I just wanted to let you all know I'm here. I'm getting ready to order a tele body and neck from USACG. Since I've been playing mostly acoustic, I
don't have a lot of experience with putting an electric together. I'm pretty good at finish work. I can do the nut. I'm pretty sure that I can
install the hardware. The electronics are another matter. No experience with that. So, I'll be asking for some advise. Otherwise, I'm lurkin'
1 Kudos
New Guy
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 xacoustic |
New Guy |
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Posts: 1 Tue, Apr 29, 2008 22:35:25 |
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Mowcheeba |
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Posts: 5 Wed, Apr 30, 2008 02:06:12 |
Welcome xacoustic!! Good luck with your project....you won't be disappointed with your body
and neck I assure you. |
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nocaster |
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Posts: 18383 Wed, Apr 30, 2008 03:45:16 The Big FIBer |
Welcome!
i feel the weight of the world on my shoulder; as i'm gettin
older ya'll people gets colder
most of us only care about money-makin; selfishness got us followin the wrong direction wrong information always shown by the media; negative images is the main criteria infecting the [people's] minds faster than bacteria; [peeps] wanna act like what they see in the cinema |
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lgbclp |
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Posts: 1117 Wed, Apr 30, 2008 07:27:17 Contributing Bronze Member |
Hiya.
Any ideas on what sort of specs you want on your Tele?
--Garrett--
G-tars |
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xacoustic |
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Posts: 2 Wed, Apr 30, 2008 15:43:34 |
I worked out the specs on the neck and body when I visited the USACG shop, last week. Tommy showed me around the place. He, and all the other people were very
busy, but Tommy still took the time to ask questions about what I want, and let me try the feel of several necks. I'm grateful for that. I would not have
even known that I would need to know about all of those options. "I don't even know enough to know that I don't know". Well, now I know!
Pretty much a standard tele. Alder body. Standard routing. Plain Maple neck (not the fancy stuff). Rosewood fretboard. 1 & 11/16 nut width, .63 thick C contour, 9.5in radius fretboard, 6320 fret wire, 21 frets, white pearl face dots, white side dots. I've pretty much worked out the hardware details. And, I'm now confident that I can do the electronics, too. Found some good diagrams and instructions on various web sites. I do have a hardware question for y'all. Pickguards. Some have little screw holes on the sides of the neck pickup hole, some do not. I'm guessing the need for the little holes has something to do with the pickup design. Yes? So, how do I know if I need the little holes, or not?
Last Edited By: xacoustic Wed, Apr 30, 2008 22:15:38.
Edited 1 time.
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lgbclp |
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Posts: 1118 Wed, Apr 30, 2008 23:38:17 Contributing Bronze Member |
Soldering isn't too bad, it just takes a little practice. Here's a link to a primer that was posted on the FIB a while back:
http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2008/Feb/So_You_Want_to_Solder.aspx
The holes your talking about in the pickguard are for mounting the pickup. The original way was to mount the pickup straight to the wood, therefore the extra holes aren't needed in the guard. In the modern designs, they mount the pickup to the pickguard, so that's where the holes come from. It's more convenient to adjust the pickup height this way and I guess it's probably a little cheaper to manufacture guitars this way as well. It will be a matter of personal preference for you.
--Garrett--
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xacoustic |
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Posts: 3 Thu, May 1, 2008 00:27:58 |
lgbclp Thanks for the reply. WOW! Do you own all of those guitars? I thought I was over doing it with three!!
 Thanks for the info on the pickguard. It's a small thing, I know, but then,
I am a small detail kind of person. And, thanks for the info on soldering. I don't have a problem with soldering. It was more a question of what wire from
what part gets soldered to what pole of the switch, or pot. I was hearing a lot of conflicting info. 3-way switches, 4-way, bleed capacitors, series wiring vs
parallel wiring. I found a good, clear diagram on the Seymour Duncan web site. With that, I'm sure I will get the wiring done, just fine.
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nocaster |
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Posts: 18387 Thu, May 1, 2008 01:26:29 The Big FIBer |
> '"I don't even know enough to know that I don't know". Well, now I know!'
This is a great leap forward! As most folks amass knowledge they wonder at how much they know. But there should come a point when one has amassed enough knowledge to realise how little one actually knows. At that point one hopefully starts to become wise...although I don't feel that part is working out too well for me.  Most people never seem to achieve the point of realisation of how little they know, in that there is always more left to learn than one has
learned. And that we're all beginners, relatively speaking. Maybe surprisingly, the only famous guitarist that I've heard state that he is still a
beginner is Mark Knopfler, though I'm not claiming he's the only one.
i feel the weight of the world on my shoulder; as i'm gettin
older ya'll people gets colder
most of us only care about money-makin; selfishness got us followin the wrong direction wrong information always shown by the media; negative images is the main criteria infecting the [people's] minds faster than bacteria; [peeps] wanna act like what they see in the cinema |
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nocaster |
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Posts: 18388 Thu, May 1, 2008 01:27:47 The Big FIBer |
> "how do I know if I need the little holes, or not?"
