Post Your Sub $1k Partscaster thread

There seems to be an idea afoot that it is difficult to build a quality partscaster for a grand or less.

I know for a fact a ton of members have done exactly that, so let's see them.

Not exactly a parts caster since I made the parts, but I have about $500 in this one; mostly in the electronics, hardware and finishing materials.

http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z352/ElijahGardener/8626d55d.jpg

http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z352/ElijahGardener/f0bf1a7e.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7271/7794913994_b94c12b2ab.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/15790158@N08/7794913994/)

Mark Jenny body; less than $200 in eBay auction, Mark Jenny finished All Parts neck, under $300 in eBay auction, Don Mare pickups purchased used $125, Dragonfire pickguard $10, electronics, nut and tuners, Fender bridgeplate and saddles,less than $100= approx $750.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8284/7794915848_772ee90dc9.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/15790158@N08/7794915848/)

Custom finished Warmoth body $400, Mark Jenny finished All Parts neck $200, Fender Nocaster pickups $120, bridgeplate, saddles, electronics, tuners and nut, $200= approx $900.

I haven't done a "partscaster" but I've built 40 some guitars from scratch and 95% of them have been under $600.00 in parts and materials... so why do you think its hard to end up under a grand??

I haven't done a "partscaster" but I've built 40 some guitars from scratch and 95% of them have been under $600.00 in parts and materials... so why do you think its hard to end up under a grand??

+1 I've put together plenty of partcasters and even a few scratch builds and I don't think I've broken the $400 mark on any of them.

Threw these together for around $250 each.

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/205721_519568823651_7195355_n.jpg

http://i756.photobucket.com/albums/xx206/storyboards27/DSCN1134.jpg

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/s720x720/576279_144176062374004_1867707003_n.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c35/ronaldpdavis/100_1601.jpg

Here's mine, and it was easily under $500.

There seems to be an idea afoot that it is difficult to build a quality partscaster for a grand or less.

So... Who's saying that? A VERY high quality partscaster for WELL under a grand seems to be a piece of cake!

Mine is about 90% done. I've got to line up the pickguard better and tidy a few things up, thinking of using black pickup height bolts and pickguard screws to make it look a bit stealthier.

2 piece Alder body from an '80s Asian Tele-style found on craigslist
Rosewood Schecter neck from the mid '80s with Gotoh tuners
DiMarzio Twang Kings neck & lead with a early DiMarzio Strat-style for the middle
Nashville style pickguard
Wilkinson bridge
Glendale pots with Pink Paisley PIO cap & Fezz Parka mod
OakGrigsby 5 way switch on a reversed plate wired for 1. bridge, 2. bridge + neck, 3. neck, 4. neck + middle, 5. middle
Electrosocket with Switchcraft jack
cool vintage neck plate (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v390/skb/misc%20stuff/Guitars/Miscellaneous%20Guitar%20Stuff/gnashville_tele002.jpg)

Other than the pickguard & bridge, I either bought everything back in the '80s or got used on craigslist. All told, I'm into it for about $350

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v390/skb/misc%20stuff/Guitars/Miscellaneous%20Guitar%20Stuff/gnashville_tele.jpg

I'm on my seventh and eighth guitars at the moment, and I've spent between $200 and $350 on each; all are from scratch, wood-wise. I'd lose sleep if I ever spent more than $400.

Of course, I'm not a high-end builder, and they're not partscasters. But still...

I haven't done a "partscaster" but I've built 40 some guitars from scratch and 95% of them have been under $600.00 in parts and materials... so why do you think its hard to end up under a grand??

I don't.

Someone else thought it was in another thread.

My first and only (so far) is a natural ash with all Fender USA hardware aside from the electrosocket, MIM Fender machine heads and aftermarket knobs. Gorgeous Mighty Mite birdseye neck and high quality "2nd" body from Allparts. Came in at just under $500. EBAY and a few other sites are your main friends, along with patience.

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/127/teleyu.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/217/teleyu.jpg/)

I'm at about.. probably 250-300 on the guitar stuff, but probably.. 500 with all the tools i had to buy, on my build. I think the title should be, partscaster for OVER 1k.

Cool another thread I can post my newly put together Telemaster, Loaded body from GFS flame maple neck bought for $80 so about $300 in total. Who needs a $1000.
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/209568_4490585389849_963231460_o.jpg
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/323075_4490586989889_1123026244_o.jpg
http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/277845_4490588429925_1046034811_o.jpg

My partscaster...mostly GFS parts. The body and neck were GFS blemished parts. The blemishes were insignificant. The body is ash and it's fairly heavy for a Tele. Pickups are GFS Lil Puncher Modern Vintage.

I don't remember the total, but I probably have no more than $400 in this one. Quality...well...that's all relative right? No...it's not perfect, but it sure sounds like it!

139622

There seems to be an idea afoot that it is difficult to build a quality partscaster for a grand or less.

I know for a fact a ton of members have done exactly that, so let's see them.

I have built several from scratch for around $300 in parts and materials and that using Fender hardware and pickups. That's not accounting for any tools but I use them all the time for other projects anyway and they do provide another source of income. It's when you have to pay for someone else's labour that the price skyrockets.

Sub $400 Esquire

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii261/8652150149/Guitars/IMG_4945.jpg

- Body and bridge from a Johnson Tele I got at a pawn shop ($75)
- Loaded Squier CV50s neck ($100 from the classified)
- GFS Fatbody pickup ($40)
- "Eldred mod" wiring ($60)
- Wilkinson Compensated Saddles ($30)
- Electrostatic jack ($10)
- no-name eBay pickguard ($10)

Sub $500 Bigsby Tele

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii261/8652150149/Guitars/IMG_4946.jpg

Started as a Squier Standard Tele - the former owner put the bigsby on.

- Squier tele w/ Bigsby ($200)
- Squier CVC60s Neck ($100 from ebay but sold the original neck for $60 so $40 total)
- Wilkinson Vintage style tuners ($25)
- Rose Westerland pickup set ($60)
- CTS Pots, USA switch, etc ($30)
- Electrostatic jack ($10)
- Jazzmaster bridge cover ($10)

I have a drawer full of parts that came off these that I could get some cash for to offset the costs even more.

With a $1000 budget for ONE partscaster Tele I could do some serious damage. :lol:

350-750$

All wood is Mighty Mite (exept for double bound Tele which is CV Squier body and old Squier bullet Strat converted neck). Hardware is basically Wilkinson and GF. PUs are Lace (strat), Fender (tele and both j-basses) and stock Squier (to be replaced with Bill Lawrence someday,i hope)

just noticed that i look like a sunburst maniac....

http://i.piccy.info/i7/54bdf02c822004856d8ca48785513252/4-44-254/20924912/50.jpg (http://piccy.info/)http://i.piccy.info/a3/2012-08-16-21-18/i7-3371650/288x480-r/i.gif (http://i.piccy.info/a3c/2012-08-16-21-18/i7-3371650/288x480-r)

http://i.piccy.info/i7/318d7ca10dc39cfad62d20409f84267c/4-44-254/47694067/100_2173_500.jpg (http://piccy.info/view3/3371700/81d0914239d792d79aeb4426d8767d4d/)http://i.piccy.info/a3/2012-08-16-22-01/i7-3371700/353x472-r/i.gif (http://i.piccy.info/a3c/2012-08-16-22-01/i7-3371700/353x472-r)

http://i.piccy.info/i7/2c799d9350d3087333c9dad7654e5164/4-44-254/48877510/100_2785_500.jpg (http://piccy.info/view3/3371703/763bc74fc04fdce541cdd2268e6e276b/)http://i.piccy.info/a3/2012-08-16-22-03/i7-3371703/472x353-r/i.gif (http://i.piccy.info/a3c/2012-08-16-22-03/i7-3371703/472x353-r)

