Lets look at our guitars thread
Discussion
I think it would look good with a bit of stain on the sides and back, then clear coat. Even as it is, I like the colour/grain effect.
I finally worked out today how to wire my Tele with an Eric Clapton mid boost (like I've fitted to my Strat), but only use two knobs so it looks like a normal Tele. Think that'll be a little side project as I'm playing a small gig in 2.5 weeks time that would suit the Tele modified this way. (Well that's my excuse anyway).
I finally worked out today how to wire my Tele with an Eric Clapton mid boost (like I've fitted to my Strat), but only use two knobs so it looks like a normal Tele. Think that'll be a little side project as I'm playing a small gig in 2.5 weeks time that would suit the Tele modified this way. (Well that's my excuse anyway).
Got my new '51 neck today and did a trial fit with the other parts I've prepared. It fits nice and snug with no sanding or other prep needed. Doesn't feel neck heavy despite it being a much thicker neck (and the Squier body is a bit thinner than most MIM Teles). Pleased with how it's looking, though will have to come apart to strip and re-spray the body.
Trial fit of the parts:
Trial fit of the parts:
rsbmw said:
After this some Ruskin's tinted grain filler (mahogany), to fill the grain with a tint and really make it pop.
Idea of this stuff is that once sanded back you will have a properly flat surface that will take flat coatings well, whilst the tinted filler stays in the grain making it stand out. Sanding it back was a f
king nightmare, sandpaper clogs immediately and it took a lot of persuading.
Nice job :-)Idea of this stuff is that once sanded back you will have a properly flat surface that will take flat coatings well, whilst the tinted filler stays in the grain making it stand out. Sanding it back was a f
king nightmare, sandpaper clogs immediately and it took a lot of persuading.As you found out the hard way, after applying the grain fill, it saves a lot of time, elbow grease and sandpaper if you scrape off the excess as described here: https://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk/2011/05/02/...
Several coats of oil to go followed by a good steel wooling and buffing, but getting close to a guitar now. Really pleased with it. Grain on both neck and body looks great.
Logo arrived today and I put it on. Whilst sliding it off the backing paper the 'TER' ripped clean off which left me two random bits of waterslide to position and smooth together. My cheapness meant it was fking happening, as I wasn't paying another £12 for a replacement! My surname starts St hence Stender Stelecaster
Logo arrived today and I put it on. Whilst sliding it off the backing paper the 'TER' ripped clean off which left me two random bits of waterslide to position and smooth together. My cheapness meant it was f
king happening, as I wasn't paying another £12 for a replacement! My surname starts St hence Stender StelecasterEdited by rsbmw on Saturday 22 June 16:11
Edited by rsbmw on Saturday 22 June 16:12
Looking quite like a guitar now!
Body and neck finishing done, neck took 8 coats of Tru oil, has rubbed up to a beautiful satin, just what I was going for. Unfortunately the logo rubbed off with the next coat of tru oil
Body has had about 10 coats of oil and a polish up with Farecla (what I had lying around), not perfect but far better than I expected my first time out, very happy.
Have also fitted the nut/tuners, and the proper scary bit drilling the screw holes in the neck so neck completely done and alignment is perfect.
Shielded the cavities/bridge/scratchplate and test-mounted the bridge tonight. I think I'll probably get it strung up and do a bit of a setup next, as it's a heel truss rod adjustment I would prefer that sorted before I sort electrics/pickguard.
There are a few marginally high fret spots but checking against my MIM that has no playability issues at all it's no worse really so may get away without fret levelling/crowning.
Body and neck finishing done, neck took 8 coats of Tru oil, has rubbed up to a beautiful satin, just what I was going for. Unfortunately the logo rubbed off with the next coat of tru oil
Body has had about 10 coats of oil and a polish up with Farecla (what I had lying around), not perfect but far better than I expected my first time out, very happy.Have also fitted the nut/tuners, and the proper scary bit drilling the screw holes in the neck so neck completely done and alignment is perfect.
Shielded the cavities/bridge/scratchplate and test-mounted the bridge tonight. I think I'll probably get it strung up and do a bit of a setup next, as it's a heel truss rod adjustment I would prefer that sorted before I sort electrics/pickguard.
There are a few marginally high fret spots but checking against my MIM that has no playability issues at all it's no worse really so may get away without fret levelling/crowning.
After stringing it up by some miracle all I had to do was adjust the saddle height to get the action where I wanted it, and the intonation was somehow perfect...
Decided I may aswell crack on with electrics, pickguard etc and so cracked out the soldering iron (my first time). I was using pickups from a MIM tele that I grabbed cheap on eBay (amongst other things) which had grounding eye terminals making things a bit tight in the cavities but managed to get it sorted.
Then found that the CTS pots wouldn't fit through my control plate, cue drilling. Then found that my knobs wouldn't fit the pots, cue more drilling. With everything wired up and screwed on I stuck a string on and plugged in expecting failure and to my amazement sound was produced through the amp, great success.
