Silver tele
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Disco Scottie
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So glad you re-did. Looks great.
jay4321
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reminds me of a Custom Shop finish I saw on a strat, where there were all blocks like yours, but they were all the fender colors available (or historic colors or something). More like sample swatches from the paint store
tried finding it for 10 minutes on google, no luck. if anyone knows where to find it would be appreciated
tried finding it for 10 minutes on google, no luck. if anyone knows where to find it would be appreciated
Well I finished the clear coat on the guitar today. I ended up using two bottles worth of the Deft clear on it. I let that dry for about 12 hours and then I started the wet sanding. I went from 600 all the way up to 1500. The front and backs are easy, but the sides especially around the horn is a pain in the butt. Luckily no sand through because with metallic paint that would have been a huge pain. I wasn't completely happy with the polishing on the neck so I bought a little attachment for my drill. Man that makes it easier. I used Maguires 2.0 for everything. I think I have heard of people using two compounds each less biting then the other. I couldn't find anything like that so I grabbed the scratch and swirls remover. It seems to work really well.
I decided to install the hardware, at least most of it, and then I can start getting all of the wiring done. I am going to have a friend of mine help me with all of the soldering. He builds electronics in his basement as a hobby. He even bought a tiny CNC machine for making his own circuit boards. If anyone can get a clean soldering joint I am sure he can. I want to do as much as possible, but having him there makes me less nervous. The bridge took three tries to get installed correctly. The last time I had to take it off because I forgot to put the ground wire to it. Oops. Here are a bunch of pictures of my progress so far. The neck is just sitting there, I don't want to screw it in until I have finished the electronics.
A close up of the bridge.
You can really see the mettalic flake in this picture. It is also a really good representation of the colors. At least on my screen.
I like this one because you can see the reflection of the bridge and knobs, plus the flairs from the overhead lights.
I decided to install the hardware, at least most of it, and then I can start getting all of the wiring done. I am going to have a friend of mine help me with all of the soldering. He builds electronics in his basement as a hobby. He even bought a tiny CNC machine for making his own circuit boards. If anyone can get a clean soldering joint I am sure he can. I want to do as much as possible, but having him there makes me less nervous. The bridge took three tries to get installed correctly. The last time I had to take it off because I forgot to put the ground wire to it. Oops. Here are a bunch of pictures of my progress so far. The neck is just sitting there, I don't want to screw it in until I have finished the electronics.
A close up of the bridge.
You can really see the mettalic flake in this picture. It is also a really good representation of the colors. At least on my screen.
I like this one because you can see the reflection of the bridge and knobs, plus the flairs from the overhead lights.
Disco Scottie
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Looks like we're gonna have one hell of a GOTM competition.
bigguspickus
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Very nice! :icon_thumright:
The chrome rings look good with the hb-sized P90s. I wouldn't replace them with the black plastic rings.
The chrome rings look good with the hb-sized P90s. I wouldn't replace them with the black plastic rings.
Thanks! I am really happy with how it turned out. I agree, I like it with the chrome. I was worried because I was not looking forward to buying more parts. I just can't handle plastic on my nice new guitar. 
I got the entire guitar wired up tonight. The wiring diagrams I found on Seymour Duncans website are a little misleading. Most of it was right, but the three way switch I had was kind of tricky and completely different from how there three way switch was. I ended up doing all the soldering myself. I didn't feel like waiting for my friends dad. Now I can say I did it all myself too. I ran through a quick setup and play around with it for a while, but I will give it some time to settle while I play with it this week and then do it again. So far I dont think I am going to do a fret level. With the action where I like it there is not a dead note or buzz anywhere on the board. Good enough for me. :icon_thumright: It is too dark for pictures right now so I will probably upload the final ones tomorrow when I can get some better lighting and put up some of my thoughts on the whole thing.
I got the entire guitar wired up tonight. The wiring diagrams I found on Seymour Duncans website are a little misleading. Most of it was right, but the three way switch I had was kind of tricky and completely different from how there three way switch was. I ended up doing all the soldering myself. I didn't feel like waiting for my friends dad. Now I can say I did it all myself too. I ran through a quick setup and play around with it for a while, but I will give it some time to settle while I play with it this week and then do it again. So far I dont think I am going to do a fret level. With the action where I like it there is not a dead note or buzz anywhere on the board. Good enough for me. :icon_thumright: It is too dark for pictures right now so I will probably upload the final ones tomorrow when I can get some better lighting and put up some of my thoughts on the whole thing.
