Telecaster Love Thread, No Archtops Allowed

[silvertonebetty]

Ah, cool! I'll be interested to hear what it sounds like when it's done.

Yes it will be different for sure


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[Buzzz]

Roy Buchanan

Ed Bickert

Ted Greene

Larry Carlton

Jarmo Hynninen

Tim Lerch

Bill Frisell

Mike Stern

John Abercrombie (RIP)

Julian Lage

Julian Lage again, this time at age 8, ok, technically it's a strat, and not quite jazz, but we can make an exception for an 8 year old playing w Santana . . .

We'll have to settle with this silent tribute from Barney

[Greentone]

The Roy Buchanan PBS special (see the clip above) that came out in '72 made me put my archtops in their cases and pick up the Telecaster. I was stunned at how universal the Telecaster was--in the right hands.

[Buzzz]

[Herbie]

Here's some study about the history of the instrument.

[Mike Anderson]

Jimmy Wyble with Noel Boggs and Spade Cooley. Had no idea he'd ever been seen with any solid body before I found this today.

[sgosnell]

I didn't know either of those had been with Spade Cooley. I knew both had been with Bob Wills, but I was never a major Cooley fan. He was sort of the Glenn Miller of western swing - all pre-rehearsed, polished songs, not a lot of improvisation. Slick but not exciting to me. But he did sell a lot of records and bring in a lot of dancers. Noel Boggs was an excellent steel player.

[neatomic]

wyble (what a great!) does maggie



cheers

[Mike Anderson]

Awesome pic! And as we all know, he also did great things flying around in blue tights and a red cape.



Here's another of Boggs and Wyble with Cooley:



PS sorry for the archtop!

[neatomic]

spade cooley was huge western swing band leader...he and the various wills brothers..(& most famously bob wills)...were all major players/rivals in the western swing world...cooley was tremendously popular among the dust bowl migrating new southern californians, who left the farms and oil fields of oklahoma and northern texas, etc to work in post wwII factories of socal...

unfortunately he has quite a tarnished story..anyone who is not familiar with the spade cooley tale should google...quite a modernist tale!



cheers

[Mike Anderson]

spade cooley was huge western swing band leader...he and the various wills brothers..(& most famously bob wills)...were all major players/rivals in the western swing world...cooley was tremendously popular among the dust bowl migrating new southern californians, who left the farms and oil fields of oklahoma and northern texas, etc to work in post wwII factories of socal...

unfortunately he has quite a tarnished story..anyone who is not familiar with the spade cooley tale should google...quite a modernist tale!


cheers

Yup - there's a reason James Ellroy featured him in a few of his extremely dark tales of L.A.

[Skip Ellis]

Here's my latest Tele build. Body is a piece of 15" wide mahogany that I found at a local lumber yard. I weight relieved it and put a 2 piece matching mahogany cap on it. Bridge is Wilkinson top loader, pickups are Fender Vintage '52. Finish is Minwax red mahogany with 8 coats of Minwax wipe on poly. The stain over mahogany really nailed the color I had in my head. Neck is a Warmoth given to me by a friend - 1-3/4" nut and very shallow - strung with Elixir 10-46.

[guido5]

My Warmouth parts tele is settling in nicely. Still chasing a few setup gremlins but definitely on the way. Clear coat chambered swamp ash with a maple on maple neck. SD AlnicoII pickups.

[Boston Joe]

My Warmouth parts tele is settling in nicely. Still chasing a few setup gremlins but definitely on the way. Clear coat chambered swamp ash with a maple on maple neck. SD AlnicoII pickups.

Nice. I'm doing chambered mahogany with a koa top, and a mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard.

[guido5]

Nice. I'm doing chambered mahogany with a koa top, and a mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard.

That will be gorgeous!

[Boston Joe]

That will be gorgeous!

I hope so! As long as I don't screw up the finish.

[guido5]

I hope so! As long as I don't screw up the finish.

I bypassed that issue by getting a pre-finished one!

[Boston Joe]

I bypassed that issue by getting a pre-finished one!

I want to do the finish myself, even though I'm a noob at it. I've done lots of practicing/experimenting on scrap wood, so I'm reasonably confident. (I've also breathed a lot of mineral spirits, so I may not be in my right mind.)

[pants]

I want to do the finish myself, even though I'm a noob at it. I've done lots of practicing/experimenting on scrap wood, so I'm reasonably confident. (I've also breathed a lot of mineral spirits, so I may not be in my right mind.)

If you screw it up, there's always sandpaper and a professional willing to accept a mail-order paint job.

[Boston Joe]

If you screw it up, there's always sandpaper and a professional willing to accept a mail-order paint job.

Yeah, that's what I figure. But I have a vision for it, and if possible, I want to realize that vision myself to the extent that I'm able.

[pants]

Yeah, that's what I figure. But I have a vision for it, and if possible, I want to realize that vision myself to the extent that I'm able.

Totally. My finishes that I've done (2 so far) are certainly not "pro" but they are mine and I love them for what they are, flaws and all. And I have that much stronger an attachment to the build process for being more involved. Not to mention Warmoth charges $$$ for finish work (granted they do fantastic work), nor is sending something out or bringing it to a shop likely to be cheap (I haven't priced that).

[Boston Joe]

Totally. My finishes that I've done (2 so far) are certainly not "pro" but they are mine and I love them for what they are, flaws and all. And I have that much stronger an attachment to the build process for being more involved. Not to mention Warmoth charges $$$ for finish work (granted they do fantastic work), nor is sending something out or bringing it to a shop likely to be cheap (I haven't priced that).

That was the other consideration, of course, plus the extra time it would take to get the stuff (I am hoping to complete it before the end of the year. Hoping.)

I saved a little money by not going FULL luxury on the body, but I splurged on the hardware. Speaking of which, rather than a decal for the headstock, I'm doing an etched plate. Here's my first attempt:



The blanks have some kind of coating on them which makes them resist the etchant, so I had to scour it off with steel wool, hence the rough edges. Next one will be better.

[pants]

That was the other consideration, of course, plus the extra time it would take to get the stuff (I am hoping to complete it before the end of the year. Hoping.)

I saved a little money by not going FULL luxury on the body, but I splurged on the hardware. Speaking of which, rather than a decal for the headstock, I'm doing an etched plate. Here's my first attempt:



The blanks have some kind of coating on them which makes them resist the etchant, so I had to scour it off with steel wool, hence the rough edges. Next one will be better.

I did the same on my Warmoth build. Basic body and neck, the pair were under $350 combined. Then I splurged on the bits that really matter.


I like that effect on the plate. If the scouring was in a more regular shape it would make a nice framing effect on the text.

[Boston Joe]

I like that effect on the plate. If the scouring was in a more regular shape it would make a nice framing effect on the text.

That's what I'm going for on the next try.

(I should have my Warmoth parts on Saturday!)

[Boston Joe]

I was in the house band for a jam session on Sunday. My GF videoed a couple of tunes, and listening to it, I was once again blown away by how good my Tele sounded. Dark enough not to be brittle. Bright enough to cut through. Nice snap to the attack.