Turning the guitar over to stick the rest of the strings on I realised that the ground screw in the pot cavity had gone clean through the back of the guitar. Drat, first proper mistake! Oh well it's a tiny hole and a bit more puple stain + tru oil should pretty much hide it, plus I'm secretly happy it has a battle scar and a story.
Ladies and gentlemen I give you, a purple Telecaster.
Couldn't be happier with it really, plays absolutely beautifully, courtesy of that fantastic neck. Final remaining issue I have is that the jack socket doesn't fit my electrosocket plate (imperial vs metric), have ordered another jack to wire in. Pickups sound a bit...mexican tele...and since it's otherwise a great guitar I'll probably swap those with something special at some point.
Decided I may aswell crack on with electrics, pickguard etc and so cracked out the soldering iron (my first time). I was using pickups from a MIM tele that I grabbed cheap on eBay (amongst other things) which had grounding eye terminals making things a bit tight in the cavities but managed to get it sorted.
Then found that the CTS pots wouldn't fit through my control plate, cue drilling. Then found that my knobs wouldn't fit the pots, cue more drilling. With everything wired up and screwed on I stuck a string on and plugged in expecting failure and to my amazement sound was produced through the amp, great success.
Turning the guitar over to stick the rest of the strings on I realised that the ground screw in the pot cavity had gone clean through the back of the guitar. Drat, first proper mistake! Oh well it's a tiny hole and a bit more puple stain + tru oil should pretty much hide it, plus I'm secretly happy it has a battle scar and a story.
Ladies and gentlemen I give you, a purple Telecaster.
Couldn't be happier with it really, plays absolutely beautifully, courtesy of that fantastic neck. Final remaining issue I have is that the jack socket doesn't fit my electrosocket plate (imperial vs metric), have ordered another jack to wire in. Pickups sound a bit...mexican tele...and since it's otherwise a great guitar I'll probably swap those with something special at some point.
That looks great RSBMW. 
Yours is a lot more upmarket looking than mine, I love the finish on the body too.
Seems like we're both going along at a similar pace (except I need to strip mine down again to actually spray it). I put the bottom E string on last night just to check alignment and ended up putting the rest on. Did a very basic set up (the nut still has to be cut by my usual guy as I don't have the tools and not worth buying for a one-off job) as I was a bit concerned as to how I will get on with this really thick neck.
Turns out I'm OK with the neck, the frets aren't too high for my taste either and the 9.5" radius (instead of my usual 7.25"). Played it unplugged for about an hour last night and while it feels different to my MIM 50s Classic I soon adjusted, so it's a nice change.
I need to order my pickup as I want a tapped Tele from 'The Creamery' to give me options (I've put a pull switch on the tone knob). I might just stick a spare Tele pick up in it if I can find some suitable screws and I'll wire the control plate up. After that I really will have to strip it down and prepare it for the paint job.
Yours is a lot more upmarket looking than mine, I love the finish on the body too. Seems like we're both going along at a similar pace (except I need to strip mine down again to actually spray it). I put the bottom E string on last night just to check alignment and ended up putting the rest on. Did a very basic set up (the nut still has to be cut by my usual guy as I don't have the tools and not worth buying for a one-off job) as I was a bit concerned as to how I will get on with this really thick neck.
Turns out I'm OK with the neck, the frets aren't too high for my taste either and the 9.5" radius (instead of my usual 7.25"). Played it unplugged for about an hour last night and while it feels different to my MIM 50s Classic I soon adjusted, so it's a nice change.
I need to order my pickup as I want a tapped Tele from 'The Creamery' to give me options (I've put a pull switch on the tone knob). I might just stick a spare Tele pick up in it if I can find some suitable screws and I'll wire the control plate up. After that I really will have to strip it down and prepare it for the paint job.
Edited by OldSkoolRS on Thursday 27th June 18:14
Looks good, are you just spraying over the existing colour? Where did that body come from again?
Take a look at Alegree pickups, people seem to rate them up with Mojo and Oil city but a fair bit cheaper.
Oh meant to add, I went with a Tusq XL nut for this, pre cut so minimal hassle. Just needed some sandpaper held over the fretboard to sand it down on, ensuring correct radius. Another thing I hadn't done before but managed to get spot on through some miracle.
Take a look at Alegree pickups, people seem to rate them up with Mojo and Oil city but a fair bit cheaper.
Oh meant to add, I went with a Tusq XL nut for this, pre cut so minimal hassle. Just needed some sandpaper held over the fretboard to sand it down on, ensuring correct radius. Another thing I hadn't done before but managed to get spot on through some miracle.
Edited by rsbmw on Thursday 27th June 21:28
rsbmw said:
Looks good, are you just spraying over the existing colour? Where did that body come from again?
Take a look at Alegree pickups, people seem to rate them up with Mojo and Oil city but a fair bit cheaper.
Oh meant to add, I went with a Tusq XL nut for this, pre cut so minimal hassle. Just needed some sandpaper held over the fretboard to sand it down on, ensuring correct radius. Another thing I hadn't done before but managed to get spot on through some miracle.
