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I have two teles, one is Fender(white), and another one is Partcaster(blue), the body is from MJT Aged Finishes. What I discovered the MJT body is by 1 cm wider! The Fender measures 32 mm at the lower bout, and the Partacster 33mm.
I have no complaints about the playability or tone of either, (the Partcaster sounds actually a bit fatter and juicier), but why would they make a body bigger? Is it because different eras of Fender had different templates and they went for a specific model maybe?
I had this guitar for about a year now, so I'm a little embarrassed to email MJT and ask now. In any case, I figured I ask here first.
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08-23-2018 10:14 PM
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Since the blue one is a thinline ... wondering if the original fender thinline body was also a bit bigger than the solid tele body?
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I think that you'll find that most of the early Teles had a lot of hand shaping involved and no two were ever exactly alike. If yours were built by two different companies or a builder using different routing templates, then you could expect them to be slightly different. The ones I build, even using the same routing template, all come out a bit different depending on my eye that day as I final shape them with sanding drums of different diameters and different grits of paper. Even routing templates wear over time and can make a body slightly different. That's what happened when Gibson started making LPs with old, worn carving patterns and the tops got really flat for a while (late 70's?). Whether a body is cut with CNC or laser or whatever, there's still a certain amount of hand work involved which leads to variations.
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This isn't unusual. Before CNC, these guitars were sanded and shaped by hand and there were a lot of variations. At one point, the CBS Teles didn't have the famous Tele "notch" where the upper bout meets the neck. I would imagine parts vendors pick what they consider a standard among these many variations.
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Yeah, some flattened the notch and left off the router 'bump' in the cutaway. The pattern from the guy on TDPRI is pretty good - that's what I've been using. I recently bought a routing pattern on Ebay for $20 and it's pretty good, too.
Originally Posted by djelley
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I say viva la difference! I'm a fan of G&L and I wish they had this "OLS body depth" option when I ordered mine: USA Guitar Options | G&L Musical Instruments
(OLS = Original Leo Spec. 1.625" mill depth to the body versus the standard 1.780".)
The more options the better!
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I've made some thinner ones but they just don't feel right to me. I go for 1.75" and Tim Lerch's new signature Tele is close to 2" I think. Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles
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I actually like SGs Originally Posted by Skip Ellis
But the Tim Lerch's Mike Lull sig model is the bull's tits!
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"But the Tim Lerch's Mike Lull sig model is the bull's tits!"
Yep - building something similar right now - chambered, close to 2" thick with maple cap. Gonna use a DiMarzio 35th Anniversary HB (thanks Jim Soloway!) with backloaded controls. Found a great Warmoth neck - 12" straight radius, ebony fretboard and NO face dots! I've also decided this will be my first sunburst - wish me luck!
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That sounds awesome. I can barely assemble IKEA bookshelves, but I ordered my G&L ASAT to have a ebony board with 12" radius, 1.75" nut and without inlay -- it's the way to go. Originally Posted by Skip Ellis
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I also did the ebony board, 1.75" nut, no inlay on my tele...it can sound traditional, or like this:
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That's what I thought too! Originally Posted by mad dog
Well, anyway, like I said, no complaints about anything, sounds great, so I leave it at that... But I like how the discussion turned out, thanks everyone!
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Sounds cool, but 1.75 nut? How can you play such a wide neck? Mine is 1.65, if it was narrower I wouldn't mind either, but sure no wider haha Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
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1.75 is 1 3/4 is super wide. 1 11/16 is not ideal either. 1 5/8 or smaller thats classic Fender, and the reason I love teles and Fender in general. So comfortable compare to Gibson. Originally Posted by takauya
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If you play a classical guitar (2" nut!), 1.75" doesn't seem so wide!
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Ah BDLH, I still love your ASAT.
I inquired of you all the specs 4 years back. Armed with the info I contacted the UK distributor but I wanted to fly over and collect it in person for my 50th. A noble idea thwarted by UK import duty put a further 35% on top of the cost.
Ahwell.
In the end I got that there Epi Emp Reg.
Just recently got a Tribute Bluesboy for me 53rd. Yipee.
Um.
Here's a concept. Tele shaped guitars will always produce a Tele shaped tone.
Discuss.
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A friend of mine had a Tele made for him by some guy named Hahn. He had the guy use normal string spacing, a thinner neck, and then had some corrective work done on it by Mirabella, slapped some TI Swing .012s on it and voila! A perfect jazz Tele.
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Yes, MIJ bodies are a bit different. They are great though.
US Fenders got funky in the 70s. CBS lost the router patterns and made about eight years of bodies with softer curves. In the 80s they got back on track.
I like both bodies but prefer the look of the originals.
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There are several threads about Chihoe Hahn on TDPRI. He has a more affordable model, the C (for Campilongo), but the wait times for the guitar is leading TDPRI members to champ at the bit! Originally Posted by sgcim
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Here’s my ‘76 (right), bought slightly used in ‘79. You can clearly see the change in the upper bout. In the left is a custom build based on a (modified) Ron Kirn template - ‘the guy from TDPRI.’
‘73 still had the notch, so it happened between ‘74-‘76.
The Kirn Template isn’t 100% modern Fender, as the HipShot B-Bender had to be adapted a bit. It may be vintage Fender.
i’ve also included my other custom build, with a mahogany body and spruce top, set neck, ebony fingerboard, and Lollar pickups. It’s pretty darn swell, but it has an extreme hard V which is fine for me, but might not be for everyone.
I love Teles; they are so flexible.
stevenLast edited by stevo58; 08-26-2018 at 01:03 AM.
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Huh? What means TDPRI? Teles Deserve Public Recognition Institute? Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles
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Telecaster Discussion Page (Re-Issued): TDPRI Home | Telecaster Guitar Forum Originally Posted by sgcim
Huh? What means TDPRI? Teles Deserve Public Recognition Institute?
If you're interested in Telecasters, Outlaw Country, Worship Service Players, guns or bacon, it's your kind of forum!
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I'm only interested in telecasters and bacon... will I fit in? Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles
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Sure, just say your EDC (everyday carry) is hickory smoked! Originally Posted by Hep To The Jive
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My proof of (de)evolution hands allow for it rather easily. Originally Posted by Hep To The Jive
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