Formica-topped tele?

John Backlund · December 6th, 2007, 10:47 PM

I've had the idea for years of making a 'weirdo-retro' tele that has 1950s' 'diner style' boomerang pattern formica laminated to the top and back, with stainless table trim metal wrapping the body on the sides.

Has anyone seen something like this done yet? It seems to me it's too obvious to not have been tried before...but it would sure look cool as heck!

I'll go find some materials samples to post so people can see what I'm talking about...be right back!

Here's a great source for some of these materials, metal banding and retro formica etc.....http://barsandbooths.com/bandbmetalbanding.htm

Here we Go! Some great 50's formica reproductions that are available:

This is reproduction 50's kitchen metal trim...this one is 1.5 inches wide:

and another at 2.25 inches wide...

I can't imagine a telecaster with that neato boomerang formica back and top wouldn't just about be THE coolest thing with strings around.

I would also think a standard telecaster pickguard shape cut from a finely-ribbed stainless sheet would be just the thing too...have to look around a bit for something like that.

Maybe some colored 'chickenheads' for tone and volume?

Damn!

e-merlin · December 6th, 2007, 11:02 PM

No, but my parents had the table you're talking about. I hope I get to try it when you're finished, seeing as how we're neighbors...

Tdot · December 7th, 2007, 01:18 AM

The old Reverend Guitars did that. They were pretty cool but a lot people didn't like them.

MulliganChebichev · December 7th, 2007, 01:28 AM

Oh man, this reminds me of an old diner down the street, golly I sure miss that place...(stares out in space)

Anyhoo the only problem I can think of is the issue of weight...it probably won't be the lightest thing you ever had.

ibobunot · December 7th, 2007, 01:50 AM

Rick Turner Renaissance Model T

John Backlund · December 7th, 2007, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MulliganChebichev

Oh man, this reminds me of an old diner down the street, golly I sure miss that place...(stares out in space)

Anyhoo the only problem I can think of is the issue of weight...it probably won't be the lightest thing you ever had.

I would envision the otherwise standard tele body (probably alder) planed to compensate for the thickness of the two top and back formica pieces. The metal banding 'trim' for the sides wouldn't add much because it would have to be thin and flexible enough to 'negotiate' the tight curve of the lower horn.

And even then, with the formica as a covering laminate that fully encloses the top and back, the body could easily be chambered with lightening cavities if desired.

I would keep the neck 'standard' tele fare, with perhaps the possible exception of a matching pattern formica laminated to the face of the headstock.

And another 'brilliant' thought would be to have the maple fretboard inlaid with either little fork and spoon shapes, or something like: 'Eat At Joe's', or: 'Blue Plate Special'.

neocaster · December 7th, 2007, 09:14 AM

I love it. We were talking about that very formica pattern on a tele a couple of days ago in this thread... Synchronicity?

marshman · December 7th, 2007, 09:16 AM

Maybe start with some pickguards, that might be pretty schweet!

John Backlund · December 7th, 2007, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by neocaster

I love it. We were talking about that very formica pattern on a tele a couple of days ago in this thread... Synchronicity?

Wow! Must be something in the water around here!

superchicken_VI · December 7th, 2007, 09:52 AM

I think using it as a pickguard would be very cool on the right guitar. As far as making a table out of it with the binding...Eh, too gimmicky.

timmer · December 7th, 2007, 09:59 AM

This guy does some neat things with tops and binding.

fuzzferatu · December 7th, 2007, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by timmer

This guy does some neat things with tops and binding.

I have loved GirlBrand guitars for years! I even proposed to redesign his website for him in exchange for a discount on a guitar... no such luck, though he did invite me to visit the shop if I stopped by Tucson to see my brother.

And strangely, yes, my buddy and I were discussing formica topped Teles for a while now. I'm just waiting for him to declare that he has cut me a tele body for just such a guitar.

neocaster · December 7th, 2007, 11:13 AM

I'm still thinking shell pink Deluxe or Jazzmaster body with a Coral Boomerang pickguard... Mmmm... Coral.