http://i.piccy.info/i7/f02b4eb669b4b456d42adca440fac852/4-44-254/50795203/100_2576_500.jpg (http://piccy.info/view3/3371706/bd2b9ddec4c37313f14aa8096878a656/)http://i.piccy.info/a3/2012-08-16-22-05/i7-3371706/472x353-r/i.gif (http://i.piccy.info/a3c/2012-08-16-22-05/i7-3371706/472x353-r)

http://i.piccy.info/i7/b34e8d3004d5bfea22da8f0fbffe61e4/4-44-254/52540424/100_2770_500.jpg (http://piccy.info/view3/3371708/1daf4351b378f17e6e0894dc99de0e58/)http://i.piccy.info/a3/2012-08-16-22-06/i7-3371708/472x353-r/i.gif (http://i.piccy.info/a3c/2012-08-16-22-06/i7-3371708/472x353-r)

I could easily do one for less than a thousand in parts...but what's my time worth?

Oh yeah, about $55/hour last I looked.

How about my tools? My lacquer? The decades I spent making about $24k/year learning how to build and properly set up a guitar?

Sorry guys, I guess all that means there will be no sub $1000 partscasters coming from my garage. Wouldn't be worth my time, you see.

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz146/kleydj13/Gear/IMG_0406.jpg

Here are my two partscasters.

The strat has been with me in various incarnations of itself for about 5 years. It currently has a Warmoth Alder body and an Allparts SRO neck. Finished them both myself. Lindy Fralin Vintage Hot pickups. Suhr SSH humbucker in the bridge. Best split single coil sound I've heard. It has had 3 necks, 4 different sets of pickups, countless wiring experimentations. The frets need a little love as they have worn a little, but it is definitely my best sounding guitar.

The tele is a pup that I built about a year ago. I got a hankering to try an exotic neck and landed a Goncalo Alves/Pau Ferro neck from Warmoth. '59 roundback profile, 6015 SS frets, and no finish. It feels absolutely amazing. The body is a two piece swamp ash from Mighty Mite. It was my first shot at painting/finishing a body. Turned out okay. I'm quite happy with it. Fralin pickups again. SP43 in the bridge, left over strat vintage hot in the neck. It is my #1 go to.

I could easily do one for less than a thousand in parts...but what's my time worth?

Oh yeah, about $55/hour last I looked.

How about my tools? My lacquer? The decades I spent making about $24k/year learning how to build and properly set up a guitar?

Sorry guys, I guess all that means there will be no sub $1000 partscasters coming from my garage. Wouldn't be worth my time, you see.

I agree. Guys who do it for a hobby tend to forget the value of their labor. I will agree that it's easy to get under the $1K mark in parts & materials. If you had to pay someone to build it, the price would skyrocket. I've done 2, both well under $1k in parts, etc, but when I consider the time spent in wood prep, refinishing, including screwups and startovers, aggravation, and the snide comments coming from my wife ("Why don't you just buy another guitar?") the worth of these guitars goes up considerably.:mrgreen:

Putting them together is the fun part!

The question was about building a partscaster for a grand... Not whether you could build one and sell for a grand at enough profit to support yourself!

I build guitars in my leisure time... If I weren't building guitars during that time, I wouldn't be getting paid anyway!

I have built 1 partscaster. Warmoth body & neck Sperzel tuners, Gotoh, Bill Lawrence PU's. About 800 bucks, not much in labor.

Built 2 others (that you can find threads to in this forum) from scratch. Saved a bunch in wood - took a bunch of hours.

They are all really good guitars (I think), but I enjoyed building my own much more than the partscaster. If you don't have a shop or the space or the tools or whatever you can easily build a partscaster with really good parts for less than a thousand.

