Blackbird Telecaster: Assembly and Set-Up...

[BigSteve22]

It's been a while in coming. I bought the first parts in January, and been posting about it since March. The sun has not been co-operative at my house, so really good pix will have to wait. But in the mean time, I couldn't wait to share a first look. Introducing, the Blackbird/SST Telecaster.......

Assembly was pretty straight forward. No compatibility problem with the Babicz bridge. Saddles are plenty tall enough, and it's very easy to set string height and lock it in. I did have to swap out the intonation screws. The supplied screws are M3-.5x16mm, which for a standard 25.5" scale guitar would be fine. But for a short scale Tele, (SST), the intonation point moves forward, towards the nut, due to the shorted distance between the saddles and the 12th fret. I found 20mm screws at Lowe's, and they allowed the extra travel that the short scale requires for proper intonation. They're a bit too long for my liking, and Lowe's only had the cadmium plated variety. I'll be looking for some 18mm stainless screws, although I may have to get 20's and cut them down myself.

The ZeroGlide nut seems to work fine with the standard .047" fret Kevin was kind enough to supply, I don't hear any dissonance playing open or barred chords. Unfortunately I was unable to stop that buzzing of the High "E" behind the nut without a string retainer. I had a Mastery string tree on hand, and it did the trick. Not my favorite, but it killed the buzz.

Currently the action is set at .060" at the 12th fret. I'll let it sit for a while, see where the relief settles in at, and adjust things from there. It's a strange thing though, that although I generally like a lower action, in the .040" to .050 range, the .060" on this Tele is pretty damned comfortable.

I'm also liking the sound of these Bill Lawrence NF pups. Very clean sounding. The 4-Way wiring is a nice touch, producing four noticeably different tones, the series option being noticeably louder than the others. The "Gibson" style tone mod works well, but I believe it effects overall volume when changed, which I didn't notice with the standard setup combined with a treble bypass. I'll have to live with it a while, may take some getting used to.

I'll post better pix when I have them, as well as full specs and updates on the setup as I go. I'll do my best to get some sound clips for those who have asked. Got to see if I can play with the settings and maybe get something decent out of my little Fender "Slide" interface and my Reaper DAW. I may need some guidance....

 

[Verne Bunsen]

Looks great, congratulations! I feel your pain regarding the timeframe of your build, I ordered parts for a new build back in March, received them in May, and there they have sat ever since...

If I have one gripe about the Gison/50's volume/tone wiring, it's what you describe: you trade losing tone when you roll off the volume for losing volume when you roll off the tone. Nothing is free with passive electronics I suppose... I've learned to work with it, small price to pay for such wonderful volume pot action. In my humblest of opinions, that is.

 

[rgand]

That's really a fine guitar. Black works well with the engraved hardware. Beautiful work.  :icon_thumright:

 

[stratamania]

Looks really good Steve  :icon_thumright:

 

[TBurst Std]

Very nice looking!

 

[Cagey]

That's really sharp! I agree with Rgand - the engraved hardware goes well with the matte black.

 

[BigSteve22]

Gentlemen, thank you all, for all the kind words. I'm very pleased with the way the engraving works with the satin black. Glad this body popped up in the Showcase before I settled on gloss. And, glad I discovered DangerousR6 engraving, thanks again Doug, for all your great work.

If I have one gripe about the Gison/50's volume/tone wiring, it's what you describe: you trade losing tone when you roll off the volume for losing volume when you roll off the tone. Nothing is free with passive electronics I suppose... I've learned to work with it, small price to pay for such wonderful volume pot action. In my humblest of opinions, that is.

Sir, even your humblest of opinions is worthy of consideration. Especially regarding Telecasters. Thanks again for the diagrams and the ideas, I'm very pleased with the way this guitar sounds.

 

[BigSteve22]

The Specs.................

