Members 6down1togo Posted May 3, 2020 Members Share Posted May 3, 2020 I picked up this IVY branded Telecaster Thinline a while back thinking it would be a donor for the body for a partscaster. After I got it, I found it actually played pretty well and had Gotoh tuners on it. The pickups were some overwound humbuckers and sounded just OK. The fingerboard actually looks to be ebony and not some other wood stained to look like ebony. The pickguard was a homemade affair and the cream rings and open pickups didn't do it for me but the guitar really did play great. As purchased Since it played so nicely, I decided to just give it a face lift and a pickup swap. In went a pair of wide-range style humbuckers and off came the rings and pickguard. I put on a pair of wood rings and a walnut Cabronita style pickguard I trimmed to fit. It covered all but one of the prior pickguard's screw holes. I was able to make disappear with a drop fill and a few strokes of my "graining" markers. The headstock wasa bit miss-shaped so I recontoured it and added a piece of walnut veneer that I will stain to match the pickguard and rings. I'm liking the result from these little details. I'll post finished pics when done. I am working this one while taking a break from my other Tele project which I just sanded and resprayed … again. Progress pics: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted May 3, 2020 Members Share Posted May 3, 2020 It didn't look half bad before and it's turning out really nice. Looking forward to your continued progress. 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6down1togo Posted May 4, 2020 Author Members Share Posted May 4, 2020 Here's the finished headstock alongside the pickguard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6down1togo Posted May 13, 2020 Author Members Share Posted May 13, 2020 Here's some revolting developments. First, upon close examination, the pickup covers had some small dents that I hadn't noticed before (thanks eBay!) so I ordered replacement covers but couldn't get the sleek 3x3 I was after short of buying another set of pickups which was cheaper than just buying the covers. I orders some Filtertron style ones from Amazon that got here quick. Not a s good looking but OK. After finishing, stringing and setup (plays great with .006" relief and 1/16"/3/32" action!), I could not take my eyes off the black ROHS Compliance stamp on the back of the headstock that said proudly "Made in Vietnam". I figured I would take it off with lacquer thinner and it indeed came right off … leaving the bright white wood under the lettering while the rest of the neck had taken on a light vintage amber look from UV light. Dayum! Cut off the new strings, pull the tuners off and sand until the whole headstock was bright white and then tint? Nope, I loaned my palm sander to a buddy and I am too impatient hand sand the Poly coating so the magic starts. Clear packaging tape goes over the back of the headstock and I trim around the area using the wood grain as my parting line, peel away the tape to expose the rework area and sand until white. Threw on a couple spot coats of clear followed by a few passes with the trusty Badger airbrush and some thinned clear with a couple drops of Mohawk Starburst Amber. Let it flash, peel the tape, scuff the edge and spot clear the back of the headstock masking around the tuners. Done in a half hour. Yay! I win this round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6down1togo Posted May 13, 2020 Author Members Share Posted May 13, 2020 Here is the finished product. I added a black streak to the headstock veneer like the pickguard. I have about 10 offers on Reverb. Must have priced it too low! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted May 14, 2020 Members Share Posted May 14, 2020 That turned out really nice. Best of luck selling it. 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted May 14, 2020 Moderators Share Posted May 14, 2020 Looks purty dang good! link to the reverb listing? [i may know someone who may be interested] To be honest though, I would have probably skipped the pickguard...that spalted wood looks funky! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted May 14, 2020 Members Share Posted May 14, 2020 Wahsum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6down1togo Posted May 14, 2020 Author Members Share Posted May 14, 2020 2 hours ago, daddymack said: Looks purty dang good! link to the reverb listing? [I may know someone who may be interested] To be honest though, I would have probably skipped the pickguard...that spalted wood looks funky! I dig the spalted woods. The orig owner drilled it for a cabronita pickguard, so I had no choice. It was the walnut or the homemade tortoise that came on it. Could have done black w. black rings but no matter, I got 5 Reverb offers in an hour and sold it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted May 14, 2020 Moderators Share Posted May 14, 2020 I see...the holes were already there...hard to tell in the 'as purchased' thumbnail, but on closer inspection I can make out the screws. I thought it might have just been bonded on. Congrats on the sale! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6down1togo Posted May 17, 2020 Author Members Share Posted May 17, 2020 Appreciate it! That guitar really played nicely too. I intended to throw a fancy flamed neck on it and good pickups and keep it but it was so good I didn't want to separate the body and neck. I have way more guitars than a sane person should so I sold it and luckily did OK on it since I overpaid in the first place. Just hoping the buyer doesn't stumble on that model on Amazon and get buyer's remorse thinking the upgrades weren't worth what he paid vs a new one. It's a delicate dance, these things. I like to think that even though it is used (but like new), the buyer sees the exact guitar he is getting, The finishes and top figuring can be all over the place on a new one. Mine was accurately represented, tastefully upgraded including good tuners and better pickups and set up with perfect playability so the additional cost to the seller, I think was warranted. Oh well. On to the next one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guitarsforidiots.com Posted May 17, 2020 Members Share Posted May 17, 2020 That's a gorgeous build, it's only missing a Bigsby! But seriously, awesome stuff. I'm hoping to do the same to some cheap guitars soon. I've already started by modding this cheap Strat, give it a look! Ignore the hole in the body, I'm going to try an add a guitar pick holder in there this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6down1togo Posted May 17, 2020 Author Members Share Posted May 17, 2020 That's cool. You should contact pickguardian.com and have them make you a pickguard. Tell them you want a H-P90-P90 route and need the left side contour 1/2" wider to cover the booboo. They're pretty reasonable too. Save you some grief and the size change wouldn't even be noticeable. Those things happen sometimes. As for a Bigsby on a tele, for me it's a hard no. I love Bigsbys, just not on Fender style guitars. Now, this guitar routed for a Strat trem, or even a Jazzmaster trem I could go for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guitarsforidiots.com Posted May 17, 2020 Members Share Posted May 17, 2020 Did you see the Jazzmaster Trem Premier Guitar put on a Starcaster? Seems like a bit of work but probably not too bad if you have a router! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6down1togo Posted May 18, 2020 Author Members Share Posted May 18, 2020 Yeah, I've seen that done. It does make a nice clean install. The neat part is the trem plate sits on top of the body, not flush. The routing for the mechanism doesn't even need to precise. My kind of job lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted May 18, 2020 Members Share Posted May 18, 2020 I can't recommend the Mastery vibrato highly enough as a product and their bridge saddles. https://masterybridge.com/vibratos/mastery-vibrato/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6down1togo Posted May 30, 2020 Author Members Share Posted May 30, 2020 On 5/18/2020 at 12:48 AM, Grant Harding said: I can't recommend the Mastery vibrato highly enough as a product and their bridge saddles. https://masterybridge.com/vibratos/mastery-vibrato/ I didn't pay that much for the whole guitar.Too rich for my blod. Update: The new owner was delighted with guitar. He asked me how long I have been a luthier I told him "I have a long way to go before I would consider myself a Luthier. I am a guitar mechanic and rattle-can whisperer." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted May 30, 2020 Members Share Posted May 30, 2020 On wammies, why no worm drive? The zero point would be stable. Any friction issues would be easily addressed with modern materials. See my sig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrbrown49 Posted May 30, 2020 Members Share Posted May 30, 2020 5 hours ago, 1001gear said: On wammies, why no worm drive? The zero point would be stable. Any friction issues would be easily addressed with modern materials. See my sig. Backlash and friction are high in worm drives. They are also inefficient in terms of motion input vs motion output. They also only accept input from one side. That's why the string tension doesn't unwind your tuners. A trek needs to accept input motion from both sides, from the arm and from the springs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted May 30, 2020 Moderators Share Posted May 30, 2020 On 5/17/2020 at 10:48 PM, Grant Harding said: I can't recommend the Mastery vibrato highly enough as a product and their bridge saddles. https://masterybridge.com/vibratos/mastery-vibrato/ Agreed on the quality, I know a few people who've don it but... 12 hours ago, 6down1togo said: I didn't pay that much for the whole guitar.Too rich for my blood. ... I agree here as well, the Mastery set at ~$350, is for a keeper, not a turnover... I've installed a few Bigsby's [preferably with a Vibramate] and Maestros [and removed some as well😜] over the years, and a Floyd Rose once [NEVER AGAIN]. The Mastery looks like a fairly easy job, since the routing gets fully covered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted May 30, 2020 Members Share Posted May 30, 2020 3 hours ago, mrbrown49 said: Backlash and friction are high in worm drives. They are also inefficient in terms of motion input vs motion output. They also only accept input from one side. That's why the string tension doesn't unwind your tuners. A trek needs to accept input motion from both sides, from the arm and from the springs. Tuners are pretty quiet. And so you gotta have return chops. Slide guys manage; not to mention tromboners. I think it's doable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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