TDPRI 2010 $210 Tele Build Challenge -Acousticaster

I must have GBADD (Guitar Builders Attention Deficit Disorder) since I have two builds going already. But there is wood laying around the shop unmolested and so.....

http://members.cox.net/psdotson/bodyparts.jpg

The basics here are a mahogany body with a catalpa/maple center wedge and spruce top. The top is one I bought about 10 years ago from another builder. It's already joined and has the soundhole and rosette cut out. I don't like the Martin-style rosette so I'm flipping it over and will probably just bind the soundhole's edge. The mahogany I have isn't quite enough to glue up a blank from so I pirated the leftovers from another Tele body and will join it up and cut a wedge with the maple showing on the back. Sort of like a D-35.
The majority of the body will be hogged out except around the bridge, which will be an acoustic-style one with the strings running through the body.
Pick-ups will be a soundhole pick-up in the soundhole (duh! :mrgreen: ) and something piezo-y under the saddle.
Neck will be either maple or mahogany with a 25" scale rosewood board.

Now THAT"S what I'm talking about! I'll be watching this one for sure.

I like the sounds of this. I've been thinking of something similar to this for awhile, I have way more ideas then time to actually implement though.

BTW though, you should rename this thread though to comply with the challenge rules. :P

Thanks J, I done fixed it!

Got the blank laid up and clamped but I didn't think ahead to realize what a PITA gluing up 5 pieces with a wedge in the center would be until after I'd applied the Tite-Bond (also knows as 'slippery goo'). Had to clamp the whole thing to the bench top to keep it from sliding all over.

Body trimmed and the back rounded. Now I need to plan out the 'hoggout' areas and then, um, hogg 'em out before the top goes on.

http://members.cox.net/psdotson/Body_back.jpg

Lookin good. Cant wait to see how it turns out.

Awesome Mike. Looking forward to a cool guitar from you. Sorry I can't give you any competition at the moment. :wink:

Done hogged it, and as you can see I'm only slightly worse for the wear. Combo of forstner and router and some 50 and 120 grit clean-up work under the soundhole. Man is this thing gonna be light and resonant. Anybody need a bucket of mahogany chips?

http://members.cox.net/psdotson/hogged.jpg

Now I gotta figure out what holes and channels to drill for the under saddle. The controls will be mounted from the rear.

Can you actually use too many clamps?

http://members.cox.net/psdotson/body_clamps.jpg

There's never enough clamps!

This is going to look great

Has it started already? :grin:

It's started baby!

After a quick run over the flush trim bit this morning and we get this.
I had to darken it a bit to get any detail to show, the top isn't nearly this dark.
Also that's a pencil line down the center.

http://members.cox.net/psdotson/top.jpg

Making a run to a builder friend's shop today to pick up some binding. Thinking about tortise with a w/b purfle. Either that or grained ivoroid if I sunburst it.

Nice!

You're off to a heckuva start.

While the binding sets up I made up the neck blank. One flat-sawn piece of mahogany cut and laid up as a 3-piece quartersawn blank. I also added a couple small ears in the headstock area but that's not shown here.

http://members.cox.net/psdotson/neck-blank.jpg

First purchases were today so I figure I should start totaling things up.
Neck wood $12 (robbery :roll: )
Binding $8
Body wood is a mix of off-cuts, a chunk of mahogany and a cheap acoustic top. The top was $10, the off-cut free and the mahogany probably worth $20
So far: $50

oooh - I see a weissenborn slide shape in the background. One of my other most favorite instruments. :)

Not just a weissenborn, a 'Weissonator™' tricone. :mrgreen:

http://members.cox.net/psdotson/cones2.jpg
http://members.cox.net/psdotson/back2.jpg

All bound with some tortoise and b/w purfling. Didn't get the sound hole done because I ran out.

http://members.cox.net/psdotson/binding_front.jpg

http://members.cox.net/psdotson/binding_back.jpg

NICE!!!!! cant wait to see the finished product

You're off to a flying start! I didn't even glue the body yet of my build! :wink:

Well I had an empty weekend, all the tools and lots of wood. I'll be slowing down pretty soon and stopping for a while altogether as soon as the tricone customers gets back to me about what binding he wants on it. Just figured I'd get a jump on it while I had the chance.