Neck:
Warmoth Showcase #  TN9391
Telecaster, Modern Construction
Dark Ebony on Maple
24.75" Conversion Scale
1-5/8" Nut Width
MOP Dot Position Markers
SS6230 Frets
Hipshot Locking Tuners
Open Back
Chrome w/Black D08 Buttons
ZeroGlide Nut
String Spacing for 1-11/16" Nut
.047" Stainless Steel Fret Wire
Rothco & Frost Headstock Decal
Owner Designed
Mastery String Retainer
Owner Installed Mounting Screw Inserts
Owner Finished
Clear Satin Lacquer
Black Lacquer Headstock

----------------------------------

Body:
Warmoth Showcase #  PT6500
Telecaster, Standard
Solid Swamp Ash, (4 lbs, 0 oz.)
Satin Black Finish
Tele Neck Route
Tele Neck & Bridge P/U Routes
Vintage Tele Bridge Route
7/8" Side Jack Hole
Full Body Contours
Warmoth Tele Pickguard
Modern 8 Hole
3 Ply, Gloss BLACK
Tele Neck P/U Route w/Mounting Holes
Black Pickguard Screws
Babicz "Z" Series Tele Bridge
Chrome
Vintage 4 Hole Mount
Custom Engraving by DangerousR6
Rock Rabit Control Plate
Polished Aluminum
Angled Selector Switch
Volume Control Moved 3/8"
Custom Engraving by DangerousR6
Q-Parts Control Knobs
Chrome w/Balck Eat's Eye Glass inserts
Rutters "No-Caster" Chrome Switch Tip
Warmoth Chrome String Ferrules
Electrosocket Jack Plate
Satin Black Finish
Planet Waves Chrome Eliptical Strap Buttons
Standard Chrome Neck Plate w/Frame
Custom Engraving by DangerousR6

----------------------------------

Electronics:
Bill Lawrence, L-202TN, Neck P/U
Noise Free, Black Case
Bill Lawrence, L-298TL, Bridge P/U
Noise Free, Open Coil
Oak Grigsby 4-Way Selector Switch
Emerson/CTS Tone & Volume Pots
500KΩ, Custom Audio Taper
Sprague Orange Drop Tone Cap
.022µf, 100v
Switch Craft #11 Output Jack

----------------------------------

Wiring:
4-Way P/U Selector Options,
1) Bridge
2) Bridge/Neck Series
3) Bridge/Neck Parallel
4) Neck
Standard Volume
"Gibson" Style Tone Circuit
(Tone Input from Volume Output)

----------------------------------

Assembly Notes:
1) 22AWG Stranded wire used through out.
2) All ground connections made to solderlugs.
3) All body cavities fully shielded and gounded via hard wiring.
4) Bridge intonation screws, M3-.5x16mm, replaced with 20mm length   
    to facilitate intonation.

Misc.:
1) Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky Strings w/.018w replacement "G" string.
2) SKB 1SKB-66 Case

 

[rgand]

Cool specs. Thanks for being so detailed with them. I like the 4-way switch wiring. I didn't realize they could be wired with the parallel/series positions in the middle two. I had it in my head the series setting would be at position 4. Nice, very nice.

 

[BigSteve22]

Cool specs. Thanks for being so detailed with them. I like the 4-way switch wiring. I didn't realize they could be wired with the parallel/series positions in the middle two. I had it in my head the series setting would be at position 4. Nice, very nice.

-VB- supplied me with a .pdf that has four different options. Here's the link he posted:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/hvylj2geti38p89/Tele%204-Way%20Series%20Switch.pdf?dl=0
Choose your option......  :icon_thumright:

 

[rgand]

Cool specs. Thanks for being so detailed with them. I like the 4-way switch wiring. I didn't realize they could be wired with the parallel/series positions in the middle two. I had it in my head the series setting would be at position 4. Nice, very nice.

-VB- supplied me with a .pdf that has four different options. Here's the link he posted:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/hvylj2geti38p89/Tele%204-Way%20Series%20Switch.pdf?dl=0
Choose your option......  :icon_thumright:

Thanks for posting that. Thanks to VB for providing it, too. I've saved it off and will keep it in my stash of wiring diagrams. I even thought about a 4-way switch for my Telerauder build but the body is a bit slim for the Oak-Grigsby.

