1st tele build

Ok, so I am selling a mic preamp on ebay, and it's up to $761...it probably wont get much higher than that...so, I am giving myself a $750 budget for a Tele build. I bought a body that is swamp ash with a walnut cap and spent $150, so I am down to $600 for everything else. It was more than I wanted to spend on a body, but it just was calling my name. I think it should be very do-able and still have high quality parts. I think I'll start with purchasing what I think to be the most important pieces of the project and then allow my budget to dictate some other things. I think the next thing I need to get is a neck, than pickups, bridge/saddles, tuners...

I am kinda thinking of going with an allparts neck due to the good reviews and decent price, but there a few $100 necks on ebay that are pretty tempting. It's just hard to know what to do having no knowledge of the quality of them. I am thinking of going with a maple neck with maple fretboard...even though all my other guitars have rosewood or ebony fretboards...I once had a cheap tele with a maple board and I really liked it. Plus I think it may be a good contrast to the dark walnut.

I'd like to get top of the line pickups such as Lollar/fralin/mare... so that's going to eat a big hole into my budget...is this wise? or should I stick with a slightly cheaper pickup?

I am also thinking Gotoh tuners...I have them on both of my acoustics, and I just like them, but I think i'll go with the "kluson" style to keep it more vintage looking. Is there anything better for a similar price?

sorry for all the questions and the long post. I have been on here for hours the past few days researching, and I am sure I will be even more once I start putting this whole thing together, and I am sure I will have lots of questions along the way.

I put together a master list of what I will need...am I missing anything?


Body - Walnut capped Swamp Ash....$150
Neck -
Pickups -
Tuners -
Bridge -
Saddles -
Nut -
Volume Pot -
Tone Pot -
Switch -
Wiring -
Capacitor(s) -
Control plate -
Volume & Tone Knobs -
String ferrules (3/8) -
Neck Plate -
Input Jack -
String "T" -
Strap buttons -
Pick-guard -
Finish materials -

Strings! Everybody always forgets strings! (I did too on my first build!)

Jim

Personally I'd make the neck a priority. You may want to consider
necks from Warmoth, USACG, and Musikraft, which seem to be
all be praised around here. My only experience with these companies
is two Warmoth necks, which look great, but have yet to be mounted.

By the way, consider "The Stratosphere" on eBay if you want
Fender parts, such as tuners, pots, neck plates, etc. You can
get good prices, especially if you're patient.

I've found Warmoth to be a good source for parts, too. Their
prices tend to be very competitive.

Strings! Everybody always forgets strings! (I did too on my first build!)

Jim

I've already got strings ;)

Personally I'd make the neck a priority. You may want to consider
necks from Warmoth, USACG, and Musikraft, which seem to be
all be praised around here.

The neck is definitely the priority for me right now. So, do you you guys think USACG, Musikraft, and Warmoth are superior to AllParts necks?

Also, does anyone know how often USACG updates their "web specials"?

AllParts necks are great. I haven't used them, though, because they don't make a neck that fits my specs. If you can find an Allparts neck that has all the features you want, don't hesitate to get it.

Make sure you have your finish budgeted, it can get pricey depending on your choice of material.

I would also consider buying a neck from one of the sources motioned. . I’ve used a Mighty Mite neck, allparts, myself I like Warmoth the best. Mighty mite would not use again, Allparts necks I’ve used wear OK. As for tuners my favorite are Spezels but there a lot of really nice tuners out there. One thing you should add to your cost is a professional set up and fret leveling money well spent. As for the pickups that’s one place you could cut corners if your budget is getting stretched, probably the easiest part to upgrade down the road. I used a set of Tonerider hot classics in my Tele build you can find them new on eBay for about $90. These wear a pleasant surprise when I finished the guitar. The Opinions of what to buy and what’s best there’s just no right answer.

any thoughts on a mahogony neck? I know Tele's are almost always made with a maple neck, but I also know that almost all acoustics have mahogony necks and so do most gibson electrics. Based on the properties of the 2 woods, I would imagine that the maple would tend to be snappyer and brighter in tone, and the mahogony maybe slightly warmer and may have a more "round" tone to it....that is if the neck wood has that much determination on the tone.

thoughts?