Built Both my Dragon Tele and my Esquire for under $1K

CVC body with Fender vintage-style bridge, Warmoth white 5-screw/3-ply pickguard, Classic '60s neck with Gotoh tuners; also has a CRL switch, "F" neck plate & Stew-Mac knobs. I think that's everything...oh, I put a GFS Fatbody in the bridge position since this pic was taken:

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g179/nadzab/Guitars/100_6981.jpg

200 bucks after it was all said and done. Handcarved body,Fender Japan neck I scored from a scrap strat,two american standard pups,and a Tex-Mex I also got from a scrap strat... the hardware was all from mexican standard scrap body.


http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/u371/NastyMojoGuitars/Mojo%20Juice/100_0064.jpg

This one is from 2007... This is a really good guitar. I used all Callaham hardware except the pickguard. I made my own pickguard and strap and the finish is Behlen nitro lacquer over shellac mixed from flakes. The pickups are Fender Nocasters, The 2 piece Pine body is from Guitar Mill and the neck is an Allparts TMO-fat. Since this one I have made all the bodies and all but one other neck.

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/telecaster-discussion-forum/82576-simpson-pine-partscaster.html

http://www.tdpri.com/telephoto/data/714/medium/img_1321a.jpg

Anyone want to have a competition for the cheapest guitar/amp they have ever BOUGHT? 5 bucks says I win!

This one is what I guess you would call my #1 since I built it in 2010. The neck is a used allparts neck I bought from Rob in the classifieds here and I made the pickguard and the hardware except the Wilkinson bridge and I made the body out of wood from a shipping pallet that was free. The color is shoreline gold with Behlen clear nitro lacquer.

The other four I amde all the necks and bodies so I guess they don't count as partscasters.

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/196963-tres-recogida-especial-2.html

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/attachments/tele-home-depot/51920d1276467866-tres-recogida-especial-img00356a-jpg

Made a few for well under $1000

My main bass is a jazz bass that I put together from parts, £250.00 including the case, about 6 cans of Acrylic at roughly £50.00 and part of a sheet of decal paper

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j15/ricplayer/Jazz%20bass%20project/DSC00555.jpg

So this cost me around £300 all in and I would not swap it for anything.

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j15/ricplayer/Jazz%20bass%20project/Body2.jpg

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j15/ricplayer/Jazz%20bass%20project/SP_A0048.jpg

I'm hoping to join these ranks soon as I am trying to build a decent partscaster on a budget. I don't intend in spending anywhere close to $1000. In the neck and body I have about $130 invested. (not including freight)

$350 total is probably about average...not including labor of course.

I'm hoping to join these ranks soon as I am trying to build a decent partscaster on a budget. I don't intend in spending anywhere close to $1000. In the neck and body I have about $130 invested. (not including freight)

Anyone want to have a competition for the cheapest guitar/amp they have ever BOUGHT? 5 bucks says I win!

Well , I found a "Val Dez" acoustic in a garbage can about a month ago, took it home, cleaned off the many stickers, fixed the bridge saddle and nut, threw on a set of strings I had around, and did a quick set-up. I have a playable guitar for the total investment of $0.00, and about an hour of my time.

Lots of great looking guitars in this thread!

Here's the link to mine I'm still finishing up:

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/339766-first-build-ash-whitewash-tru-oil.html

I made a spreadsheet of the costs and just looked at it, I've got $600 in parts. There's another $35 or so in the finish so far. I got everything I wanted. Can't think of anything I would've spent more money on parts-wise. I think a nitro finish would've cost me more in materials.

It's got a Warmoth neck, second quality Guitar Mill body, Callaham Bridge, Wilde Keystones, Electrosocket, Gotoh tuners, and mostly fender parts otherwise. Sounds
great!

This one was $200:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-M3CC5uV_vMI/TfpDTR9KVhI/AAAAAAAAABE/v2MDHXuo5Sc/s800/IMG_2713.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-2rW5h-F8IIU/TfpDWHXyXxI/AAAAAAAAABM/BvghEeOFTTA/s576/IMG_2714.jpg

And i think, I spent around $400 on this one (with better hardware and electronics):

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/--IM7gWAiQsE/TvM-Hw6Wr5I/AAAAAAAAAiA/spkO3JHY0og/s912/DSC_0130.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-W-m3CTqluE8/TvM-LV4heiI/AAAAAAAAAiA/QHX-M0tI_-I/s912/DSC_0155.JPG

Around $200 on this one:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-AYymXiBtdh0/T7B5LYwENPI/AAAAAAAABJI/HfLVJdfw94c/s576/20120513_231152.jpg

Both these together cost less than a grand.

