Building a Tele: need some advice

gstevenett · June 29th, 2008, 10:27 PM

Hi. i'm new here. i figured this would be the best place to bring up all my tele questions.

Here is what i'm doing. i've decided that i want to build a telecaster on my own. these are the important parts i'm considering.

- warmoth '72 tele thinline swamp ash body

- warmoth lefty strat neck with rosewood fingerboard.

- a bigsby tremolo

- two gibson humbuckers

i know this sounds like a pretty cooky guitar, but my goal is to be different.
so here are my questions.

1. How compatible are stratocaster necks with telecasters? Would this lead to any sort of problem with intonation or other things?

2. i'm not all too familiar with bigsbys and am wondering what model would best apply to my situation. Any advice? Also, i've heard some people praise bigsby telecasters and some people bash them. what are the pluses and minuses of bigsby telecasters?

3. This is more of a preference question but, would gibson humbuckers be the best choice here? would any of you suggest another type of humbucker pickup? i'm kinda going for a retro tone.

4. are there any other websites or companies you know that have the neck or body i'm interested in besides warmoth.com? that was kind of the first place i stumbled upon.

also, i know this guitar will probably sound nothing like a traditional telecaster but i'm fine with that. I already have a MIM tele that i have customized slightly and i love it!

Thanks for everything! this site is great!

Ironwolf · June 30th, 2008, 01:25 AM

Don't think a Bigsby will work on a Warmoth Thinline body. Its hollowed out right where the Bigsby needs to mount. You'd be missing the 'meat' the screws need to bite into. The Strat neck will fit and intonate, but it has a rounded heel, while the Tele body has a square pocket; there will be a gap on each side of the heel/pocket joint. You'll need a 'Pro' neck with the heel overlap and/or a pickguard that covers the gaps.

boris bubbanov · June 30th, 2008, 01:56 AM

Welcome.

Tall order.

You can buy a Strat neck with a Tele heel, and you can buy a Tele body with a Strat heel (one right now at USACG).
I see no reason to compromise your build right off the bat by fitting these mismatched parts. They sorta fit and can be made to work, but why not get that detail right?
My suggestion is to make fewer "alternative" design choices. If the guitar doesn't sound too good, you won't know where to start to make it right. Plus, no-one will offer you more than a few cents on the dollar if you decide to bail out and sell.

June 29th, 2008, 10:27 PM	#1 (permalink)
gstevenett TDPRI Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Salt Lake City Age: 20 Posts: 10	Building a Tele: need some advice Hi. i'm new here. i figured this would be the best place to bring up all my tele questions. Here is what i'm doing. i've decided that i want to build a telecaster on my own. these are the important parts i'm considering. - warmoth '72 tele thinline swamp ash body - warmoth lefty strat neck with rosewood fingerboard. - a bigsby tremolo - two gibson humbuckers i know this sounds like a pretty cooky guitar, but my goal is to be different. so here are my questions. 1. How compatible are stratocaster necks with telecasters? Would this lead to any sort of problem with intonation or other things? 2. i'm not all too familiar with bigsbys and am wondering what model would best apply to my situation. Any advice? Also, i've heard some people praise bigsby telecasters and some people bash them. what are the pluses and minuses of bigsby telecasters? 3. This is more of a preference question but, would gibson humbuckers be the best choice here? would any of you suggest another type of humbucker pickup? i'm kinda going for a retro tone. 4. are there any other websites or companies you know that have the neck or body i'm interested in besides warmoth.com? that was kind of the first place i stumbled upon. also, i know this guitar will probably sound nothing like a traditional telecaster but i'm fine with that. I already have a MIM tele that i have customized slightly and i love it! Thanks for everything! this site is great!

June 30th, 2008, 01:25 AM	#2 (permalink)
Ironwolf Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Boise, Idaho Age: 52 Posts: 447	Don't think a Bigsby will work on a Warmoth Thinline body. Its hollowed out right where the Bigsby needs to mount. You'd be missing the 'meat' the screws need to bite into. The Strat neck will fit and intonate, but it has a rounded heel, while the Tele body has a square pocket; there will be a gap on each side of the heel/pocket joint. You'll need a 'Pro' neck with the heel overlap and/or a pickguard that covers the gaps. __________________ Oderint Dum Metuant - Nero Caesar

June 30th, 2008, 01:56 AM	#3 (permalink)
boris bubbanov Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: New Orleans, LA + in the past Posts: 8,579	Welcome. Tall order. You can buy a Strat neck with a Tele heel, and you can buy a Tele body with a Strat heel (one right now at USACG). I see no reason to compromise your build right off the bat by fitting these mismatched parts. They sorta fit and can be made to work, but why not get that detail right? My suggestion is to make fewer "alternative" design choices. If the guitar doesn't sound too good, you won't know where to start to make it right. Plus, no-one will offer you more than a few cents on the dollar if you decide to bail out and sell. __________________ Bubban0v