A Few Telecaster Questions

Thanks Tonar. I'll take your suggestions, though I am iffy on the Brazilian Rosewood. How would I get some? I think the clay dots will look the best, so I suppose I'll go with those. I was thinking SS 6230 like on my vintage style Strat. I dunno, I like the way they look and how they don't wear down with my huge strings. Thanks for all the suggestions, guys.

EDIT: For Cagey.... I love how bluntly you word things. That brightened my morning in time for work, and I couldn't help but laugh my ass off at "If you find you don't like having a guitar that's tunable..." Good show!  :icon_thumright:

EDIT 2: Are Lollar pickups handwound? I'm not saying it does or doesn't make a difference, I'm curious though. One of my favorite things about Bare Knuckle is knowing somebody wound them just for me. It's just one of those cool little things in the story of my instruments.
 
I'm liking the ideas for this build. Sunburst isn't my fave, but it is a classic.
I'd slightly alter it to a solid paintjob, no binding, floyd rose, emgs, and a soloist body with a pointy neck. Other than that...
 
I am not much of a Sunburst guy, but I wanted to go for a 1963 tele look and sound without spending a hell of a lot of money on the real deal.
 
I had the Callaham tele bridge with compensated brass saddles on my warmoth tele and it intonated perfectly. I'd highly recommend it.

I'm also in the process of building another Warmoth tele. I'm going to stick with the Callaham bridge, Callaham special Fralin wind pickup set, and vintage Gotoh tuners. Maybe it's just an aesthetic thing but I've never liked the look of Tele's with modern tuners.
 
I ordered a vintage tele body yesterday and am going to set it up like my old 62 I sold, seems I will have to buy a dual load bridge and shit can the saddles and order a set of the nickle ribbed ones, getting what you want can be an experience in kit bashing at times, but the money spent to get what YOU WANT is really well worth it in the end as you have exactly what you want.
Good luck
 
Thanks Jusatele! I'm super excited to get this started. I think at the same time I am going to try to put together a Jaguar. I'm a vintage nut, and have had the chance to play many 1950s and 1960s (more 50s than 60s) Fenders. Always wanted one, but too expensive for me at this point. (The strat I played was freaking $21,000) So this should turn out great!
 
Tipperman said:
Thanks Jusatele! I'm super excited to get this started. I think at the same time I am going to try to put together a Jaguar. I'm a vintage nut, and have had the chance to play many 1950s and 1960s (more 50s than 60s) Fenders. Always wanted one, but too expensive for me at this point. (The strat I played was freaking $21,000) So this should turn out great!
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then as I said, write down the build plan and every time you are tempted to change or save 30 bucks here or there pull it out
I have a GTOM because I did not deter from the plan, it is what my plan called for, and I kept experimenting on other cheap lumber till I got what I wanted.
Built that way and you will walk off with what you want.
My current (oh it feels so good to say that) is going to match my old 62, I loved that tele more than any other guitar I have ever owned, and I have a PRS custom 22 artist edition.
 
Ok, taking all of your guys advice into consideration I have settled on Bare Knuckle Pickups Blackguard 55 Stagger tele pickups, Callaham 3 saddle bridge compensated. I am torn between Tonars suggestion of Kluson (I DO want to be accurate, but I love the Schallers for quick re-strings and clean appearance. I think I will bite the bullet, be a man, and deal with it for the vintage aesthetic, however. On my parts list (I never thought of writing it down, Jusa. I'm an idiot.) I listed Kluson-style Vintage, so that is likely what I will go with. I am thinking White Corian nut? I have one in my Strat neck from Warmoth right now and I love it. It looks nice and clean, and I get no tuning issues (and I actually use the whammy extensively!  :cool01:) I can post my full parts list that I have wrote if anyone is really interested in this build.

For Tonar: I am going to place the custom order for the body soon, within 3 weeks tops.

For ANYBODY who has an answer: If I chose to get a neck (Obviously I'm getting a neck...) with a Brazilian Rosewood fretboard, drilled for dots and side dots but nothing in the drilled.... how could I do that? I am located in Virginia, and would very much like to get the Brazilian Rosewood, but being the illiterate fool that I am could not for the life of me figure out how to, or why that Lacey Act is hatin' on poor me.
 
yes give us a design build list, we love them, and we will argue with each other over it, all because we can

oh, call Warmoth, ask them about that neck, see if they can, and if they do not have B rosewood, see if they will be able to work with it if you find it and ship it to them, there are still stocks of it in the USA so you may find some on the net of the proper size.
 
Brazilian Rosewood. How would I get some?
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Warmoth only ships Brazilian to Washington, they cannot ship it out of state so you have to get it in Washington.

