Post Your Sub $1k Partscaster thread

[GopherTele]

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.

[Elias Graves]

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.

[reverb11]

[IMG] [/IMG]

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.

[IMG] [/IMG]

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.

[jkingma]

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??

[storyboards27]

Originally Posted by jkingma

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.

[ronaldpdbrandt]

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

[jimdkc]

Originally Posted by GopherTele

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!

[62 Jazzmaster]

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

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

[Picton]

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...

[GopherTele]

Originally Posted by jkingma

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.

[TeleTramp]

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.

[Bentley]

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.

[phoenixash]

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.

[fretman_2]

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!

Originally Posted by GopherTele

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.

[Shepherd]

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.

[ad720]

Sub $400 Esquire



- 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



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.

[parkwood]

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....

[Arbiter]

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.

[kleydejong]

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.

[backporch guy]

Originally Posted by Arbiter

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.