Silk purse...

[jdroost]

Pondering on a telecaster build but with a conversion neck.
I don't own one and was wondering if anyone had started with a squire telecaster
for parts and installed a Warmoth neck with some good tuners and maybe a pickup upgrade to save a few bucks (be kind..i am not a wealthy man..lol)?

If so what is a good low end donor to look for?
Thanks in advance.

 

[rgand]

I re-vamped a Squier Strat and a friend of mine is doing a Squier Jazzmaster right now. I suggest looking for one of the Affinity models if you decide to go with a Squier. They're generally made out of better wood than the others. Mine was made from agathis and my friend's is alder. The Warmoth neck went right onto my Strat. It wasn't a snug fit but there was no issue getting it aligned with the strings. If it is too tight, you could probably adjust the pocket with a little sandpaper.

 

[jdroost]

Awesome.
Thanks

 

[rgand]

There are some very nice bodies in the showroom that are unfinished if you don't mind doing the finish yourself. How about poplar for $125? That's certainly a reasonable price. Poplar is similar to alder except for the color so it's a fine one. See it here.

 

[rgand]

I just remembered that you want a Tele and the one I posted is a Strat. Just keep checking and the right one for your budget will appear at the right time. Right now they have unfinished alder ones for $155.

 

[bagman67]

You can custom-order poplar at $145 for a standard Tele body.  They do show up in the showcase fairly often if you feel like waiting around, and if the $20 discount is worth more than your wait time.


Poplar is a little softer than alder, but not so much softer as basswood.  For a solid color, it's a great value.  The original EBMM Steve Morse models are poplar, FWIW.

 

[stratamania]

The original EBMM Steve Morse models are poplar, FWIW.

I used to own one until I sold it to a collector, fantastic guitar all around.

One of the best necks of any guitar I have owned and would not hesitate to have another one at some point.

 

[dmraco]

The the original post.  It will work fine.  Amazing how a well made neck can change the total attitude of a guitar.    I just did a Gibson scale tele and love it.

If you find a good donor give it a shot.  You can always purchase a warmoth body later when it is financially feasible .

 

[spe111]

Just to play devil's advocate...

So you're really just using the squier for the bridge, body and then about $25 worth of other parts. Their pots and switches are pretty crappy, so you should just get upgrades before you wire it. So the savings of starting with a squier start off pretty minimal.

I don't know what a tele bridge costs, but I don't imagine it's that much to get something better than a stock squier.

You probably already paid a couple hundred for the squier that you threw most of away and you can get a painted Warmoth body for slightly more.

I'd say you're looking at saving $150 max by using the squier. Then you have a squier body and 6 months later you're buying a Warmoth body anyways because you realize that's what you've been missing this whole time.

That's probably what would happen to me anyways.

 

[musicispeace]

You can custom-order poplar at $145 for a standard Tele body.  They do show up in the showcase fairly often if you feel like waiting around, and if the $20 discount is worth more than your wait time.


Poplar is a little softer than alder, but not so much softer as basswood.  For a solid color, it's a great value.  The original EBMM Steve Morse models are poplar, FWIW.

I have two poplar bodies, one of which I have a transparent white finish on because I liked the grain and couple of greenish streaks. So sometimes poplar works for you as poplar.