Warning to 1st time builders...

[Telenator]

It's a big leap of faith Frank, sending a guitar in a box that you're disgusted with off to someone else, (you don't even know), to get it straightened out. I'll certainly understand if he declines. It has now been made real easy for pullchord to fix this whole mess and get a nice guitar out of his investment. Hopefully the anguish doesn't overwhelm common sense.

[pullchord]

Frank, I apologize profusely for 'dropping the ball'. And Telenator, that's a righteous gesture on your part. Guys like both of you restore my faith in humanity. I've had some other crap in my personal life to deal with lately, plus I am so bummed at this point that the thought of spending even another penny on this thing makes me wretch, especially after playing a $300 Japanese Strat today and a $700 Mexi yesterday - both of which played perfectly. This has been a very good but expensive lesson about guitar building...best left to professionals. I just need some time to cool off, save up some more $$....and to explain to my wife why I'm not playing the guitar I spent 3 months and $700 dicking around with. :)

[Telenator]

pullchord, I won't even pretend to downplay your angst at the moment. I know how bad it feels when it all goes wrong. At times it seems hopeless. I will say this however, you very well may be sitting on a real gem of a guitar that just needs to be coerced into completion. There is every possibility it will smoke those other guitars you've played recently. One thing is certain though. If you send it on up here, it will return a fine playing instrument and you'll have the pleasure of getting it out of your sight for a week or two. Tell your wife it's at the music shop getting a final set-up. It's really not a lie, but do it when and if you're ready. No pressure. I'm not going anywhere and my offer will stand. Hey, I'll even ship it to your office so it doesn't show up at your house in a box! When you feel up to it, this can all be turned around.

[otterhound]

+1 , +1 , +1

[dadawads]

I built up 2 telecasters from New York Pros. The bodies are 3 part alder, the necks hard maple. I have a total of $300 in each guitar, including the guitar purchase. One has a GFS P90 in the neck, a GFS Neovin (stacked humbucker, hot) in the bridge. I call it a Les Paulicaster. The other has 2 GFS Fatboy pups, a traditional tele sound with more guts. Both guitars have Wilkinson locking tuners, one has a 5 fender vintage type way switch, the other a 3 way vintage style switch, with a push pull switch to activate a series mode on the tone control. Both are custom wired a la Deaf Eddie. I dressed the frets on both guitars, and modified the headstock on one so far. They are now fine guitars by any definition, great to look at, great to play, and great sounding. I had a wonderful time experimenting and trying out different pickups and wiring. I have owned 3 different Fender teles, 2 American and 1 Japanese, which I sold or traded through the years. I came back to teles because they are the ultimate DIY guitar. I don't have the woodworking skills to build one from scratch, but I do have the electronics skills, so I started out with an already built guitar. SX or Xaviere might also be good way to go.

Dadawads

[Telenator]

It's simply a matter of, some people are just better at playing guitars then they are at building them. No shame in that! In fact, all too often people get all up inside their heads about the "ultimate guitar" and start obsessing over the parts list and features and the build becomes more important than actually playing it. No shame in that either. Some people are just better at building guitars than they are at playing them. It's all good.

pullchord's enthusiasm for the other guitars he played seems to make a strong indication that he'd just as soon be playing rather than screwing around with a pile of parts. That's a good thing.

[Headshot]

pullchord, please don't sweat it....at least you know there are some out here that will fix whatever is wrong N/C.....no vultures circling waiting to pounce on your dead carcass of a guitar!! LOL! Just take your time, put it away for awhile, ship it to telenator for final tweaking, and just tell your wife the truth. A fellow guitar tinkerer is going to sort whatever MINOR tweak the guitar needs, and ship it back, at no cost to you. Simple, and you still save face with her.

[pullchord]

Every morning while I'm dressing in my 'studio' I pick "it" up thinking, 'maybe it's not as bad as I thought'. After playing "it" for 15 seconds I realize it is. The .010 feels like a .014, and the intonation awful. At this juncture, I am of the opinion that this is just one of those guitars that is never going to be 'right', no matter what I / we do to "it" (gobble-gobble). We all know how inconsistent Strats can be. One will play like butter, the next like a truck - same strings, same neck, body, etc. Maybe it's some kind of "Mojo", I dunno. Months ago, I was SO close to buying an off-the-shelf Strat at Best Buy ($349) and gutting it; putting in the electronics/pups I wanted. The damn thing played beautifully but the stock pups were crap. Had I gone that way, I'd probably be happy now. But again, thanks guys....

[Telenator]

pullchord, this isn't rocket science. There's no mystery involved. You're definitely smart enough to sort this out. The only question is, do you want to spend the months and hours learning and gaining the necessary experience. Assembling a guitar properly is no small task even to someone with experience. In fact, the more experience you have, the longer it often takes. If you can just get past the feeling of despair and box up the parts, I'll have it straightened out and playing beautifully in no time. It sounds like you bought quality parts. It has no choice but to be a good guitar in the end. It's up to you.

[Slow Reflexes]

So why hasn't this thing been shipped to Connecticut yet?

Seriously, it oughtta be worth the $35 or whatever just to get it out of your sight. Getting it back in serviceable condition will just be gravy...

[Telenator]

I think our bud pullchord just needs a little more time to make peace with the situation. It's rough when you jump in full of enthusiasm only to run smack into the wall of disappointment. It takes a little settling down time.