MandyMarie · December 7th, 2007, 11:53 AM

You would seriously love my kitchen

Bernie · December 7th, 2007, 12:07 PM

Here's a Girl Brand formica top:

Chris Larson has been doing the table edge with different tops/backs for a long time. I own French Girl, the top is is rusted galvanized steel with a negative pattern that's not rusted. Here's some body/side detail:

More pix...

The back is Formica:

FMA · December 7th, 2007, 12:14 PM

I have loved those GirlBrand guitars from afar for years. Those are very cool instruments. Do they sound as amazing as they look?

Ignatius · December 7th, 2007, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bernie

Here's a Girl Brand formica top:

Chris Larson has been doing the table edge with different tops/backs for a long time. I own French Girl, the top is is rusted galvanized steel with a negative pattern that's not rusted. Here's some body/side detail:

More pix...

The back is Formica:

WOW! Where do I get one? All the other guitars on this page are, um, how do I put this gently? They are....in my most humble opinion some of the butt ugliest guitars I've ever laid eyes on, but this one is gorgeous!

Bernie · December 7th, 2007, 02:30 PM

FMA- French Girl sounds pretty amazing. It's got 3 toggles - one standard Les Paul type three-way switch that does the usual, and two 3 way toggles near the volume/tone controls that give various options and combinations of sounds. The pickups are more Stratty to my ear, and all available tones are very useable and there's plenty of variation available. The pickups themselves dial in at 8.3k ohms, and they're gauged by "how they assault the preamp section of a Princeton Reverb," in the words of Chris Larsen. This one starts overdriving a PR by "5", so it is definitely in the rock camp, tonewise. The volume pot also takes the tone pot out of the circuit when it's dimed. Fender makes a pot that does this now, I just forgot what it's called.

Ignatius-Thanks for the compliment. Chris Larson designs and builds them himself, then ships them off to a few dealers across the country. They're not easy to come by, unfortunately. I got mine in 1999, when he was lower profile (read: less expensive). I couldn't afford what some dealers are charging now. I got mine for about the price of a 52RI Tele at the time, I was lucky. His website is:

http://www.girlbrand.com/

The dealer link is at the bottom of the page.

-Bernie

Pesty · December 7th, 2007, 03:23 PM

If you want samples of formica... I've got about 1200 different ones in my office.

Floor space is at a premium here... so all the countertop sample boards hang in my office... they're really annoying when you roll back and hit your chair into them. On the plus side, they're quite colorful.

December 6th, 2007, 10:47 PM	#1 (permalink)
John Backlund Tele-Holic Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: South Dakota Posts: 595 13 Photos	Formica-topped tele? I've had the idea for years of making a 'weirdo-retro' tele that has 1950s' 'diner style' boomerang pattern formica laminated to the top and back, with stainless table trim metal wrapping the body on the sides. Has anyone seen something like this done yet? It seems to me it's too obvious to not have been tried before...but it would sure look cool as heck! I'll go find some materials samples to post so people can see what I'm talking about...be right back! Here's a great source for some of these materials, metal banding and retro formica etc.....http://barsandbooths.com/bandbmetalbanding.htm Here we Go! Some great 50's formica reproductions that are available: This is reproduction 50's kitchen metal trim...this one is 1.5 inches wide: and another at 2.25 inches wide... I can't imagine a telecaster with that neato boomerang formica back and top wouldn't just about be THE coolest thing with strings around. I would also think a standard telecaster pickguard shape cut from a finely-ribbed stainless sheet would be just the thing too...have to look around a bit for something like that. Maybe some colored 'chickenheads' for tone and volume? Damn! Last edited by John Backlund; December 6th, 2007 at 11:31 PM.

December 7th, 2007, 01:18 AM	#3 (permalink)
Tdot Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Back of the Wasatch, UT Posts: 3,511 58 Photos	The old Reverend Guitars did that. They were pretty cool but a lot people didn't like them. __________________ And now for some feedback: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

December 7th, 2007, 09:14 AM	#7 (permalink)
neocaster Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Chester County, PA Age: 35 Posts: 3,492 11 Photos	I love it. We were talking about that very formica pattern on a tele a couple of days ago in this thread... Synchronicity? __________________ "...You don't need faith if you know it's gonna work!" "The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed."

