first tele build- reward for many sleepless nights

[hickup]

Hey guys-

My wife and I had our first little boy recently, and kinda by accident, i struck a deal where if i take night shift for the little one every day.... for 9 months, i get to build a nice custom telecaster.  It hasn't been easy... not with work and getting sick, etc, however i've stuck to my word and am at the point where i can start ordering parts (ordering a bit early on good behavior hah).  I'd love your opinions on everything i've picked so far.

For the body, i know i want to do a mahogany base with a walnut top.  I'm going to finish it in either tung oil or tru-oil.  I'm going with lindy fralin pickups with a tele bridge and a p90 in the neck.  I saw a recommendation for the gotoh standard tele bridge hardware and that looked like a nice choice, although i'm up for more suggestions.

For the neck i'm going 1 piece cocobolo, unfinished.  I tried a clapton neck off a clapton strat at the store the other day and i really liked it, however i'm a bit nervous about what i'll think about that contour long term.  I could just go standard thin.... but i did really think the clapton v neck felt natural- think i should go with my first impression? 1 11/16",  no fret dots (side inlay only), 6105 stainless frets, and a Graph Tech TUSQ (white) nut.

I'm not yet sold on any particular tuner machine, so i'd love to hear what your fav's are and why.

I did a mock-up from a few signiture choice walnuts along with a cocobolo neck that was in stock a couple days ago (kinda kick myself for not picking it up when i had the chance).  Does walnut really have that much color variation as indicated in the unique choice section?  I don't mind the idea of a surprise, however if it's common to have that much color variation, i may end up choosing one of these three so i can control the over all color coordination.  There's a nice cherry colored one, a rich dark, and a smooth light that caught my eye.  Since i'm going with a tung-oil finish, how accurate to the picture do you think it would be?  Would the lighter walnut in the picture appear as dark as the darker one picture, after enough coats of tung oil?

I'd like to know your guys opinions between these 3 as i like them all for different reasons.  I realize the cocobolo is a rare wood for warmoth to use, but i'm ok with being patient and waiting until one is available.  Thank you in advance- i appreciate your comments

 

[Mor Paul]

I'm really diggin' the grain on #3, myself. And like you said, it'll get a lot more depth with a finish.

 

[Stew]

like you said hickup, they're all great in different ways.

For me a lot depends on the final colour of the neck. From what you posted I like two the best. It's probably the plain Jane of the three bodies but I really like the way it works with the neck.

 

[clearerphish]

I'll be the contrarian here - #1 is flippin' HOT.

 

[elfro89]

I think any one of those choices will get you guitar of the month!  :laughing7: Welcome to the forum!

 

[hickup]

thanks for your comments guys- wow +1 for each of them hah.  While it makes me feel i'm on the right track, i'm still pretty undecided between the 3.  Similar to Max, i love the grain on #3, but I agree with Stew in that the darker walnut offsets the redness of the cocobolo.  Tied in with a white/cream pickgaurd, aesthetically, it clicks for me.  Can i get #3 as dark as #2 with more coats of oil?

On the other hand, #3 is bold and beautiful.  I think if, with more coats of oil, the red within the walnut will darken just a little it would move to the top of my list.  I've never finished anything with oil like so i'm trying to read up as much as possible so i can try to have some semblance of how i can expect it to change from the warmoth picture

Which tuners to use on the neck however is one of the things that i'm the most undecided about

i'll keep you guys posted- thanks for the kind words

 

[line6man]

The third one looks best. I would skip the pickguard though, or if you must have one, go clear. It's a shame to cover up all that wood.

Yes, Walnut is a wood that shows a LOT of variation in color and figuring.
The tops Warmoth has may even be different species. There are many types of Walnut.

 

[Tipperman]

Schaller mini locking tuners all the way, for me. I really like them. They work well, and I don't have all that extra string wound around the post, resulting in a cleaner look. I like #2 the most, as I am a simplicity is gorgeous kinda guy. The Clapton V is supposed to be really comfortable. I haven't used it, but I really like the 59 Roundback contour. It's fairly fat, though. Best of luck, man. Definitely look into the Schallers for your tuners. Can't wait to see this finished!

And.... Congratulations on the kid!  :hello2:

 

[partialdoctor]

Schaller mini locking tuners all the way, for me. I really like them. They work well, and I don't have all that extra string wound around the post, resulting in a cleaner look. I like #2 the most, as I am a simplicity is gorgeous kinda guy. The Clapton V is supposed to be really comfortable. I haven't used it, but I really like the 59 Roundback contour. It's fairly fat, though. Best of luck, man. Definitely look into the Schallers for your tuners. Can't wait to see this finished!

