A Tale of Two Teles

[Cactus Jack]

My dream Tele popped up in the Showcase so I snagged it up. I've built it a million times in the builder, but never pulled the trigger. Specs are solid Mahogany, Fire Burst flame top, contours, and natural binding. She is going to be a Fat Nashville girl and essentially combine my favorite features from all of my other guitars. I haven't settled on the wiring scheme or pickups yet, but due to Corona Virus, I have plenty of time to figure it out.

Also, a few weeks ago I purchased a satin Tobacco Burst Tele but by accident, the wrong finish was applied. Warmoth customer service was great to work with and I ended up exchanging it for another Black Korina Tele. I really love the guitar I made for my daughter and decided I wanted a matching one. However, while her guitar is an HSH configuration, mine is going to be Strat/Strat/Tele. I'm installing a Seymour Duncan Jerry Donahue in the bridge and a pair of APS-2s in the neck and middle. Everything will be wired up to a 10-way Freeway switch. Pretty darn excited.

Here's a sneak peek:

 

[PhilHill]

Nice! :headbang:

 

[mayfly]

really liking that second one!

 

[BroccoliRob]

if Dickens played guitar he def would've titled that book A Tale of Two Teles instead of Cities. what is that book even about anyway? blah, blah, blah Bastille this, Monseigneur that, who cares. i'll tell you what it's not about: guitars. anyway that Fire Burst Tele looks all killer, no filler

 

[Rick]

Both look awesome, good grab.

 

[rgand]

That's a beautiful pair. Can't wait to see those built up.

 

[Verne Bunsen]

That is a gorgeous piece of Korina, yowza!

 

[Hendrix]

Fire Burst flame top look great  :bass:

 

[Cactus Jack]

Is Warmoth shipping during the COVID shutdown?

I ask because I just received a UPS Quantum shipping notification. The two bodies pictured above were bought from the Showcase, but one right before the shutdown, and the other right in the middle of the chaos. Both were to receive custom routes too. I'm not going to complain if the bodies show up, but I wasn't expecting anything until May/June.

Has anyone else received a shipping notification?

 

[stratamania]

Is Warmoth shipping during the COVID shutdown?

I ask because I just received a UPS Quantum shipping notification. The two bodies pictured above were bought from the Showcase, but one right before the shutdown, and the other right in the middle of the chaos. Both were to receive custom routes too. I'm not going to complain if the bodies show up, but I wasn't expecting anything until May/June.

Has anyone else received a shipping notification?

No Warmoth are not shipping only available for orders and enquiries. The latest information is to be found at this page.

https://www.warmoth.com/Ordering/Covid19.aspx

 

[Cactus Jack]

Tomorrow will be an interesting day...

 

[Cactus Jack]

Contrary to the website and popular belief, someone at Warmoth is sneaking into the office . While it's appreciated, please stay safe!

 

[Cactus Jack]

The flame top showed up last week. Here is the unboxing thread: https://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=31719.0 , and below are a few pics:

This build is inspired by Tom Anderson T style guitars. For those of you who don't know Tom is one of the premier boutique custom builders in the world. His builds are beyond impressive. Even more impressive though is Tom still picks up the phone and is happy to chat about gear. We got to talking and trading emails, and after a few rounds he helped me dial in the specs for this build. Specifically, he recommended the pickups and even gave me a customized wiring diagram.

The pickups I'm going with are Anderson's HC1 humbucker in the neck, SF1 noiseless single coil in the middle, and a TM2 mini humucker in the bridge. One quick observation about the pickups...they have serious mass, and are noticeably heavier than other pups I've tried. These pickups are built like a tank.

I'm especially excited to try the HC1 and TM2. The HC1 receives fairly unanimous praise for classic crisp PAF attack with excellent split tones. The TM2, while mini humucker form, is supposed to be 100% fat rock & roll Telecaster fire. Tom has gone on record saying it's the best Tele pickup he makes and is a personal favorite.

Here's a few shots of the pickups:

I wasn't expecting the body to arrive so I'm still waiting on other parts to get here. As such, I don't have much to do at the moment. However, due to sheer Shelter in Place boredom I decided to copper shield the control cavity. I understand given my pickup choice this is completely superfluous, but it was a great excuse to bust out a multimeter and have some continuity testing fun. After jacking up countless wiring projects that wonderful beep is like chicken soup for the soul.

