Getting that Classic Spagetti Western/60s guitar sound.

[Cheeso]

To get the twang, you must pick near the bridge.

[Chuck E. Jesus]

man, you guys are making me want to get my electric twangers/twin fixed up...think i'm gonna set that up soon...

[clueless]

To get the twang, you must pick near the bridge.

could you repeat that, yoda-style?

[duncanparsons]

you mean

The Twang, to get; near the bridge, pick, you must

[GaryG]

Remember there were a lot of strange semi-acoustic guitars popular back then with weird floating bridges etc. Endless sustain wasn't something everyone strived for so a little damping near the bridge can be cool. I saw someone once with a little block of felt under the strings up against the bridge of his guitar (les paul copy i think). Even though it kinda deadened the sound it sounded really cool, a nice clicky thunk.

[lhm1138]

Yeah, I have gotten some good results experimenting with an acoustic-electric Kona I have.

I figured a Telecaster would be a good thing to have. Any decent copies?

Thanks for all the great tips!

[Sascha Franck]

Fwiw, a Rickenbaker wouldn't be a bad choice either.
Basically, as has been said already, a bridge pickup is usually called for, with an additional almost "barfing" tube amp plus some spring reverb (sometimes even lots of it).
I don't necessarily think that tuning down is a must, but getting a long scale guitar involved might help indeed. I think one of the most famous sounds ever must be something like a Fender VI (basically a baritone guitar) through whatever Fender combo.

[stk]

reFx Slayer

no

I think some of those guys may have tuned down.

Right. That sound is easy to get on my Fender Jaguar Baritone.

nice

yeah, heavy strings, spring reverb, serious tremelo, and a Bigsby!

And also whiskey, sangria and big f**k-off bells.