Telecaster Custom Rejuvination

[Cagey]

Did you have to specify frets, or was that a fretted version from the showcase? Reason I ask is I wonder if it was a return that somebody else played around with and returned, but was not inspected as thoroughly as it maybe should have been.

Also, you might want to review what you're using for abrasives. I don't spend nearly the time you have getting frets cleaned up, even after I've been grinding on them. For example, sandpaper comes in a lotta different forms, and isn't really comparable by grit. That is, a 400 grit carbide vs. a 400 grit garnet vs. a 400 grit aluminum oxide will all behave differently, and then the backing makes a difference, too. A bit of 3M's 600 grit polishing paper won't cut anything like a piece of 600 grit wet-r-dry.

 

[davegardner0]

Nah it was definitely a custom order, they didn't have the neck profile and nut width I wanted in stock. I wonder if there was some sort of hiccup in the fret install and warmoth felt they needed to level it? And then I guess you're right somebody lost their patience when crowning and polishing after leveling. They definitely did a good job at leveling though! No buzzes or anything on this neck with pretty low action.

Either way I'll send a quick email to Warmoth and let them know. Hopefully it'll be helpful to them at least...

 

[davegardner0]

I managed to get the strings much more straight over the neck by loosening the screws a little and pushing the neck towards the bass side while tightening them.

Before:


After


This got me to thinking... The flat bottom on the Tele neck pocket makes the neck much more stable as far as the direction it's pointing. So it's harder to make this type of adjustment, and you have much less range of adjustment. The flat backed neck pocket is great if the bridge is in the correct spot, but not so great if there's any misalignment.

So I wonder if the curved neck pocket that Fender switched to with the strat was to give the whole system more adjustability in case the bridge wasn't in the exact right spot? I have a G&L Comanche that has a flat backed neck pocket, so I guess Leo Fender switched back to the flat neck pocket for everything later on. It makes sense, since the G&L's are so much more precisely made.

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Anyway, on another note, I also ordered some machined brass block saddles to replace the original pot-metal saddles on my bridge:
https://reverb.com/item/9953306-forney-custom-narrow-2-1-16-string-spacing-block-saddles-solid-brass

They're great!! The really improved the tone of the guitar... the acoustic tone is quieter, and plugged in the tone is more "focused" with much greater sustain. They sound just a tad warmer and fuller, but I don't think I lost treble. I think the tone just gained more mids and bass.

Eventually I may try to get a set of similar saddles in stainless steel to hear the differences, as I think they might add some twang/highs. Not sure if that would be a good thing or not though, as this guitar is still pretty bright. It would be a good experiment though.

 

[davegardner0]

Video Demo!!
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rTVsQvDDcE[/youtube]

 

[Cagey]

Nice job! Sounds good! Now...

 

[rgand]

I like the sound of that. Good video. I love the sound of a good Telecaster Custom. :icon_thumright: