My frankencaster is just about done (for now)

**aniss1001** · 03-08-2012, 08:32 PM

So this is the result. A cheap SX tele which has been modded with a PAF humbucker in the neck (from DS pickups), GotoH tuners, DiMarzio pots, a modded "greasebucket" tone circuit, a reversed control plate and some weird knobs

I uploaded a few pics but they aren't very good. Hope to upload some better ones later on.

Also I uploaded a soundclip. I just bought an extra jack cable today it's the 1st time I record via my Cube40xl. It doesn't sound anything like when I play with the Cube speaker which actually sounds really good now. I'm still fiddling with my recording options. Hope to improve on that.

The recording setup is this: Guitar into Cube, Cube headphone jack into my USB guitar link which off course goes into my USB port.

Ah and please bare over with my playing too. Keep in mind that less than a year ago I hadn't touched a guitar for 14 years (really!!) and I had never played jazz before. But here we go

And sorry about all the excuses (including this one haha)

EDIT: Added some new pics. Same crappy webcam but better lighting.

**papaj77** · 03-08-2012, 08:41 PM

sounds great. Are these flats or You've change back to rounds?

**Tom Karol** · 03-08-2012, 08:46 PM

I like the tone and the knobs ... and the playing! You don't need to make excuses for any of it!

**aniss1001** · 03-08-2012, 08:50 PM

Originally Posted by papaj77

sounds great. Are these flats or You've change back to rounds?

Thanks. Not really happy with the recording sound. But the important this is that it sounds great with my Cube

Much more balanced, warm and full than this recording.

And I'm back to rounds now. Actually some cheap local made ones. Never could get used to the flats. And even if I could I just can't afford them. The only flats I can buy in this city are the Chromes and they go for us$28 here. So it was my luck that I didn't like them

Besides these local made ones are not only the cheapest but also the only ones that you can buy seperately which may come in handy indeed, so I'll stick with those for a while.

**aniss1001** · 03-08-2012, 08:57 PM

Originally Posted by Tom Karol

I like the tone and the knobs ... and the playing! You don't need to make excuses for any of it!

Well it's all a work in progress

**Jazzman301** · 03-08-2012, 09:03 PM

Sounding really good man. A bit of an Ulf Wakenius vibe. The tele looks great and you are making it sound fantastic. Thanks for sharing.

'Mike

**PTChristopher** · 03-08-2012, 09:22 PM

Hey Aniss,

Looks and sounds great.

I played the clip for Aunt Agnethe (who is wearing her "Easter Bunny" suit a month early), and she thought it was hot, hot, hot.

And I mean, she'd not really an aunt - we just sort of call her that so,...

Gotta go.

Nice axe, good job.

Chris

**thrush40** · 03-09-2012, 09:07 AM

Hey, don't apologize for that playing! Sounds great. I look forward to getting to your level. Also, sounds like you've got a bit of Scofield in those hands.

I am sure it sounds a lot different live. Hope you can post a sound file of that soon. I find it interesting that you've made a tele sound nothing like a tele. In a way, you've taken away it's defining character. This is not a judgement, merely an observation. And I suppose that was kind of the point anyway. In fact, I think you've accomplished something pretty unique and should be lauded for the work and time you've invested. Well spent. Sounds cool.

I look forward to hearing more.

Cheers,
Ben

**pingu** · 03-09-2012, 09:27 AM

Nice playing man ........ feels good
Amazing that you're new to jazz playing
you must be a natural dude

**pingu** · 03-09-2012, 09:28 AM

Let us know if you play out with that Cube40 if it is loud enough
with a band will you ?

**Gramps** · 03-09-2012, 10:45 AM

I really like the recorded tone even if it's not what you're looking for. Playing sounds great too. Good job.

**JakeAcci** · 03-09-2012, 11:08 AM

Wow you must have put a lot of cash into that guitar, now you can't even afford a shirt!

Seriously though, tone and playing sounds good, seems like it was worth the effort to me.

