I've been on a semi-pilgrimage to build a "near replica" of the 1964 Telecaster of the late Canadian jazz guitarist, Ed Bickert, who is definitely one of my favorite jazz guitarists.

Many thanks to Roman Pokorny for sharing his photos with me of his visit with Ed and of Ed's Telecaster.

Roman Pokorny (left) with Ed Bickert (right). Roman is holding Ed's famous Telecaster.

You might notice I said "near replica" of Ed's Telecaster, as some of the details are a little vague about Ed's Telecaster, and some of the details are lost in the sands of time.

Ed's Telecaster. Photo by Roman Pokorny back when he visited Ed at his house.

To the best of my ability to determine it, Ed's Telecaster started its life as a Olympic White 1964 Telecaster, with a maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, and alder body.

With the aid of The Twelfth Fret guitar shop in Toronto, Ed had them install a Gibson humbucker pickup in place of the stock single-coil pickup in the neck position (Ed didn't use the bridge pickup).

Debate rages on about which strings Ed used at various points in history, but Ed was quoted in a magazine article as saying he used an 11-46 set of strings on his Telecaster, along with a Standel Custom 15 amp, at least at the time of the article.

Later Ed went on to use a vintage Roland Orange Cube amp, reportedly because it was easier to haul around to gigs. I'd love to have one of those Standel amps too, they are works of art, but for now I shall admire them from afar.

Ok, armed with that little bit of intel I started my quest for an Ed Bickert "near replica" Telecaster.

Ray LaMontagne's Telecaster.

After a few false starts, I ended up buying a Fender American Vintage '64 Telecaster that belonged to musician Ray LaMontagne. That's Fender's reissue version of a 1964 Telecaster, not an original '64, which is not something my budget could accomodate!

Allegedly, Ed Bickert's Telecaster started out about the same color as Ray's Telecaster, but over time and with exposure to cigarette smoke, it yellowed to the color you see in the photos, an almost butterscotch color.

Ray's Telecaster differs a little from a typical '64 in that Ray added Lollar pickups and a Mastery bridge to it.

I've ordered a gold Gibson '57 Classic pickup for the neck position, along with the black Gibson pickup mounting ring you can see in the photo of Ed's Telecaster. 

I also ordered an Emerson PIO tone cap that is a replica of the vintage Sprague Bumblebee cap - made for them by Arizona Capacitors I think - to replace the stock cap in my '64, as the cap in there now looks like an average poly cap.

Soon as all the ordered parts arrive, I'm going to drop it off with luthier Mike Terry, who is going to route the body for mounting the Gibson '57 Classic pickup, modify the pickguard to fit it, and get the '57 Gibson Classic all dialed in to perfection. 

Once all that happens I'll do an update on my Ed Bickert "near replica" Telecaster project.

First Watt SIT-3 with the Pass Labs XP-12 preamp.

For a couple of weeks now I've been listening to the Pass Labs XP-12 line preamplifier in combination with the First Watt SIT-3 in my vintage Altec Corona 832A loudspeaker based system that I use as a bedroom system.

Pass Labs XP-12 preamplifier.

I'm getting some run-in time on the Pass Labs XP-12, and it has literally been "on" since it arrived here about four weeks ago (HERE), first with the Pass Labs XA25 Class A Stereo Amplifier (HERE) that I reviewed for Positive Feedback in Issue 106 (HERE), and now with the First Watt SIT-3 that I reviewed for Positive Feedback in Issue 98 (HERE).  

I've actually had a post about two-thirds written about the combo of the Pass Labs XP-12 and First Watt SIT-3 on the vintage Altec Corona 832A loudspeakers for over a week now, I just haven't found time to finish it yet. 

You'll see that coming before too much longer.

Audio Note UK Oto Phono SE Signature integrated amplifier.

Currently I am writing the feature article for Positive Feedback about the Audio Note (UK) Oto Phono SE Signature integrated amplifier, and my visit with Peter Qvortrup at Audio Note (UK) headquarters just outside of Brighton, England. 

