Telecaster Love Thread, No Archtops Allowed

[Greentone]

I just played a gig on my Strat. If I were confident about the venue, I would have used an archtop. Otherwise, I typically would have handled the gig with my Telecaster...but I felt like trying the Stratocaster.

It worked well (with TI JS 11s). Into a Polytone it got a nice jazz tone on the neck pickup.

[neatomic]

fender eric johnson thinline strat



cheers

[Jehu]

Hmm...

[rio]

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Wow, that looks amazing.


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[silvertonebetty]

Wow, that looks amazing.


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Thanks it did . The finish didn’t work . It fell and took a chunk out of the finish so I had to sand it and start over . O well that’s life .


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[xuoham]

Thanks it did . The finish didn’t work . It fell and took a chunk out of the finish so I had to sand it and start over . O well that’s life .

Yes, that guitar should be lovely ! Best of luck until completion and beyond.

[xuoham]

Hmm...

Ooooooooohmmmmmmmmm ... boarding again, uh ?

[citizenk74]

Hmm...

Species? If you were in North America, I would say tulip polar, but....

An enquiring mind would like to know.

[Jehu]

Species? If you were in North America, I would say tulip polar, but....

An enquiring mind would like to know.

The body is one of our native forest giants down here in NZ, called Kahikatea. It has similar properties to Sitka, so is highly coveted here as a tonewood for soundboards. I think it might make a half-decent tele, as well!

[neatomic]

kahikatae... beautiful tree...interesting wood/uses!!

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides - Wikipedia


cheers

[ptchristopher3]

Wow Jehu,

I want to go to “Nuh Zillun” make a guitar from local wood and maybe chase a trout or 20 on my fly rod.

Looks like a superb Tele project.

Been a few years (or more), hope you are well.

Chris

[jameslovestal]

I just played a gig on my Strat. If I were confident about the venue, I would have used an archtop. Otherwise, I typically would have handled the gig with my Telecaster...but I felt like trying the Stratocaster.

It worked well (with TI JS 11s). Into a Polytone it got a nice jazz tone on the neck pickup.

What do you mean by 'confident about the venue'? E.g. does it relate to the acoustics of the place (i.e. you wanted to avoid archtop feedback?) or the type of people that go to this place (i.e. archtop would be perceived as if you're playing 'old folk' music????).

[Doug B]

Do flat wound strings on a Tele give you more of a jazzy archtop sound?

[silvertonebetty]

Ready to start over

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[Jehu]

Wow Jehu,

I want to go to “Nuh Zillun” make a guitar from local wood and maybe chase a trout or 20 on my fly rod.

Looks like a superb Tele project.

Been a few years (or more), hope you are well.

Chris

Hey Chris! Yes, well indeed. I'm still playing that first archtop that you helped me with; it hasn't burst into flames (yet) -- I'm sure in no small part because of your input.

I'll let you know how the tele project pans out. It will be a nice change of pace after the 17" monstrosities I've made.

[neatomic]

Do flat wound strings on a Tele give you more of a jazzy archtop sound?

i love flats on tele...definitely get more thunk....and a great vintage sound...teles came from the factory with flats thru the mid 60's!!

a tele by design tho will never have that same warm openness of a well recorded, good sounding spruce archtop...close proximity of strings to solid body give tele a unique tone....

but that can be good!!

great for western swing!!

give it a try!!

cheers

[Doug B]

I forgot that flats were the standard strings in the 50's when the Tele and the Strat came out. Inherited that from the jazz players I guess.

Gonna try some flat wounds next string set I get. BTW-shortly after writing my first post in this thread I saw in a video on youtube that Jimmie Vaughn plays with flat wound strings. Hmm...

[radiofm74]

Hi Doug, as neatomic says it's a nice jazzy sound, but it does not turn your tele into an archtop. To my ears, the "sound wave" is all different: the attack is different, and there is more sustain. This does not go away with flats on. But as neatomic also pointed out, while not the sound of an archtop, it's a GREAT jazz sound!

[silvertonebetty]

There Wala

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[Boston Joe]

Looks great! Is the pick guard part of the body or a separate piece?

[silvertonebetty]

Looks great! Is the pick guard part of the body or a separate piece?

Separate. The body is Walnut and pickguard is paufero

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[Boston Joe]

Separate. The body is Walnut and pickguard is paufero

Nice! I like the look a lot. The Pau Fero is just enough darker than the walnut so that you can clearly see it's a pickguard, but matches nicely.

[Skip Ellis]

Just finished this AM and I think I've finally got one the way I want it. Of course the neck is the same old All Parts that I've been using for 30 years and I kept my trusty Bill Lawrence Keystone in the bridge (had it forever, too). The rest is all new: mahogany body chambered both sides with a 4" solid strip down the middle, 1/4" maple top that I resawed and bookmatched from a bigger board I bought off Ebay about 4 years ago, bridge is Wilkinson (my favorite), controls are all good quality (CTS, Grigsby, Switchcraft, cloth wire), and neck pickup is new - a Duncan Alnico II Pro. Finish is tinted shellac - kind of a 'redneck' French polish that I developed. I thought about going without a pickguard because the wood is so pretty but decided that Teles just don't look right without one. I'm very happy with the tone, so far, but may raise the neck PU a little .......AND........it weighs FIVE POUNDS!!!!

[silvertonebetty]

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[neatomic]

^ ditto skip e...nice!...any further info about that hillbilly french polish would be appreciated!


cheers