Best Wood for a Thinline Tele Body

[KingOfTheCountry]

Hello builders.
What do you think is the best choice for a Thinline Tele body wood?
I'm trying to achieve a tone of ES-335 type of guitar.
Thank you for answers.

 

[Kostas]

The 335 and Thinline are different sounding guitars but both are great. The body on mine is mahogany and it turned out great. If you don't care for a figured top I suggest spruce with mahogany or korina back although the 335 has a maple body.

 

[bagman67]

I reckon if you want to replicate ES 335 tonal characteristics, you'd want a mahogany neck and a poplar body (so you get the poplar center block) and a maple top.  This is of course a gross approximation, since the actual 335 is made of maple/poplar/maple 3-ply  vacuum-formed plywood for the top and back and rims, and has a poplar block up the middle, with a mahogany neck.  If you really want to go to town, try a hollow carve-top telecaster body --might feel more Gibson-y, and certainly looks pretty.


Your next step is to replicate the electronics and geometry of the 335, which means a 24.75" conversion neck, and PAF-style pickups wired per Gibson's scheme for 'em.




Good luck, in any case - the world needs more thinlines and 335s, and a successful hybrid is okay with me, too.

 

[KingOfTheCountry]

I reckon if you want to replicate ES 335 tonal characteristics, you'd want a mahogany neck and a poplar body (so you get the poplar center block) and a maple top.  This is of course a gross approximation, since the actual 335 is made of maple/poplar/maple 3-ply  vacuum-formed plywood for the top and back and rims, and has a poplar block up the middle, with a mahogany neck.  If you really want to go to town, try a hollow carve-top telecaster body --might feel more Gibson-y, and certainly looks pretty.


Your next step is to replicate the electronics and geometry of the 335, which means a 24.75" conversion neck, and PAF-style pickups wired per Gibson's scheme for 'em.




Good luck, in any case - the world needs more thinlines and 335s, and a successful hybrid is okay with me, too.

Thanks for reply.

I know I cannot actually achieve the same ES-335 tone, but I'm going to go with PAF pups and mahogany neck for sure. I was thinking the same about the woods, but I would also consider something more exotic as wrote Kostas upper. I've  got to agree I've started to think that Carved Top/Hollow Tele body is better choice than Thinline for this.

What do you think are the best PAF style pups for this? Should I go with Gibson or something else?

 

[KingOfTheCountry]

The 335 and Thinline are different sounding guitars but both are great. The body on mine is mahogany and it turned out great. If you don't care for a figured top I suggest spruce with mahogany or korina back although the 335 has a maple body.

Hey, thanks.

Can you give me some characteristic of the wood combinations?
Do you think I will achieve better (or should I say more authentic) results with them than with classic poplar/maple combo?

 

[bagman67]

I reckon if you want to replicate ES 335 tonal characteristics, you'd want a mahogany neck and a poplar body (so you get the poplar center block) and a maple top.  This is of course a gross approximation, since the actual 335 is made of maple/poplar/maple 3-ply  vacuum-formed plywood for the top and back and rims, and has a poplar block up the middle, with a mahogany neck.  If you really want to go to town, try a hollow carve-top telecaster body --might feel more Gibson-y, and certainly looks pretty.


Your next step is to replicate the electronics and geometry of the 335, which means a 24.75" conversion neck, and PAF-style pickups wired per Gibson's scheme for 'em.




Good luck, in any case - the world needs more thinlines and 335s, and a successful hybrid is okay with me, too.

Thanks for reply.

I know I cannot actually achieve the same ES-335 tone, but I'm going to go with PAF pups and mahogany neck for sure. I was thinking the same about the woods, but I would also consider something more exotic as wrote Kostas upper. I've  got to agree I've started to think that Carved Top/Hollow Tele body is better choice than Thinline for this.

What do you think are the best PAF style pups for this? Should I go with Gibson or something else?

Depends really on how "authentic" you want to be.  Gibson offers its own pups, but there are guys out there winding "vintage-correct" PAF style pups as well.  Dimarzio and Duncan have their off-the-shelf offerings, and of course there's custom dudes a-plenty.  If you want to go the custom route, one of our brothers on the board, TroubledTreble, aka Ken Calvet, does great work under the http://www.roadhousepickups.com banner.  Contact him for a reading of the tea leaves. He's done great stuff for me and others on this board, and all agree that in addition to great work, he's a really nice man.

