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building a korina tele...


carryonplease

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my friend is building me a korina tele. I want it to be the best it can so I don't mind spending extra on hardware and stuff, but i'm very new to fender hardware so i have a few questions:

 

Body: 1 piece or 2 piece?

Neck: Korina neck as well? bolt on? set?

Bridge: standard saddles?

Pickups: I'm pretty sure its gonna be an HH tele unless anyone has any other ideas

 

anything else im missing?

 

I know this isn't going to really sound like a tele, but its going to sound unique regardless.

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my friend is building me a korina tele. I want it to be the best it can so I don't mind spending extra on hardware and stuff, but i'm very new to fender hardware so i have a few questions:


Body: 1 piece or 2 piece?

Neck: Korina neck as well? bolt on? set?

Bridge: standard saddles?

Pickups: I'm pretty sure its gonna be an HH tele unless anyone has any other ideas


anything else im missing?


I know this isn't going to really sound like a tele, but its going to sound unique regardless.

 

 

Unique? HH Teles are pretty standard pieces of kit, plenty of Asian options in that line and Tele Customs etc.

 

1 piece is desirable

Korina neck'd be good

Bolt on or set, but set would give it an edge, but again set neck Teles are out there

 

Bridge? Make it string through with a TOM bridge

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what if the neck has to be bought? he said he buys them pre-slotted but does the fret work and fretboard and sanding and everything else. does anyone sell a korina neck like this? haha its only like the 4th guitar he has ever made

 

 

If you want a Korina Tele neck, then it'll be a bolt on by Warmoth or USACG or similar

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Number of pieces in the body really doesn't matter, except for how it looks. Two bookmatched pieces would be nice, but hard to find Limba in that thick of a chunk.

 

Get your bridge first, then measure it yourself. Do your layout, and put together a Bill of Materials before doing anything else. This is what I do with students that I mentor for their Senior Projects. Get a copy of the StewMac catalog, then go page by page picking out the parts you need, then putting them in a spreadsheet or just writing them down. This will not only help you with making sure you have everything, but will also help you with the budgeting and perhaps with some decisions about what type of part to purchase.

 

Also, see if your library has Melvyn Hiscock's "Make Your Own Electric Guitar". You can also pick it up at most big bookstores and Amazon.com.

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Number of pieces in the body really doesn't matter, except for how it looks. Two bookmatched pieces would be nice, but hard to find Limba in that thick of a chunk.

 

 

Gilmers usually carry a good stock of limba, the black goes quickly but some plain white is very what people are satisfied with, and expect if they use the Explorer or V as a reference

 

http://www.gilmerwood.com/instrument_wood-solid_bodies.htm

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Forgive me, but I dont see the point. HH, set neck, and your out of tele territory IMO. Might as well just play an SG. The bolt on neck & single coil bridge pickup on that tele plate, along with the body shape, is what makes a tele IMO. You could argue long Fender scale vs Gibson scale I guess. But thats pretty insignificant given all the other features.

 

A korina body and maybe even a korina bolt on neck with traditional tele hardware would be an interesting tonal experiment tho, all rosewood teles have their fans. And korina is a pretty wood.

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Forgive me, but I dont see the point. HH, set neck, and your out of tele territory IMO. Might as well just play an SG. The bolt on neck & single coil bridge pickup on that tele plate, along with the body shape, is what makes a tele IMO. You could argue long Fender scale vs Gibson scale I guess. But thats pretty insignificant given all the other features.


A korina body and maybe even a korina bolt on neck with traditional tele hardware would be an interesting tonal experiment tho, all rosewood teles have their fans. And korina is a pretty wood.

 

 

Hmm, pretty much sums it up for me.

 

I've tried in the past to buck trends, and when I cook I like to tweak ingredients, but the fact is the recipe for a Tele is

 

Some ash

Some maple

dash of rosewood (optional)

Steel plate

Esquire pickup

neck pickup (optional)

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Number of pieces in the body really doesn't matter, except for how it looks. Two bookmatched pieces would be nice, but hard to find Limba in that thick of a chunk.


Get your bridge first, then measure it yourself. Do your layout, and put together a Bill of Materials before doing anything else. This is what I do with students that I mentor for their Senior Projects. Get a copy of the StewMac catalog, then go page by page picking out the parts you need, then putting them in a spreadsheet or just writing them down. This will not only help you with making sure you have everything, but will also help you with the budgeting and perhaps with some decisions about what type of part to purchase.


Also, see if your library has Melvyn Hiscock's "Make Your Own Electric Guitar". You can also pick it up at most big bookstores and Amazon.com.

 

All great advise! And for pickups, check out some BG-Pups

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Forgive me, but I dont see the point. HH, set neck, and your out of tele territory IMO. Might as well just play an SG. The bolt on neck & single coil bridge pickup on that tele plate, along with the body shape, is what makes a tele IMO. You could argue long Fender scale vs Gibson scale I guess. But thats pretty insignificant given all the other features.


A korina body and maybe even a korina bolt on neck with traditional tele hardware would be an interesting tonal experiment tho, all rosewood teles have their fans. And korina is a pretty wood.

 

 

im down with traditional hardware, but i've read a few places that bolt-on necks really don't have any pluses.

 

like i said, i know im out of tele territory...

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Nothing wrong with your basic maple-with-rosewood-fingerboard neck; even Gibson's used that wood combination on their LP's and 335's.

 

You can probably get a nice korina neck from Warmoth. It'll cost a fair chunk of $$$ but Warmoth makes a good product.

 

Sounds like a gorgeous build. Let us know how it goes. :)

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