hidden burning power tele

rightintheface

Senior Member
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G'day guys, im new here, from down under. got an idea for my first warmoth project and wouldn't mind hearing everybodys two cents  :toothy10:
alright heres what i reckon so far:
-Hollow tele, mahogany body and top, top routed with f-hole, contoured heel
-trans red finish
-maple/rosewood neck, satin finish, 24 3/4 conv
-seymour duncan JB (b) and 59 (n), chrome covers
- chrome knobs/control plate
-black pickguard

im kinda going for a big rock tone, not so much traditional tele. i like the tele with f-hole look, not so keen on the thinlines pickguard/control setup, and kinda running off mark mortons hollow body jackson sig. dont kno much about hollow bodies tho? i play heavy rock/blues/some metally stuff (old school, no nu metal thanks),  so id like a nice looking tele that actually sounds more like an SG. think of a pirate making music, and this guitar is like his treasure chest.  :laughing7:
i like a big growling sound. any body got any opinions? the project is in its earliest stages, so im open to any suggestions about wood types/laminates, whether i should hav hollow tele or thinline or solid (pros/cons? etc), and has anybody compared a hollow tele with hmbs to a solid tele with hmbs? any input is welcome! any at all
 
Biggest big rock tone I ever had from a Tele was the solid maple one I built from Warmoth parts about 10 years ago.  Pair of 57 Classic/Plus and it was the very essence of Les Paul (even the weight... solid baby...!)

Having said that, I dont think there's a better Fender type guitar than the Tele Thinline
 
If you are not going to use maple top, use korina instead of mahogany. I have a Gibson SG and the tone it's muddy sometimes.
I have never played a hollow, but I would recommend it instead of a solid one, kind of a middle thing between thinline and solid. Thinline is not ideal for heavy rock tones.
 
Finger Eleven is a pretty popular band here in Canada (they're from here) and quite often James Black uses a Telecaster thats got a humbucker in it . I dont know what kind it is or anything. It looks kind of like a custom job because I've never seen a tele with this setup before. It definately doesn't have a traditional tele bridge.  They play some relatively heavy rock so maybe that'll help you a bit. i dunno.

As for the tonewood.  My warmoth guitar that should be shipping on monday has the same JB/'59 setup so if you'd like when i get it i can compare the way A Korina body sounds compared to a mahogany sound and let you know.  my warmoth is a korina and I've got a Dean EVO thats mahogany.  So i'll get a pretty good direct comparison.

Heres a video of the band i was talking about, James is using his tele in here.  its not a hollow body and the sound kind of sucks but at least it kind of paints a picture.


mms://windup.wmod.llnwd.net/a68/o1/finger_eleven/video/costume_for_a_gutterball_live.wmv
 
i had a warmoth tele with a one pice alder body and a one piece birdseye maple neck it was really nice had a great rock and roll tone i had the jb (bridge ) and the 59 (neck) but i wound up with a  seymour tel hot rail in the bridge it was dark and super nasty but if you backed off the vol just a bit it had more mid range. to me this made it more versital than the jb which to me was just a little and i mean a little thin, when copaired to the hot rail. this pick up also responded to lowering it down in the body really nice to back off the gain. i played it through  a bunch of amps and it allways sounded good.
 
Welcome rightintheface. I have never owned a tele but have played a few. My favorite tele sound comes from the tele that Jonny Lang uses the one that looks like it came from the custom shop (flame maple). One thing that I was wondering is that when you flush the potty the water turns the opposite way than in the USA do you have to play your guitar upsidedown. LOL again welcome aboard you will find that there are some of the best guitar builders in the world posting on this board and no I'm not one of them.
 
PIckup selection/other build criteria for "biggest rock tone" from a Telecaster? Hmmm, the only axe Jimmy Page used on the entire first album, and what was used in studio for a lot of the lead guitar tracks in subsequent albums (to include Stairway to Heaven) was a pretty stock '58 Tele; Alder body, maple neck with rosewood fretboard, stock PUs played through an old Supro 6 or 15 watt Class A tube amp.
 
tthanks for the input guys, much appreciated. that surprises me about jimmy page, i shoulda known that (my hair pretty much replicates Robert Plant, so you could say im a fan). how does korina come up with transparent finishes?
i have been using JB/59 in a hotrodded ESP explorer and i really dig the sound, much more organic and, well, a lot better tone-wise compared to the EMG's that were in it. i have never used hot rails before, and just to clarify; are they a humbucker in a single-coil size? or are they a hot single coil? always confused me. I don;t think i'm keen on getting a maple body, maybe on the top, but the jangly sound doesnt realy suit me. i go by ear, rather than my own personal style. if i like the sound, then i'll fit it into my sound somehow.
funny the toilet thing is mentioned, because down here, the water doesn't turn around? it just kinda swishes around alot and then disappears. i've never been to the states so i don't know if your toilet water DOES in fact turn around. but in the case of guitars, i have seen a guy in Oz who was paying a solo and fell backwards off the stage. so i guess if i'd filmed it and slowed it dow, for a few frames he woulda been upside down playing guitar  :laughing7:
and seeing as i don't know much about tele's, what kinda of style is a thinline/hollow usually used for? i mean im not gonna let that restrict me, but just as an example.
i am currently finishing my first ever guitar restore (its a shitty shitty shitty plywood SG that i was given wen i was about 12, but i've done some pretty cool/nasty sanding and engraving/sculpting work, so it's more like a piece of art then a guitar) and i'll post that up as soon as it's completed.
glad to be part of this forum and thanks all for the input, much appreciated :headbang:
rock it like it's stolen
 
"and seeing as i don't know much about tele's, what kinda of style is a thinline/hollow usually used for?"

Bro, you're on the Warmoth board, given the wood/electronics options, sky's the limit and there's no end of opinions here... Best to try to better describe exactly what kind of sound you WANT.

No difference in loos here except that the downward swirl is clockwise in the Northen hemisphere.
 
changed my mind. everyone on this forum seems to really dig korina, and on looking in the gallery, a black korina tele body looks absolutely smoking. however, what neck would look good with this? i'd love a black korina neck with ebony board to go with it, but they aren't available. i'd be doing a tung-oil finish on the body, back routed to keep all eyes on the wood. would a white korina neck with ebony look just as good? or would it clash with the body?
 
rightintheface said:
... however, what neck would look good with this?
I recommend a rosewood neck with pau ferro fretboard. It doesn't need any finish so you 'll save money and work, it would feel great in your hand plus these woods make a killer combo! This is for vintage modern construction, if you go with Warmoth construction you 'll have MANY choices.
 
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