More to come as parts begin to roll in.

 

[rgand]

I only see one screw hole in the base plate on that humbucker. How is it held in?

 

[Cactus Jack]

I only see one screw hole in the base plate on that humbucker. How is it held in?

Ole Eagle Eye!

It’s actually there, just a terrible angle.

One interesting little wrinkle about the humbucker is the tabs are designed for a direct mount installation. I plan on using a pickup ring so I’ll need to solder a washer or come up with workaround to suspend it properly. It was too cheap to pass up and I figured I could make it work. We shall see!

 

[Cactus Jack]

I made a bit more progress today. Got my switch wired up, swapped Wilkinson brass saddles for Callaham stainless, and popped in the ferrules.

Yes, the switch looks like a rat's nest. However, I have perfect continuity across all positions, and believe it or not, did some of my best soldering. This is my first time trying the thin insulated wire as opposed to cloth covered vintage stuff. This small stuff is maddening as all heck, but does save a lot of room. The old school stuff is great because it stays in place, but it sure does take up a lot of room.

Here is one of my first homemade harnesses. Again, not a lot to look at, but trust me, my skills have improved.

Oh, and I learned my lesson and didn't burn my thumb installing ferrules this time around . Because of the pic below I completely abandoned the soldering iron method!

 

[Cactus Jack]

Has anyone played a satin finish Mahogany neck?

Has anyone played a satin finish neck?

I don’t have a neck for the flame top, and most likely won’t for a bit, however the wheels are turning.

The kicker is now that I’ve played raw necks gloss is eliminated, but I am curious about satin.

Let me know how your experience with satin has gone.

 

[rgand]

I only see one screw hole in the base plate on that humbucker. How is it held in?

Ole Eagle Eye!

It’s actually there, just a terrible angle.

One interesting little wrinkle about the humbucker is the tabs are designed for a direct mount installation. I plan on using a pickup ring so I’ll need to solder a washer or come up with workaround to suspend it properly. It was too cheap to pass up and I figured I could make it work. We shall see!

Thanks. I look forward to seeing it with a pickup ring. It should be interesting. Will you make your own or use a humbucker ring at an angle?

 

[stratamania]

Has anyone played a satin finish Mahogany neck?

Has anyone played a satin finish neck?

I don’t have a neck for the flame top, and most likely won’t for a bit, however the wheels are turning.

The kicker is now that I’ve played raw necks gloss is eliminated, but I am curious about satin.

Let me know how your experience with satin has gone.

Yes, I have a maple satin finish vintage modern with ebony board. I got it because I wanted the headstock finish done in Metallic Black Cherry to match the body and needed to have a finish on the rest of the neck so went for clear satin. Very smooth to the touch and I think this may have become my number one neck.

 

[Cactus Jack]

Parts are starting to arrive, and I'm slowly but surely making progress.

Vintage Voicing: I wired up the Tom Anderson "Vintage Voicing" circuit. Below is how Anderson describes it, but it's just two resistors on the neck humbucker. I'm pretty sure everyone, at least mid-range gear and up, do this stock. One thing is Tom uses 330K resistors...it's a fun little twist I'm excited to hear in action.

This is from the Anderson site: "Vintage voicing is a passive circuit that is switched on and off automatically so that the single coil pickups think they are seeing a 250K pot while the humbucking is seeing a 500K pot. This way no compromise is made on either sound."

Pots: Contrary to popular opinion, I love Alpha mini pots. There, I said it, I'll take Alphas over CTS, Bournes, or any custom branded pot on the market. I love their foot print, I love how they feel. They are my number one from here on out.

Mini Toggle: I am pumped about this one! I have searched high and low for a 3/8" mini toggle, and I finally found one. Not only that, it came with a nice dress washer which adds a nice finished look. Most folks would simply use larger washers on a 1/4" toggle, or insert a sleeve, but that's not the look I want for this build. I want it clean, crisp, and as close to Anderson style as I can get it. Anyway, maybe you guys know where to get these darn things, but for me, it was liking finding a needle in a haystack. I love it, it fits perfect, looks great, it's everything I had hoped for.