[pullchord]

So I took "it" to Guitar Center yesterday to have the in-house tech at least file the nut so that "Ravi" on the D string goes away, and so that fretting the G string at the first fret doesn't sound like an A instead of A#. Can't believe Mighty-Mite would do such a poopy job on a nut. IF this makes a significant improvement, then there's the possibility of a menu change for Thankgsgiving dinner. Will keep y'all posted. And thanks again for the support....and sympathy.

[otterhound]

You will find sympathy between s#%t and Syphilis in the dictionary . Stick with it even when it hurts . I have a feeling that you will be smiling in the end . Pics when done .

[pullchord]

Update. I needed a few weeks to cool off. Took Turkeycaster to Guitar Center. Guitar tech there got the "Ravi" out of the D string. Asked him to file all the nut slots as low as they'd go...which he did NOT do (for $30). So the B and G strings are still way sharp when fretted at fret #1. Replaced the P.O.S. Neovin in the center with a DiMarzio Area 57...much better. Corrected the wiring in the bridge TV Jones Powertron. SO...$750 and 5 months later, it's done. Plays just okay. Has some interesting sounds - nothing mindblowing. Bob Logan told me that Gretsch/TV Jones pups are best suited for hollow body guitars and I now think he's right. I'll take it to the next gig, just to hear it thru my stage rig. Then I will probably bust it up for parts. End of the saga...

[garytelecastor]

I just finished my first one, and I love it.

[RodeoTex]

Originally Posted by pullchord

Update. I needed a few weeks to cool off. Took Turkeycaster to Guitar Center. Guitar tech there got the "Ravi" out of the D string. Asked him to file all the nut slots as low as they'd go...which he did NOT do (for $30). So the B and G strings are still way sharp when fretted at fret #1. Replaced the P.O.S. Neovin in the center with a DiMarzio Area 57...much better. Corrected the wiring in the bridge TV Jones Powertron. SO...$750 and 5 months later, it's done. Plays just okay. Has some interesting sounds - nothing mindblowing. Bob Logan told me that Gretsch/TV Jones pups are best suited for hollow body guitars and I now think he's right. I'll take it to the next gig, just to hear it thru my stage rig. Then I will probably bust it up for parts. End of the saga...

Man, that kind of breaks my heart for a couple of reasons. 1) you are coming away with a bad taste in your mouth as far as guitar building/assembly goes and 2) Telenator's (and other's) offer went unused.

I too have 'busted up' guitars that just didn't sing and it was sad to sell off their body parts and organs on ebay.

[neocaster]

It sucks that you paid that kind of money for what amounts to a few very expensive lessons. The good news is many of these parts will still be the parts of choice for the one that ultimately becomes the keeper. If you're willing to break this one down, you don't have to spend the whole $800 next time, just the difference. You also come at the next one with infinitely more experience than you started this one with. I have a half built Weber champ clone kit mocking me in my workshop. I feel your pain.

[Telenator]

I just wanted to point out that Mighty Mite didn't do a bad job on the nut. When you buy a neck with a nut in it, the slots there are only for reference. They are not by any means cut to the proper depth or width for your particular string guage. Furthermore, the problem with the first fret being sharp is not completely a result of a high nut slot. Sometimes the nut needs a little compensation to get the first 3 frets in tune.

pullchord, I totally feel your frustration but submit that at least half of the drama here is caused by inexperience. That's not a jab. Just a helpful nudge. Assembling a guitar is easy. Fine tuning it takes a lot of effort and experience. Unfortunately, you don't know what you don't know.

Fortunately, this experience will come back to you in the future and things that don't seem to make sense right now, will make sense in a different light. Most importantly, play it like you stole it!

[musicalmartin]

I put together my Telecaster using all Fender parts ,also a Strat .All were premium parts ,Keystone tele pickups ,Fender nitro bodies ,my favorite fender necks(both Classic Player MIM ) .They cost me bit more than a stock MIM over here including all duties and airfreight to UK but not much and I got the guitars I wanted not what the factory told me to have.I used mainly Ebay and the stratosphere shop .Fenders just screw together ,there is no magic pixie dust involved in them ,they are an industrial commodity .Setting them up I found quite simple ,there's plenty of advice on the net at TDPRI ,and both played very well indeed far better than any Fender I have played in a shop because I got a lower action .

[blueshawk1]

First time builders should only take this as a warning just to be mindful of what "could" happen, not what "will" happen.
I've built one so far and it came out nice, I'm happy with it, plays good, sounds good. As for cost, that depends, I probably have about 300. into it. It could be more, but I took my time shopping for the best prices, and I didn't feel the need to buy "boutique" pups for it either. I took my time building it and it came together well, some of it may have been luck, but I know some of it came from taking my time and searching for info, reading threads in forums about building, etc., so I would be prepared.
Is it perfect - no, I won't even take a pic to show the string-thru holes in the back that I had to drill with a hand drill........but overall, I have a nice guitar that I made myself.
It can be done.

[flyingbanana]

Well geez.

I hope my uscg stuff goes together with less anguish than it did for you. I'll be doing the nut myself though...I have been practicing on my fender deluxe v neck. I know...I know, could have practiced on a cheaper instrument...but I'm not about to screw with the Cray guitar. That thing is ideal right now. Not one thing could further improve it. Wait a minute, isn't the nut on deluxe player necks plastic? Darn.