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As You see from the details, the relicing has already started!
Some glitches are made unintentionally by me, and some are from "self-relicing" finishing lacquer. All the way nitro, the brand is Nitorlack.
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09-25-2025 01:24 PM
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Your tele looks great! I like a Strat-head on a tele. The string-thing: I am kind of wrestling with that myself too on my tele. I use .011 Thomastik flatwounds but those feel indeed a little too thin to play jazz on. Maybe the longer scale is not that much of influence on string tension/feel as string gauge is. I would like to try 0.012s but meanwhile I use my tele for pop and blues now a lot too and I am a little afraid I can’t bend enough then anymore.
Originally Posted by Herbie
I have a normal alnico tele pickup in my ‘50ies inspired’ tele and a Lollar underwound 50ies P90 in my ‘jazz tele’. The Lollar is perfect for jazz. The alnico tele pickup does a pretty good job for jazz when you role the tone down, but always exhibits some twang.
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The one with the CCs is a home build. The body is an old Mighty Might or Warmoth (80s or 90s). Lollar CC pickups, warmoth neck. Body was stained and then used that SprayMax 2K for a bullet-proof coat. I did not fill the body so the grain of the ash comes through. Routed the body and pickup for the CC pickup. Those pickups are actually huge.
I've owned man, many telecasters over the decades. Ed Bickert - blame that guy. But, these are likely the two I'll keep from here on out.
The Rosewood tele is a masterbuilt 2014. Beautiful guitar with an amazing neck pickup. Vintage frets with a 7.25" radius. It plays so easily. So gentle.
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Here’s a new maple/paulownia with Lollar CC. Tried a Lollar J Street in the bridge and happy with the combo so far. It’s cuddling with its more traditional sibling on the sofa.
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I gonna start this build/assembly soon. Body is mostly cedar and hollow except for a block under the bridge. Extremely light weight. It is from Babik on Reverb. He makes some great stuff that isn't outrageously priced. Very high level of craftsmanship. I have all the parts ready and just ordered a Warmoth Tele neck. Mahogany/rosewood with a '59 back profile. I have another '59 neck profile on a different guitar and love it. DiMarzio Area-T pickups with a 4-way switch. Done that before and loved it. Just moving it over from a previous build/assembly. No pickguard, obviously.
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My fourth, they seem to know when I’ve sold the last one and another follows me home. Seller’s photo.
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bridge pickup deleted.
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Neutered tele )) Originally Posted by AllanAllen
bridge pickup deleted.
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Originally Posted by Alder Statesman
Alder Statesman: I have a 2003 Am Deluxe that I would like to mod in the same way, but with a full-size HB. Did you buy the new pickguard, or make it yourself, or - ?
I am a little concerned that the screw holes on a new guard wouldn't line up correctly with the holes in the guitar.
Thanks!
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Here's my Tele - ordered the body & neck and "built" it out myself.
Then another home built creation, celebrating my ethnic heritage:
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Check out WD Music - they have a huge variety and can cut you a custom fit if needed off a tracing. (A google search will turn them up - as a newbie here I am not sure on the rules for posting links.)
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That's pretty. I'm not normally drawn to figured tops on a T-style (prefer regular ash grain pattern or similar), but with the dark-tinted colors it's gorgeous! Originally Posted by mvp019aa
Then another home built creation, celebrating my ethnic heritage:
Welcome to the forum.
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I went with AAAA quilted maple because I was trying to emulate the furling of a flag - one might argue it looks like a wrinkled flag! I also learned there is no such thing as white stain - the guy who did the body for me diluted white paint to the point where the figuring could show through. Originally Posted by jim232777
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I came to Telecasters in my late 50s, and have owned a number since then.
Here are my current two (sorry for the sideways pics):
Biondo Tele, built in Houston by Michael Biondo. The milk-paint slab is from a 150 year old church. Controls are made of shotgun cartridges and rifle shells, and the pickguard was carved by an English artist.
i showed it to Redd Volkaert recently; he couldn’t believe how light it was.
Hollowbody baritone Tele ca. 2006 with Farley steel guitar pickups whose switching is controlled by the third toll-knob
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The biggest Bullshit I‘ve heard for a long time:
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How light is it, Johnny? Originally Posted by rhl-ferndale
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Well, Paul never suffers from a lack of ego. His guitars are extremely well made - always playable pretty much right out of the box, and have excellent fit and finish, but his BS can run far, wide, and very, very deep. (I've owned 3 in my life, including a Dragon V, but at present have none.) If you ever doubt his greatness, just ask him; he'll be very glad to tell you. Originally Posted by Stefan Eff
Yeah, Teles have so many problems that they've been selling for almost 75 years based 75+% on Leo's original design. They're great guitars.
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A bit under 6 pounds.
Robert
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For most of my life, I've been playing a wide variety of archtops - except for a period in the 60s where a Fender Strat was my main rig. I have never played a tele. But the more I read, I've come to understand their versatility. I am considering exploring "tele world" but am a bit overwhelmed by the many variations.
Where to begin - that is where I need some collective wisdom. While trained in jazz, I play a variety of music. The last few years, I have been playing in a band that performs monthly in a church. We do everything from Bach to the Beatles and a variety of other artists across the musical spectrum. So I need a versatile instrument that can be used with a fingerstyle or plectrum playing. I use the church's PA system instead of an amp and have been pleasantly surprised how well humbuckers and P90s cut through. Because I am the only guitarist, I am expected to kind of do it all - which is fine with me.
The other musicians are classically trained - keyboard, violin, cello and percussion, along with one or sometimes two vocalists. Lastly, because I have had too many birthdays ;>) - I need a fairly light instrument.
I have looked at MIJ thin lines with single coil pickups. But because I am looking at the used market - there are few opportunities to actually play them. GC has a few teles - but whatever they were, they weighed a ton - or so it seemed.
Since I am at the very beginning of this process, I really would appreciate any ideas from the group. I have frequently given advice to players just entering the archtop world. Now I hopefully will be the recipient of that good advice from this group. Thank you for your help.
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If I was in the market for my first tele and wanted to stick with Fender, I would look into the American Vintage, American Original, and/or American Vintage II lines. They’re all similar, just from different years.
AV was 2012-2017. Many people consider these the best Fender production level (i.e. non Custom Shop) reissues of all time. “True” nitro finish with no poly under coat. Vintage accurate specs including a 7.5” radius.
AO- 2017-2023. 9.5” radius, poly under coat on the body.
AVII- 2023-present. 7.5” radius, otherwise similar to the AO.
These guitars are all very comparable to custom shop NOS guitars at half the price.
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Just buy this one from me!
-Warmoth thinline ash body;
-Fender roasted maple "50s" neck;
-Seymour Duncan "Vintage '54" neck pickup (or a set of Cavalier Lion pickups);
-Fender Custom Shop Texas Special bridge pickup (or a set of Cavalier Lion pickups);
-Gotoh In-Tune bridge and saddles (or Fender vintage-style bridge w/compensated brass saddles).
This guitar is very comparable to a Fender Custom Shop guitar at one third to one quarter the price. It weighs 6.37 pounds.
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hmm that's strange, MIJ thinlines with single coils i encountered all were super light, like 6lbs. The ones with Fender wide range humbuckers were pretty heavy, because those pickups weight a ton! I swap them for TV Jones 'trons, added a Bigsby, and it was still lighter than the original one! But with single coils those teles were very light for sure. Originally Posted by FredH
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10 Year tune-up yesterday, nearly 3 hours on the bench. Here is the result.
TK built this for me a decade ago. Still a favorite when the mood for Grady tones inevitably cycles back around though I have used it on many things. The neck is modeled after vintage Epiphone and it feels exceptional. But it really does sound best with Thomastik 13s and certain amp types.
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LOL. Originally Posted by Stefan Eff
The Telecaster design has been up-leveld by many luthiers and builders over the past several decades to manage issues, it is after-all, a rather crude instrument. Paul here manages to come across a bit as if he is the first to have finally managed 'the bad stuff' though that is not much of a surprise. PRS does makes good instruments, I have just never been motivated to keep them when I buy them. I would have tried this straight away if it was made with a rosewood board.
Alot of what he says about the Tele is old repeated knowledge and has merit, but inconsequentially so. It's like those who say Tom Petty or Willie Nelson etc.. are not 'good singers'...Technically they may be right, but technically it has no consequence. For alot of us tele is still king and a true desert isle instrument.
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He didn’t say it but I think he really just means that they should all have bird inlays on their fretboards. Originally Posted by Rodney Gene
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