Hardware Help

[Doc]

I've decided that just putting a Saga kit together just doesn't satisfy the bug.

I've gotten a mighty mite type neck form e-Bay and glued up a body blank from some 8/4 walnut.

I'm gonna make a telecaster type . Natural finish walnut with the edges darkened and tiger maple binding.

I want to put 2 humbuckers on it 'cause I already have the Saga tele and a Mosrite Ventures with two pre-humbuckers.

I'm going to through string it.

I'm looking at GFS pickups because I am trying to do it fairly cheaply. I can always upgrade later.

Anyone got any feedback on a good non-integral pickup type bridge for this puppy? Guitar Fetish sells some through body hardtails for a really low price. Anyone ever used one?

[Devon Headen]

I'm guessing you're looking at the GFS pickups on ebay? The same seller that sells those sells what looks like some high quality brass hardtail bridges. Take a look at some of those. I'm actually just about to order one from him to test it out. If you keep your eyes out, sometimes you can get some really nice pickups at reasonable prices. I got a set of Kent Armstrong strat pickups (3) for $50. Then again, I've heard GFS is a good value pickup.

[unclej]

i don't know what your budget is but you mentioned mighty mite and they make a pretty descent pickup for a reasonalble price.

[mledbetter]

I bought a set of premium overwound tele pickups from guitarfetish and so far they are awesome. Limited tests as my build isn't completely done yet. The quality of them is superb though. My tele bridge pup is real forbon bobbin, 43 awg enamel wire, beveled pole pieces, cloth leads.. and the coil is actually wrapped in cotton cording. With the baseplate the thing feels like a tank.

I want to do a tele copy with a set of GFS liverpool filtertrons. Those things look cool and the sound clips are nice as well. I don't think you can go wrong with the GFS pup. I talked to the guy for a while about them. He said he experiments with windings and stuff.. then specs it out and has it wound overseas for mass production. His price on alnico HBs though is very good as well.

I'm wanting to build a walnut guitar soon too. Id' like to know how it comes out. Did you just use regular walnut? I want to do as much as i can with local woods. I'm wondering too about doing a top with some quartersawn sycamore. It's beautiful stuff.

[Doc]

[Thanks for the info. I'm going to order a bridge, ferrules and a pair of the "hot bargain" HB's from these folks. This is my first real build and I'm just trying to learn the tricks and tweaks. The Saga kit build forced me to learn how to properly do a setup. Much thanks to the tutorials here.

I got a piece of 8/4 kiln dried walnut 10" wide and 96" long from my local wholesaler's. 8% moisture by my meter. Paid about $57.00 with tax. Nice board with one small knot (1/2")and almost no sap. Only sap was on one edge of the bottom two feet. I should be able to get 4 or 5 good bodies out of it.

I'm going to do another one, maybe at the same time with a tiger maple face. I've got more of that stuff than I know what to do with as leftovers from other cabinet jobs. Nice to have something to do with shorts.

I think it's interesting that there is a perception that glued face blanks are deader sounding than solid blanks. I have never had any trouble with the sound of a Les Paul with a glued on face. Maybe I've just been in the power tools for too long and my hearing is going. I've owned two and loved 'em. I wonder if it's a function of the quality of the glue line or the glue line itself? I also wonder if anyone has played around with different types of glue to see if that has any influence.

Sycamore is a really neat wood that doesn't get much use in the US. I've seen a lot of it on UK made furniture. It is tough to carve 'cause its a little stringy, but it finishes nicely.

[mledbetter]

I read somewhere.. may have been here even that european sycamore is more along the line of our domestic maple.. Our sycamore is something different. That may be total hogwash I have no idea. But a ton of european manufacturers use sycamore for necks and tops. My dad just had two sycamore trees removed.. perfect 3ft plus diameter trunks with no rot. Would have been beautiful wood but by the time I learned of it the neighbor that removed had run it all through the log splitter.

We have a sawmill near here in Rogersville that specializes in qartered sycamore or furniture builders. It's pretty stuff.. Kind of a poor man's lacewood.

[thedoctor]

Doc, the only problem I have with making seperate-bridge Teles is the bridge pickup cover. Are you going to forego the slanted Tele bridge pickup? It would make coming up with a pickup cover easier. I had to make the last two I needed but SOMEONE out there has to make them for sale.

Oops! Stupid me! You said you were going to use two HBs. Sorry.

Edited April 6, 2005 by thedoctor

[mledbetter]

Doc, the only problem I have with making seperate-bridge Teles is the bridge pickup cover. Are you going to forego the slanted Tele bridge pickup? It would make coming up with a pickup cover easier. I had to make the last two I needed but SOMEONE out there has to make them for sale.

Oops! Stupid me! You said you were going to use two HBs. Sorry.

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i'm surprised by now that someone hasn't made a modular tele bridge.. 2 pieces.. the bridge and the pup plate.. then you could put it together however you wanted.

[thedoctor]

Yeah, me too. It gets worse when you want, say, the slanted TELE bridge pickup with a really cool through-body or hardtail that needs to be where it needs to be, regardless of the pickup placement. I end up making them and its not my favorite part of building. You can get some real nice neck pickup plates to eliminate the pickgaurd but not bridge.