Okay gang, I'm gonna get moving on this build here fairly soon so I guess it's time to post up a build thread. At first I was hesitant to post this, because it is "TalkBass" and this will be a 6 string guitar build, but you guys talked me into it, so here goes.
The Plan:
I've been asked by my old guitarist from my younger band days to build him a custom telecaster. Let me put this in a bit more perspective; he's not just my former guitarist, he was literally my best friend all through high school and part of junior high. When I moved to this town he was literally the first person I met at school and became friends with. We were inseparable, like Tacoma's version of The Toxic Twins, we did everything together and went everywhere together. We later formed a band and played together for years. We changed a few other members, but the two of us stuck together through all of it until I finally stepped out of the band scene. So for him to ask me to build him a custom guitar is kind of an honor for me.
So what does he want?
Man, great question! I've bene asked to build a Telecaster shaped object, the customer has specified Fender Custom Shop Texas Special pickups and, get this, a Floyd Rose tremolo...on a Telecaster, and he wants it "neck-thru". The customer's only other request was for his name to be custom inlayed in the fretboard. I have full freedom on all woods, finishes and even headstock shape. I even have full freedom on any contour carves on the Telecaster body, as long as the general outline is still Telecaster shaped from the top down. I've heard of "super Strats" but is a Super Tele a thing? Because I think we're building a super tele here, or at the very least we're building the world's most bizarre tele!
So, Neck-Thru Telecaster, Texas Specials, Floyd Rose w/ locking nut, name inlayed in fretboard. Go nuts on the rest.
This will be my first commission build, my first customer guitar and my first guitar that will be "out in the wild". I'm equal parts nervous and excited. I know I will be fully judged on this build, because it WILL get gigged. Him and his wife do these pseudo-acoustic two-man shows where they sit on a stage in a small café/bar and he picks the guitar while she scratches out some vocals (I'm not a big fan of her voice). He is also doing recording and mixing at a local music studio, so there's a good chance this thing ends up being recorded too. I gotta get it right, from top to bottom.
First Steps:
I need to source some templates. Yes, I'm aware I could just grab a drawing off the interwebs and make my own. But if I'm gonna build a Tele why not invest in the stuff to make more Teles in the future? And, I'd like to just source a laser cut template that I know is dead on rather than try to make one and end up a teeny tiny fraction off somewhere that bugs me forever. Ideally, I'd like to source a full set of body and neck templates, even though I'm going to be changing the headstock shape. I asked the customer and he said he would rather have the headstock shape reflect me and my builds than a true Telecaster headstock. This also gives me a chance to go 3+3 to help reduce overall length / neck-dive. Not that neck dive is a thing on Teles, I don't know, but I think I plan on going 3+3 because I like the look better.
So there we go, a placeholder for this build. I think I'm gonna do this one as part of the "Great Guitar Build Off 2022 - Community Build" so I need to get moving on it. I'm supposed to pick up a deposit from him Sunday, so then I'll have some cash to start ordering the important stuff and I'll need to take a trip down to my favorite woodworking store and see what they have in stock for wood, start thinking about all that. I've got some pretty nice flame maple, but I need to see if it is long enough for a neck-thru guitar, I'm not convinced it is. Bolt-on, sure, but neck-thru? Hmm.
Anyways, as part of GGBO-22 I'll be filming this one for the YouTube channel, which adds extra pressure. What I can tell you about being a Youtube content creator is, anything you can do in a half hour, add about 3 hours if you plan on filming it and then about another 8 hours of video editing.
But hey, who needs sleep anyways?
Buckle up, here we GOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
