NGD - Finally

[Axisplayer]

OK, to be honest it is more like NGPartsD. Everything is finally here as of this morning. It is the custom tele I planned months ago and took until now to get done. It was a tough path. The luthier hired to make the body originally made three before I accepted one. The one I accepted was gorgeous mahogany. He sent it to my local luthier and when I saw it up close, the binding was bad. Local guy started taking it off to redo the job, but the glue was not the right stuff, was harder than epoxy. In short, the channel got damaged in trying to redo it so I scrapped that first body and lost $300. (I kept it and if I wanted to do a solid finish, it would be perfect.)

 

I gave in and ordered a Warmoth body to go with the Warmoth neck, I was hoping to have one made local, but it didn't happen. Anyway, body is swamp ash, neck is bloodwood with no finish. Schaller locking tuners, Seymour Duncan Greenies from Custom Shop, Fender Jeff Beck trem with Callaham block and Callaham David Gilmour short arm, Bournes pots, vintage cloth wiring, Callaham knobs, control panel, neck plate and all screws.

 

The wiring is a five way superswitch. Because Greenies replicate Peter Green's LP pickups, they are magnetically out of phase when used together. They are four conductor buckers wired RWRP. I should get some quack in all three middle positions. The wiring is this:

 

1 - Neck only

2 - Neck inner coil + Bridge inner coil

3 - Neck and Bridge together but magnetically out of phase

4 - Neck outer coil + Bridge outer coil

5- Bridge only

 

These pics are with parts laying in place, pups still have plastic on them, etc. I have to put it all together. Wont be able to play it for a few days, but at least it is all finally here.

 

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[gardo]

Yet another tease, It's been a rough road for you but you're there. can't wait for a report on the finished project. It's a beauty

[Grant Harding]

Great to see it coming together. Looks great and the colour combination is excellent.

[DeepEnd]

Wow. That turned out really nice. Sorry to hear about your difficulties getting the body made. I keep saying I hate the looks of Teles and then I keep seeing examples like that one. Hope it sounds half as good as it looks.

[Freeman Keller]

Looks good. Too bad about all the problems getting the body built - it shouldn't be that hard. FWIW (and I know its too late) but often the best way to get binding off is just to route it off

[Phil O'Keefe]

I'll be interested in hearing what you think of the Duncan Greenies when you get a chance to use them a bit... Congrats and HNGD!

[Axisplayer]

Thats what we did. My guy didn't have the binding router so I found one about an hour from me. He agreed to do it. First, he forgot about the jack hole on the edge so when the follower wheel hit it, it made a divit that can be easily filled, but not with the rubbed finish I wanted. Then after that took the hit, he went about an inch and the bit came loose a little. The bottom of the channel went 1/8" too deep for about an inch before he caught it. Also not hard to fix, but two errors were more than I could stand on a guitar that I had that money invested in. I decided to buy a perfect body, and save the first body for more of a beater guitar with a spray finish.

[Axisplayer]

I'll post my thoughts in a couple of weeks. This week gets it finished. A week or so of playing it and then I'll get back to you.

[t_e_l_e]

nice one

*must resist to look at warmoth homepage again*

[Danocoustic]

Very nice! I also enjoy putting together different, non-standard configurations.

 

Couple questions---you said the neck is unfinished bloodwood (very pretty) but didn't say what the fretboard is. Looks like ebony...? Any side dots?

 

Is the pickguard cut to accommodate the bridge pickup bezel?

 

What type/value caps did you use?

 

Just curious.

 

[Axisplayer]

The fretboard is ebony. Warmoth made me pay a premium for the black with no discoloration so I figured I would not distract from that by putting dots on the face, but I did have to have something on the side. The pickguard is cut to allow for a bezel, which is also ebony. The pots are 500k and the cap is a .047 orange drop.

[Danocoustic]

Thanks for answering! I also prefer ebony 'boards---I buy them as they come and dye them. Might save a couple bucks.

 

I asked about pot/cap values because i see your project as a prime candidate for a "woman tone" set-up.

 

But I'm sure it'll be badazz just the way it is!

[Freeman Keller]

FWIW, Grant specified an unfinished Warmoth rosewood neck for his barncaster with no marker dots. I wasn't sure how much I would like it but I do. He might chime in now that he has had it for six months.

 

And yes, expect to pay more for pure black ebony in the future

[Phil O'Keefe]

I appreciate it - thanks!

[u6crash]

I really enjoy your configuration! I'm also a sucker for no inlay fretboards, but haven't done it on a guitar yet. I have a Carvin bass kit that I put together with a birdseye maple board w/o inlays. I can't say it's not more challenging (even with side dots), but part of that is bass isn't my primary instrument.

[Axisplayer]

Now that I have lived with it a while, thought I would post a review of the Greenies as requested by Phil.

 

I have used the guitar for about 2 months now, and have formed some firm opinions on it. I ordered exactly what I was looking for. Especially the pups. The Greenies are Seymour Duncan's Custom Shop pickups meant to replicate the sound of the Les Paul that Peter Green owned in the 60s. From the factory, there was a mistake that made the guitar special. The neck pickup's magnet was flipped which reversed the polarity of the pickup. The outcome was that in neck and bridge positions, the guitar was a normal LP, but when the middle position was used, the pickups were out of phase magnetically which caused a unique sound.

 

The Greenies produce that effect very, very well. Each pup I ordered came with four conductors so I could split the coils. Originally, I wired them with a five way switch. The concept was that in positions 1 and 5 I would get the two pups individually. In position 3, I would get the Peter Green effect, and in 2 and 4 I would get the inner pair of coils, and then the outer pair of coils. It was a great idea on paper, but positions 2, 3 and 4 did not have enough variance to be worth the switching. I found myself only using 1, 3, and 5 so I rewired the guitar to the simpler 3 way switch. Surprisingly, the middle position yields a great quack reminiscent of a strat. The combined sound does yield a drop in volume from either pup alone, but that is not really an issue. The pups are quite warm sounding, and very open. You hear nuances, but without the biting sound of some humbuckers. They are smooth almost like a jazz sound when rolled off, but when pushed hard they get a very distinct edge to them. The bridge pup gets more edge than the neck and that works well for playing rhythm and switching to lead. The middle position is where the magic really happens though. I found that my tele can yield a strat like sound. The quack is unmistakable. Since my Greenies are trembuckers, I could not try them in my Gibson, but I have to assume the outcome would be similar. Now, these are not cheap pups at $320 a pair, but they are so unique sounding, and so smooth and sweet, I have no regrets at all in buying them. If I only had one guitar, they might not be the choice, but if you have a spare they make it a wonderful alternative sound. I love them.