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Post subject: Telecaster build
Posted: Tue Jun 25, 2019 5:35 pm
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Hey everyone! I'm in the process of doing my first real "from scratch" build. I have a sold mahogany body and nothing else. I want to model this build after an early 50s tele. I need some ideas on what kind of neck I should get as well as hardware. Price isnt a concern as this will be a sentimental build and I want to do it right. Any help is so much appreciated!!


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Post subject: Re: Telecaster build
Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2019 12:19 am
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A tough one... but let's get the topic rolling.

The wiring should be easy; just follow the "vintage wiring" on e.g. this one: AmVintTele52 Service Diagram
Go as vintage as you want with the switch, pots and caps. :wink:

Pickups should be easy, too. Something vintage voiced from the vast selection of new pickups, or second hand real old pickups.

The body you have, mahogany... Well, not exactly period correct.
On the other hand, that opens the possibility of choosing the neck after your preferences, but decorating (tuners, string trees) it in vintage style. And IMHO, don't use a Fender decal if the neck isn't a Fender neck.

But further on: what kind of looks are you going for; 'just-out-of-the-factory' or something relic'd?


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Post subject: Re: Telecaster build
Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2019 4:40 pm
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Welcome to the forum.
Cool first post to be sure.

The hardest part to do yourself will be the neck since you say you already have a body.
The wood parts of guitar building require the highest degree of skill and precision, IMO.
If you're not up to that amount of work, you can get some basically brand new Fender necks on eBay from "the stratosphere".
Many times they are actually brand new.
If you don't need the Fender name on it there are lots of places to buy brand new Tele style necks in pretty much any profile/radius/# of frets/wood type you can dream of.

Warmoth makes perfect necks and they are a Fender-authorized supplier, plus you can opt for stainless frets which will never wear out.

Once you have the body and neck sussed out, the rest of it, (hardware and electronic bits) is pretty straight forward.
You pick what you want and put it together.
Turning some wrenches and screwdrivers and learning to solder and read instructions is relatively easy and quite enjoyable.
Have fun with your build.
Be sure to post pics of your progress.
We love that sort of thing here.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.


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Post subject: Re: Telecaster build
Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2019 7:34 pm
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Joined: Tue Nov 27, 2012 6:56 am
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Location: Coastal Bend, Tx.
As jmattis has already pointed out the body wood choice isn't really a Fendery wood and it actually adds more steps/sorta limits your finish choices to your project.
Mahogany is/can be really grainy and needs to be pour filled to get a smooth slick surface. Was your wood kiln dried? If so that helps some w/ grain raising, as it tightens the wood somewhat. You will still need to do several grain raises and sand flat before filling/sanding and sanding level before sealing.
How are you going to finish the body?
I'll stick around and watch/help where I can, looking forward to pic's.


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Post subject: Re: Telecaster build
Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2019 7:47 pm
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I guess I assumed the body was already finished.
Perhaps that was hasty?

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.


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Post subject: Re: Telecaster build
Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2019 7:57 pm
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Location: Coastal Bend, Tx.
I assumed it wasn't, maybe hasty here!
Hope he managed a one piece body.
Definitely get the neck and neck pocket sorted before laying out the bridge/pups etc.


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Post subject: Re: Telecaster build
Posted: Thu Jul 04, 2019 10:53 am
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Building your own guitar is one of the best things going. And doing a vintage build is even better because you can get excited about having just exactly the right period pieces.

I was really thrilled when I got the Pat Pend saddles for my 62 Strat and the single line Kluson Delux tuners. You can become something of an anorak on the subject though and an absolute bore in public. :-) I love it.

It can also become frustrating though. I built a 1950's Strat with a Tele shaped body. It has gold hardware and I am still kicking myself that I didn't buy some gold Pat Pend saddles when they were available. It is unlikely that anyone other than me will know the difference but now, every time I look at the saddles, I think "I wish I bought those Pat Pend ones."