You're gonna be done before I even get a good start!

Jim

Haha, Im with Jim! Looking awesome! Is the top sitka? Are you going to do a tradition style acoustic bridge?

Ed

Dunno what the top is for sure but it's kind of dark like Sitka can be.
Yep, planning an acoustic bridge/bone saddle with a string anchor on the back.

Body trimmed and the back rounded. Now I need to plan out the 'hoggout' areas and then, um, hogg 'em out before the top goes on.

http://members.cox.net/psdotson/Body_back.jpg

This build is totally awesome.

How thick is your top? Is it braced like an acoustic?

Waaay cool. I may have to borrow this idea.... Can't wait to see how it turns out!

Top is about .120" and no bracing at all since it has only very small 'open' areas to span. As you can see here it's nowhere near a true acoustic but should make a fair amount of unplugged noise.
http://members.cox.net/psdotson/hogged.jpg

BTW Mr. Happy, I was up in Provo a couple weeks ago. You guys got some fairly big hills up there!

Awesome.....just awesome.

I don't comment much 'cause I'm more of a slide guy.....could you PM me details about that Weiss? That is an amazing instrument!

Picked up 2.5 board feet of Padauk today and made a fretboard and bridge.
http://members.cox.net/psdotson/fretboad.jpg
The board and bridge were a small part of the $50.00 board. I'll call the both of them $8.00 total including the pearl dots.

OT but I also made up a bookmatched 'fretboard' for the tricone from the same stuff. It really turned out cool.
http://members.cox.net/psdotson/fretboard.jpg

I really like that wedge in there, this build has my attention, great idea.

Provo is a great place to visit. I tried living there once, but I definitely enjoy Orem a lot better. I'm totally diggin the Padauk fret boards.

It was an interesting town and very pretty in the winter. Lots of churches though, what's up with that? :wink:

That may be the coolest fretboard wood ever!

Jim

The winters are very pretty, as long as the roads are clear. My commute into Salt Lake City every day can get scary during storms. I suppose its not so bad, I've a brother in Flagstaff who has been dumped on!

Yeah Flag got some mondo snow this year! I like it here in the ice-free zone!

I'd never messed with 'Pahdook' before. It has huge pores and is pretty splintery when it's rough but smoothes out very nicely. I think it's going to work well. I plan on making a top for something out of it too.

great build!
that fretboard: looks like African Wengé to me, not Padouk. Anyway that's what it is called over here in Europe.
I 've used wengé several times to make fretboards . It works really well, acoustically I guess somewhere in between ebony and rosewood. Watch out for splinters indeed

Wow, I could see that bookmatched fretboard idea catching on!!!

D'oh! heletrix is correct it is Wenge. That's what happens when(ge) you pull several late-nighters, your brane stops working.

not to sidetrack this thread, but the Weissenborn TRICONE is SWEEEET. Fantastic - I WANT to hear that one when finished too!!!

I'll do a YouTube clip of me playing it (badly) when it's done. I have a recording of an earlier one somewhere but I don't think it's uploaded anywhere.

Got a bit more done. Fretboard is attached and fairly lame headstock shape chosen. I'm going to use some leftover self-adhesive pickguard material for an overlay on the headstock and think I should probably wait till the finish is done to apply it. Here I've stuck a small piece of it directly to the wood and it's pretty easy to peel it off. Looks cool though and matches the body binding.
http://members.cox.net/psdotson/neck_raw.jpg
http://members.cox.net/psdotson/head_overlay.jpg

Also cut an access hole for the controls and made a cover from some 1/8" ply and another salvaged pickguard pulled off an old plywood dreadnaught.

http://members.cox.net/psdotson/back_cover.jpg

Always a big 'it's finally feeling like a guitar' moment. The carving of the neck. Rubbed a little garnet shellac on it for color.
http://members.cox.net/psdotson/carved_neck.jpg

Fretted the board.
http://members.cox.net/psdotson/frets.jpg

More shellac on the body and binding.
http://members.cox.net/psdotson/shellac_side.jpg

http://members.cox.net/psdotson/shellac_back.jpg

Need to get out tomorrow and get a neck plate and screws. Then I can mount the neck, figure out the bridge height and carve it up. Also have to decide what to do about pickups. I had a buddy give me a box 'o stuff to see if I wanted to use any of them. There's an AGI soundhole pickup that's been rewoung to 14K(!!) and a couple GFS Retrotone surface mount units that would be pretty easy to fit to the sound hole. I like 'em and they would give it a nice retro (ha!) look.
http://members.cox.net/psdotson/retrotron.jpg

Dude, you're cruising! But the best part is - this is really looking good!

I like your headstock design. It seems to follow the grain of the fretboard at the first few frets. Looks good without the leftover pickguard IMO.

I also like the way the grain of the fretboard kind of swirls around the twelfth fret. As if the wood was in harmony with the "harmonic" progression of the frets. I think there is some magic going on here.

The color combinations are striking - all in all, a very well balanced design IMO. Also well balanced between the electric and acoustic elements. I'm very impressed.

Keep going!

Thanks man, I appreciate the comments a lot. I fly pretty fast on these thing sometimes and am usually working with offcuts and things I stumble across. Sometimes I start to wonder whether I'm making good design decisions. ;)

Here it is mocked up.
http://members.cox.net/psdotson/mockup2.jpg
http://members.cox.net/psdotson/mockup3.jpg

In this one it's kinda hard to see but I added a small extension under the fretboard sort of like on an archtop. I didn't like the board just hanging out there by itself so the piece rides just barely above the top (should touch after the finish is on) and then sweeps up to the bottom of the fretboard.
http://members.cox.net/psdotson/mockup1.jpg

It's coming along nice, Mike. So what... you should be done... tomorrow?? :wink:

This one looks really good. Nice job, Maricopa.

Didn't get it done John, but it makes noise now. :mrgreen:

So if you get done with the first one, can you make some more and count them for the contest too?

Don't tempt me! :mrgreen:

wow this is such a beauty!:shock: im just so excited for this project i want to see so many more pictures! i keep showing my gf and shes just like oh..okay..cool:roll:

i wish she had the love for tele's like i do lol:lol:

They don't do much for my wife either. My oldest daughter plays though and she's becoming quite the guitarhead.

Mike, that's looking amazing. I'm normally not big on acoustic teles, but yours has something special.

[QUOTE=Chuodough;2366108]wow this is such a beauty!:shock: im just so excited for this project i want to see so many more pictures! i keep showing my gf and shes just like oh..okay..cool:roll:

i wish she had the love for tele's like i do lol:lol:[/QUOTE

My girl thinks its cool, but not nearly as much as I do. She doesn't love it, but she understands why I do.

[QUOTE=Chuodough;2366108]wow this is such a beauty!:shock: im just so excited for this project i want to see so many more pictures! i keep showing my gf and shes just like oh..okay..cool:roll:

i wish she had the love for tele's like i do lol:lol:[/QUOTE

My girl thinks its cool, but not nearly as much as I do. She doesn't love it, but she understands why I do.

It's good to read you guys posts here because it reminds me of what an extremely lucky guy I am, my girl is a Master Violinmaker and she loves this stuff! I think I'll surprise her with some flowers today!

That's the coolest looking fretboard... EVER !!!!!!! :)

Wow, I love this design. A dogear P90 in the soundhole would be KILLER, would make an aswesome blues machine or slide tele.

I love all of these build threads and I look forward to the day that I am doing a full build myself.

Lou

Thanks guys. Lou I'm working on a mounting system for the Retrotone p/u but haven't had any time the last few days to get back at it. Should have it done this weekend and then I can start the finish on the guitar. I also gotta get back to some paying jobs.

I forgot you were using that retrotron pickups, that's a great choice. Can't wait to see the finished guitar and hope you do another video like last years entry.

Lou

Never heard one before but they sure look cool. Seem to be sort of P-90ish from the construction. I don't think I'll be any to work up a piezo/pre-amp system and still keep under the 2 bill limit so it'll be just the one magnetic. Maybe later.

Yeah I'll definitely do a vid. I've got the E strings on it now from when I set the bridge position and have been 'diddlybowing' with it at lunch and stuff. It makes a fair amount of unplugged noise.

