TeleBeast from the depths of Mordor build thread
 

Hoo boy. Let me start by saying I’m not a guitar collector. I have exactly three guitars - two custom made Strats and a one owner (me) 75 Les Paul.

I want a Telecaster with a fast neck and some noiseless, vintage sounding pickups. But I don’t want an off the shelf Tele - for less money I can assemble one that is better than what I can get from the Fender custom shop.

So I’ll buy unfinished components, do my own lacquer finish in butterscotch and get high end hardware.

This will be the build thread.

Out of the gate I just heard from Fishman. They are cutting me an endorser price on a very cool active electronics that were really expensive. Super company and amazing products.

Next I’ll order up the body. Can’t do the neck right now need to space out the cash outlays. I’m going with roasted swamp ash and I’ll spray organic nitrocellulose lacquer like they did in the old days using Leo Fenders paint recipe.

The neck will be unfinished so while I’m saving my allowance I’ll work on getting it finished and assembled. I need to decide which neck profile and fret wire - not sure.

Warmoth Guitars has a zillion options on custom bodies and necks. Body is straight fifties Telecaster. Neck is vintage/modern featuring a compound radius.

That means the fret board is rounder at the headstock and flatter closer to the body. Cut from a cone instead of a cylinder.

I also need to order lacquer and get it out sitting in the sun in a clear jar for a few weeks. That will yellow it to an amber color. Or explode and burn my house down. Not sure which.

Pics of wife? Oh, wrong forum. Carry on.

:cheers:

What happened to the Enterprise build? Is that played out?

Friend of mine, who is a very good player, just built a Stratocaster. He bought a one piece swamp ash body, sent it back East somewhre to have it painted in 2 or 3 tone Sunburst with a nitrocellulose lacquer. He had a Fender neck laying around, and had a luthier do it up the way he likes them. Pickups? Can't remember what he did, but they are apparently really good.

Guitar looks, and sounds amazing. :yesnod:

https://i.imgflip.com/16dlri.jpg



Cool project. Looking forward to the progress pics.

Unless you are dead set on replicating the exact brittle, easily scratched and difficult to repair nitrocellulose you might consider these two finishes.
Boiled Linseed Oil... a natural product which is naturally amber and is applied by rubbing it into raw wood with your fingertips. Slow to dry it might take several weeks to achieve a fully grain filled, soft glowing finish which is easily repaired simply by reapplication of the oil.

Birchwood Casey Tru Oil gunstock finish... Also applied with the fingertips this one is less amber and dries overnight allowing many coats to be applied fairly quickly. This one will build into a high gloss, perfectly smooth finish if left untreated. It can be wet sanded and polished just like lacquer after full cure making maintenance possible. Get a big gouge/ simply sand flat and blend it in with your fingers.

It can also be worked into a softer sheen using 4 aught steel wool and either a patinating or Butcher's wax as a lubricant. Easily refreshed or softened further with another application.

You can also go matte or flat using various grades of rottenstone while still allowing the underlying grain to show in all its glory. A quick reapplication and you're back to glossy if you wish. Available at the"W" store and fine gunshops everywhere.

If you want a custom Tele, check out Lucky Dog Guitars. Located in East TN. All hand built, and absolutely beautiful. They're expensive but worth it.

I’m dead set on the brittle, easy to scratch organic lacquer used back in the day. I like the wear and tear and yellowing. I have a strat now finished in clear nitro and it has yellowed beautifully over the years.

I’ll be able to build one as good or better for a fraction of the price. Lucky Dog is awesome though. I also don’t want to wait six months. :dance:

Oh no. Very much ongoing. I just lost a month from surgery where I was just too wasted to work on it. Starting up again this weekend. There is a puzzle going on with one of the circuits and I hate puzzles. It’s tedious and slow going at this stage but I should have that done within the month.

looking forward to seeing your handiwork :cool1:

Not too much to do except fill sand fill sand fill sand spray sand spray sand buff buff buff buff. Solder. Screw together. Drop off at luthier to have set up by pro.

I think the challenge will be in reproducing that finish but aged. It’s a weird color sort of amber but browner.

One thing I’ll do is use dark filler for the grain. Then it will pop from the white ash. Body is made of what they call swamp ash. It’s similar to baseball bats but a bit sponge-ey-er.

Spongeyer. Yep. That’s it.

I also think there is something about nitro finishes that compliment the tone of the guitar, perhaps the sustain etc. I'm no expert, but it seems to be the desirable way to go. And it looks cool as they naturally age, get dinged up etc.

I never understood the modern trend of buying new guitars that have been faux aged/weathered. Buy a fuggin guitar, play the shit out of it OR buy an actual used/vintage instrument that has gone through the natural process.

I’m with you. I’m tempted to “relic” this one but can’t bring myself to work hard to get a good finish, then drag it around the yard.

I will likely spray a bit lighter in certain places to make the wear a bit more rapid. I don’t put much finish on fretboards and none on the back of the neck.

I have an old American Standard Stratocaster that hasn’t seen daylight in 30 years. It’s never been played. I wonder how naturally aged it is. :rofl:

There was an interview I saw with Clapton about when he first came to the States and went hunting for guitars. Apparently back in the 60's, Fender's and Gibson's weren't all that common in the UK, so they were a very desirable thing.

Anyway, he said that he always looked for the guitars that were a bit beat up, as by his logic it meant they were "well favored"

He compared it to looking inside a restaurant...if there are a lot of people inside, the food is probably good...if it's empty, not so much.

Probably not that much. Friend of mines dad has a late 50's Stratocaster that's been sitting under his bed since probably 1965. It's absolutely MINT. Still has the original receipt, hang tags etc. I'd imagine it's worth a small fortune.

I got mine at a celebrity auction for the Make-A-Wish foundation back in the 80’s. The guitar wasn’t getting a whole lot of bids so I bid. Surprised when I won it. I’m not a guitar player. It came in a Fender hardcase. It’s been sitting in my closet ever since. I should go dust it off. :rofl:

Pics?