GuitaRasmus
Newbie
- Messages
- 10
Hi guys - some of you may remember my last tele-synth project (found here http://unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=24564.msg356126#msg356126 ).
Since then, our quintet have become a quartet, and while we were quite sad to see a good buddy and a great musician having to leave, it was also a fun and exciting challenge for me, as the remaining guitarist, to step up to the challenge and become the sole harmony instrument of the band (our singer doesn't play). It's the first time I've ever done this, always have been in two-guitar bands, so a bit nervewracking, but I definitely think I'm getting there.
Anyway, I've used guitarsynth (GR-55) for a few years now, and it's become an absolutely essential part of our bands sound, so I need to a have the GK pickup. However, for what is essentially a trio format (guitar, bass, drums (and synth), my white tele just isn't cutting it soundwise - the tele bridge pickup sounds awesome, when there's two guitars, because it cuts so well, but I find it a bit thin on it's own - I've tried eq'ing it a lot, but theres a thickness to humbuckers that I just can't get with it. I'ved used a cheap, but good sounding Yamaha Pacifica with humbuckers the last few months, and it works great in the trio format, but I just can't get along with the ultra thin neck - it makes my wrist hurt.
Hence - the new project! (Que fanfare).
Here's the work sketch:
I wanted a HSH setup, since it allows me a great palette of humbucker and split coil tones - I recently begun using a Dimarzio Mo'joe bridge humbucker, which sounds incredible - full, defined, and snarling, without being too hot and muddy. The middle single will be a Suhr Fletcher Landau, because they're the best I've ever heard from single coils, and the neck is probably going to be a Paf Joe - mostly because I have one.
The neck is a showcase neck, standard thin (which I really like - fits my hands great), maple with ebony fretboard - nothing special here - except for the EVO gold frets (6150), which I tried on my last build, and LOVE - I'm allergic to nickel, so I tried them out - turns out they wear very slowly as well, and sound great (unlike stainless, which I'm not a fan of.).
The body is being built as I write this, swamp ash (my preferred tonewood - love the spank, punch and clarity), with a quilt maple top, and a turqouise dye with black burstover, plus cream bindings. It'll look hot, I hope.
I also grabbed the chance to get a trem - I didn't want the trem on my white tele, since the tele bridge is so essential to the tele sound, but since this is basically a HSH super strat with a tele shape, I thought I'd go for it - it will be a wilkinson VS trem.
And of course the GK pickup! I'll try something new on this build, and go for a rotary encoder, instead of the s1/s2 up down switches.
Lastly, I wanted a hybrid pickguard, but I wanted it a lot smaller, inspired by the Yamaha Pacifica teles - so I messed around with the design, and came up with what you see in the picture - fortunately, it fits inside the warmoth hybrid pickguard, so I ordered one of those as well, and will cut that down to fit.
By the way - why not just a strat? Well... I've always loved the tele shape and bindings. All my guitars either have binding or are blocky tele shapes. I've played those things for so long, that all the round edges and cuts on a strat just feel wrong - I don't feel I have a grip on the instrument, and it seems to skate around on my body. I much prefer a block of wood, where I can feel the edges. Just my weird preference I guess - I always find it amusing to read the many threads where people complain that their arms get sore on a teles edges, because I feel the opposite - just can't gel with a strat.
I just ordered it some days ago, so it will probably be a couple of months before I get the parts, but I would love any input, ideas or comments you have.
Thanks for reading!
Since then, our quintet have become a quartet, and while we were quite sad to see a good buddy and a great musician having to leave, it was also a fun and exciting challenge for me, as the remaining guitarist, to step up to the challenge and become the sole harmony instrument of the band (our singer doesn't play). It's the first time I've ever done this, always have been in two-guitar bands, so a bit nervewracking, but I definitely think I'm getting there.
Anyway, I've used guitarsynth (GR-55) for a few years now, and it's become an absolutely essential part of our bands sound, so I need to a have the GK pickup. However, for what is essentially a trio format (guitar, bass, drums (and synth), my white tele just isn't cutting it soundwise - the tele bridge pickup sounds awesome, when there's two guitars, because it cuts so well, but I find it a bit thin on it's own - I've tried eq'ing it a lot, but theres a thickness to humbuckers that I just can't get with it. I'ved used a cheap, but good sounding Yamaha Pacifica with humbuckers the last few months, and it works great in the trio format, but I just can't get along with the ultra thin neck - it makes my wrist hurt.
Hence - the new project! (Que fanfare).
Here's the work sketch:
I wanted a HSH setup, since it allows me a great palette of humbucker and split coil tones - I recently begun using a Dimarzio Mo'joe bridge humbucker, which sounds incredible - full, defined, and snarling, without being too hot and muddy. The middle single will be a Suhr Fletcher Landau, because they're the best I've ever heard from single coils, and the neck is probably going to be a Paf Joe - mostly because I have one.
The neck is a showcase neck, standard thin (which I really like - fits my hands great), maple with ebony fretboard - nothing special here - except for the EVO gold frets (6150), which I tried on my last build, and LOVE - I'm allergic to nickel, so I tried them out - turns out they wear very slowly as well, and sound great (unlike stainless, which I'm not a fan of.).
The body is being built as I write this, swamp ash (my preferred tonewood - love the spank, punch and clarity), with a quilt maple top, and a turqouise dye with black burstover, plus cream bindings. It'll look hot, I hope.
I also grabbed the chance to get a trem - I didn't want the trem on my white tele, since the tele bridge is so essential to the tele sound, but since this is basically a HSH super strat with a tele shape, I thought I'd go for it - it will be a wilkinson VS trem.
And of course the GK pickup! I'll try something new on this build, and go for a rotary encoder, instead of the s1/s2 up down switches.
Lastly, I wanted a hybrid pickguard, but I wanted it a lot smaller, inspired by the Yamaha Pacifica teles - so I messed around with the design, and came up with what you see in the picture - fortunately, it fits inside the warmoth hybrid pickguard, so I ordered one of those as well, and will cut that down to fit.
By the way - why not just a strat? Well... I've always loved the tele shape and bindings. All my guitars either have binding or are blocky tele shapes. I've played those things for so long, that all the round edges and cuts on a strat just feel wrong - I don't feel I have a grip on the instrument, and it seems to skate around on my body. I much prefer a block of wood, where I can feel the edges. Just my weird preference I guess - I always find it amusing to read the many threads where people complain that their arms get sore on a teles edges, because I feel the opposite - just can't gel with a strat.
I just ordered it some days ago, so it will probably be a couple of months before I get the parts, but I would love any input, ideas or comments you have.
Thanks for reading!
