what he thinks of the 1951 American vintage 2 telecaster?? Thoughts??

[@edwither8284]

❤ So much mystique surrounding such a simple design. Whenever I play one of my other guitars, I find myself trying so hard to get it to sound like my telecaster, I wind up putting it down and asking myself.Why do I even bother. Just grab the telecaster and be happy.😊

[@U_ever]

OUTSTANDING ! ! !

[@ryangunwitch-black]

Dangit! I was about to go play my Strat but now I’ve gotta spend some time on the Tele first. 😂

[@JohnAdams-xc5yk]

I have a blackguard one thing i had a hard time finding a bakelight pickguard the one i got from Fender was not a pure bakelight pickguard i finally found one in Japan Fender has changed the formula for theirs

[@Molnboman]

Nice T-shirt there Mr. 😉

[@Tblanktim-mu1bh]

I found it interesting to note, Nacho talked nearly the whole time gesturing and pointing, with a pick tucked in his index finger. Shows how long he has been playing guitars. Like second nature. Clearly, he has put in the time.

[@BHJ7115]

Never seen a Telecaster behind prison walls. Until this.

[@martinreid1740]

Don't forget the different spacing of the dots at the twelfth frets.

[@ernieflanaganstingraybassm1463]

i just love anokd tele......thank..you..zac..

[@johna1160]

Minor hardware niggle - Nacho used the term "flat head" to differentiate from Phillips screws. Flat head refers to the shape of the screw top, as opposed to oval or round. The correct term is "slotted".

[@robertgunning9667]

fwiw he did say slottted at 5:39 when talking about the ‘50 Broadcaster. I noticed he said flathead later when talking about the mix of hardware on the ‘53.

[@johntiger5]

Also the time between the Broadcaster and Telecaster without a decal sticker . The " NoCaster"

[@jimwoodard64]

Guess your video crashed the Pinecaster book web site: We apologize for the inconvenience, but our website is currently undergoing scheduled maintenance to enhance your browsing experience.

[@numb41]

Serious question. Do these guys play?

[@AskZac]

Both play quite well. Both gig.

[@jjcoolidge6276]

No playing? Too bad. Got a CS Broadcaster 70th anniversary reissue and it's fabulous. Love the blend control.

[@2000SkyView]

sweet guitars 👍

[@bldallas]

So cool, but damn, I wishby’all had an old Champ amp to play them thru.

[@bills48321]

Are the bodies one piece of wood or two?

[@andreasfetzer7559]

The only thing missing ist just a little more of the most important thing, a little sound, just a little chord or mayby 1 tone, its sad, when the info of the laquer wear is more important than the tone😊

[@guillermoazul220]

Yay! Fabulous!

[@SDPickups]

What a missed opportunity. The Broadcasters were wound with 43 gauge plain enamel wire on the bridge. The Telecasters were wound with 42 gauge plain enamel wire on the bridge. BIG difference. Both use 43 gauge wire in the neck pickup. 43 gauge wire in the bridge give a more compressed sag kind of sound. 42 gauge wire is much more open and harsh kind of sound. I love that Bonamassa always carries around a little Princeton Reverb on his gigs to practice with, so he's never without an amp. Beautiful guitars of course, but beauty without SOUND is missing a whole world of information. Its like the vintage Les Paul guys who brag about how "pretty" their tops are, but don't let you HEAR them. Some of the old 50's famous players, especially Jimmy Bryant only played the neck pickup, probably because the bridge pickup didn't get much love.....Modern players with vintage Teles usually have pedal boards to cheat the sound. I have the Pinecaster set, low number and you sure can hear some pretty harsh sounds out of the old Tele bridges, KUDOS for playing them clean.

[@dosesandmimoses]

Beautiful

[@AskZac]

Thank you

[@PeterDad60]

My inexpensive Fender Squire Affinity Telecaster is as good as any guitar I have and I have 22 guitars. I am confident that outside of the very real marketplace value/cost of guitars which makes a difference in price, well not considering the marketplace my Telecaster is pretty much as good as any guitar ever made, by anybody! You build it good enough to play and function properly and that's all you need. The rest is the player.- Peter age 74

[@PeterDad60]

P.S. These two guitars in your video look almost exactly like my Telecaster and the pickups undoubtedly are probably very similar in output. I'm very happy indeed with my Telecaster and will enjoy playing it for the rest of my life.

[@TheHamebusk]

Wonderful...

[@morais99]

epic episode

[@DavidFernley]

A 53 tele would be my dream guitar

[@corylewis1993]

What gauge strings

[@AskZac]

10s

[@johnbriggs3916]

​@@AskZacAh, but what would they have been originally? 12s? 13s? And a wound g string, of course -- at least until the 1970s. Which is why the saddles make sense.

[@Satchmoeddie]

Testing another hand built Fender Harvard clone amp. This is the best Harvard copy yet. I am using a vintage RCA selenium rectifier for the bias supply. The transformers are accurate for ratios and power handling. The tubes are all vintage NOS or NOS testing pulls. The pots are all a special taper. The speaker is a special reconed PM speaker using one brands frame, another brands cone and yet another brand's voice coil for a genuine Chicago made vintage Jensen sound. Carboneu made some fabulous sounding speakers. Fender rarely used them, but I don't really care. With Joe Biden's ineffective & highly selective sanctions against Russia getting those selenium diodes is very difficult and expensive.

[@Maplefuzz3542]

Wow that was amazing!

[@tomk1tl39]

What screwed this video up is "u-tube' constantly dropping in "ADS" throughout the video . . .PITA . . .

[@AskZac]

Here is a possible solution. Join my patreon, and see it early without commercials.

[@bddmhopp5]

Don’t bust the headstock on the block wall

[@cuda426hemi]

Just wish Nacho had my 6 year old aka "vintage" lol, 9 lb Pine/Maple lacquered board Squier Classic Vibe 50s Tele, Butterscotch very nice grain - just to mess things up. Sure there's no comparison...but then you play it......Not that there still isn't a chasm of differences but it is shocking how good those older CVs are especially for recording and basically not hurting your feelings. This coming from a Gibson junkie that pays way too much for fret nibs from Nashville, lol ☮

[@mikefromusa6902]

Yes

[@tomghiley]

lets compare the same guitar...I poke fun because this is ridiculous, I'm a nerd, I stay and watch because I love Telecasters, and Zac is absolutely awesome, and for anyone reading this, yes, i say the same guitar, i subscribe to the fine detailed differences mattering too :) i cannot wait for the next Telecaster video! what's that thing that Uncle Jen says? more chicken picken less picklin? you needs your pickles too Juncle Jen.

[@johnbriggs3916]

Nacho did point out that they have totally different control wiring.

[@dondenson3542]

Never knew bakelite was compressed paper...

[@bddmhopp5]

Wait, he added grooves to the fingerboard? What?

[@AskZac]

No added grooves

[@michaelsteven1090]

You look road worn..Great! ..keep it up.