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Post subject: Re: Complete Telecaster Build Pictorial
Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 11:51 am
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Rock Star
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least you didnt pull a way cool, make a comment on something then turn around a post or so later and ask a quesyion that you just answered already a post before lol.

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Post subject: Re: Complete Telecaster Build Pictorial
Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 12:18 pm
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Aspiring Musician
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way cool jr wrote:
i have to agree with you. looking back, have you found any way that you could have cut the cost w/o cutting the quality?

Here are my actual costs for building this Telecaster (minus the copper shielding, solder, etc.), which includes any shipping charges:

Mighty Mite Ash Telecaster Body $166.50
Fender MIM Telecaster Neck $239.00
’83 Fender/Schaller Bridge $88.00
Fender SCN Noiseless Pickups $93.64
Custom White Pearl Pickguard $55.30
Schaller Strap Locks $14.85
Acme Guitar Works Electronics $55.35
Rutters Shallow Twisted Machined Jack Cup $30.00
Fender “Top Hat” switch knob $2.90

Amazon.com Purchases
Pickguard screws $4.49
Fender “F” Neck Plate $12.11
Fender Vintage Tele Dome Knobs $15.89
Fender Original Telecaster String Guide $9.97
Fender Schaller American Series Tuning Machines $42.94
Fender Control Plate $17.67
Elixr Nanoweb Custom Light Strings $9.95

TOTAL: $858.56

A 2" wide roll of copper shielding tape at Stewart MacDonald is $12.54 and will be good for several guitars.

As for your question as to whether you could cut the cost w/o cutting the quality; I was hoping when I started this project to build a $600 guitar. The Mighty Mite body is a huge deal compared to the other manufacturers of finished Tele bodies that I have looked at, particularly if you buy one from a reputable Taft Tennessee, Discount Guitar Outlet, EBay seller, as I did, who stands behind his sales, shows you the actual body you are buying, and tells you the weight of the bodies. Mighty Mite also makes Fender licensed necks that you can get for about $90 on Ebay, but they have small frets and I wanted the Fender logo on the headstock.

Other quality necks such as Allparts and Warmoth would cost as much as the Fender MIM Nashville Deluxe neck that I bought, without the logo. Bootleg Fender waterslide decal logos are available, but you have to probably have to spend $50 to get one, and then you have to finish the neck. So buying a new, unused Fender MIM neck for $239 including shipping, that has the Fender "spaghetti logo" and not the "transitional" Fender logo, was an obvious choice for me.

You could probably save $25 to $30 by getting used, American Standard electronics on EBay, and you could probably save $15 to $20 by not using the Rutters Jack Cup, but it is a really nice (and expensive) item. I had a cheap aftermarket jack cup and it did not fit correctly.

You could also get a much less expensive pickguard and save $40, but it will not fit perfectly even after you modify it. It would probably require a 1/16" gap between the pickguard and the control plate and you will need a Dremel tool to do it properly. And if you look around you can probably save money on the Amazon purchases. So, it may be possible to shave $100 off of these costs if you try really hard and make some compromises.

Can you get it down to the cost of a new Fender MIM Standard Telecaster? I don't think so.
Not without going with a much less expensive bridge, used pickups, used tuners, and other after market, non-Fender components, such as the knobs, control plate and the Fender/Schaller strap locks. Even then you may not get there, and you have certainly affected the quality of the guitar at that point.


Last edited by MickJagger on Sun Apr 03, 2011 1:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: Complete Telecaster Build Pictorial
Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 12:30 pm
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great answer indeed. always looking back you see something you should have done differently, or where you could have saved. just wanted to hear your thoughts on that.

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Post subject: Re: Complete Telecaster Build Pictorial
Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 1:25 pm
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Roadie
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Location: Wisconsin
Thanks for the entire pictorial. Very motivating. I was interested in your use of the hole saw to modify the pick guard. I recently modified one and used a Dremel with a small grinding wheel attached. Looked pretty good and I was wondering what kind of finish the hole saw left on the material? You must have used a slow speed and a sharp saw.

Great job :D


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Post subject: Re: Complete Telecaster Build Pictorial
Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 1:43 pm
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Cambo wrote:
Thanks for the entire pictorial. Very motivating. I was interested in your use of the hole saw to modify the pick guard. I recently modified one and used a Dremel with a small grinding wheel attached. Looked pretty good and I was wondering what kind of finish the hole saw left on the material? You must have used a slow speed and a sharp saw.

Great job :D

You don't have to drill at a very fast speed. I used a variable speed drill.
You just need to clean up the cut a little by scraping a knife around it, and then the cut is sharp and true.


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Post subject: Re: Complete Telecaster Build Pictorial
Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 4:19 pm
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Awesome job on this Tele! Looks great, and I love the way the body looks like a one piece until you look closer!

Are you going to call it the Mick Jagger ltd edition Tele?

Great Job :D

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Post subject: Re: Complete Telecaster Build Pictorial
Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 6:41 pm
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Thanks for the kind remarks HHS
It's a 3 piece laminated body, the same as most Fenders.
The Mighty Mite laminations are pretty well matched.

"Are you going to call it the Mick Jagger ltd edition Tele?"
I don't think so.
A guitar with that name would have to be what I assume is Mick Jagger's Custom Shop 52 Reissue.
It looks like a one piece Tele body and has all kind of wild ash grain markings.
Unfortunately, I can't find a picture of Mick Jagger's Tele on line, but it's an incredible looking guitar!!

It's like this, only with much cooler grain markings:

Image


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Post subject: Re: Complete Telecaster Build Pictorial
Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 7:35 pm
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I didn't even know Mick had a Tele named after him!

I love ash woodgrain guitars, so I'll have to look into that one!

Again, great job on your Tele :D

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Post subject: Re: Complete Telecaster Build Pictorial
Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 9:14 am
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That's a really cool Tele build, Mick. The finished guitar looks terrific!!

Image

There's a couple of these bodies on evilBay that look pretty nice. I thinking about trying to build one of these, although I've never built a guitar before.
Thanks for the pictures and the instructions!! If I do, I'll post pictures.


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Post subject: Re: Complete Telecaster Build Pictorial
Posted: Fri Apr 15, 2011 2:51 pm
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Location: SoCal
Nicely done! BTW, where did you get the perloid tuner buttons?


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Post subject: Re: Complete Telecaster Build Pictorial
Posted: Fri Apr 15, 2011 5:01 pm
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Telemanian wrote:
Nicely done! BTW, where did you get the perloid tuner buttons?

Hi Telemanian,
I got the Schaller Replacement Knobs at Stewart-MacDonald.
#3056, small, pearloid, set of 6
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/Tune ... ls#details

Image


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Post subject: Re: Complete Telecaster Build Pictorial
Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2011 2:16 am
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yes you are right but I have no idea not interest in this filed .
Essence of Argan


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Post subject: Re: Complete Telecaster Build Pictorial
Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2011 2:55 am
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hey dude!!! how did you drill the holes?


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Post subject: Re: Complete Telecaster Build Pictorial
Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2011 12:05 pm
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MyrtiaRabin wrote:
yes you are right but I have no idea not interest in this filed .
Essence of Argan

Yo no comprendo mi amigo.

ralfcaetano wrote:
hey dude!!! how did you drill the holes?

What holes are you talking about??


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Post subject: Re: Complete Telecaster Build Pictorial
Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2011 12:12 pm
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MickJagger wrote:

ralfcaetano wrote:
hey dude!!! how did you drill the holes?

What holes are you talking about??


sorry forgot to say lol the pickguard holes?


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