Members gambit Posted July 22, 2014 Members Share Posted July 22, 2014 so i've decided to try and put together a couple of guitars, since it seems to be pretty affordable now and i can make something a little different. i guess i'll update this thread as i progress over the next month or two.. it would be good to hear any input, and advice while i'm making decisions on what to do, and it'll be cool to document the process somewhat. and maybe help some other 1st timers out in the future. so.. Part 1: I bought two Tele Deluxe body's from guitarbuild.co.uk - £75 / $126... in total !! - Both 2-piece > 1 is Swamp Ash, the other is Alder _________________________ i started playing around with some mockups (using 'kisekae VIM' ) with the idea of a Tele Deluxe with a Jazzmaster/Jaguar tremolo.. and either Fender wide range humbuckers, or Cabronita pickups.. pretty interesting look.. here's all the stuff running through my head.. Aesthetics / Pickups I think Fender wide range pickups look great on Tele Deluxe's and Jazzmasters because the oversized pickguard manages to calm what would otherwise be an enormous-looking pickup on a smaller pickguard. definitely having one of these with WRHP's. The Cabronita/Fidelitron pickups look fairly out of proportion to me on that big old Deluxe pickguard. the Filtertron's with massive mounting brackets look ugly.. so maybe ruling out these types of pickups, unless i come back to regular-humbucker sized pickups, in which case you can get pretty much whatever sound you like. but what other pickups would look proportional and sound great?.. Jazzmaster pickups!?.. could be a definite contender! JM pickups aren't an option on that kisekae thing though unfortunately. Neck / Finish Having tried a Tele Deluxe and a Tele Custom, i'm pretty confident i prefer the tele neck on the Custom vs the Strat neck on a Deluxe. I like the idea of a maple neck but i'm still undecided.. a lot of the more affordable maple necks are grossly over-tinted. i prefer the more 'bleached out' pale maple necks. There's potential i could get a rosewood fingerboard with binding for an ok price... Not sure i can be arsed with painting and lacquering, so i'm pretty much aiming for the Tele version of this: Practicality I've thankfully owned a Squier JMJM and currently own a Squier VMJM, which have both been a decent experience in learning what i like or dislike about the Jazzmaster bridge 1) Tune-o-Matic bridge beats Jag/JM. 2) Roller bridge is even better than a Tune-o-Matic 3) I'm not paying for a Mastery bridge. 3) The vintage trem-plate placement feels better than that closer-to-the-bridge trem plate on the JMJM and Classic Player series. so i'm sure you can tell I'm a complete fool for aesthetically pleasing guitars (often over practicality) so with these mock-ups having a trem plate too near to the bridge like a Classic Player Jaguar has.. the blood begins to boil a little.. But the body's arrived today, and there was a broken string on my Jazzmaster... eff it.. get the screwdriver out and get a proper idea of what it might look like! Looks good.. but until i can get a definite idea of where the bridge needs to sit to intonate properly, it's looking like the trem plate is going to be pretty near the edge of the guitar, or positioned somewhere between the vintage and classic player positioning. i'd be happy with a regular Tele Deluxe bridge, but if i can get the Jag trem to work i think it'll be worth the effort, don't you? that'll do for Part 1 , but i am rather excited.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gambit Posted July 22, 2014 Author Members Share Posted July 22, 2014 some pics for reference... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 I'd do one with the Jazzmaster pickups, and the other with WRHBs. IMHO, as cool as they are / sound, the Cabronita / TV Jones / Fidelitron pickups look better on a Cabronita, with a much smaller pickguard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gambit Posted July 24, 2014 Author Members Share Posted July 24, 2014 i agree with you Phil, but those Fidelitron's do sound pretty lush.. so i'm wondering if it'd look any good with a 3rd pickup in the middle position.. or maybe Fid/Fid/JM # or if not the Fidelitron's, maybe try a Cyclone II thing with 3 Jaguar pickups or something.. more mockups needed! i've just bought a fully loaded Tele Deluxe pickgaurd with WRHP's and coil tap already installed on the neck pickup - i might switch the coil tapping to the bridge pickup, to get some kind of approximation of Tele Custom's middle position which i know i like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted July 24, 2014 Members Share Posted July 24, 2014 Mini Humbuckers are a great option on a Tele. I made a semi hollow body tele with a TOM bridge, Trapeze tail and mini humbuckers and its been my favorite guitar (over 27 other great guitars) for a long time now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 i agree with you Phil, but those Fidelitron's do sound pretty lush.. so i'm wondering if it'd look any good with a 3rd pickup in the middle position.. or maybe Fid/Fid/JM # or if not the Fidelitron's, maybe try a Cyclone II thing with 3 Jaguar pickups or something.. more mockups needed! i've just bought a fully loaded Tele Deluxe pickgaurd with WRHP's and coil tap already installed on the neck pickup - i might switch the coil tapping to the bridge pickup, to get some kind of approximation of Tele Custom's middle position which i know i like. You know, they're small enough that you might be able to put three Fidelitrons into a Tele Deluxe pickguard and have it look pretty cool... Hmm... like you said, more mockups needed! I've wanted to do the Cyclone II thing with a Jaguar for some time now. If the neck on the Pawn Shop Jagarillo had been just a touch smaller, I probably would have bought it and used it for the surgery... but it would require quite a bit of routing for the upper horn controls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members riff ie Posted July 26, 2014 Members Share Posted July 26, 2014 this interests' my ness... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gambit Posted July 26, 2014 Author Members Share Posted July 26, 2014 there's a couple of tele deluxe's with 3 wrhp's and they look ok, just a little overcrowded. i did some mockups and single coils on Tele Deluxes are bloody weird-looking! i've been searching for Filtertron style pickups in a humbucker size.. quite a lot of options.. still not sure if it'll look as good as Jazzmaster pickups; and there's a few people out there making single/hum/split pickups that are in a Jazzmaster pickup case so i'll probably explore them a bit more. Filtertron sound / JM look could be a winner. i've also been looking at bigsby style bridges. some of the guitars look fantastic. some look terrible. i'd be interested to hear what the feel of a bigsby is like though. they seem fairly stiff in comparison to the Jag/JM trem, but what about string tension? did some more google image searching for weird tele deluxe's: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gambit Posted August 23, 2014 Author Members Share Posted August 23, 2014 Ok! After researching the hell out of everything, watching hours of youtube videos, and scouring ebay, project number 1 is underway! Here's the parts list:- 2 piece Alder Body- Cheap maple neck with cool 80's USA Fender decal- MIM Tele deluxe loaded pickguard with coil tap- Vanson Locking Tuners- Jaguar Tremolo (Squier type)- Tune-o-matic Roller Bridgeall for under £200.. i'll be finishing it in Danish Oil (Jacobean Dark Oak) for a walnut-ish finish, but so far today i've tweaked the neck (it was just shy of the 56mm heel, so needed some flattening and shaping where it meets the body, and i've aligned everything needed to fit the roller bridge and to route the Jaguar Tremolo cavity. The placement of the tremolo and getting the alignment sorted, measuing scale length etc took some time but i'm confident it will pay off both aesthetically and in practice. Because the Tele body doesn't have the massive expanse of a body like a Jag/Jazzmaster does, i've placed it as far back as i can without it looking 'wrong' - this means it's somewhere inbetween the AVRI and the Classic Player trem placement; which i'm quite excited to see how it works. i've always preferred the AVRI/MIJ distance for string feel when playing compared to the Classic Player/Mascis JM closeness, so somewhere in between could be the best of both worlds. anyway, took a few quick pics at end of day 1.. just at the stage where alignment / placement of the tremolo and bridge has been sorted. those should be drilled/routed tomorrow and then i can get started on the finish which is going to be a Danish Oil with 'Jacobean Dark Oak'.. kind of like a walnut brown but with the grain visible and a fairly decent sheen without the poly lacquer so it'll feel like wood and wear naturally. Should be easy to layer up, but we'll see! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gambit Posted August 23, 2014 Author Members Share Posted August 23, 2014 Getting stuff lined up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AJ6stringsting Posted August 25, 2014 Members Share Posted August 25, 2014 there's a couple of tele deluxe's with 3 wrhp's and they look ok, just a little overcrowded. i did some mockups and single coils on Tele Deluxes are bloody weird-looking! i've been searching for Filtertron style pickups in a humbucker size.. quite a lot of options.. still not sure if it'll look as good as Jazzmaster pickups; and there's a few people out there making single/hum/split pickups that are in a Jazzmaster pickup case so i'll probably explore them a bit more. Filtertron sound / JM look could be a winner. i've also been looking at bigsby style bridges. some of the guitars look fantastic. some look terrible. i'd be interested to hear what the feel of a bigsby is like though. they seem fairly stiff in comparison to the Jag/JM trem, but what about string tension? did some more google image searching for weird tele deluxe's: I'd love the sound of those "Lipstick tube pickups", but I've never seen or heard those "Lipstick tube" humbuckers !!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gambit Posted August 25, 2014 Author Members Share Posted August 25, 2014 i think some Danelectro guitars have them.. Phil will know. Day 2: - Bridge posts fitted; a little off on treble-side due to some rushed drilling, but should be within tolerance of the bridge saddles to adjust the intonation. - Jaguar tremolo routing done. didn't need the extra semi-cire since i'm using a non-button tremolo. probably saved a lot of hassle not having to drill/route it out. first coat of 'Jacobean dark oak' Danish Oil applied.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gambit Posted August 25, 2014 Author Members Share Posted August 25, 2014 the first coat is the deepest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gambit Posted August 26, 2014 Author Members Share Posted August 26, 2014 just need to get an input jack plate, string trees and a replacement pickup selector.. maybe a different roller bridge (fender wrhp pole-piece spacing is always a ball-ache - the low E isn't directly over the pole piece). looks and feels sexy as all hell though! not dissimilar to the Elvis Costello Jazzmaster finish-wise i think (seems his is alder aswell)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gambit Posted August 26, 2014 Author Members Share Posted August 26, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Trick Fall Posted August 27, 2014 Members Share Posted August 27, 2014 Cool project, nicely done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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