Passing the time.

[alterbridgefan]

http://buildyourguitar.com/resources/lapsteel/
stumbled upon this, and figured it would be fun to try out while saving money for my tele build. I have plans, and want suggestions, I.E. what woods, pickups(is gfs lipstick good?)

And please don't tell me I shouldn't ask for advice or that I should figure it out myself. I respect you all in that you have more experience than me, and want to hear what you have to say.

I want to keep it cheap. I'll probably be using gfs, as they are cheap, and thats what I want for this project. are these parts good?
http://www.guitarfetish.com/Les-Paul-JuniorSpecial-Wraparound-intonated-Bridge_p_449.html
http://www.guitarfetish.com/8K-Bridge-Position-Pro-Tube-Lipstick-Chrome_p_1029.html
http://www.guitarfetish.com/Strat-Pickup-Solid-Brass-Trim-ing-CHROME_p_1528.html

Tuners are still up in the air, but I want a vintage look. waverly, imperial, kluson, etc.\

would it work to laminate different woods like this?
http://img3.etsystatic.com/000/0/5877214/il_fullxfull.319476755.jpg

 

[Tipperman]

Altar, I know I said ignore suggestions, but that doesn't apply to hardware. Pickups excluded, slightly higher cost will GENERALLY speaking get you better quality/longevity. GFS pickups can be good, but it's not a guarantee. I would suggest Roadhouse Pickups for the less expensive route. The cheap bridges/tailpieces/tuners etc will cause you nothing but pain. PLEASE consider Gotoh or higher in terms of price range for hardware (Excluding pickups. Good bargains are available, such as Roadhouse. Compare that to my beloved Bare Knuckle.) You will be glad you did. The quality of a bridge is a very important factor to me. For example, on my Jaguar build I wanted the vintage, old-school appearance with a modern bridge design. I was willing to pay a lot of dough for the bridge alone, but it has payed off. Ten years down the road your higher-quality bridge will be going strong, and you will be glad you worked harder to go the extra mile.

 

[reluctant-builder]

Tip's got good points, but don't let holding out for better quality wares stall your build.

You're what, 13? Buy what you can afford.

Yes, if you decide to upgrade anything later, it will technically cost more (because you bought the cheap version and would be replacing it with something more expensive, as opposed to just waiting and buying the more expensive thing) ... but if you get a decent amount of mileage out of the cheap hardware / components, then I think it's worth the money.

For instance, you buy stuff from GFS and for a year you play a guitar with those parts, and then decide to upgrade because -- during that year -- you made enough scratch to afford those upgrades ... well ... it seems better to me than not having the guitar to play for that whole year.

 

[alterbridgefan]

I've promised ken to send him a rewind job soon. What about a gfs lipstick tube, or minitron bucker, rewound by ken? surface mount? :dontknow:

edit: I understand that it would be cheaper to just go roadhouse if those my intentions, but all three of these pickups are on my local craigslist right now. I really want a PDX90 with a wood cover, maybe he could rewind and I could make a new plate for a gfs surf 90, so it would be a bucker and I would be free to use different string spacings. ???

Oh, and I'm not sure how you upgrade a junior style stoptail, but aesthetically and functionally it works best. Are there different levels of quality for those, because I don't see how gfs bridge would not last. I need to cut deeper slots in it anyway, to level the strings, and I'd rather cut into a $15 bridge than a $100 upgrade.

 

[m4rk0]

there is nothing wrong with getting cheap GFS's and upgrading them later..
I had that intention for multiple guitars, but they were all good enough and never needed upgrading after all.

A good alternative for GFS is IronGear. to me they are a bit of a step up from GFS but not much more expensive. they ship from the UK, but the shipping rates to the US are not bad at all. the steel twin is a great option for the Tele


the wrap around is a horrible choice for a Tele. you will need an angled neck pocket, so you will need to modify that if you ever want to switch back.

 

[reluctant-builder]

the wrap around is a horrible choice for a Tele. you will need an angled neck pocket, so you will need to modify that if you ever want to switch back.

I agree that it's a horrible choice for a Tele, but you can just shim the neck, instead of angling the pocket.

I may be obtuse in this thinking, but I like the flat pockets on Strats and Teles (traditionally). I've got traditionally angled-neck guitars, too. I've got a wrap around bridge on my SG, TOMs on my Hagstroms. I'm happy for my Fenders to be straight.

 

[alterbridgefan]

there is nothing wrong with getting cheap GFS's and upgrading them later..
I had that intention for multiple guitars, but they were all good enough and never needed upgrading after all.

A good alternative for GFS is IronGear. to me they are a bit of a step up from GFS but not much more expensive. they ship from the UK, but the shipping rates to the US are not bad at all. the steel twin is a great option for the Tele


the wrap around is a horrible choice for a Tele. you will need an angled neck pocket, so you will need to modify that if you ever want to switch back.

These aren't for the tele. For the tele, I already have a vintage style bridge. The steel twin looks really nice, I might try it on the tele.

 

[m4rk0]

I'm happy for my Fenders to be straight.

As opposed to 'fabulous'!!  :icon_jokercolor:
Seriously, I agree.. that is why I recess my floyds

Angled somehow looks/feels better on a carved top guitar.