Well I cobbled up a mount. Still not sure if I like it or not but it'll do for now.
http://members.cox.net/psdotson/pickup_mount.jpg

I found the mount and cover from a really cool-looking vintage Kent soundhole unit in my pile 'o stuff and took the Retrotron apart but there was no way it was going to fit in it. Bummer.

Well I cobbled up a mount. Still not sure if I like it or not but it'll do for now.
http://members.cox.net/psdotson/pickup_mount.jpg

I found the mount and cover from a really cool-looking vintage Kent soundhole unit in my pile 'o stuff and took the Retrotron apart but there was no way it was going to fit in it. Bummer.

I'm guessing this isn't for heavy metal, lol

I like it though

Heavy what? No, this guitar is almost all wood. :wink:

Finally a nice weekend and I was able to catch up with my spraying so the Acousticaster went into rotation.

Dark grainfill and some tinted shellac before the nitro.
http://members.cox.net/psdotson/paint_neck.jpg
http://members.cox.net/psdotson/paint_back.jpg

Decided against the tortise overlay so on goes a waterslide decal
http://members.cox.net/psdotson/paint_head.jpg

And the front....Thinking maybe it's begging for a sunburst....Hmmmmm.
http://members.cox.net/psdotson/paint_front.jpg

Sorry for neglecting to trim myself out of the pics. :neutral:

And the front....Thinking maybe it's begging for a sunburst....Hmmmmm.
http://members.cox.net/psdotson/paint_front.jpg


it's not just begging, I hear it screaming Sunburst out loud! ;)

great build man, now go and get some red yellow and black

Oww, it twisted my arm!

http://members.cox.net/psdotson/burst.jpg

No red (even though it looks a little like it in the pic) or yeller, very much a 'Gibsony' tobacco burst

this is beautiful!

Beautiful burst Mike. Can I send you a body to do that to???

:wink:

Sure, but I get to keep it afterward!

Niiice! Love the burst!

Jim

The burst looks fantastic, great choice

As Rachael Ray would say, Yum-mer-errs!!

Very nice work! Can't wait to hear this one! By the way, is that a Dobrocaster there in the back ground?

Very nice work! Can't wait to hear this one! By the way, is that a Dobrocaster there in the back ground?


Yea, a little tri-cone activity going on in the back ground, eh?

I think he means the 'Resolectric' (National's name for them) and yes, that's the first guitar I ever built, or finished that is. A 2nd hand body that I routed out a cone well and stuck a cheap cone and piezo in. I've made a few since using a different body shape since Tele's really aren't large enough.
The tricone is coming along, I added some rope binding to it yesterday but still need to do the back.
http://members.cox.net/psdotson/binding_top2.jpg

The tricone is coming along, I added some rope binding to it yesterday but still need to do the back.


Where did you source the rope binding ?

A guy over at the Official Luthiers Forum. I lost his contact info and am still trying to track him down.
PS, it won't 'go round' the pointier parts of a Tele. :wink:

PS, it won't 'go round' the pointier parts of a Tele. :wink:


Ahhh.... :mrgreen:

I dont particularly like "burst" finishes but the simplicity of the black and stain is GORGEOUS! nice going.

Ahhh....

Big Mike Simpson and I were just talking about that last night in fact. The rope binding actually bends like crazy since it's just a bunch of laid-up blocks. It comes with purfling on both sides, this keeps it together while bending and allows the blocks to slip into different positions. Much easier than regular wood binding.
When you install them you just leave 'em a little proud of the sides and scrape the outer layer off. With a little customizing of the cutaway horn and the removal of the little 'lip' thing next to the neck pocket on the bass side you could easily use this stuff on a Tele-ish build.

Thanks Phil.

WOW, that's what a burst is supposed to look like. Beautiful.

Very nice choice on the burst. That came out beautiful.

Change up on the electronics scene. I bought an old 'Jax' soundhole pick-up from a friend for $10. Cool little unit and funny because I have the clip and case from an identical piece with a 'Kent' label on it. Japanese made, most likely by Tiesco or Kawai.
http://members.cox.net/psdotson/jax.jpg
I wired it to an output jack last night and held it up to another guitar to make sure it worked, it's does and seems to sound pretty good.

