The Teletinker, my guitar modding sandbox

Mighty Tom · March 4th, 2008, 12:11 AM

Hey guys. I'm a new member and this is my first post.

I love to modify my guitars, but for all of my 13 years of playing, my modifications have been done by hired professionals. In an effort to try and save some money and learn how to do some of these things myself, I bought a Squier Tele Custom II to practice on.

One of the first things I want to do is install a Bigsby vibrato, but I see the existing bridge and string-through-body setup as causing problems with that. Ideally, I'd like to make it seem like the original bridge and string ferrules were never there, and yet strip the body down to a natural finish. I think the best way to accomplish this would be to fill in the holes with wood putty, plane down a little bit of the top and back, and glue on a wood veneer, possibly with binding. I'm leaning toward using a knotty pine veneer.

I'd also like to replace the stock Seymour Duncan pickups with their P90-1 stacked humbuckers. That will most likely involve adding some depth to the routings. Ultimately, I want to work in some much more complex wiring that will enable tapping the coils, switching the phasing, and switching from series to parallel.

Who really knows if any of these daydreams will see reality, though?

Daddydex · March 4th, 2008, 12:24 AM

I don't know what you just said but tell me how you did that picture.

Dan

Daddydex · March 4th, 2008, 12:25 AM

Oh yeah, and welcome.

Dan

Mighty Tom · March 4th, 2008, 01:15 AM

How I did the picture...? Uh...

robt57 · March 4th, 2008, 01:26 AM

Too many Teles, and not enough dead presidents...

Mighty Tom · March 4th, 2008, 01:34 AM

Careful, the FBI is listening.

eryque · March 4th, 2008, 01:35 AM

All of what you want to do is very much doable, it's just an issue of how much time and money you want to invest.

A very talented wood worker would be able to plug those holes so that they're almost undetectable. Applying a veneer and binding might be problematic because of the radius of the edge. The only ways I know to avoid that problem would be to install multi-ply binding, or to just put up with a thinner than standard body.

The electronics you're thinking of could be a pain in the butt, but they are doable.

Which model of Bigsby were you going to install? Maybe it's possible that there's a model that would hide all (or some) of the holes left from the bridge.

Mighty Tom · March 4th, 2008, 01:37 AM

I was thinking the "horseshoe" model. B5, I think?

robt57 · March 4th, 2008, 02:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mighty Tom

Careful, the FBI is listening.

I thought of that actually. I meant $$ of course.

March 4th, 2008, 12:11 AM	#1 (permalink)
Mighty Tom NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Milwaukee, WI Age: 31 Posts: 7	The Teletinker, my guitar modding sandbox Hey guys. I'm a new member and this is my first post. I love to modify my guitars, but for all of my 13 years of playing, my modifications have been done by hired professionals. In an effort to try and save some money and learn how to do some of these things myself, I bought a Squier Tele Custom II to practice on. One of the first things I want to do is install a Bigsby vibrato, but I see the existing bridge and string-through-body setup as causing problems with that. Ideally, I'd like to make it seem like the original bridge and string ferrules were never there, and yet strip the body down to a natural finish. I think the best way to accomplish this would be to fill in the holes with wood putty, plane down a little bit of the top and back, and glue on a wood veneer, possibly with binding. I'm leaning toward using a knotty pine veneer. I'd also like to replace the stock Seymour Duncan pickups with their P90-1 stacked humbuckers. That will most likely involve adding some depth to the routings. Ultimately, I want to work in some much more complex wiring that will enable tapping the coils, switching the phasing, and switching from series to parallel. Who really knows if any of these daydreams will see reality, though?

March 4th, 2008, 12:24 AM	#2 (permalink)
Daddydex Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 1,725	I don't know what you just said but tell me how you did that picture. Dan __________________ Teles are like Mr. Potato head

March 4th, 2008, 12:25 AM	#3 (permalink)
Daddydex Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 1,725	Oh yeah, and welcome. Dan __________________ Teles are like Mr. Potato head

March 4th, 2008, 01:26 AM	#5 (permalink)
robt57 Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Lost Yankee in Nashville Age: 51 Posts: 3,740 21 Photos	Sigh.... Too many Teles, and not enough dead presidents...

March 4th, 2008, 01:35 AM	#7 (permalink)
eryque Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: albany, ny [not chicago] Posts: 7,127 44 Photos	All of what you want to do is very much doable, it's just an issue of how much time and money you want to invest. A very talented wood worker would be able to plug those holes so that they're almost undetectable. Applying a veneer and binding might be problematic because of the radius of the edge. The only ways I know to avoid that problem would be to install multi-ply binding, or to just put up with a thinner than standard body. The electronics you're thinking of could be a pain in the butt, but they are doable. Which model of Bigsby were you going to install? Maybe it's possible that there's a model that would hide all (or some) of the holes left from the bridge. __________________ my blog: eryque.blogspot.com Updated 9.17.08! Subscribe_____________________

March 4th, 2008, 01:15 AM	#4 (permalink)
Mighty Tom NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Milwaukee, WI Age: 31 Posts: 7	How I did the picture...? Uh...

March 4th, 2008, 01:34 AM	#6 (permalink)
Mighty Tom NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Milwaukee, WI Age: 31 Posts: 7	Careful, the FBI is listening.

March 4th, 2008, 01:37 AM	#8 (permalink)
Mighty Tom NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Milwaukee, WI Age: 31 Posts: 7	I was thinking the "horseshoe" model. B5, I think?