 

[BigSteve22]

I'm not sure exactly how this works, but I've attached Mp3 files of the 4 different pickup options. I apologize in advance for the quality of both the recording and the playing. I consider myself lucky just to be able to get playable files, since I'm pretty much in the dark regarding his whole "recording" thing. I'd feel bad about putting you through this, but hey, you asked for it! Enjoy them, if you can.... :laughing11: :laughing3: :laughing7:

 

[Cagey]

I think you're supposed to turn up the reverb until it sounds like you're in a big hall in a huge cathedral in the world's largest cave. Then, turn on your trusty Muff Pi at full-tilt boogie and feed that into your tube screamer, followed by a long-ish delay with a lotta repeats. Place the mic out on the sidewalk facing traffic, where it'll be out of harm's way. Then, play each pickup position so we can hear how a Bill Lawrence pickup sounds with D'Addario strings vs. Ernie Balls. If you must narrate it, brush up on your British accent. If you can get your cat to stare at you while you do all this, you'll get approximately 1.26 bajillion hits on YouTube.

Or, do it like you did. That sounds good, too. It also shows once again what a lovely scheme the 4-position Bridge->BN Series->BN Parallel->Neck pickup selector switch is.

Incidentally, what did you use for an amp & recorder?

 

[BigSteve22]

Or, do it like you did. That sounds good, too. It also shows once again what a lovely scheme the 4-position Bridge->BN Series->BN Parallel->Neck pickup selector switch is.

Incidentally, what did you use for an amp & recorder?

Didn't use an actual amp. Just a Fender "Slide" USB interface,

plugged into my laptop with a demo copy of Reaper DAW. I thought about doing it the other way, but my cat wouldn't cooperate.  :icon_jokercolor:

 

[Cagey]

Well, that worked just fine. Sounded great. It's amazing what you can do with very little gear and a decent piece of software these days. As for the cat, put it out and make it earn its keep...

Go catch some dino-mice!​

 

[rgand]

That sounds really outstanding, Steve. I really like the tones you get. Isn't that series position something fun? I may have to put a series switch on mine. I did it on my Strat and it really gets swampy. :icon_thumright:

 

[mayfly]

I have to say I really enjoyed that.  I think your playing is just fine!  Liking the series position...

 

[DangerousR6]

Gentlemen, thank you all, for all the kind words. I'm very pleased with the way the engraving works with the satin black. Glad this body popped up in the Showcase before I settled on gloss. And, glad I discovered DangerousR6 engraving, thanks again Doug, for all your great work.

If I have one gripe about the Gison/50's volume/tone wiring, it's what you describe: you trade losing tone when you roll off the volume for losing volume when you roll off the tone. Nothing is free with passive electronics I suppose... I've learned to work with it, small price to pay for such wonderful volume pot action. In my humblest of opinions, that is.

Sir, even your humblest of opinions is worthy of consideration. Especially regarding Telecasters. Thanks again for the diagrams and the ideas, I'm very pleased with the way this guitar sounds.

You're certainly welcome Steve, it was a bit of a challenge, but turned out pretty awesome... :icon_thumright:

 

[BigSteve22]

That sounds really outstanding, Steve. I really like the tones you get. Isn't that series position something fun? I may have to put a series switch on mine. I did it on my Strat and it really gets swampy. :icon_thumright:

That series position is kinda fun. Put it through a high gain amp, (or at least as close as the modeling on my Mustang gets), and it sounds a little like an LP, but with the clarity of single coils. I'd like to hear it through a real tube amp. Maybe take trip to Alto Music...

I have to say I really enjoyed that.  I think your playing is just fine!  Liking the series position...

I think a lot of the tone is the Bill Lawrence pickups. Very clear sounding, and very responsive to changes in attack. I appreciate your comment about my playing, but I think you may be standing a little too close to your amp.....  :icon_jokercolor:

You're certainly welcome Steve, it was a bit of a challenge, but turned out pretty awesome... :icon_thumright:

I think so too.....  :headbang:

 

[Logrinn]

Sounds great, Steve! :icon_thumright: