Leaderboard

Pine Tele body sounds best with what neck? + 2 way truss rod tone difference

Messages
13
Hi, 

For those of you that have built or played pine bodied Teles would a 1/4 sawn maple or 1/4 sawn maple/rosewood sound more complex?  I have heard LsL guitars, which does a lot of pine, thinks highly of the maple/rosewood combo, but I keep thinking it will be flabby on the bottom as the body weighs 3.4 pounds.  I am going to use a Glendale bridge that allows either top loading or string through and for pickups I am thinking of using Don Mare ZepOtone tapped set.

My other question is about how a double acting truss rod changes the sound verses a vintage style?  I have never owned a two way truss and I have heard about some people complaining of heavy weight and dead spots.  I prefer maple necks thicker than .9" and these can have trouble with the seasonal changes some years and they get perfectly straight (no forward bow).  I have also had really bad luck over the years with rosewood slab board necks, and since I am considering going rosewood this build, I am looking at 1/4 sawn maple for the back of the neck.  I am tempted to go Pau Ferro, but I worry about being sensitive to the wood due to other allergies.

Thanks!

Also, is there a way to post without the questions at the bottom?  The letters are really hard for me to see!
 
Dual-action truss rods make for unusually stable necks. Basically a "set it and forget it" setup, which is nice. They do add a little weight, though.

You might want to consider a Canary neck rather than Maple. It's a more stable wood, but has the same tonal characteristics. You'd be able to get away with an old-style truss rod in one of those. Plus, they don't require a finish, but are slightly darker than Maple, so it sorta looks like it's finished. I recently burnished one so the neck is as smooth as a finished neck, but without the stickiness some people experience. Put some stainless frets on there, and you'd be one very happy camper.
 
If you're curious about the burnishing thing, I started a thread on it where I did it to an Aframosia neck. That might be another choice in place of Maple neck, as it's fairly bright.
 
You will come across a lot more Pine Tele's here ;
http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/
This guy has a few Pinecasters;
http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/55064-2nd-pinecaster-completed.html
Can't see it getting "flabby" the hardware you picked is popular over at TDPRI.
If you had problems with necks did they have hard (lacquers / poly) or oil finishes?
 
The warmoth pro necks are great. I have five and they are all very stable and fine sounding. I also have ont total vintage and one vintage modern neck. The sound about the same, but they do move around and require adjustment.

Can't comment on the other choices, although I have tried one Glendale bridge. I didn't like it and ended up giving it away.
 
I do not feel I ever get anywhere on the Tele page because when ever you ask about the tonal influence of anything (body wood, neck wood, pickups, caps, wire, etc) most of the people will reply that "it doesn't matter" because X and a little bit of Y give you the tone. Then ask about X and Y and find that they do not matter either it is W and Z!  But, we all know every forum has it's quirk  lol.

The necks I have had trouble with were all Fender necks with either a poly or lacquer finish.  1" thick necks, 1/4 sawn necks and one piece maple necks have been best for me. *knock on wood*

I do play a bit of acoustic and have the fortune of owning a Martin D-18 Authentic and it is really an eye opener for how guitars can work.  It is a nice sized neck with no adjustment which seems to really drive the soundboard for lots of yummy volume.  I feel a similar thing with my LsL T-Bone which has a 1" thick neck and one piece swamp ask body coming in under 7 pounds.  After 15 minutes of playing it just rumbles!
 
I have 2 pinecasters with maple necks one is roasted maple, they sound very good. These Glendale bodies are heavier than you can think. I still need to do some more work on one of them.
 

Attachments

Back
Top