December 7th, 2007, 09:59 AM	#11 (permalink)
timmer Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: On the banks of the Pontchartrain Age: 48 Posts: 1,225 26 Photos	This guy does some neat things with tops and binding. __________________ "Choose silence of all virtues, for by it you hear other men's imperfections, and conceal your own." George Bernard Shaw

December 7th, 2007, 11:13 AM	#13 (permalink)
neocaster Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Chester County, PA Age: 35 Posts: 3,492 11 Photos	I'm still thinking shell pink Deluxe or Jazzmaster body with a Coral Boomerang pickguard... Mmmm... Coral. __________________ "...You don't need faith if you know it's gonna work!" "The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed."

December 7th, 2007, 01:28 AM	#4 (permalink)
MulliganChebichev Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Eugene, Oregon Age: 18 Posts: 1,712 3 Photos	Oh man, this reminds me of an old diner down the street, golly I sure miss that place...(stares out in space) Anyhoo the only problem I can think of is the issue of weight...it probably won't be the lightest thing you ever had.

December 7th, 2007, 01:50 AM	#5 (permalink)
ibobunot Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Dullsville Posts: 3,456	Rick Turner Renaissance Model T

December 7th, 2007, 09:16 AM	#8 (permalink)
marshman Tele-Holic Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: SE PA Posts: 716	Maybe start with some pickguards, that might be pretty schweet!

December 7th, 2007, 09:52 AM	#10 (permalink)
superchicken_VI Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Monroe, NC Age: 36 Posts: 1,291	I think using it as a pickguard would be very cool on the right guitar. As far as making a table out of it with the binding...Eh, too gimmicky.

December 7th, 2007, 11:53 AM	#14 (permalink)
MandyMarie Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Indianapolis, IN Age: 28 Posts: 2,466 65 Photos	You would seriously love my kitchen __________________ our wacky little hillbilly band

December 7th, 2007, 12:07 PM	#15 (permalink)
Bernie Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 511	Here's a Girl Brand formica top: Chris Larson has been doing the table edge with different tops/backs for a long time. I own French Girl, the top is is rusted galvanized steel with a negative pattern that's not rusted. Here's some body/side detail: More pix... The back is Formica:

December 7th, 2007, 12:14 PM	#16 (permalink)
FMA Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 1,080	I have loved those GirlBrand guitars from afar for years. Those are very cool instruments. Do they sound as amazing as they look?

December 7th, 2007, 02:30 PM	#18 (permalink)
Bernie Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 511	FMA- French Girl sounds pretty amazing. It's got 3 toggles - one standard Les Paul type three-way switch that does the usual, and two 3 way toggles near the volume/tone controls that give various options and combinations of sounds. The pickups are more Stratty to my ear, and all available tones are very useable and there's plenty of variation available. The pickups themselves dial in at 8.3k ohms, and they're gauged by "how they assault the preamp section of a Princeton Reverb," in the words of Chris Larsen. This one starts overdriving a PR by "5", so it is definitely in the rock camp, tonewise. The volume pot also takes the tone pot out of the circuit when it's dimed. Fender makes a pot that does this now, I just forgot what it's called. Ignatius-Thanks for the compliment. Chris Larson designs and builds them himself, then ships them off to a few dealers across the country. They're not easy to come by, unfortunately. I got mine in 1999, when he was lower profile (read: less expensive). I couldn't afford what some dealers are charging now. I got mine for about the price of a 52RI Tele at the time, I was lucky. His website is: http://www.girlbrand.com/ The dealer link is at the bottom of the page. -Bernie

December 7th, 2007, 03:23 PM	#19 (permalink)
Pesty Tele-Meister Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Manitoba Canada Posts: 305	If you want samples of formica... I've got about 1200 different ones in my office. Floor space is at a premium here... so all the countertop sample boards hang in my office... they're really annoying when you roll back and hit your chair into them. On the plus side, they're quite colorful.