 

[bagman67]

Oh, and go with a non-recessed Tune-o-matic bridge so you get closer to the Gibson neck angle, if that's important to you to replicate.

 

[KingOfTheCountry]

Depends really on how "authentic" you want to be.  Gibson offers its own pups, but there are guys out there winding "vintage-correct" PAF style pups as well.  Dimarzio and Duncan have their off-the-shelf offerings, and of course there's custom dudes a-plenty.  If you want to go the custom route, one of our brothers on the board, TroubledTreble, aka Ken Calvet, does great work under the http://www.roadhousepickups.com banner.  Contact him for a reading of the tea leaves. He's done great stuff for me and others on this board, and all agree that in addition to great work, he's a really nice man.

Thanks for all of your replies

I certainly will contact him. I want that sweet vintage ES-335 tone and also its feel so I go for TOM, mahogany neck etc.. I think poplar/maple combo will work just fine. If it won't match exact ES-335 tone I think it'll give me some beautiful tones anyway so I have nothing to loose.

 

[Cagey]

I've  got to agree I've started to think that Carved Top/Hollow Tele body is better choice than Thinline for this.

I gotta tell ya, a carved-top hollow body Tele is a wonderful thing. Very comfy. Plus, they look extra-special, if that means anything. You don't see them out on the street like you do regular Teles - you'd likely be the first kid on the block to have one.

I've got a pile of them here now, and what I've found is the pickups are almost everything. Past that, it's the neck and bridge. Whether they're solid, chambered or hollow doesn't seem to matter as much, nor does the body wood. Although, to be fair, the variation in pickups is so dramatic that it's tough to attribute particular characteristics to particular parts.

 

[KingOfTheCountry]

I've  got to agree I've started to think that Carved Top/Hollow Tele body is better choice than Thinline for this.

I gotta tell ya, a carved-top hollow body Tele is a wonderful thing. Very comfy. Plus, they look extra-special, if that means anything. You don't see them out on the street like you do regular Teles - you'd likely be the first kid on the block to have one.

I've got a pile of them here now, and what I've found is the pickups are almost everything. Past that, it's the neck and bridge. Whether they're solid, chambered or hollow doesn't seem to matter as much, nor does the body wood. Although, to be fair, the variation in pickups is so dramatic that it's tough to attribute particular characteristics to particular parts.

Hey,

Well, I heard some folks discuss about it. I think pups make the biggest tonal difference among everything. I cannot tell you my humble opinion, because I'm lefty and I haven't tried many guitars in my short life yet.  :toothy10: But I know that I want a ES-335 tone with look of carved-top hollowbody tele, simply 'cause it looks sensational. So you're saying that body wood doesn't make significant difference, right? What pups would you recommend me for this job?

 

[Cagey]

It's been a long time since I played an ES335, but if I had to guess, I'd use some GFS Fat Pat Pickups in an Alder Tele body to get close. They might be a little hotter than what you'd find in an ES-series fiddle, but let's face it: you want that. No matter how calm and subdued you generally feel, every once in a while you wanna bitch. These would let you do that. Then, you could always back the volume knob down just a smidgen to take the edge off if you need to so you can wank calmly, as if you had PAFs installed. 

 

[KingOfTheCountry]

It's been a long time since I played an ES335, but if I had to guess, I'd use some GFS Fat Pat Pickups in an Alder Tele body to get close. They might be a little hotter than what you'd find in an ES-series fiddle, but let's face it: you want that. No matter how calm and subdued you generally feel, every once in a while you wanna bitch. These would let you do that. Then, you could always back the volume knob down just a smidgen to take the edge off if you need to so you can wank calmly, as if you had PAFs installed.

I'm a Strat player so I'm really careful about gain. But sometimes I need that extra gain I cannot achieve with a single coiled Strat. I really like those Eric Clapton's solos or BB King's tone, but you know sometimes I want to beef up, so I probably need those.

 

[rgand]

Not much for me to add to what's been said above. This sounds like a good project. I look forward to following your progress.

Occasionally, I daydream about a mahogany Thinline with TV Jones TV Classic FilterTrons in it.

 

[KingOfTheCountry]

I've just found this: http://www.warmoth.com/Gallery/GalleryItem.aspx?id=4832
So, I hope that my built will be at least as good as this one is.