And.... Congratulations on the kid!  :hello2:

I agree. I like the Schallers as well.

 

[Cagey]

I used Sperzels for years and still think very highly of them, but I've switched to Schaller's mini-lockers, which I'm using pretty exclusively now. Very similar design-wise, but the Schaller has a slightly taller knurled nut for locking the string in that makes them easier to use. Planet Waves makes a good part that's similar to the Sperzel/Schaller design, then they add an automated string cut-off feature. But, while I've used them I've never lived with them for any length of time so I'm not sure how long that cutter feature lasts. It's not a compression cut like you get with normal wire cutters, but rather a shear cut, like you get with scissors.

 

[Tipperman]

I used Sperzels for years and still think very highly of them, but I've switched to Schaller's mini-lockers, which I'm using pretty exclusively now. Very similar design-wise, but the Schaller has a slightly taller knurled nut for locking the string in that makes them easier to use. Planet Waves makes a good part that's similar to the Sperzel/Schaller design, then they add an automated string cut-off feature. But, while I've used them I've never lived with them for any length of time so I'm not sure how long that cutter feature lasts. It's not a compression cut like you get with normal wire cutters, but rather a shear cut, like you get with scissors.

+1, sperzels are a great option as well. I prefer the Schallers for easier locking as well. Plus, they look pretty damn good. Haven't tried the Auto-Cut things. Worth looking into though.

 

[AprioriMark]

I have necks in both cocbolo and walnut, as well as a walnut topped Strat body.  I don't think that Walnut's coloring blends well with Cocobolo.  As an aside, I haven't been terribly impressed with Warmoth's Cocobolo stock. 

That being said, Cocobolo feels AMAZING to play.  I guess what I'm saying is that you may want to reconsider Walnut as your cap wood if you're set on Cocobolo as a neck, and I say that as someone who LOVES Walnut.

-Mark

 

[Cagey]

I'm pretty sure Warmoth has stopped making anything out of cocobolo. The dust from it is pretty toxic.

 

[Patrick from Davis]

They were supposed to have not used Cocobolo for quite some time because of the toxic dust, but it keeps popping up here and there.  I guess it is hard to let that girl go.  I have the Planet Waves tuners on a number of guitars, and they function great.  The string cutting feature is a little odd, but now that I am used to it, I really like it.  It seems rather lazy, but when you really don't need any tools around, just tighten the lock, twist the tuner and tune up, it is pretty slick.  Whatever the brand, the locking tuners are a nice little luxury on a guitar, in my opinion.
Patrick

 

[hickup]

I spoke with the people at warmoth the other day and while they do still make cocobolo necks, they only do about 20 a year.  I guess patience is key

AprioriMark- what is it about the coloring that you think it clashes?  i believe you- but at least from the pictures i put together, i really dig the combo.  That being said, given that you actually have he wood's in front of you, i'll take your advice into serious consideration

line6man- i agree with you in that it's a shame to cover up the wood grain with a pickgaurd, but I also firmly believe the negative space the plain pickguard creates really accentuate the parts that do show through.  I am playing with the idea of trying to find a cream pick guard that's semi-transparent, allowing just a hint of the grain to show through.  Not sure where i can find something like that, but i did some tests in photoshop and it looked interesting.

and it seems that the shaller's are a fav on here- i'll be sure to look more closly at them, the spertzels and planet waves.  Looks like quite positive comments on either

thanks guys for all of your opinions- it's really helping.  

 

[Cagey]

They were supposed to have not used Cocobolo for quite some time because of the toxic dust, but it keeps popping up here and there.  I guess it is hard to let that girl go.  I have the Planet Waves tuners on a number of guitars, and they function great.  The string cutting feature is a little odd, but now that I am used to it, I really like it.  It seems rather lazy, but when you really don't need any tools around, just tighten the lock, twist the tuner and tune up, it is pretty slick.  Whatever the brand, the locking tuners are a nice little luxury on a guitar, in my opinion.
Patrick

I'll have to call on the next neck, see if I can talk 'em into it. Not many of them out there; it would be nice to have one.

As for locking tuners, I just can't see putting together a guitar without them. To me, using anything else is like trying to justify chopsticks in a world of knives/forks/spoons. Certainly sticks can be made to work, but still. On the plus side, maybe that's why most Asians aren't the fat pigs most Americans are. If you had to eat with uncooperative sticks, you might not eat as much, either <grin>

 

[mwbjr13]

I would have to go with the middle option.