Jusatele
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I am so glad you re did the finish
from the day you posted the first mock up board, I started getting excited about what it could turn out looking like, As I mentioned before, not my idea or vision, but wow this thing rocks. I believe it is one of the best Tele builds I have seen.
Plus the more chrome you put on it the better it falls into line of SILVER TELE.
Great Job.
from the day you posted the first mock up board, I started getting excited about what it could turn out looking like, As I mentioned before, not my idea or vision, but wow this thing rocks. I believe it is one of the best Tele builds I have seen.
Plus the more chrome you put on it the better it falls into line of SILVER TELE.
Great Job.
ihavenothingprofoundtosay
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That's a flawless execution of a spectacular idea - amazing job!
How's that Schaller bridge for string tension? Is it noticably flubbier than a string through?
I can't imagine those Phatcats sound anything less than [insert superlative that has not yet been used in this thread here]
How's that Schaller bridge for string tension? Is it noticably flubbier than a string through?
I can't imagine those Phatcats sound anything less than [insert superlative that has not yet been used in this thread here]
Well here are the pictures first. I still need to get some in natural light, but these will have to do for now.
I really like the Schaller bridge. I feels rock solid. Once you have it set and screw in the set screw it doesn’t budge. I am really impressed with the bridge. You can adjust string spacing, individual string heights and intonation very easily. It was the easiest setup I have ever done. If I built another guitar I would definitely use it again.
The planet wave locking tuners are another thing I would definitely do again. They may changing strings really easy since you don’t need to worry about winds or cutting strings. Plus with the locking tuners I have noticed they stay in tune better and don’t require as much “stretch”. I am considering another set to put on my PRS.
The Phat Cats sounds very good. What I read online is a pretty good representation of what they sound like. They are not as dark as the humbuckers on my PRS. Sort of like a mix between a strat and the PRS. They have a nice deep tone to them, but when you role up the volume and get more distortion you don’t lose all the clarity like my PRS. They, combined with the guitar also sustain better. I timed both of my guitars and the Tele sustained for about 25% longer. The volume also fell off in a more linear fashion, where the PRS dropped rather quickly at first. The pickups also seem to add harmonics that I can’t get as easily with the humbuckers. They are louder, but not as bad as I thought. It is pretty quiet, and if you cut the volume before you start playing, no one would hear it anyway.
I really like the neck of the guitar. I like the feel of the ebony and the think neck is really nice because my hands are not the biggest. I did a lighter coat of lacquer on the back, and I did not polish it out so it looks more like satin and does not feel as smooth. This feels much more natural to me. The PRS has a polished neck with a fairly thick coating on it. Since it is so smooth and glossy it actually kind of gets “sticky” to my fingers when they get a little sweaty. The more rough finish on the tele actually makes it faster in my opinion. I think the only thing I would have done differently on this guitar would be getting the 1 5/8” nut. I think it would make it even easier to play with my small hands. I don’t really know if I would like it more since all my guitars have the standard 1 11/16”. I will probably try when I build another guitar, which I will definitely be doing.
I really like the look of the body and I really like where the volume control and tone control are. It is similar to my PRS which I really like since I tend to fiddle with the knobs when I play to get different sounds. The 3-way switch is nice and close as well. My PRS is tucked further back and almost in line with the bottom of the bridge. Where it is on the tele I can flick it with my pinky. The guitar ended up weighing a portly 8.1 lbs. My PRS weighs 7.2 lbs which make the tele look like it really let itself go. I don’t really notice it while I am playing and I am used to the PRS so and extra .9 lbs really doesn’t matter to me since the guitar is nicely balanced.
I will probably try and draw up a wiring schematic for my guitar. The SD website didn’t have a diagram for 2 phat cats, but it was basically 2 humbuckers that had the ground shielding on them. The biggest pain was the 3 way switch, which took me some time to figure out. The one on their website is for a toggle switch type not the strat style.
