First Commission Build - Is A Super-Tele A Thing?

#61
Gilmourisgod said:
If its just a couple of pots, a capacitor,.and a jack, it should all fit under a tele cover. Not much point in a rear cavity in that case.
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Yeah, it's gonna be pretty standard tele in that regard. We're going Fender Custom Shop "Texas Special" Telecaster Set for the pickups, mounted in the stock Telecaster positions and I plan on just using the standard Telecaster wiring as well. We want it to "look" like a Telecaster, sound like a Telecaster, but with a whammy bar, because hair metal never goes away. :smug:
 
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#62
TerribleTim68 said:
Or maybe I'll ditch the control plate and rear route anyways, who knows at this point. Part of me likes the idea of the standard chrome control plate making a "telecaster" statement, part of me doesn't want it breaking up the wood grain.
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I'm in the rear rout so it looks just enough like a Tele but isn't brigade.

TerribleTim68 said:
because hair metal never goes away.
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Even when you don't have hair any more.
 
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#63
Are we sharing our feelings here? I really like the Tele shape. I hate the pickguard, and the control plate, and that beyond-hideous headstock.

I much prefer something like the ESP that Izzy played in the SCoM video.

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#64
ctmullins said:
Are we sharing our feelings here?
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Hi. My name is Ron and I build basses.

I've always been a big fan of classic and antique car projects where they basically take an old body and put it on a new, modern chassis, drivetrain, suspension, etc.
I'm realizing that I feel the same way about guitars. I like the classic tele body shape, but it would be cool to see a modern spin. Like contours, modern electronics & hardware, no pickguards or plates, a little artistic tweak to the headstock, etc.
Kinda like if Chip Foose was given an old tele to overhaul.
 
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#65
When I played electric guitar in bands my weapon of choice was Tele, it just felt so organic and natural to me. I didn't like slinging the extra weight for an entire gig, so I built my own thinline versions. I loved the MIM necks so I purchased two MIM Teles and used the necks and tuners. Sold off all the other parts.

I built two bodies using figured woods and made custom stainless control plates. I made the control plates so I could swap around the control positions and mount a standard output jack on the control plate, since I've always disliked the standard side jack position. Both also had 4 way pickup switching.

The bridge plate was also done in stainless steel to accommodate a different saddle and top load the strings. Both were equipped with Texas Specials and recessed Dunlop Straploks.

Loved them both for years and gave them to friends when I decided to downsize my guitar collection upon giving up loud bands due to tinnitus / hyperacusis issues.

jhgGhLm.jpg
 
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#67
Continuing to work on the drawing, mostly so I can figure out my headstock shape. As I said before, I don't want to do a classic Telecaster headstock, because you can buy that. The client wants it to be "my design", he wants it to be unique and say "This is a custom instrument". He even told me "Figure out your logo and make sure it's on there." I tend to prefer the "gumby" headstocks, such as the Ibanez SR basses, so I'm leaning in that direction. I'm also thinking of stealing some of the stuff I see here in the LC with the "stepped areas" along the edges of the headstock, a couple of you have incorporated that and I really like it, I'm just trying to think through how to make it not a direct copy of your designs.

Anyways, I also added the strings and tuners so that I could take a more serious look at string pulls and clashes with tuner posts. The last thing I want is that situation where a string is hitting another tuning post along the path. That does NOT say "custom high end guitar" to me! It's tough with a 3+3 to get them all perfectly straight, but close is good too. And I added the standard control plate, just so I can "look" at it -
Kevins Tele.jpg


It's hard to get the string pulls behind the nut to visually look "right" while also balancing the shape of the headstock. There's some concessions you have to make here. I could try to relocate the G tuner to make that string pull more straight, but it impacts the overall shape of the headstock very negatively and also pushes the G tuner way too close (visually) to the D tuner. There's a dance here, that I'm still trying to learn. Or you just live with one wonky string pull and hope nobody complains. :cautious: (seriously, how do we not have a :shrug: emoji yet? )

The drawing is coming together. I need to think on that headstock some more. I prefer the 3+3 and with a tilt back. I think it shortens up the overall length a touch and helps with overall balance, both physically and visually. I just need to stare at it for a while and see if it really works with this body shape. I'm sure I'll also be playing with the control layout too. Just tinkering away over here! :cool:

Oh, in other news, the Floyd Rose templates arrived yesterday. :cool:
Now if only my body templates would arrive. Oh, and I still need to go buy the wood for this thing. :meh:
 
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#69
RichterScale said:
If you offset the tuners (shift the whole set of 3 on one side), then you can pull the D & G closer to center without them touching,.....
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Yeah, that's where it starts impacting the overall shape in a negative way. I feel like if the "end" of it gets narrower, it starts looking odd. Because if you move the tuners in towards the center, you also have to narrow up the headstock to match, which starts looking unpleasant to me. :meh:
 
#72
Ummm - I see no problem with the headstock as you have it drawn now. The G and D strings only bend a couple of degrees on their way to the tuners. Nothing that will have any functional impact, and far better than the (much-revered) Gibson-style layout.
 
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#74
Also, just for your consideration - have you thought about doing a reverse slant on that bridge pickup? It evens out the tonal response across all of the strings quite a bit. Gets rid of that "ice-pick" twang on the upper strings! (Although I guess some weirdos out there actually like that???)

Esq_0151.jpg
 
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#75
ctmullins said:
Also, just for your consideration - have you thought about doing a reverse slant on that bridge pickup? It evens out the tonal response across all of the strings quite a bit. Gets rid of that "ice-pick" twang on the upper strings! (Although I guess some weirdos out there actually like that???)

View attachment 4657663
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I may discuss it with the client. He's really after that classic Tele sound so he may not want that.
 
#76
ctmullins said:
Also, just for your consideration - have you thought about doing a reverse slant on that bridge pickup? It evens out the tonal response across all of the strings quite a bit. Gets rid of that "ice-pick" twang on the upper strings! (Although I guess some weirdos out there actually like that???)

View attachment 4657663
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100% this, makes so much more sense than the opposite.

IMO the headstock looks OK, but I'm quite sure you can make it so there's a "flow", a continuity with the angles between the different strings ; maybe by slightly changing the angle of the A and B strings ? it would make the D and G look less out of place, but part of the general flow.
 
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#77
ctmullins said:
Ummm - I see no problem with the headstock as you have it drawn now. The G and D strings only bend a couple of degrees on their way to the tuners. Nothing that will have any functional impact, and far better than the (much-revered) Gibson-style layout.
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Yeah, I mean, that's kind of where I am at the moment. I like it and I don't think the tiny angle is a "problem". I just need to stare at it for a while and see what I think over time.
 
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#78
ctmullins said:
Also, just for your consideration - have you thought about doing a reverse slant on that bridge pickup? It evens out the tonal response across all of the strings quite a bit. Gets rid of that "ice-pick" twang on the upper strings! (Although I guess some weirdos out there actually like that???)

View attachment 4657663
Click to expand...
Would that just be a left-handed bridge plate?
 
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