[Zacri]

WASSUP EVERYBODY!!!!! So I am a aspiring guitar builder and I will soon be putting together my first Telecaster style guitar. I was just wondering if anybody could give me some advice. Any and all tips would be EXTREMELY appreciated!! Thanks!!

[Art]

Hey there! That's quite a project, and really pretty far outside my abilities, but I think this applies to just about anything. My advice: Use good quality materials. When you skimp, it will show. Good luck!

[BillSPrestonEsq]

Originally Posted by Zacri

WASSUP EVERYBODY!!!!! So I am a aspiring guitar builder and I will soon be putting together my first Telecaster style guitar. I was just wondering if anybody could give me some advice. Any and all tips would be EXTREMELY appreciated!! Thanks!!

What would you like to know? I have built maybe 20-30 of them.

First tip: Use quality parts and wood. You will spend less overall and have a nicer guitar.
Second tip: What are you shooting for? Have a distinct goal in mind before starting.

I would love to help in any way you need.

Warning: Building teles is highly addictive. Its like crack with less health risks.

[Zacri]

Thanks for the tips!!! I really appreciate it!!! Do u have any tips for building a pine tele
?

[BillSPrestonEsq]

Originally Posted by Zacri

Thanks for the tips!!! I really appreciate it!!! Do u have any tips for building a pine tele
?

Pine body and Maple neck? I have had one. It sounded nice. I would suggest going for a somewhat rustic finish as Pine dents if you look at it cross-eyed. Traditional tele pickups sound great in it, as do filtertrons.

[Zacri]

what about humbuckers in a pine tele?

[BillSPrestonEsq]

Originally Posted by Zacri

what about humbuckers in a pine tele?

I like humbuckers. Why pine if I may ask? If you go humbuckers I might recommend bright like filtertrons, Pine is a fairly fragile wood and not my first choice unless you are going for something real specific. (Also, it sounds a lot like Alder)

[Zacri]

THANKS FOR THE TIP!!!!
I chose pine because I like the sound of it and its the cheapest wood I could afford. Plus this is my first complete guitar build I have done.

[charisjapan]

Hey Zacri,

Pine teles are very cool! But as been said, don't skimp too much. As has been said, pine is usually the white SPF (Spruce/Pine/Fir) and while it's easy to work with, it won't make much of a guitar.

Ron Kirn makes his Barnbuster guitars from dismantled old (100+ years) barns, definitely a better material than a 2 X 4. But even an old 2 X 4 from a remodeled home is probably a much better piece of lumber than something from Home Depot, and could often be had for free! My buddy in Tokyo took his old workbench and glued-up a fantastic tele. I learned planing and honing technique on that bench, and to see it as a musical instrument now is a thing of beauty ... Nicks, dents, burns and all.

Will you carve the neck, too? If yes, look at some of the building forums for deals on maple stock. I just got a flamed maple blank from a buddy over in Louisiana for a great price. Just find "fatdaddypreacher" over at the MyLesPaul Luthier's Corner. (You might just find me there, too! )

Best of luck, and be VERY careful with tools!

cj

[Zacri]

THANKS!!!!! I am building the guitar out of a spare piece of pine that we had around the house and I got a maple neck off of amazon. THANKS for the link too I will definitely check it out. That is sooo cool about the work bench!!! I bet it looks FANTASTIC!!!!

[charisjapan]

Zacri,

A Youtube is worth a thousand words! Mind you, my buddy claims to be a horrible guitarist and mediocre builder ... don't believe anything he says!

Workbench Guitar

This is a (my) Ron Kirn Barnbuster. And you might get some ideas from Ron himself Ron Kirn Barnbuster ... and he frequents Strat-Talk under his name.



And my tele build. This is alder, but bought it from a fellow who had stored all the parts necessary for a build but never got around to it ... for 20+ years! His father worked at Fender in Japan before they became Fender Japan. (history note, some old Fenders were MIJ for a while) I got the unfinished top-of-the-line stuff for less than a low-end Squier would set you back today. The amp is a hand-made Tweed Vibro Champ with a few of my own tweaks. Tele + Tweed = WoW!



cj

[R1ridr]

My two tele builds came within the last year. The first was my red telecaster: it is a MIM with a maple fret board SD l'il 59 in the bridge and a SD hot for tele on the neck. The bridge plate came from a company named Hantug out of Ankara, Turkey. Every pieced is milled out of a piece of billet bell brass. I took the saddles of to use on my other build and replaced them with a set of Babicz FCH saddles. The control plate is by Rockrabbit and it moves the volume knob back about an inch and angles the switch.











The second is a thinline style. The body is mahogany with a maple top. The neck is maple. The bridge is made by Gotoh and is made of chrome plated brass. The p'ups are SD five two's wired to a 5 way super switch:
Position 1 is bridge
Position 2 is neck/bridge out of phase
Position 3 is neck/bridge parallel
Position 4 is neck/bridge series (like a humbucker)
Position 5 is neck
I also put a set of Sperzel lockers on it.
I messed up a spot on the face of the top so I am going to make a new pickguard to cover it. Good thing it is for me and not someone else.















Both are great fun to play and have personalities of their own...Obviously.

[martinedwards]

I had a Tokai tele on the bench yesterday doing a little bit of soldering.

absolutely beautiful.

but good grief I hate that bridge!

[nick98338]

I built one Tele. Or actually, I assembled one Tele. I bought all the parts, and put it all together. Took me two weeks to put it together. Took a year to get the setup where I wanted. Plays and sounds great.

[Zacri]

That guitar looks AWESOME!!!