The Accidental Telecaster...

[Verne Bunsen]

I was originally going to call it "The Accidental Thinline", but that sounded too much like a tragic story involving a router. I call it "accidental" because, well, it wasn't on purpose. Generally when I approach a build, I sit down and plan out every aspect all the way down to the color of the pickguard screws. In this case, not only was there no planning stage, there wasn't even a plan to build a guitar. I just kind of noticed that I had all the stuff to build one:

The pickups are a set of GFS Dream 90s that I picked up a while back because I was intrigued and wanted to try them out. Didn't know what guitar I'd try them in, but just knew I wanted to try them. (Spoiler: I like them, a LOT)

The neck is from WD Music in Florida and has been sitting around in bubble wrap for like two years. Didn't have a nut, didn't have mounting holes drilled, but it had frets in all the right places. It's a Strat neck, but the gaps in the pocket are concealed by both the fretboard overhang and the pickguard. Satin finished maple (not my favorite, I'm one of the odd ducks who likes gloss...) and a rosewood board. The decal is one I put on way-back-when as I was trying to figure out the process for doing so. The frets are level and the ends are filed, so I'm thinking I must have tended to this as a practice session back-when as well. The nut is a black TUSQ nut that I bought for a project that never happened. Convenient. The tuners are a set of Kluson Saf-T-Post tuners that were new in the box. I don't actually have any idea why I had them. Again, convenient...

The strap buttons are the obnoxiously long ones some of you may or may not recall were taken off of my Candy Apple Red Thinline. They've been sitting on my bench ever since that build; I haven't wanted to toss them because they are quite pretty... just obnoxiously long....

The output jack is the Pure-Tone that I removed from the Candy Apple Red Thinline. The Electrosocket was floating around in one of my parts bins.

I have switches and knobs and pots and caps coming out of my ears, so that was all easy.

The final piece came in the form of a Screamin' Deals impulse purchase. A Swamp Ash '72 Thinline body finished in Black-To-Yellow burst. It really grabbed me and, for the price, I really couldn't afford not to. I bought the pickguard and bridge at the same time as I knew that I could avoid parts conflict that way...

Without further ado, I present The Accidental Telecaster. I had a heck of a time photographing it, wish I could have done better.

Despite its being a fully functional Death Star, I filed this under "A Work In Progress" because I'll be revisiting it. The neck is perfectly serviceable as-is, but I'm not crazy about the skinny profile nor the satin finish. Also, I can't decide whether or not it's begging for a Bigsby. I'm pretty certain that it is though....

 

[AirCap]

I like it so far...

 

[Logrinn]

Very nice.
You gotta love having gathered so many parts over time, that you some day realise that - "Oh, I can build a guitar with all the stuff that's lying around. Sweet!" :icon_thumright:

It made me think about what I've got at home at the moment ... hmm, no, there's at least a body missing ... oh, well ...

 

[new-killer-star]

I think I can hear it begging from here...

looks great!

 

[Cagey]

Looks great to me!

I haven't tried the Dream 90s yet, but I've put Dream 180s on several instruments and like them a lot.

I went through a similar thing about a year or so ago ending up with a Strat. Had enough parts laying around that seemed to match that I said "what the hell?" and added the screws to make everything stick together  :laughing7:

 

[bagman67]

Hey, Cagey, I know you're not nuts about single coils, but if you're interested, I have a Dream 90 neck pickup sitting around here that I'd be happy to contribute to the cause of you learning more about what's up.  It matched up nicely with the Duncan Quarter Pound tele bridge pickup.

 

[Cagey]

Thanks, I appreciate the offer. But, I already have one I bought on a whim because I've been wanting to try one in something. Just haven't found a likely suspect yet.

 

[dmraco]

I have used the Dream 90s and 180s.  Not bad.  Lets hear some tones!
Classy looking axe!

 

[BigSteve22]

That looks outstanding, -VB-, especially for something essentially built from your parts drawer! Very nice combination. Keep us updated if you decide to change things up.  :icon_thumright:

Generally when I approach a build, I sit down and plan out every aspect all the way down to the color of the pickguard screws.....

I consider that planning phase to be an essential part of the build cycle, and the start of the therapeutics, like the fist steps on a long walk. Can't tell if everything's going to work together if you don't know what "everything" is, so I kinda build it in my mind first. But the restrictive aspect of that is it takes me months between finished instruments. Having all those parts on hand would save me a lot of time, but alas, that is not my lot.

However , and coincidentally, I've kinda, sorta, started planning my next project: A Thinline Tele with, (noiseless), P90s. This one is gonna take a while because I'm planning on making the body myself and I still need to work a few thing out. You Sir, are an inspiration!

 

[Sovereign_13]

In this case, not only was there no planning stage, there wasn't even a plan to build a guitar. I just kind of noticed that I had all the stuff to build one.

Color me jealous.  Maybe someday...but I don't think my wife would like that.  She's not a fan of my habit of collecting half-finished projects that I swear up and down I'll finish one day.

If you hadn't told us that you just had those parts laying around, I'd believe you if you told me is was a planned build.  Looks awesome.  :icon_thumright:  Might look even more so with that Bigsby you mentioned...

 

[Verne Bunsen]

<I thought it would be more efficient to do multiple replies in one post, ended up pretty long winded. Apologies to folks reading on their phone, haha!>

I like it so far...

Thanks! Me too!

Very nice.
You gotta love having gathered so many parts over time, that you some day realise that - "Oh, I can build a guitar with all the stuff that's lying around. Sweet!" :icon_thumright:

It made me think about what I've got at home at the moment ... hmm, no, there's at least a body missing ... oh, well ...

Thanks! It was an unusual set of events, for sure. My thought when buying the body was that I'd eventually want to upgrade the Fender neck on either my (Warmoth) Strat or on one of my Fender Teles and then I'd have a donor neck handy. (And I'd eventually want to upgrade THAT neck, in which case I would again have a donor neck.... etc....) The part that hadn't clicked was that I had a neck that was just laying about already.

I think I can hear it begging from here...

looks great!

Yeah, pretty sure it's going to happen  :icon_biggrin:  Currently my only hardtail!  Thanks!

Looks great to me!

I haven't tried the Dream 90s yet, but I've put Dream 180s on several instruments and like them a lot.

I went through a similar thing about a year or so ago ending up with a Strat. Had enough parts laying around that seemed to match that I said "what the hell?" and added the screws to make everything stick together  :laughing7:

Thank you sir! I'm not sure what that body was doing in Screamin' Deals, but who am I to argue? I'm really happy with it, it's one of those where I probably wouldn't have spec'd something out that way myself but I'm glad I stumbled on it! The Dream 90s are really cool pickups. I don't think they are exactly P90 replacements as such, but they absolutely have some of that character and something of their own going on as well. I'll try to get some sound clips posted.

I have used the Dream 90s and 180s.  Not bad.  Lets hear some tones!
Classy looking axe!

Thank you! I'll work on that for sure.

That looks outstanding, -VB-, especially for something essentially built from your parts drawer! Very nice combination. Keep us updated if you decide to change things up.  :icon_thumright:

Generally when I approach a build, I sit down and plan out every aspect all the way down to the color of the pickguard screws.....

I consider that planning phase to be an essential part of the build cycle, and the start of the therapeutics, like the fist steps on a long walk. Can't tell if everything's going to work together if you don't know what "everything" is, so I kinda build it in my mind first. But the restrictive aspect of that is it takes me months between finished instruments. Having all those parts on hand would save me a lot of time, but alas, that is not my lot.

However , and coincidentally, I've kinda, sorta, started planning my next project: A Thinline Tele with, (noiseless), P90s. This one is gonna take a while because I'm planning on making the body myself and I still need to work a few thing out. You Sir, are an inspiration!

Thank you, and I certainly will! I'm with you, all of the day-dreaming and the mock ups and the paralysis-by-analysis are some of my favorite pass times. This was certainly a different approach for me. Worked out though as I ended up with something I wouldn't have necessarily have come up with otherwise.

I look forward to seeing your project. The body-from-scratch builds are always impressive to watch!

In this case, not only was there no planning stage, there wasn't even a plan to build a guitar. I just kind of noticed that I had all the stuff to build one.

Color me jealous.  Maybe someday...but I don't think my wife would like that.  She's not a fan of my habit of collecting half-finished projects that I swear up and down I'll finish one day.

If you hadn't told us that you just had those parts laying around, I'd believe you if you told me is was a planned build.  Looks awesome.  :icon_thumright:  Might look even more so with that Bigsby you mentioned...

Thank you! I'm inclined to agree about the Bigsby, really needs to happen.... I actually have an F-Logo B5 on the shelf (I'm starting to see how this happened, haha!), but being that it isn't actually an F-Logo guitar I don't think I want to go that route. Probably just the standard horseshoe B5.

Interestingly, it's actually only thanks to my wife that this guitar happened. I was off at work and she was moving some stuff around for the termite guy (yay, southern Arizona!), I ended up with a text message saying, "Did you know there is a guitar neck under this cabinet?" Gears started turning pretty promptly, haha!

 

[Verne Bunsen]

Audio!

[soundcloud]https://soundcloud.com/vb-tunes/sets/dream-90-thinline-telecaster[/soundcloud]

 

[Cagey]

Sounds good!

That whole thing has been quite the happy accident, eh?

 

[Verne Bunsen]

Sounds good!

That whole thing has been quite the happy accident, eh?

Thanks! Indeed it has been. I think my favorite part is simply that, if I had gone through my usual design and planning, I’d probably never have landed on this guitar. It’s pretty cool in that respect.

 

[dmraco]

sounds great.  I liked all the tones.  The neck when dirty seems a bit much for me but WOW!

 

[Verne Bunsen]

Thanks! I’m really happy with all of the sounds as well. The Dream 90 reviews are kind of mixed so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but they sure hit the spot for me. And yes, they do seem to take nicely to the dirt!

 

[Cagey]

GFS makes some nice pickups. A lotta folks are skeptical due to their low price and invisible market presence, but most who try them find they're remarkably high quality parts that sound great.

I used to have a link to a manufacturer over there whose product line looked a lot like a mashup of all the pickup manufacturers we're familiar with, including GFS. I suspect they're one of those places like Foxconn, who makes computer parts for everybody (including Apple), private labeling the stuff so as not to offend the sensibilities of the US consumer. In both cases, they don't do any engineering, they just build what others design at a super-low price to maximize profits for the middlemen (such as Apple, Dell, et al). Unfortunately, I can't remember their name, nor do I still have the link.

But, all that is by way of saying there's a high probability that the pricey pickups some folks swear by are built by the same people on the same machines using the same parts as the least popular among them.

 

[rgand]

Looks really good and sounds great. Nice work.

 

[Verne Bunsen]

Thank you, Rgand!

 

[Verne Bunsen]

Oy, between having just paid for a new roof and a few other non-trivial expenses in rapid succession, I am really in no position to be buying fancy guitar necks at this time. But I saw this and and knew that it had to be mine...............

I believe it will go on this here Telecaster, and I think the Lollartrons that I recently pulled from my ES137 will go in at the same time. So, thats exciting! 
:turtle: