To Strat or to Tele....that's my question

Graffiti62

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Hey guys--

It feels absolutely phenomenal to be back into working on guitars and amps after nearly a year with no place at all to work on anything!  The wife finally blessed me the opportunity to put a full guitar together, instead of simply building up something I picked up cheap and later sold to break even on because of my dissatisfaction with one thing or another.

I figured that you guys would be the best ones to help me decide which way I am going to go on the new project. I have two Kisekae mock ups of what I wanna do:

Here's my Strat idea...
Strat.jpg


Specs are going to be:

Alder body finished with a simple mild dye to get a little darker color and a paste wax finish to allow the wood to acquire a patina over time without looking like a ball of dirt.
Pro maple fatback neck (1 3/4" nut--really big hands) with rosewood board, MoP inlays
DiMarzio Area '61 pickups w/5-way toggle hooked to master volume and tone
I'm going to add a switch to throw the neck pickup on in any blade position, allowing me to have neck and bridge on at once, or all three with the blade at bridge and middle (I've done this on every Strat or Strat knockoff I've ever owned--at this point, its a necessity)



And here's the Tele...
Tele.jpg


Specs are going to be:

Swamp ash body wih flame maple top dyed dark blue to bring out the flame, pearloid binding around the face, as well as a belly cutout on the back, nitro finish
Pro maple fatback neck (1 3/4" nut--really big hands) with rosewood board, MoP inlays
Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder in the bridge, and a Seymour Duncan SM-2 in the neck
Standard Tele layout (I may go with concentric pots to give each pickup a volume and tone) as well as two mini switches (one to cut out one of the coils on the SM-2, and the other to put the pickups out of phase in the middle position)

I eventually will build up both, as I have a few parts for each already, but I'm torn on which way to go. I am definitely going for the reverse look--some people on the conservative side may gawk a little, but it makes my stuff stand out, plus there are the tonal idiosyncrasies that are possible with this layout.

Help me out guys--which way would you go? Also, if there's any feedback you can offer on my plans, please feel free to throw it in there--nothing's ever set in stone until you want it to be set in stone

Thanks for the help!
 
It's for you to decide. I'm gonna tell you to do the Strat thing, but that's just me. I'd also tell you to flip that headstock back around so it makes sense, but maybe it wouldn't to you.
 
What parts do you have already?

I'd do the Strat first, only because it might be cheaper to build.

Did you want the blue flame Tele to be a nitro finish? I think Warmoth only does bodies in poly.
 
I vote the first one, except use another body wood, raw neck wood, and a different pickguard
oh, also, get humbuckers instead of single coils, and use gold hardware...
 
I think the yellow on the peghead is totally turning me off to both of them.  Leave the strat clear maple or the tele with the same blue as the body and it will look nicer...imho.
 
now for my real answer...

Start with the Strat first, since the strat is the most sexy and most comfortable guitar ever!

and you know that eventually you will build the tele too... its a matter of time :)
 
There seems to be a lot of hating on Teles around here lately. What happened to the Tele-worship that was once the hallmark of the board?  :laughing7:

I, for one, am generally rather ambivalent about Telecasters--perhaps because I've never owned one--but I'd definitely go with the Tele above before the Strat.  :icon_thumright:
 
Having 3 strat bodies....I am really leaning towards building a Thinline with dual P-90s and a rosewood top, although I do have my eye on that red dye, quilted strat in the showcase.  Really cant decide what to do.
 
Telecaster of course - was there a question in there some where  :icon_scratch:
 
BOTH! Strat body with glendale chimemaster and glendale tone ring for housing a reverse tele bridge pickup, strat middle pickup, mini hum neck pickup, tele electrosocket side jack, modified strat pickguard to make room for the tele hardware, tele neck pocket, and right handed reverse tele neck. Wire it up like a nashville deluxe tele and  :rock-on:

As far as color goes I'm much more partial to the blue. Plain clear on alder simply won't do.
 
Telecaster.  It truly is the most expressive, versatile, tough, and generally kick ass guitar there is.

Strats on the other hand are kinda like that Psychotic ex-girlfriend that shows up unannounced and spends a half an hour locked in your bathroom crying.
 
mayfly said:
Strats on the other hand are kinda like that Psychotic ex-girlfriend that shows up unannounced and spends a half an hour locked in your bathroom crying.

Even though I love Strats, that is the best simile ever.
 
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