I've got all the article written except for the final listening impressions and summary & conclusions sections, and I'm waiting for a little more information from Peter that I want to include. There's lots of cool things that I talk about in this article, and I think you'll really enjoy it. I'm certainly enjoying writing it!

Speaking of enjoyment, the Oto Phono SE Signature integrated amplifier is really something special, and I've really been enjoying it in combination with the "Stokowski" Altec's and their Duelund CAST tinned-copper crossovers (HERE).

The Oto Phono SE Signature integrated amplifier is a match made in heaven with the "Stokowski" Altec's, and I could easily live with this combination as a reference music system for the rest of my days. It's that good.

Expect to see the feature review towards the end of this month.

Louis Armstrong Live in Germany

Most of you know I'm a huge Louis Armstrong fan after seeing him play live in Portland, Oregon as a little boy. 

So when I saw this Louis Armstrong Live in Germany album that was released recently, I just had to have it. It's good. The recording quality isn't quite as good as some of the best recordings of Louis, but it is still pretty good, and if you are a Louis fan like I am you better find an excuse to buy yourself one before they are all gone.

Chet Baker 5-LP box set from Craft Recordings.

I'm also a big fan of Chet Baker, so when I saw that Craft Recordings had released a 5-LP box set I ordered one lickety-split. 

The sound quality is pretty good on this box set. Although I prefer the Analogue Productions 45rpm versions for sound quality where I have duplicate LPs, however, Craft Recordings did a very nice job on these, and if you are a Chet Baker fan too you won't want to miss this one. 

2016 Stags Leap Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Warre's Optima 10 tawny port, and Macallan 12 single-malt whiskey.

My buddy Doc Leo has fantastic taste when it comes to beverages, and he's the first person I ask for a recommendation when I'm looking for something good. A while back Leo had brought a bottle of Stags Leap Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($$$) for a listening session, and it was truly superb. I don't remember the vintage but it was earlier than 2016.

So today when my Costco Award Certificate arrived, I made a trip over to Costco to stock up on some good beverages and food, and what did I see in the wine section but some 2016 Stags Leap Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon! Woo hoo!

Note: After I wrote this post Nelson Pass sent me a message saying, "Hi Jeff, Just read your column, couldn’t help but offer the following: You want the Stag’s Leap Artemis.  My favorite red. np"

Now I'm on a mission to find some Stags' Leap Artemis! Thanks for the recommendation, Nelson!

I'm stocked up on goodies for the next listening get-together here at my place!

Woodward Canyon Artist Series cabernet sauvignon.

Doc Leo also recommended the Woodward Canyon Artist Series cabernet sauvignons from Walla Walla, Washington  to me as well.

I had stocked up on the 2015 vintage, and it was superb. All gone now.

I can also attest that the 2016 version (above) is equally superb! If you see one of these in the wild be sure to grab one, you won't regret it. A bit spendy, but oh so good!

Jeff (left) and Santos (right) in Santos listening room.

My long-time friend Santos sent me a message asking if I had time to get together for a little food & drink. That was a "Yes!"

I went over to Santos place, where his wife Liz had a delicious meal waiting for us - thank you Liz!

After a nice dinner and some delightful conversation Santos and I retired to his listening room for some music and a whiskey tasting from his rather extensive collection.

As you can see from the photo we had a great time, and in fact such a great time I forgot to take a photo of Santos system for you. 

Santos has Harbeth Super HL5 loudspeakers, a Jeff Rowland amplifier, a CAT preamplifier, a VPI Scout turntable, and a Rega - I think - digital front end. We had a ball listening to a wide variety of music, both analog and digital, and doing a whiskey tasting.

Many thanks to Santos and Liz for their generous hospitality and such a great evening - cheers!

Ok, that's all for now. I've got a lot more to tell you about, but it'll have to wait for the next few posts.

As always, thanks for stopping by, and may the tone be with you!