bluesy Posted October 12, 2008 Report Share Posted October 12, 2008 When I bought that New Guinea Rosewood for my previos 335 style build, I had to buy enough for 2 guitars, so I have started a new build. This time, my favourite Fender style - a Telecaster. I have cutout, routed to size, and sanded the basic body. The pic shows it with some typical hardware positioned. Right now I am trying to decide on the rest of the details. So far... - must have binding on the body - traditional "lipstick" neck pickup, and single coil angled bridge pickup - old style ashtray bridge with 3 saddles (as shown in pic) - Queensland Maple neck - Rosewood fingerboard Haven't settled on colour, leaning towards cherry with cream bindings and M'o'Pearl pickguard. Alternatives are natural (but I just did one like that), or white with black binding and tortoiseshell pickguard. Also, should I stick with a psuedo-fender shaped 6 in-line headstock, or break away completely with something unique (even an angled headstock with 3 a side tuners)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted October 12, 2008 Report Share Posted October 12, 2008 Nice...but you'll never win GOTM with a tele :D Since you have a fair sized knot in there...I'd say a painted finish...I've always thought a white one would be cool...with or without the binding... Actually...the telecaster forum had a thread just on white teles that might give you some ideas...there was a legit model with gold hardware, white with a white peghead face that took my fancy...tortoiseshell is nice...but even a white guard on white can look surprisingly good. There are a lot of other colours that look good on a tele too...all those old surf greens or blue like mine...they all look good! As for the headstock style...there are some 3+3 that look ok...but with such an iconic shape you have to be careful when you change things...it can work...or even a good design can look somehow wrong... ... I have another tele that I want to do up here myself...planning on maybe adding a middle pickup and five way perhaps...and I was thinking white maybe. The twist I wanted to do was to somehow add three tuners onto the tele headstock bottom to double the top three strings...but as always complications mean delays... ... Also...for pickups...I have been so impressed with my tele SCn neck pickup. I have had copies before (admittedly cheap versions) and they have never sounded good...but this thing sounds sensational. The tele is also a tricky guitar to play...but it can be so rewarding and impressive in the right hands...good luck with it, everyone should have a tele! pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesy Posted October 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2008 Nice...but you'll never win GOTM with a tele :D I had that thought when I decided to do one.... Since you have a fair sized knot in there...I'd say a painted finish...I've always thought a white one would be cool...with or without the binding... Actually...the telecaster forum had a thread just on white teles that might give you some ideas...there was a legit model with gold hardware, white with a white peghead face that took my fancy...tortoiseshell is nice...but even a white guard on white can look surprisingly good. Yes, this end of the wood is not as nice as the one I already used. Besides, I don't have a solid painted guitar - can you believe that? They're all done in semi-transparent - time for something different. I must take a look and see what the tele forum had to say. There are a lot of other colours that look good on a tele too...all those old surf greens or blue like mine...they all look good! As for the headstock style...there are some 3+3 that look ok...but with such an iconic shape you have to be careful when you change things...it can work...or even a good design can look somehow wrong... That's why I am shying away from doing it. Maybe just a basic Tele shape, but alter the curve a bit to make it my own. ... I have another tele that I want to do up here myself...planning on maybe adding a middle pickup and five way perhaps...and I was thinking white maybe. The twist I wanted to do was to somehow add three tuners onto the tele headstock bottom to double the top three strings...but as always complications mean delays... A nine string? That would be different Also...for pickups...I have been so impressed with my tele SCn neck pickup. I have had copies before (admittedly cheap versions) and they have never sounded good...but this thing sounds sensational. The tele is also a tricky guitar to play...but it can be so rewarding and impressive in the right hands...good luck with it, everyone should have a tele! I have an old Japanese tele copy that I used to play a lot. Actually, it suited my style of playing well. I never use a trem anyway - hate the things. I always use my left hand to alter the pitch. So a fixed bridge suits me fine, and hence I preferred the Tele to a Strat. I often use the "lipstick" to get a nice soft, almost jazzy sound, and like to flick back to the bridge when I need some bight. I also want this to be single coil since my last build used humbuckers. Just to keep up the variety. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted October 12, 2008 Report Share Posted October 12, 2008 Yeah...well I went 25 years playing the same les paul since I was a kid...about ten years ago I switched to cheap strats and got into a bit of the trem thing, nothing to extreme (I like that chris isaak shimmer sound for instance)...the tele of mine is in a similar vein. There is a big difference between lowering a sound to bending it up...not easy to do with string bending techniques. I met Tommy emmanual once when he was still playing electric on the tele...he used to be a big shadows fan but hadn't heard of a trem (so he says) so when he was starting out, he used to do a lot of those Hank Marvin moves by bending the teles neck forward...hahahaha A 9 string is a poor mans 12...hehehe...they are unison so you get a bit of the jangle without the sparkle...got to justify having two of the things. Too many projects! The 6 in line head is good for those behind the tele nut bends, a reverse version would give a modern twist...but I am sure you can come up with a bunch of variations to make it your own... pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyonsdream Posted October 12, 2008 Report Share Posted October 12, 2008 with what you have I'd keep it solid color and traditional in all aspects. You have the pickguard, control plate and bridge. Diverting from the traditional wit things like a 3x3 headstock would turn alot of people off but all in all who cares if it's for you or a customer looking for the specific specs. People get attached to traditional shapes and tend to think less of a build that's outside tradition so with all the hardware that you've already picked, I'd suggest going standard.....unless you go with something like this and throw tradition out of the window! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesy Posted October 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2008 with what you have I'd keep it solid color and traditional in all aspects. You have the pickguard, control plate and bridge. Diverting from the traditional wit things like a 3x3 headstock would turn alot of people off but all in all who cares if it's for you or a customer looking for the specific specs. People get attached to traditional shapes and tend to think less of a build that's outside tradition so with all the hardware that you've already picked, I'd suggest going standard.....unless you go with something like this and throw tradition out of the window! I made the decision this morning. It will be traditional. I am going with ... - white body - black binding - m'o'pearl pickguard (pearl/white/black 3 ply -- that one in the picture is an old one off my japanese tele copy) - single coil lipstick neck pickup - single coil angled bridge pickup - chrome hardware - headstock similar, but not identical, to orig. tele shape I nearly went for a tortoiseshell pickguard, but when I found out I could get a m'o'pearl one with 3 ply with black as the backing, I decided that would nicely 'outline' the pickguard. Looking at plenty of pictures, especially on the tele forum as pete said, made it easier to choose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmrentis Posted October 13, 2008 Report Share Posted October 13, 2008 Sounds like a solid plan. As zyon was saying when stepping outside the traditional you will often turn many off. As zyon did, I think you either keep it fairly traditional or go completely different, either way seems to work, but changing one or two details often looks off. Anyhow, sounds like a solid plan and I look forward to seeing how it comes out. I really liked your last project a lot. Best of luck with it and be sure to keep us posted. Zyon, how did you like the bridge on that guitar? Its what I am about to put on, I like the looks, though I swapped out for some tone pros locking posts because I'd end forgetting and dropping the bridge on some concrete at some point. Just curious on your thoughts on it. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyonsdream Posted October 13, 2008 Report Share Posted October 13, 2008 I love wrap around bridges but I’m an old BCR guy so the fit is natural for me. If you like your fender shapes with the strings close to the body you might want to recess it but I like neck angle on my personal guitars so again, it worked out nicely for me. I also swapped out the posts for tone pros mostly because I hate seeing the bridge angled down. Using the tone pros keeps everything nice and flat. As for the specs on the tele being built, I like the MOP guard with the black outline. Should be nice looking when it’s done. I wish I could get into standard telecasters. Something I’ve always loved about the utilitarian shape but I’ve always hated the single coils and bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryanesque Posted October 14, 2008 Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 with what you have I'd keep it solid color and traditional in all aspects. You have the pickguard, control plate and bridge. Diverting from the traditional wit things like a 3x3 headstock would turn alot of people off but all in all who cares if it's for you or a customer looking for the specific specs. People get attached to traditional shapes and tend to think less of a build that's outside tradition so with all the hardware that you've already picked, I'd suggest going standard.....unless you go with something like this and throw tradition out of the window! That is one of the coolest/most beautiful "Tele's" I've ever seen, hands down. Is that your own personal build? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesy Posted October 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2008 I've been a bit busy with other things, but I have managed to squeeze in some work on the tele - neck roughed out - neck pocket routed - truss rod channel routed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesy Posted November 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2008 It's been a while, but I've finally got some real time to spend on the build. Today I primed it. Here's a pic after removing masking and some scraping of the binding. Tomorrow, I'm putting in frets and it will get a coat of white colour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyonsdream Posted November 9, 2008 Report Share Posted November 9, 2008 That is one of the coolest/most beautiful "Tele's" I've ever seen, hands down. Is that your own personal build? Yah, it's the last one I completed. It was a build for myself and has been real fun playing. I might post in GOTM with it just for kicks. As for the build...I really like the shape of the tele. Looks nice in paint! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesy Posted November 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2008 Really making progress at the moment Doing some fretwork and finished the colour coats (white is hard to photograph ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesy Posted November 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2008 Things are moving along nicely. Yesterday I buffed the paintwork up to gloss, and today I fitted the neck and tuners, and the bridge. I have discovered that the clear coat, although dry enough to sand and buff, is still actually quite soft and even leaving it resting on a cloth surface for a while will mar the gloss finish. So I have hung it up out of the way to let it cure for some time - maybe a week, if I can keep my hands off it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpcrash Posted November 15, 2008 Report Share Posted November 15, 2008 Looks good bluesy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ae3 Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 Love white tele's, looks good so far. Binding's a nice touch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesy Posted November 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 Love white tele's, looks good so far. Binding's a nice touch. Thanks. Yes, I like binding on a guitar. Black binding on a white guitar turned out to be very revealing of any mistakes. I have had to be very neat. Worth it though. I am going to work in some gold colour with the silver/chrome hardware - maybe some gold washers on the bridge mounting screws and gold knobs on the controls, etc. I plan to do a little more work on it tomorrow. Will post pics if I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesy Posted November 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2008 Well, it's finished. I have been enjoying playing it for a day now. Very happy with the sound. The Gotoh classic pickups have heaps of range. Nice bass, and very crisp highs. The tone control (standard 250k/0.047 cap) gives nice smooth control of those highs as well I have ordered some gold control knobs, but for now I have fitted a couple of chicken-head knobs - and I think I really like they way they look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j. pierce Posted November 30, 2008 Report Share Posted November 30, 2008 Saw this in the GOTM thread and had to pull up the build thread again for me info. I sure do love me a white tele, and this is a nice one. What's up with what appears to be brass below the normal bridge? And why the surround on the neck pickup? For all the fancy guitars in the world. sometimes a stripped down classic in a solid colour is just ace. Nice work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesy Posted November 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2008 Saw this in the GOTM thread and had to pull up the build thread again for me info. I sure do love me a white tele, and this is a nice one. What's up with what appears to be brass below the normal bridge? And why the surround on the neck pickup? For all the fancy guitars in the world. sometimes a stripped down classic in a solid colour is just ace. Nice work. Thanks. I am really happy with it too. The brass and surround on the neck pickup all relate to the fact that I made a routing template from a cheap Tele copy. When I purchased the parts, I noticed that the pickguard and bridge were slightly different sizes from the hardware on the copy that I copied. The ashtray bridge was a couple of millimetres narrower than the one on the tele that I took the template from, and it allowed the very edge of the routing beneath it to show. I decided to turn a problem into a feature by making a couple of cover strips for the sides of the bridge, and making them out of polished brass. This gave me the gold/silver theme which I extended by putting gold knobs and brass screws on the chrome control plate. I have always like gold and silver together on watches, and I find I like it on guitars now too. The pickguard was tight between the end of the neck and the neck pickup. The easy fix was to widen the hole in the pickguard - just a millimetre or so, but that left the chrome neck pickup looking a little off-centre. So I made a white bezel from some old white/black/white laminated pickguard material. I liked the look, and so left it at that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djhollowman Posted November 30, 2008 Report Share Posted November 30, 2008 Nice! I'm not the world's biggest Tele fan, but I do dig this baby! Love that contrasting binding - very nice touch! On a related note: I'm assuming you've all seen the Slipknot Jim Root Tele? Heavy Metal Tele - now you're talking!!! DJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesy Posted November 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2008 That's a great looking Tele too. Love the black and white contrast in has going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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