I have about 5 or 6 more coats of nitro to go and then except for the sanding, buffing and wiring it's pretty much done.

Cost total so far:
Neck wood: $12
Binding: $8
Body: $20
F/B and Bridge wood: $8
Tuners: $23
Pots: $10
Pick-up: $10
Strap button: $3
Neck plate: $6
Jack and Plate: $4
String tree: $3
$107
Edit:
forgot frets: $5
nitro: $6
and a nut: $2
$120

Stunning burst!!!! Congratz on that!

Awesome! This is my fave build so far- no offense to the other great build threads on here. I just love the acousticaster concept and that burst is seriously to die for.

Lou

Remember Lou, when the time comes, vote early and often! :wink:

Sunnama#$*&!!!

It's hard to see but after buffing I found a little patch of bareness on the edge of the tortise. Thought I'd be done this weekend..... :rolleyes:
http://members.cox.net/psdotson/sunnuma.jpg

Bah, just put a sticker over it! I kid, but this is really interesting. How deep is it?

Sunnama#$*&!!!

It's hard to see but after buffing I found a little patch of bareness on the edge of the tortise. Thought I'd be done this weekend..... :rolleyes:



Get your nitro and some tooth pics out....

Nah, drop fills wouldn't have helped. It was about 1" of binding edge that burned through. I laid on 3 more coats of nitro to the top and went especially heavy on that edge. Should be good to go by the end of the week.

BTW, it's not the little light colored spot near the waist. That's a reflection and I would have just covered that with the pickguard. :mrgreen:
This was right on the edge of the binding. I should have rounded it a bit more.

Ta da! Except for swapping out the chickenhead knob (missing a set screw on the other Bakelite knob) and lowering that pot it be all done.
http://members.cox.net/psdotson/done_front.jpg
http://members.cox.net/psdotson/done_top.jpg
http://members.cox.net/psdotson/done_back.jpg

I may add a piezo someday but for now it's set up to be able to swap out different soundhole pickups. I used bullet connectors on the leads so the change over only takes a couple minutes. The Jax unit I have in it now sounds pretty cool but is unbelievably microphonic so when I switch in my DeArmond I think I'll send it to my buddy Clint Searcy and have it wax potted.
Under the chickenhead is a Varitone switch made by http://www.bigdguitars.com/ so I have to adjust my total cost. I really like the switch, it works as advertised and gives several distinct and cool tones. I'll do up a vid tonight and get some real pics done too.

Cost total so far:
Neck wood: $12
Binding: $8
Body: $20
F/B and Bridge wood: $8
Tuners: $23
Pots: $10
Pick-up: $10
Strap button: $3
Neck plate: $6
Jack and Plate: $4
String tree: $3
$107
Edit:
forgot frets: $5
nitro: $6
and a nut: $2
Varitone: $37
Knobs: $2
$159

:shock:
Beautiful work!
I've read through you're other builds, specifically the Teisco, and you do amazing work, extremely impressed. So do you keep your builds or sell/give them off. Always wondered this question with all the builds going on (other than the contest) but you're the first i've actually asked.

Beautiful, and amazing skills you have!

Excellent! Can't wait to hear how it sounds!

Thanks guys.
Alias, yes I do build on a semi-professional basis, although it's only in the last year or two that I've been doing so many electrics, I've been building resonators for 10 years or so. The Tiesco guitar is going to James Williamson of 'Iggy and the Stooges'. In fact that's his second guitar from me.

Soundwise, as you'll find out in the coming vid, it's not really 'acoustic' and not much louder than any other semi-hollow like a Dano. What's going to be cool is the ease of getting sounds out if just by switching pickups. I'll try and do a least two in the vid.

BTW, does anyone have any feedback on the pickguard? All I had was a scrap leftover from my daughter's acoustic so that was as big as I could make it. I'd wanted to go slightly larger and also put a white piece on the back of it so I could mimic the white purfling line. Maybe later.

Maybe the normal tear drop but have it extend out into the horn similar to a tele. Not sure what it would look like just thinking aloud.

A tually... WOW! What a beautiful instrument. I really love the burst. On the pg, I think the slightly smaller size is very cool.

On the piezo, if you want to do it for cheap, add one from Radioshack. Less than $2 gets you a decent sound. Check out 273-073. It would make a great addition to this project.