The other great thing about a vintage build is if something isn't perfect or you knock it etc. you can say "Well it is meant to be 60 years old, of course it isn't perfect".

What's not to like?

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Post subject: Re: Telecaster build
Posted: Thu Jul 04, 2019 1:53 pm
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The OP is 9 days old.
We may never hear any more about this.

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Post subject: Re: Telecaster build
Posted: Thu Jul 04, 2019 11:24 pm
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Well, the first answer came late (first poster delay with the OP's post once again?), and the OP has checked in on Thursday the 4th, so all hope is not lost.

BTW, @Etle1103; build topics are best when there are pics. And another BTW, these are highly personal subjects, so pick and choose, and don't be offended when someone posts something you find weird, appalling or just plain dumb. :wink:


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Post subject: Re: Telecaster build
Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2019 9:38 am
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I know there are people who strongly dislike the first-post-delay policy but I am not one of them.
I think it solves more problems than it creates.
That said, maybe what we could use here is a small group of members who can act as human filters.
They aren't full moderators but they do have access to and get notifications about first posts and have authority to say yeah or neigh and maybe also the ability to block IP addresses from further attempts.
I think that could drastically reduce the lag time.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.


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Post subject: Re: Telecaster build
Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2019 11:03 am
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Agreed.
I too am a fan of the first-post-delay, but every other forum I've encountered it, the post has been approved within 24 hours.
That is reasonable. Fender only has a couple of employees handling the forum, and of course, it's not their full-time job. During NAMM the delay can be weeks... I think I waited 2 weeks.

The problem is, we still get spammers... They'll post something borderline topical, get approved, then begin to spam the forums, and it takes another 2-10 days for the mods to do anything.

Fender really needs to recruit 2 or 3 volunteer mods from the regular, most active users.

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Post subject: Re: Telecaster build
Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2019 1:48 pm
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I'd like them to not be full mods though.
Just access to the pre-approval thing, possibly the ability to block spammer's IPs and nothing more.
Any time I've ever seen other board admins pass the keys over to a regular member, trouble ensues.
It might take months or it might happen overnight but I've seen it often enough to know it means the eventual cessation of participation of the majority of the membership and the only people that don't leave are members of the new admin's personal good-ole-boys club.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.


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Post subject: Re: Telecaster build
Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2019 5:45 pm
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I see what you are saying but something has to be done. You have a Fender forum run on the Fender site and yet it gets less traffic and less new members than the independent fora.

From Fenders perspective it should be a powerful marketing tool in both providing information and in gleaning feedback. It currently does none of these things.

And as for it becoming a Good Ole Boys Club, considering the very few who contribute now, I think you would be hard pushed to notice the difference.

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Post subject: Re: Telecaster build
Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2019 12:51 am
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Just for clarification, since this sidetrack rose from my bracketed comment.

I'm not against the first post delay policy. I'm only criticizing the sometimes awfully long lag time.
And I emphasize that my criticism is not against the persons (or as it seems, 'person') doing the modding, it's against the 'system', 'machine' or whatever you (= generic) want to call it.

The suggested member/moderator isn't my favorite solution, for obvious reasons.
And besides those, somehow I still support the old system where work&wage had a connection. If money's tight, FMIC could hire a student as a part timer. Or globally thinking, outsource the job.


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Post subject: Re: Telecaster build
Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2019 12:52 am
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Sorry to the OP as this has gone way off topic.

The forum has 3 Admins and 5 Moderators with the exception of 1 Admin who visited the site at the end of last month, the majority of the others haven't looked at the forum for years 2014 and further back than that.

What is the point? They might just as well remove these people as admins and moderators as they are obviously doing nothing.

We should probably start a new thread on the subject in a more appropriate location (if we would like something done) as the likelihood of the 1 admin reading this in his weekly(?) visit is about nil, being hidden away in the depth of a completely innocuous looking thread.

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