The black and white here.
http://www.raito.com/guitar1/151.jpg
And this one.
http://www.raito.com/guitar1/167.jpg

And that's with $100 in pickups in each one, and $250 or so in the Bigsby and Vibramate in the gold one. The Callaham screw kit is in the black and white, and Grover vintage style but fit modern holes tuners in the gold one. The white pg is Warmoth, because they would make a 5-hole WBW. A simple 8-hole would have been a lot cheaper, and work as well.

The bodies and necks were cheap off Ebay, as were some of the mechanical parts. I think I made about a dozen parts orders in total, and that was trying to combine things.

You just have to figure out which parts are important and spend your money on those. For me, the pickups were most important, followed by bridge components, followed by tuners.

Does a $40 electrosocket really outperform a $5 one? No, but a good jack beats a poor jack.

And they sound very, very nice.

It seems like it would be hard to spend over $1k... just buying all the parts and doing the assembly and finish. Has anyond spent more than $1k ??

I suppose if you bought all Callaham or Glendale hardware and used MJT body and neck with uber bowtiki pickups you could go over...

It seems like it would be hard to spend over $1k... just buying all the parts and doing the assembly and finish. Has anyond spent more than $1k ??

I suppose if you bought all Callaham or Glendale hardware and used MJT body and neck with uber bowtiki pickups you could go over...

I think mine came in just over, around 700 GBP, so around $1070 or so.

And guess what...

Callaham hardware, MJT body and neck, Bareknuckle pickups.

I've been found out!

I could have easily done it for half that, but decided to spend a bit more on getting the parts I wanted. (Oh, and of course shipping the body and neck from MJT to the UK was pricey). She's a beauty and worth every penny.

I guess the exchange rate will swing again and I'll be able to join the club. Gawd bless economics!

I don't think any guitar I've built has been more then $400......

Nice guitars, PLAYONIT; is that an oak body in the second pic?

Nice guitars, PLAYONIT; is that an oak body in the second pic?


No that is Chestnut with a
1/4" flame maple top... My favorite guitar in the house and my first built... Also changed out to an all maple neck I built.. the first was an MM rosewood.

It seems like it would be hard to spend over $1k... just buying all the parts and doing the assembly and finish. Has anyond spent more than $1k ??

I suppose if you bought all Callaham or Glendale hardware and used MJT body and neck with uber bowtiki pickups you could go over...

To get the price up over $1k I would imagine that you have to go deluxe everything and have no finishing skills. Quality bodies and necks unfinished are usually somewhere between $100-200 each. But if you have someone finish it for you that usually doubles the price. Now you've got $800 into a body and a neck, add $200 for pickups and $200 for all the hardware. Then if you have a tech wire it all up and do a dandy setup you're looking at around $1300. I've noticed that most TDPRI guys are pretty handy with woodworking. IMO that's where you separate the men from the boys and the dollars from the cents.

Sorry, PLAYONIT; I meant the next one, with only the back shown; it's some nice grain.

...

This one is from 2007... This is a really good guitar. I used all Callaham hardware except the pickguard. I made my own pickguard and strap and the finish is Behlen nitro lacquer over shellac mixed from flakes. The pickups are Fender Nocasters, The 2 piece Pine body is from Guitar Mill and the neck is an Allparts TMO-fat. Since this one I have made all the bodies and all but one other neck.

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/telecaster-discussion-forum/82576-simpson-pine-partscaster.html

http://www.tdpri.com/telephoto/data/714/medium/img_1321a.jpg

Still one of the best looking guitars ever seen on TDPRI!

Sorry, PLAYONIT; I meant the next one, with only the back shown; it's some nice grain.

