help identifying a tele

[catphish_wood_dog]

hey everybody, haven't been around for a while.  i was just wondering if anybody could help me identify this telecaster.  i know it's not the hot rod, but i also know that it's not a custom.  the pickup looks bigger than the normal seymour duncan mini humbucker used in a hot rod, and the colour of the guitar is the sort of vintage white rather than just the glossy wood of a hot rod.  i'd really appreciate any help on this guys...  here's some pictures that should do the job. 

thanks!

 

[jackthehack]

You sure that's not just a "Keith Richards" modded Tele? Only current model that's close is the Albert Collins, but that just comes in natural gloss on ash. Vintage Tele Customs - '72-??? - always had the fuller pickguard and V-V-T-T controls. Unless there was some Custom Shop model I missed - and I haven't followed them that closely - it's probably just a modded Tele. Ask the guy in the pictures?

 

[tallman]

If I'm not mistaken that band is the Helio Sequence?  If so I saw them from the front row and his guitar appeared to be a heavily modded tele with a humbucker in a humbucker ring in the neck and a regular tele pickup in the bridge.  When I saw them he also had a strat neck on.

 

[catphish_wood_dog]

i'm not sure that it's the keith richards tele you were talking abou jack.  it looks similar, yes, but i can't tell.  i can't ask the guy in the pictures unfortunately.  tallman, yes it's the helio sequence.  this was his guitar before he modified it with the humbucker neck pickup and the strat neck.  good eye.  they're a great band too.  definitely one of my favorites.  any ideas on what model this could be?

 

[jackthehack]

"i'm not sure that it's the keith richards tele you were talking abou jack.  it looks similar, yes, but i can't tell."

Didn't say it was a KR Tele; said it LOOKED like it was a std. Tele modded like Keith's in the pic below, but with tortoiseshell pickguard

A good deal of discussion on that mod on this post:

http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=3738.0

 

[catphish_wood_dog]

hmmm, thanks for that.  i can tell that the one in the pictures i posted is a lot more of the yellow-vintage white color than keith's modified one..  also, i think that the guitar in the pictures is or was new, and not an old 50's telecaster.  it definitely looks like that albert collins one with a different color.  ahhh, i just don't know.  it's confusing. 

 

[catphish_wood_dog]

hey i noticed that the tele in the pictures i posted does show a bit of the wood grain through the yellow-vintage white-ish paint.  is there a way to have warmoth do this?  with the tele i built from warmoth, i just got the vintage white finish, but i wasn't sure if it was possible to maybe have them apply the finish lightly or something?  i think they messed up my finish anyway and gave me a much lighter color, but thats beside the point.  anybody know?

 

[blue313]

Not exactly sure if I get ya completely, but it sounds like your looking for a transparent Butterscotch Blonde?

 

[jackthehack]

hey i noticed that the tele in the pictures i posted does show a bit of the wood grain through the yellow-vintage white-ish paint.  is there a way to have warmoth do this?  with the tele i built from warmoth, i just got the vintage white finish, but i wasn't sure if it was possible to maybe have them apply the finish lightly or something?  i think they messed up my finish anyway and gave me a much lighter color, but thats beside the point.  anybody know?

Hard to tell from the photos; only transparent really light colors from Warmoth are Mary Kay White/Trans Butterscotch Blonde; Keef's modded Tele is a modded '50s Butterscotch Blonde, was using that pic to illustrate the mod, which isn't real uncommon, rather than the color involved. Color in your photos looks more like Vintage or Olympic White, I can't discern any grain in those pics at all.

If you want to replicate that body with what sounds like your desired finish, pick out an ash Tele body with the desired grain pattern, have them route the neck pocket to HB, and order an HB Tele tortoiseshell pickguard. You could order the Mary Kay White transparent finish from Warmoth, or Reranch.com has cans of both the Mary Kay White or the Tele "whitish" blonde:

http://reranchstore.stores.yahoo.net/butblon.html

...if you're up to doing the finish yourself.

 

[catphish_wood_dog]

hey blue313, that looks exactly like what i'm looking for!  it's perfect.  what's the front of that guitar look like?  just out of curiosity...  anyway, yeah transparent butterscotch blonde i guess.  where'd you get that done?

jack, thanks a lot for the help on the finish info!  i'm not really down for doing the finish myself really, i just don't trust myself.  everything else i can do.  i know all about the routing and the hxs style for the tele, but thanks again for the helpful info. 

 

[Tonar8352]

Which color do you like the best?  Check all my posts and you can see exactly how to do that finish.

 

[catphish_wood_dog]

definitely like the one on the left a bit more.  could even go a bit darker if possible.  thanks for your help!

 

[jackthehack]

If you're ordering the finish from Warmoth the Transparent Butterscotch Blonde is pretty close to that.

I was just looking, and shocked to find that if you try to use the Finish filters in the Showcase Search box, they don't have the Butterscotch Blonde (or Mary Kay White for that matter) as search options, and there aren't any Butterscotch Blonde Tele bodies in the Showcase. I know I've seen some up there before, you'd think that's such a std. thing they'd keep one or two up there...

 

[catphish_wood_dog]

i think that the transparent butterscotch blonde and the mark kay white are both a bit off for me personally.  i do think it's weird like you said about not having any of either colours in the showcase.  maybe they can fix that?

 

[Mor Paul]

W00t. A referral to my thread!


The first and last pics make me think of blonde from ReRanch

.http://reranchstore.stores.yahoo.net/butblon.html

 

[blue313]

A Transparent Butterscotch Blonde, swamp ash, Tele body does show up in the showcase on occasion, but it rarely last more than a few days.  :sad:
Warmoth's seems to be pretty darn close to this though.

The pic I got was of a factory '74 Tele.
http://www.21frets.com/74tele.html

 

[catphish_wood_dog]

that's definitely not the color i'm looking for.  too light, not enough vintage white.  thanks though.

 

[catphish_wood_dog]

well, i talked to brandon, the guy in the pictures i posted, and he told me that the guitar was originally a mim telecaster special from 96.  i've looked all over today for one for sale, but haven't had any luck.  but good to know what it is now.  so does anyone know of one around their area?  apparently they run pretty cheap, but have a fantastic sound.  if anyone knows of one or anyone selling one in the color as posted of course, please let me know.  i'd really appreciate it.  thanks everybody.