Once you've decided on your pickups.
i feel the weight of the world on my shoulder; as i'm gettin
older ya'll people gets colder
most of us only care about money-makin; selfishness got us followin the wrong direction wrong information always shown by the media; negative images is the main criteria infecting the [people's] minds faster than bacteria; [peeps] wanna act like what they see in the cinema |
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lgbclp |
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Posts: 1119 Thu, May 1, 2008 15:32:49 Contributing Bronze Member |
xacoustic wrote:
Sounds like you're in good shape for the wiring. The basic wiring setup is a good starting point, and you can experiment from there if you want. Overdoing it is a relative term. I peaked at 9 guitars, which is nothing compared to some of the people I've encountered online. At least mine were all pretty different and they all brought out something different in me. But I've now culled the herd down to my three favorite electrics. I'm hoping to get a new acoustic soon, though. It's a disease y'know (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome, aka GAS), but I think I'm slowing down.
--Garrett--
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nocaster |
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Posts: 18395 Fri, May 2, 2008 01:10:05 The Big FIBer |
I've culled the herd, but I'm still at 10 guitars/basses + uke, keys, saxes. I wouldn't like to cull any more, as I only have three solid-body
electric sixers, two of which are USACG.
Okay, I could ditch the cigar-box uke. 
i feel the weight of the world on my shoulder; as i'm gettin
older ya'll people gets colder
most of us only care about money-makin; selfishness got us followin the wrong direction wrong information always shown by the media; negative images is the main criteria infecting the [people's] minds faster than bacteria; [peeps] wanna act like what they see in the cinema |
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xacoustic |
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Posts: 4 Fri, May 2, 2008 19:53:22 |
Back to the pickup question. I've looked all around the various pickup makers' web sites. NONE of them state whether their pickups are designed to be
screwed into the wood in the pu cavity, or they are designed to be attached to the pickguard. So, how do I know? I know that it has to be something with the
mounting holes on the sides of the pu, because I know that wood screws are used to attach the pu to the pu cavity and bolts are used to mount the pu to the
pickguard. So, the holes in the pu have to be different for the different kinds of screws/bolts. But, the holes all look the same to me, in the pictures, on
the web sites. As I have read more and more about all of this stuff, I've come to the conclusion that I would like to mount the pu to the pickguard. I can
see that it would be much easier to adjust the height of the pu that way. Might my choice to mount to the pickguard narrow my choices in pu? I mean, if some pu
are designed to be attached to the wood then I could not choose that one. Yes?
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nocaster |
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Posts: 18412 Sat, May 3, 2008 04:54:27 The Big FIBer |
I don't think you'll have any problems that can't be readily overcome. If ordering a custom pickup, just make sure to state that you intend to
mount the pup to the pg.
i feel the weight of the world on my shoulder; as i'm gettin
older ya'll people gets colder
most of us only care about money-makin; selfishness got us followin the wrong direction wrong information always shown by the media; negative images is the main criteria infecting the [people's] minds faster than bacteria; [peeps] wanna act like what they see in the cinema |
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xacoustic |
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Posts: 5 Sat, May 3, 2008 20:44:30 |
nocaster Thanks for the reply. You're right. I don't think I'll have any problems with things. I'm just trying to get the little details into
my thick skull, before starting the project.
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xacoustic |
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Posts: 7 Mon, May 19, 2008 23:15:45 |
Picked up the parts today. I'll start finishing the body tomorrow.
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Boris Bubbanov |
Nice parts | #15 | ||
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Posts: 20 Tue, May 20, 2008 00:14:44 |
That 2 piece alder body and rosewood cap neck both look great.
Be careful with that alder. It will dent a little easier IMO than an ash body of the same weight. You shouldn't need any grain filler and the sanding I do on these is mostly 600-2000 grits. A couple of coats of sanding sealer over a baby smooth body, smooth it again, and you're ready to start laying down the nitro. Slowly at first, then gradually full passes once you have a base down. If you are considering tinting the nitro on the neck, give the Behlen's Jet Spray 13 ounce rattle can "maple" first try. As always with tinting, 95 percent or more of your material put down is clear gloss nitro, well based before the tinting is attempted. I like to shape the headstock, but no decal. That's entirely up to you. Bubbanov |
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xacoustic |
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Posts: 8 Tue, May 20, 2008 04:14:44 |
Thanks for the reply. I'm doing the whole instrument with Tru-Oil. No tint. No stain. No paint. Just plain, beautiful wood. The headstock shape looks just
fine to me.
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