2nd photo Same guitar as the first pic just a shot of the back of it

This one came in around the $200 mark. I built the body and got a discount neck (slight defect) from guitarfetish.com for around $30, so I saved a ton of money.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c150/thespiralboys/smokey%20telecaster%20build/P1030792.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c150/thespiralboys/smokey%20telecaster%20build/P1030789.jpg

glendale shortscale hog/rosewood neck, 1" thick custom V to C, premium wood, real clay dots: $200 off ebay

tuners, pots, cloth wire, etc. about $70

1.5" sugar pine "snakehead" body, control plate, CRS "snakehead" bridge, strap buttons, string tree, 1950-style comp saddles, etc.: a bit over $300

TV Jones supertron $130

about $700 total; one of the most unique and best teles i've ever played

http://www.tdpri.com/telephoto/data/562/esquire3.gifhttp://www.tdpri.com/telephoto/data/562/esquire3.gif


$200:
$100 Squire neck w/tuners
$100 Every thing else

http://www.tdpri.com/telephoto/data/500/medium/finished.gif

$600:
$90 Mighty Mite Neck
$175 Warmoth body
$335 Hardware, trem., pickguard & GFS Mean 90
Had the GFS Dream 90, Straplocks, electronics & tuners

https://www.dropbox.com/s/rqs0irr79cjxf2w/IMAG0854.jpg I picked up this Squier Affinity Tele for $50. I got really luck ybecause it has a BEAUTIFUL neck and plays wonderfuly. Refinished it, reliced it. Bought the pickguard for $12, reliced it. Put a Dimarzio Area T in it that i got (basicly for about $10 in a trade). Put a Fender tele bridge i had laying around on it. Planet Waves Clip-Lock tuners (which I LOVE!) $30. And now it is one of my main axes. For $110, I'm proud of it and would put it up against even a Mexi Road Worn Tele ,with no problem, and it plays and sounds awesome. Love it.

I didn't build this one, but I picked it up for two dollars at a garage sale. The neck would be good if I did some fret leveling, or a re-fret. The body has a weird flat( not glossy) spot on the upper horn.. I use it as my floating trem.
http://i.imgur.com/oIUcp.jpg

This one I got when I first started guitar. It's another cheap knockoff. I put a new pickguard on it. New humbuckers, new knobs, new wiring, and nothing really impressive. I also made it a hard tail with a piece of mahogany.
http://i.imgur.com/1gDCa.jpg

http://i852.photobucket.com/albums/ab81/jnepo1/76a54a50.jpg

http://i852.photobucket.com/albums/ab81/jnepo1/582f6912.jpg

The Thinline hybrid I'm putting together right now came in just under $1200 in parts, but that's because I got all my parts new (the only thing I've fabricated is the pg), exactly what I wanted. Since 'real' woodwork was out of the question for me (disabled vet...), I found a finished alder Thinline body and a finished walnut/rosewood/abalone neck for about $750 at Warmoth, SD Vintage Stack (neck) and Lil'59 (bridge)--about $200 for both, gold everything (Sperzel lockers, Wilk bridge, neck/control plates)--another $200, and about $40 for a 500k p/p, a dual high-pass/low-pass filter 'tone' pot, and some solder. And whatever I paid for my 4-way blade....So I must've just cracked $1,200 including the UPS guy's end; but If I'd wanted a more 'typical' Tele it would have cost under $750 for everything, with the cheapest finished Warmoth woodwork and less expensive (but still new) appointments. I expect to keep my Thinline once it's done, but I've already been offered $1,800 for it, tone-unheard (neck-unplayed!).

Finally put my partscaster together

Peghead/Guitar Clinic body (ash)
Protocaster neck
Don Mare Donocaster pickups
Callaham hardware

Everything snagged from forums -- total cost ~$700

http://i440.photobucket.com/albums/qq123/devnulljp/guitars/tele/Peghead/6b5d4991.jpg
http://i440.photobucket.com/albums/qq123/devnulljp/guitars/tele/Peghead/ddf2a6da.jpg