**aniss1001** · 03-09-2012, 02:15 PM

Hey thanks a lot guys. Appreciate your comments.

I'll try to reply to them all in one comment...

It definately doesn't sound much like a tele anymore, but yes that was also the point of the pup change. I really dig the FAT sound this pup gives me through my Cube. A tele pup sounds too thin for my taste.

And did I spend a lot of cash? Well yes and no. Keep in mind that in this country guitars and everything related cost around 200-250% of what it would cost in the states for instance. So there is no way I could have gotten a decent sounding guitar for any less.

I spent 700 pesos ($161) on the guitar, 350 pesos ($80) on the pup, 240 pesos ($55) on tuners and pots (I think), 200 pesos ($46) on the luthier. The rest was peanuts. For instance the knobs cost $1 each. So in total a bit more than $340. In my current situation a sh*tload of cash but for comparison an Epi Dot goes for 2600 pesos ($600) here. And probably my neck pup is somewhat better that the stock Epi ones. Perhaps the tuners too. Atleast I have heard that Epi Dot owners change those things quite frequently.

Anyway if you live in the states you could have built this guitar VERY cheaply. The SX teles go for $90 there and they come routed for a humbucker (unlike mine), you can get a similar (probably slightly better pup: DiMarzio) for less than what I paid for mine, etc. The only advantage of living here is that manual labour (in this case the luthier) is cheaper here.

About the recording sound.. Well the higher strings sound somewhat thin and trebly while the lower ones sound muddy, and it generally has a closed and less full sound compared to the sound I get from the Cube speaker. Any tips on how to achieve a better recording sound are very welcome. Perhaps it's not possible with my current equipment. My USB guitar link isn't even a real Behringer, it's a Behringer clone.

Yes I know...

About my playing.. When I bought this guitar in april I hadn't touched a guitar for 14 years and I was completely new to jazz as I said. So obviously I have improved a lot since then despite the fact that I don't have all the time in the world for practice, transcribing, eartraining, reading up on theory, etc. I might add though that I did play quite seriously for some years in my early youth, so I wasn't a complete noob either.

Ah and it was said "sounds like you've got a bit of Scofield in those hands". Who is Scofield? Never heard of him. Hehe. Nah he is my main man off course. On the other hand I never really listened to this Ulf Wakenius. But after youtubing him just now I definately will from now on.

And to Chris...

Originally Posted by PTChristopher

Nice axe, good job.

I should say that to you. You guided me through every step from choosing the right pup and every problem I had.

Thanks again. You're the man.

**Peter C** · 03-09-2012, 07:19 PM

Hey, good playing! I understand that you had a few equipment vicissitudes, though I didn't keep track of them. Anyway, all's well that ends well.

**burndog** · 03-09-2012, 09:36 PM

well I can certainly tell that you had played a bit previous to the 14 years...very nice. I'm new to this, and if I could play like that in a years time it would be like winning the lottery...nice playing! You sound well seasoned to my ears.

Great job on building a nice guitar on a budget Aniss...it may not have the big name, but but it can stand proud with the pricier ones. Kudos to you.

**aniss1001** · 03-10-2012, 12:26 AM

Hehe... Yes I did have a hiccup or two in the process

But thankfully we have a resident tech wiz (Chris) on this forum.

Anyway it took me a lot of fiddling to get it right. And still working on it. Also I simply had to get used to this pup. It is completely different from a tele pup. I still don't understand why they call this kind of pup DARK. I mean sure it has a lot of lows and mids, but it has one heck of a lot of highs too. Just a lot of everything. I had to struggle quite a bit to take of the highs without mudding up the lows. Hence the greasebucket tone circuit. For starters...

And yes I did play quite a bit in my early youth. Never anything complicated like jazz or classical. Mainly rock, blues, funk and pop, so in many ways I had to start over from scratch. But still I had a good "blues bag" and knew my church modes quite well. This has off course helped me some.

Anyway thanks for listening and for the nice words