Cheers, it's an old Squier body, I think I'll just fill the bridge and jack socket holes, spot primer and flat the existing paint down. I found that NorthWestGuitars are cheaper than Rothco & Frost, so I'll probably buy it from there to use in my gun. Still debating colur though; I fancy doing it in Gibson Gold Top instead of Lake Placid Blue now, since it seems a bit boring to 'change' it from blue to another blue...Take a look at Alegree pickups, people seem to rate them up with Mojo and Oil city but a fair bit cheaper.
Oh meant to add, I went with a Tusq XL nut for this, pre cut so minimal hassle. Just needed some sandpaper held over the fretboard to sand it down on, ensuring correct radius. Another thing I hadn't done before but managed to get spot on through some miracle.
Edited by rsbmw on Thursday 27th June 21:28
I'll have a look at Alegree, but it's the tapped pickup idea I like, since it's an Esquire it'll give me some extra sounds that way, so it'll depend on whether they offer something similar. The Creamery one is about £80 and 40-45 days for delivery, so I'm going to have to put something temporary in there in the meantime.
I've got a Tusc XL on my Epiphone LP, but had it fitted for me. I do most things on the guitar, except for fret work and nuts due to lack of tools. I guess if I'd bought the tools a few years back they would have had some use, but doesn't seem worthwhile when it's only one job.
Slushbox said:
Liked the Frankencaster builds. I built a couple of Frankenstrats for the kids out of Chinese bits, they played Ok, and got the DIY thing out my system.
Not sure about getting it out of my system, I'm already looking for bits for next build! If anything it's shown me how silly it is to pay £££ for some generic off the shelf axe when as long as you're using quality bits (neck most important IMO), and know how to set up a guitar, you can put together a spectacular guitar for around the same cost as a Squier. That said, it helps that my favourite guitars are simple strat/tele devices, I expect if you're into semi-hollow arch-top jazz machines it would be less easy.I'm already in conversations with a Luthier to get a neck and body for my next build. Solid Madagascar Rosewood neck (one on the left in pic below is mine) and an HSS alder strat body with a flame maple top.
Ordered this top to send down to him, 8mm thick 5A flamed maple.
Going to try to emulate PRS 'Northern Lights' finish on it.
Cantaloupe said:
Got a bit of dosh on the passing of close relative, I can hear him saying "spend it on something frivolous ".
So I did.
I've always fancied a SG, but tried one many years ago and just couldn't get comfortable with it.
Your reason for buying resonates with me, also. Last year I received a small inheritance, with the caveat that it should be spent on a nice watch in memory of my Granddad. I think he would have approved of a 1964 Seamaster.
cherryowen said:
Good effort!
I've always fancied a SG, but tried one many years ago and just couldn't get comfortable with it.
Your reason for buying resonates with me, also. Last year I received a small inheritance, with the caveat that it should be spent on a nice watch in memory of my Granddad. I think he would have approved of a 1964 Seamaster.
Yes, I still have a bit left for a nice watch. I've always fancied a SG, but tried one many years ago and just couldn't get comfortable with it.
Your reason for buying resonates with me, also. Last year I received a small inheritance, with the caveat that it should be spent on a nice watch in memory of my Granddad. I think he would have approved of a 1964 Seamaster.
Cantaloupe said:
Got a bit of dosh on the passing of close relative, I can hear him saying "spend it on something frivolous ".
So I did.
Nice SG; I've been fancying one of those for a while myself, I prefer the red over the blue too. Currently borrowing a friend's SG Tribute(?) and really like the light weight and easier fret access...just feels quite different to my Les Paul. I can see me buying something frivolous too. So I did.
Thought id get involved in this. Here's some photos of my current gear and some live photos from gigs.
All the Fenders are USA Strats all modified with different pickups.
The others are an Ibanez RG, charvel San Dimas style strat, Floyd Rose Redmond guitar.
Amps are:
Kemper profiler
Peavey 6505 head
Peavey 6505 combo
Orange Dual Terror head
Marshall JCM2000 50w head
Laney 50w LH50 head
Various speaker cabs
All the Fenders are USA Strats all modified with different pickups.
The others are an Ibanez RG, charvel San Dimas style strat, Floyd Rose Redmond guitar.
Amps are:
Kemper profiler
Peavey 6505 head
Peavey 6505 combo
Orange Dual Terror head
Marshall JCM2000 50w head
Laney 50w LH50 head
Various speaker cabs
Edited by Pie-n-Peys on Friday 12th July 15:54
Edited by Pie-n-Peys on Wednesday 24th July 12:36
My faithfull Gibson EB0.
A Bass Guitar website opined that historically Gibson have never figured much in promoting their bass guitars and
their impact on popular music was minimal leaving the Bass guitar market open to Fender.
Really ? The EB series did quite well in the 1960s.
Let's see who preferred Gibson Basses to Fender:
Trevor Bolder
Jack Bruce
Felix Pappalardi
Andy Fraser
Glenn Cornick
Chas Chandler
Must be more ?
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