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Post subject: "Notchless" Highway 1 & US Special Telecasters
Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 12:27 pm
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Highway One & American Special Teles feature CBS-era styling on the headstock.

However, I don't think Fender making notchless bodies for these guitars to give 'em the striking appearance of a great-looking '70s Tele.

As far as I know, the notchless Telecasters were introduced in 1973 and discontinued in 1982.

Chandler makes excellent replacement Tele bodies in the '70s notchless style.

Highway 1s and US Specials with notchless bodies and binding on the front and the back a la Custom (I mean the Custom Telecaster of the '60s and not the '70s Telecaster Custom with the neck HB and the skirted amp knobs) will surely look cool.

Mocha Brown Highway One with black pickguard and body binding or Aged Natural American Special with cream pickguard and binding, all fitted with a 22-fret birdseye maple neck with super-sized frets, '70s-style decals and abalone dot inlays. Two Texas Tele pickups with a 4-way pickup selector, S1 switching system and a Greasebucket tone circuit round out the package.


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Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 4:05 pm
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Am I missing something here? What do mean by "notchless"? Are you asking a question or making a point about something? Sorry I've read your post about 4 times now and can't quite figure it out.

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Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 4:36 pm
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Yes, I'm a dummy too. What is a notchless guitar? :?


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Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 4:41 pm
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Just Googled "notchless telecaster" and Wikipedia came to the rescue:

"The Deluxe also had the same "glitch" in its shape as the other Telecasters - a slightly less-pronounced curve where the upper bout meets the neck joint, compared to earlier (and later) Telecasters. This was attributed to more modern routing machines installed in the production line at the time. The 2004 re-issue differs from the original in that it does not have the 70s "notchless" body style."

So it's to do with the way the upper bout joins the neck. I'm still confused though. Might have to search for pics of the neck joint of Teles of different eras.

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Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 4:44 pm
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Thanks for the info my friend! I was wondering!! :wink:


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Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 5:07 pm
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Quote:
a slightly less-pronounced curve where the upper bout meets the neck joint


That's one difference with '70s bodies and the one that's easy to see once you know what to look for. The actual "notch" is harder to see from a distance and difficult to describe in just a few words.

Try a google image search. I tried '70s telecaster notch and got some good pictures. I was looking for one picture in particular I've seen before in which someone has one Tele with a notch next to another without the notch and has drawn arrows pointing to the differences. Do some googling and you'll find it.


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Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 5:17 pm
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Here's the notch:

Image

Follow the top curve of the body down from the strap button to the neck. Notice how the body then goes "down" to the neck pocket and then "out" to the end of body closest to the headstock.


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Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 5:18 pm
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This body doesn't have a notch.

Image


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Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 5:27 pm
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Here you can see the taller "shoulder" of a '70s body without the notch. Notice the difference in the curve on the top edge of the body on the Low E string side and also the extra length between the top of the pickguard and the top of the body on the Low E side.

There are better pictures of this whole notch thing on the internet but I can't find them right now.

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Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 5:36 pm
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I've got the concept now George, Thanks!! :) Never noticed that before but I just recently got into teles!! :wink:


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Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 5:40 pm
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Aaaah! Now I geddit!

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Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 6:18 pm
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Thanks for the lesson, :D I had never heard that. You learn something new everyday!-N


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Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 7:56 pm
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Thanks for the replies, folks.

As Fender doesn't make notchless Tele bodies anymore, I finally decided which components are the best in my ears to design my own Highway One/US Special notchless guitar project:

1. A nice birdseye maple neck from Warmoth with the chunky U-shape profile, 22 Dunlop 6000 super-sized frets (the same fretwire used on the Yngwie Strat), oversized abalone dot markers with narrow spacing, CBS-era decals and a modern Easy-Glider string tree.

2. A Callaham 3-saddle Tele bridge, Schaller "F" tuners, reversed Tele control plate (cool Custom Classic/Deluxe vibe), Dunlop locking strap buttons, 4-way pickup selector with a Top-Hat switch tip and a genuine Fender "ashtray" pickup cover.

3. A notchless mahogany or swamp ash Telecaster body from Chandler routed for three single-coil pickups. My only problem is for the binding, as I'm afraid Chandler doesn't offer bound notchless Tele bodies. 3-ply Black or Aged White Tele pickguards from Warmoth.

4. A set of Fender Texas Tele pickups with S-1 switching system and Greasebucket circuit. Maybe I will add a Texas Special Strat pickup in the middle position and use a 5-way Strat-O-Tele selector with an extra mini-toggle switch to have more than 15 different sounds, including the extra quack from the middle Strat pickup.


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Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 2:07 am
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George wrote:
This body doesn't have a notch.

Image


I agree!

Notice the nice relic job on this one:

Image.

My Highway 1/US Special project would also feature a compound radius and vintage tint for the Warmoth birdseye neck. The fretboard will have a thick gloss for a richer presentation with a satin polyurethane for the back. Rolled edges and highly detailed fret and nut work. Contoured neck heel and barearm contours for easy access to the upper registers. In a few words, the same features found on the American Deluxe Series guitars minus the comfort contours.

As the body is double-bound, it's almost impossible to apply the Strat comfort contours for the back.


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Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 10:51 am
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chromeface, understand I’m just having fun here and not trying to argue or disagree with you. :D

When I read these comments in your first post:

Quote:
Highway One & American Special Teles feature CBS-era styling on the headstock…However, I don't think Fender making notchless bodies for these guitars to give 'em the striking appearance of a great-looking '70s Tele...Mocha Brown…black pickguard…


I assumed you were a guy who wanted an accurate reproduction of a ‘70s Telecaster.

Now, after reading the bizarre combination of parts and features you really want, I’ve decided that you are a complete wacko and need to be locked away in a padded room. :lol:

Again, I'm just joking here - I can't wait to see what you create!

Quote:
As the body is double-bound, it's almost impossible to apply the Strat comfort contours for the back.


Could you do "taped and scraped" natural binding on that back contour? This is the best picture I could find but I'm sure you know what I mean.

Image


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