Got wood?

[MichaelMoore]

i am a serious newbie but im planning on building a telecaster. maybe getting a precut body first then doing it myself. i woud be greatfull if you could tell me some things. 1) would alder or ash be better for the body? 2) will conductive shielding paint and shielding copper tape create an interferance free cavity? 3)a more personal question, what colour goes well with black hardware?

Michael Moore

Scotland

[MurphC]

I'm using ash which is suppoused to give it the more poppy telecaster sound. I bought a blank from warmoth for $65 but later found out my guitar store sells the cut, routed bodies for $80 which is only about 6 bucks extra with shipping. So shop around first.

[Cowboy From Hell]

Yeah but buying them Cut kill all the fun out of it.

[Meegs666]

here is my input for all three 1. alder or ash for teles can be a big question. in the end different strokes for different folks. alder is cheap and light in weight and can be obtained more easily in some areas and it gives a general electric guitar sound as it is used for many guitars like basswood is. ash can give a bubbly twangy tone to your playing and from my experience yields a more classic tele tone. 2. most signals are blocked by the paint and the sheilding but you can never be too reliant on them because paint chips and flakes over use and sometimes inside your cavities you will find dust from the paint and that is normal wear. 3. ive seen many colors with black hardware. my favorite color is black and all my guitars are black and nothing looks better with black than black metal parts. but if you prefer something else i would recomend a deep green like forest green or maybe a dark purple.

[MichaelMoore]

ok cool. thanks. do you guys know anywhere that i could get pre cut and routed bodies cos no where seems 2 ship to the uk? i was thinking of a deep blood red or white myself but black sounds cool

[MichaelMoore]

thanks for the warmoth link i have more wood to chose from. wot wouild you pick from this bunch for a more rocky tone?

Alder $145.00

Ash $155.00

Basswood $155.00

Koa $230.00

Korina (Black or White) $175.00

Maple $155.00

Mahogany $155.00

Poplar $145.00

Rosewood $?

SwampAsh $155.00

Walnut $175

[skibum5545]

alder has a clear, distinct rock tone; Fender uses it for strats. Mahogany has a dark, midrangey tone, and is used in Les Pauls. It all depends on what tone you're going for.

keep in mind, an ash body with EMG's will sound different than an ash body with Duncan Distortions, etc. Wood is a starting point, but certainly not all of it. My suggestion would be alder or mahogany with a maple cap.

One other thing: ash gives the guitar that twangy Tele tone, if that's what you want. It especially looks good with a Gibson Voodoo finish IMHO. Swamp ash also takes that finish, but has a different tone. Either would also work.

[Strange Fruit]

ok cool. thanks. do you guys know anywhere that i could get pre cut and routed bodies cos no where seems 2 ship to the uk? i was thinking of a deep blood red or white myself but black sounds cool

Heres one place

you might find one here but they change stock quickly.

Matt

[MichaelMoore]

thanks how would a Padouk neck and Ebony fair? is it a good idea?

[johnsilver]

I made a tele style guitar recently - my first project. I used alder for the body (very nice to work with) and maple for the neck and fretboard. I used black hardware and black dot inlays and finished the body in black lacquer with white/black binding. Basically, I was looking for a black/white guitar. The pickups are Seymour Duncan humbuckers since I was looking for more rock (including fairly heavy capability) and less twang. I used a Screamin Demon in the bridge and a 59 in the neck. Here is a progress pic - the guitar is assembled for test purposes (I couldn't wait). I still need to apply the clear nitro. I'll post a sound clip when I can get organized.

Good luck!