 

[bbl4ck]

Depends really on how "authentic" you want to be.  Gibson offers its own pups, but there are guys out there winding "vintage-correct" PAF style pups as well.  Dimarzio and Duncan have their off-the-shelf offerings, and of course there's custom dudes a-plenty.  If you want to go the custom route, one of our brothers on the board, TroubledTreble, aka Ken Calvet, does great work under the http://www.roadhousepickups.com banner.  Contact him for a reading of the tea leaves. He's done great stuff for me and others on this board, and all agree that in addition to great work, he's a really nice man.

Thanks for all of your replies

I certainly will contact him. I want that sweet vintage ES-335 tone and also its feel so I go for TOM, mahogany neck etc.. I think poplar/maple combo will work just fine. If it won't match exact ES-335 tone I think it'll give me some beautiful tones anyway so I have nothing to loose.

Sounds like a great project and similar to one I have been working on for quite sometime.  I had a ES-339 body copied and want to put some 335-ish pickups in it.  Unfortunately it's on the back-burner right now due to a couple other projects that came my way.

I would be the first one to recommend pickups from Ken!  I have three sets of his pickups and love them all.  However, I spoke with him about a month ago for some pickups for my VIP project and he informed me that he is out of the humbucker business for awhile due to some winding challenges he has had with them.  I was bummed, but hopefully he will figure it out and make them again.

My back up choice would definitely be the Lollar Low-wind Imperial Humbuckers.  They are pricy, but the sound clips on the Lollar site really sound sweet and they are made to replicate the vintage 335 sound.  You can check em' out here...

http://www.lollarguitars.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=humbucker-pickups

What ever you choose, be sure to post some pics and clips for us to drool over.
Good luck and  :rock-on:

 

[KingOfTheCountry]

Sounds like a great project and similar to one I have been working on for quite sometime.  I had a ES-339 body copied and want to put some 335-ish pickups in it.  Unfortunately it's on the back-burner right now due to a couple other projects that came my way.

I would be the first one to recommend pickups from Ken!  I have three sets of his pickups and love them all.  However, I spoke with him about a month ago for some pickups for my VIP project and he informed me that he is out of the humbucker business for awhile due to some winding challenges he has had with them.  I was bummed, but hopefully he will figure it out and make them again.

My back up choice would definitely be the Lollar Low-wind Imperial Humbuckers.  They are pricy, but the sound clips on the Lollar site really sound sweet and they are made to replicate the vintage 335 sound.  You can check em' out here...

http://www.lollarguitars.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=humbucker-pickups

What ever you choose, be sure to post some pics and clips for us to drool over.
Good luck and  :rock-on:

Yeah, I already contacted him, but as you said he isn't in humbuckers for now. I was really disappointed, 'cause his p'ups sound so sweet. So, I did't know what to choose until I read your post.

I've checked few demos of the Lollar low-wind Imperials on YT and I changed my mind. They are sensational, creamy and buttery sounding p'ups just like I wanted to. Yes, they're pretty expensive, but real-deal Gibson p'ups are not the cheapest, too. They are used in the Collings guitars, which are even better than Gibsons in my opinion. So I will go for them.

I really appreciate your advice, it's really helpful.

 

[Kostas]

Check also his El Rayo pickups. They have a brighter voicing than PAFs. Jason can suggest pickups if you tell him the type of guitar you are building and the sound you are after. Coil splitting will give you more tonal options.

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[Django]

Best wood for a thinline? Apparently not mahogany, 'cause I'm going to receive a custom hollow mahogany body which was described as 7lbs of weight in their email related to shipping!  :dontknow: I suppose I'll use that as an anvil, surely not as a guitar... So be very careful, ask everything in advance!
Best,

 

[lafromla1]

I love the way mine came out
http://www.warmoth.com/Gallery/GalleryItem.aspx?id=5090

the P90's are very balanced.

 

[Cagey]

"Hollow" bodies from Warmoth are not built like ES-335s, they're routed out from a solid piece, then covered. So, a Warmoth hollow body is going to be 25%-30% lighter than a solid one, but not like an acoustic or semi-acoustic body, especially if made from a relatively heavy wood like Mahogany. Plus, shipping weight is always higher than the actual body weight due to packaging and rounding up to the nearest pound. If they're saying 7 pounds, the body might only be 4.5 pounds.