I like the pg, it's different and I think it's a great shape.

This is my favorite of the contest guitars BTW.....:grin:

That's a very nice guitar you've made there Mr. Maricopa, just very nice!!!

That's... amazing. Can't wait to hear how it sounds. How many is that 'finished' now? Shame the pickup is so... ugly :lol:

Does anybody on here make guitars for selling on for a profit? You're certainly all good enough.

Lost count on guitars built but it's around 20 or 25. I always make money on 'em, but making a living at it is a different thing entirely. :rolleyes:

...and I actually like the way the pickup looks. It's got that '60s Japanese thing going.

Another tour 'de force of cinematic majesty. :cool:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTJKw2HnAiM

Looks and sounds Great!! I love it!

Lost count on guitars built but it's around 20 or 25. I always make money on 'em, but making a living at it is a different thing entirely. :rolleyes:


Same here. They've paid for the workshop and the CNC machine, but I still do computers for a living... :wink:

By the way, that guitar sounds great!!! Perfect slide sound!!! And being able to change the pickups so easily is the frosting on the cake! :cool:

Hey Mike, that is one of the coolest Tele style guitars that I have seen for a long time. Great job.

Excellent work. Stunning Sunburst finish. Pickguard is just a little too small.

That thing is about 80 different kinds of cool, great job..

Wow, looks and sounds great!

AWESOME- can't say much more than that. I love everything about it.

Lou

AMAZING! Beautiful job!

I would be very very proud if i had made that, well done.

Lost count on guitars built but it's around 20 or 25. I always make money on 'em, but making a living at it is a different thing entirely. :rolleyes:

...and I actually like the way the pickup looks. It's got that '60s Japanese thing going.

So... you sell them on? I'd have thought that it would be hard to part with them unless you made with the intention of selling them due to sentimental value.

It used to be hard to sell them but I got tired of tripping over 'em. Paying the mortgage is good incentive too.

Thanks for the nice comments folks. I'm really digging this one. In the vid I had just put the black pickup in and hadn't messed around with it at all. I spent the next hour finding out what it will do through the Valve Jr. and was able to get all sorts of cool 'Elmoreish' slide tones out of it.

That is a slick looking guitar so far. I applaud you for not going with the obvious build.

Got some decent pics taken. Still haven't changed up the knobs but I'm waiting for another (1/4" shaft) vol pot before I do that.
http://members.cox.net/psdotson/Final_3.jpg
http://members.cox.net/psdotson/Final_2.jpg
http://members.cox.net/psdotson/Final_6.jpg
http://members.cox.net/psdotson/Final_1.jpg
http://members.cox.net/psdotson/Final_4.jpg

Bee-yoo-tee-full!

Man what a great contest this is! If this work of art isn't at or near the top when all is said and done, I'll be blown away.

Too cool! I'm loving this build. Great job man!

Without a doubt the most interesting guitar I've seen built here. It makes the Fender Telecoustic look like it should be sold at Walmart. Never would have thought I'd see something like this in the $210 contest. Really phenomenal outcome.

Very interesting build, and with a piezo under the bridge pickup, the sound would be truly acoustic. Great workmanship, and innovation.

Great work! I was going to suggest a Gibson firestripe style pickguard, but then realized the binding is tortoise. Very nice.

Wow!!! very, very stylish! impressed.

.................................speechless!
How did I miss the finish on this. Too many entries to keep up with and participate at the same time I think.

Absolutely stunning!!! Would love to hear it

.................................speechless!
How did I miss the finish on this. Too many entries to keep up with and participate at the same time I think.

Absolutely stunning!!! Would love to hear it

Another tour 'de force of cinematic majesty. :cool:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTJKw2HnAiM

Your wish has been granted :wink:

Wow, sounds as amazing as it looks.

I think I might know what to build next :wink:

Maricopa, get me interested in that varitone, i like the tones from that on. Any link or contact info?

www.bigdguitars.com

Incredibly cool deviation, I really like how it tuned out!
How much does it weigh?
Sounds pretty cool, too, love the ability to switch between soundhole pups!

It weighs almost nothing. :mrgreen:

Seriously, 5lbs maybe.