I am thinking White Corian nut?
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AHHHHHHHHHHHHH Don't do it.  That guitar should only have a bone nut.

May I suggest a tone test on guitar nuts?  Take a Corain, Tusq, and Bone nut, drop them from chest high onto a cement floor and let your ears tell you what is right.  By the way there are dramatic differences in the sound.
 
Greg, are you able to get and properly cut a bone nut? I have a guy in Arlington VA who can do it, but when I ship the neck to your for a right proper finish, that would be pretty cool if you could. Cost, if so? Money isn't a factor for me, as I am building long-term (several months, counting finishing time) to get exactly what I want.
 
I would suggest you have your guy do the nut because it needs to be cut during final assembly and set up.  I can get real nice unbleached aged looking bone if you are interested just send me a PM and I’ll let you know what it will cost.  We prefer unbleached for appearance and it seems to have more oils in it so the strings don’t get hung up as easily. 
 
I didn't know they bleached them. I'll take unbleached, then. I'll get in contact with Daniel after I have sent the neck your way for finishing, as he does my assemblies and setups/fretwork. Thanks Greg, you've been extremely helpful with this. I'll shoot you a message when I have placed the order for the body.

EDIT: For the neck pickup, I am guessing no holes and wood mount?
 
I am with Tonar 10,000 % about not having that bone cut till final setup.
the action of a guitar is set by 3 different things, and if one is off from the other the entire thing is Shit
the nut cut
the bridge setup
and the entire neck job

none of those is more important than any of the others, I play every day, I have for 47 years now, your action is neck vs nut, and your action is the foundation of the setup, the fret job/ neck bow and angle are the dressing on the cake. all of them are equally important. but if one is not balanced to the other, the setup will never feel right. the nut cut is balanced to the bridge which is balanced to the neck curve/ fret job. That is why the kid at Guitar Center doing setups can get it playable, but the Guitar tech you search out and sits down and discusses your style/preferences and watches you play a song or two can make a guitar play like buttah. I will pay to get my guitar set up right, it matters that much. I can take a Squire with a professional setup and out play a Am Std with a factory setup.
 
I'll have him cut one and everything when I take it in to him after getting it back, then! Thanks for all the extra info Jusa. I just know what I like - not much else.
 
+1 on the 3 saddle bridge.  Even with the compensated saddles, intonation is still approximate because they are compensated with a specific string gauge in mind.  Everyone's inner Eric Johnson that has ever changed string gauges on the same guitar will attest to a new setup of truss rod, action, and intonation.  Just play the thing and don't get to bogged down by the details.  Even perfect fretted 12th and harmonic intonation won't put the other frets in the right places.  2 strings' breakover pressure on one saddle vs. 1 to 1 is what it comes down too, and one of those is decidedly more Tele than the other for some.  If Cagey is in favor of 6, this is highly inconsistent with his less pieces and moving parts stance with other bridges.  :icon_jokercolor:
 
I wouldn't call it "highly inconsistent". That's going to an extreme, like using the die-cast bridges used on cheap Gibsons...

TP04020012.jpg

Or the other direction where you use a Floyd Rose design...

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As with Goldilock's adventures in home invasion, there's a design that's "just right". Not uselessly simple, but not overly complicated. There's a certain necessary amount of mechanics that have to be involved to get the adjustments you need. The traditional Tele bridge cheaps out, which is consistent with Leo's original philosophy for that guitar. Today, we don't have to count pennies or wonder what works. The Gotoh bridge/pickup mount satisfies on all counts. It's simple and inexpensive, yet allows for all the adjustments you need.
 
Cagey, your (brilliiant and insightful!) analysis ignores the fact that bridge construction / type really does affect the sound of the guitar, certainly in a more consistent way than body woods, for instance. Second, as far as intonation goes - you DO know that any guitar, no matter how many saddles, is going to be off by about 4 cents or more no matter what unless you also compensate at the nut, right? given that fact, if a slant angled 3 saddle can get me to within one cent at the 12th fret, further worry about intonation with standard frets and nut is just Eric Johnson-ry.
I just received my hipshot 3 saddle compensated tele bridge, and it looks like a design that would make you and I both happy - no lip, lightweight, compensated saddles, but also ferrous steel / brass / 3 saddle construction.
 
A major part of the sound of a Tele is that the bridge pickup is hung from the METAL bridge and the base plate of that pick up is copper coated steel. You can hear the difference between the copper vs nickle saddles, they twang different, and the slightly off intonation seems to be a hallmark also. I used to hate that bridge when I owned one, All I can think of now every time I play a new Am Std is how it is not a Tele, the soul is missing.. And I truly believe that is the bridge.
 
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