Building my own guitar has been really fun. I have a desk job so going home and working with my hands is like a vacation for my brain. Very therapeutic. Now I just have to figure out how I can finagle my wife into agreeing on another one. I may have a bit of GAS…
I really like the Schaller bridge. I feels rock solid. Once you have it set and screw in the set screw it doesn’t budge. I am really impressed with the bridge. You can adjust string spacing, individual string heights and intonation very easily. It was the easiest setup I have ever done. If I built another guitar I would definitely use it again.
The planet wave locking tuners are another thing I would definitely do again. They may changing strings really easy since you don’t need to worry about winds or cutting strings. Plus with the locking tuners I have noticed they stay in tune better and don’t require as much “stretch”. I am considering another set to put on my PRS.
The Phat Cats sounds very good. What I read online is a pretty good representation of what they sound like. They are not as dark as the humbuckers on my PRS. Sort of like a mix between a strat and the PRS. They have a nice deep tone to them, but when you role up the volume and get more distortion you don’t lose all the clarity like my PRS. They, combined with the guitar also sustain better. I timed both of my guitars and the Tele sustained for about 25% longer. The volume also fell off in a more linear fashion, where the PRS dropped rather quickly at first. The pickups also seem to add harmonics that I can’t get as easily with the humbuckers. They are louder, but not as bad as I thought. It is pretty quiet, and if you cut the volume before you start playing, no one would hear it anyway.
I really like the neck of the guitar. I like the feel of the ebony and the think neck is really nice because my hands are not the biggest. I did a lighter coat of lacquer on the back, and I did not polish it out so it looks more like satin and does not feel as smooth. This feels much more natural to me. The PRS has a polished neck with a fairly thick coating on it. Since it is so smooth and glossy it actually kind of gets “sticky” to my fingers when they get a little sweaty. The more rough finish on the tele actually makes it faster in my opinion. I think the only thing I would have done differently on this guitar would be getting the 1 5/8” nut. I think it would make it even easier to play with my small hands. I don’t really know if I would like it more since all my guitars have the standard 1 11/16”. I will probably try when I build another guitar, which I will definitely be doing.
I really like the look of the body and I really like where the volume control and tone control are. It is similar to my PRS which I really like since I tend to fiddle with the knobs when I play to get different sounds. The 3-way switch is nice and close as well. My PRS is tucked further back and almost in line with the bottom of the bridge. Where it is on the tele I can flick it with my pinky. The guitar ended up weighing a portly 8.1 lbs. My PRS weighs 7.2 lbs which make the tele look like it really let itself go. I don’t really notice it while I am playing and I am used to the PRS so and extra .9 lbs really doesn’t matter to me since the guitar is nicely balanced.
I will probably try and draw up a wiring schematic for my guitar. The SD website didn’t have a diagram for 2 phat cats, but it was basically 2 humbuckers that had the ground shielding on them. The biggest pain was the 3 way switch, which took me some time to figure out. The one on their website is for a toggle switch type not the strat style.
Building my own guitar has been really fun. I have a desk job so going home and working with my hands is like a vacation for my brain. Very therapeutic. Now I just have to figure out how I can finagle my wife into agreeing on another one. I may have a bit of GAS…
ihavenothingprofoundtosay
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No joke - this guitar showed up in a dream I had last night. I've been doing some planning for my next (Tele) build), and there is so much inspiration here.
Also, I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who saw this Tele & drooled just a little bit. :icon_biggrin: :icon_tongue:
One tiny suggestion: I think it deserves a few shots in the sunshine, just to see all the different silvers sparkle. :blob7:
Also, I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who saw this Tele & drooled just a little bit. :icon_biggrin: :icon_tongue:
One tiny suggestion: I think it deserves a few shots in the sunshine, just to see all the different silvers sparkle. :blob7:
Cagey
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Danuda said:
That's the problem with 99.9% of the diagrams on the 'net - they're wiring diagrams, not schematics. If you could look at a schematic, you'd know how something worked in a heartbeat, as guitar guts are incredibly simple. But, with a wiring diagram, you have no idea what's going on unless you know exactly what the designs and configurations are of the approximately 1,341,229 different components spanning 6 decades that might have been used.
ihavenothingprofoundtosay said:
Thank you
I would love to get a few outdoor shots, but I am slammed at work with end of the year stuff and by the time I get home it is dark. There will probably be no outdoor photos until this weekend. With the weather we have coming up they will be snow shots, but that could look cool anyway. :icon_thumright:
