Argh! Can't stand it anymore! '55 Thinskin Pics as promised.

Bullwinkle · May 21st, 2008, 11:46 PM

Last week I posted about ordering a '55 Thinskin from Wildwood. It's been here since last Friday, and I promised in that thread to post up some pics. I can't seem to get a good indoor shot without LOTS of flash glare (she's shiny

), so I decided I would snap some shots in the sun. The translucent finish really deserves it. But I've been waiting for daaaays for some _____in' sunshine to hit the Mountain State, and it just aint happenin'. We've had a patch break thru here and there, but I'm at usually at work when it happens.

So, I snapped some shots tonight, sans flash, by lamplight. They came out ok. Click on the pics - they get bigger. (sorry 56k'ers - I know theyre big. But theyre only about 1/3 original size, so it could be worse.)

peelie plastic is still on the pickguard.

(will continue in reply)

Bullwinkle · May 21st, 2008, 11:48 PM

couple more ...

obligatory case candy shot

and the headstock closeup

You can see the grain in these shots, but sunlight would've helped. oh well. She plays very nicely. My background is with acoustics, but I've had a cheapie Ibanez SG-type electric for years, and this feels like stepping up to a real guitar after playing a cigar box-and-rubber band axe. Action is great for me at 3/32 across the board at the 17th fret. (I know Fender specs are for 4/64, but I'm too ham-fisted for that and I know it.) Finish and QA detail appears exceptional. As for the sound, I've only got a G-dec Junior to play through right now, but the pickups certainly make this guitar sound like a Tele. They're from the custom shop, but Wildwood cannot specify which model they are. I'm not going to try to pretend to be able to discern distinctions here ... if we were talking Martin vs. Taylor I could get wordy on ya ... anyway, I believe the guitar sounds as nice as it plays. I just wish I could play it better. I can lay down some rhythm, but I never did much with lead playing on acoustic. Besides having lots of fun I'm practicing major scales using CAGED method right now. I'm avoiding the pentatonic temptation for now, mostly. I'm also starting lessons, hopefully next month if 'the guy' at 'the shop' has an opening.

I'm about to turn 41. I've piddled around on acoustic for nearly 10 years, on again, off again. Marriage and babymaking slowed down the fun (bet you know that song). But where most of my hobbies are fun for a while and then I burn out, I still keep coming back to guitar. So this will be my middle-aged crazy thing. Next year, if I'm progressing, I'll buy a killer amp, and then start saving for a Strat. Like I told the wife ... it's cheaper than a Goldwing, and few have died while playing guitar.

mudbean · May 21st, 2008, 11:49 PM

Beautiful! I love that deep color on the neck.

mud

Telemarkman · May 22nd, 2008, 01:44 AM

Definitely a beauty, with just enough grain showing through for a typical '55.

These guitars also have the "modern" (post '67) wiring, so you don't have to worry about doing any soldering/switching of the pickup wires.

Congrats on your new baby

...

geemo · May 22nd, 2008, 01:44 AM

Very beautiful guitar! Good buy!

tjalla · May 22nd, 2008, 01:49 AM

Oh those wildwood '55s! Very nicely done

Grin'n'pick · May 22nd, 2008, 09:27 AM

I think I've said before on here that had I known they'd do '55 thin skins I might have held out instead of getting my '52. Don't get me wrong I love everything about my thin skin but in truth I think I prefer the look of the later 50's teles, sacrilegious though it may be to say it here.

You've really got a beauty there, everything I could desire! Before long with any luck I'll buy one as a playmate for my 52 if they're still commissioning them from time to time.

But most important of all, I hope you get many many years of blissful enjoyment playing yours, it really is stunning.

Very good photos too btw, you feel like you can just reach in and touch that guitar!

Thanks for sharing.

Teledelphia · May 22nd, 2008, 09:59 AM

That's a beautiful Tele. I love my '52 Thin Skin. I played a ton of Telecasters before I bought my '52 Thin Skin and it was just superior to every one except for a couple of Custom Shops (but they were almost twice as expensive...).
Good luck with your new Tele....but if you think it sounds good now, wait until you get yourself a nice tube amp......

ste993 · May 22nd, 2008, 10:07 AM

A HUGE step up from your cheapie Ibanez!!

What a gorgeous Tele.... great colour combo and I love the rich maple neck. Congrats and enjoy it!

JimiBryant · May 22nd, 2008, 10:22 AM

BEE-YOO-TEE-FUL!

Canadiense, El · May 22nd, 2008, 10:32 AM

Looks like you've got a wonderful guitar there! I'm just wondering why they included another neckplate with the case candy, and another 3 barrel bridge? Maybe you'll have to put those parts to use... if you catch my drift...

Magic Bean · May 22nd, 2008, 10:37 AM

Beautiful! Are these necks reasonably fat? And what's with the few "SE-----" serial numbers? How are they different from the others?

gtrwrks · May 22nd, 2008, 11:19 AM

Sweet looking Tele.

PJ · May 22nd, 2008, 02:34 PM

Good stuff, Todd.

teleon · May 22nd, 2008, 03:02 PM

Nice pics, Bullwinkle. A good Tele will never let you down.

newtwanger · May 22nd, 2008, 03:06 PM

Why do they provide 2 neck plates? What the difference, please?

Oh yeah, BEAUTIFUL guitar, now get those stickers off it and have fun!

teleon · May 22nd, 2008, 03:23 PM

newtwanger- My 55 came whith the SE-serial number neckplate on the guitar and the limited edition one in the case candy. For whatever reason, they come both ways. Look at Wildwoods site to see what I mean. http://www.wildwoodguitars.com/elect...tele/index.php Note the different shades of neck color.

Bullwinkle · May 22nd, 2008, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teleon

newtwanger- My 55 came whith the SE-serial number neckplate on the guitar and the limited edition one in the case candy. For whatever reason, they come both ways. Look at Wildwoods site to see what I mean. http://www.wildwoodguitars.com/elect...tele/index.php Note the different shades of neck color.

I agree it boils down to something like this ... the original plan was probably to make a certain number of 55's and they had numbered backplates made so the serial number would be on the back. Then, and I'm guessing here, maybe the order was increased and they had to put out some more, but instead of making more backplates, they just used the Limited Ed. backplate and used the usual 52RI bridge with serial no. But the case candy bags have the extra Limited Ed plate sealed-in, so I ended up with an extra. This detail doesn't bother me since these aren't true to '55 specs anyway ... they're more a vintage tribute guitar than a reissue.

Anyway ... thanks for all the positive waves, fellas!

Ed Bickert · May 22nd, 2008, 05:26 PM

Looks awesome! The folks at Wildwood always seem to have some of the best Ltds.

60HzShuffle · May 22nd, 2008, 07:20 PM

Can you tell us more about the neck profile? I had a 52 thinskin and I'm either getting the 52 or the 55. I think I would prefer the C profile of the 55 if it is not too skinny (as in skinnier than an American Series)

mowcheeba · May 22nd, 2008, 07:43 PM

Nice looking guitar. The more I see those 55 Whithe Blondes the more
I almost regret chosing Butterscotch Blonde.........

garcia · May 22nd, 2008, 07:45 PM

Incredible guitar. I will have a '55 Thinskin someday.

Garcia

ROADMAN · May 22nd, 2008, 08:34 PM

nice score Bullwinkle....

Bullwinkle · May 22nd, 2008, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 60HzShuffle

Can you tell us more about the neck profile? I had a 52 thinskin and I'm either getting the 52 or the 55. I think I would prefer the C profile of the 55 if it is not too skinny (as in skinnier than an American Series)

well, I've already told you guys I'm not steeped in Tele lore, having been banging on acoustics only on and off for years. But I measured neck profile depth at the first fret and saw 13/16" and again at the 12th fret and I saw 15/16". DOn't take those measurements as gospel though. Anyway, probably not what you'd consider deep, chunky, or whatever you want to call it. But not shallow either, or at least I don't think so. I've got largish hands but stubby fingers ... think Redd Volkaert hands but 5/7ths scale. This guitar's neck feels right up the middle perfect for me. If you have large, long palms and even longer fingers, you might not be happy with the depth.

I don't know how those dimensions I measured compare to the Am Std neck, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if they were identical. The theme of this guitar is 'vintage looks and sound, modern feel.' With 9.5" radius, medium-jumbo frets, and the C-shape neck as I've described, there probably isn't a whole lot of difference between this guitar and the AmStd between the 1st and 21st fret ... but everywhere else they're different.

I don't have an American Series or new American Std around for comparison, so if teleon comes back to this thread perhaps he can add his thoughts on the issue.

teleon · May 23rd, 2008, 03:03 PM

I agree whith Bullwinkle-mine is niether deep nor chunky.If any of you have ever played the 1982 version of the 52 RI, it's about the same. I prefer the big-ass necks, but have no problem whith this one.

May 21st, 2008, 11:46 PM	#1 (permalink)
Bullwinkle Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Charleston, WV Age: 41 Posts: 129	Argh! Can't stand it anymore! '55 Thinskin Pics as promised. Last week I posted about ordering a '55 Thinskin from Wildwood. It's been here since last Friday, and I promised in that thread to post up some pics. I can't seem to get a good indoor shot without LOTS of flash glare (she's shiny ), so I decided I would snap some shots in the sun. The translucent finish really deserves it. But I've been waiting for daaaays for some _____in' sunshine to hit the Mountain State, and it just aint happenin'. We've had a patch break thru here and there, but I'm at usually at work when it happens. So, I snapped some shots tonight, sans flash, by lamplight. They came out ok. Click on the pics - they get bigger. (sorry 56k'ers - I know theyre big. But theyre only about 1/3 original size, so it could be worse.) peelie plastic is still on the pickguard. (will continue in reply)

May 21st, 2008, 11:49 PM	#3 (permalink)
mudbean Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: SoCal Semi-Desert Semi-Paradise Age: 49 Posts: 1,426	Beautiful! I love that deep color on the neck. mud __________________ www.mudbean.com "Do ya want it to be interesting, or do ya want it to be true?" "So far, it's neither."

May 22nd, 2008, 01:44 AM	#5 (permalink)
geemo Tele-Meister Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Europe Posts: 352 35 Photos	Very beautiful guitar! Good buy! __________________ just another tele nerd... _____________________________________________ http://www.myspace.com/rogerfromgeemo

May 22nd, 2008, 10:07 AM	#9 (permalink)
ste993 Tele-Meister Join Date: May 2008 Location: Portland OR Age: 38 Posts: 144	A HUGE step up from your cheapie Ibanez!! What a gorgeous Tele.... great colour combo and I love the rich maple neck. Congrats and enjoy it! __________________ --

May 22nd, 2008, 10:22 AM	#10 (permalink)
JimiBryant Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Chicago Chicago that toddlin' town Age: 46 Posts: 1,716	BEE-YOO-TEE-FUL! __________________ *we all shine on, like the moon and the stars and the sun.*

May 21st, 2008, 11:48 PM	#2 (permalink)
Bullwinkle Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Charleston, WV Age: 41 Posts: 129	couple more ... obligatory case candy shot and the headstock closeup You can see the grain in these shots, but sunlight would've helped. oh well. She plays very nicely. My background is with acoustics, but I've had a cheapie Ibanez SG-type electric for years, and this feels like stepping up to a real guitar after playing a cigar box-and-rubber band axe. Action is great for me at 3/32 across the board at the 17th fret. (I know Fender specs are for 4/64, but I'm too ham-fisted for that and I know it.) Finish and QA detail appears exceptional. As for the sound, I've only got a G-dec Junior to play through right now, but the pickups certainly make this guitar sound like a Tele. They're from the custom shop, but Wildwood cannot specify which model they are. I'm not going to try to pretend to be able to discern distinctions here ... if we were talking Martin vs. Taylor I could get wordy on ya ... anyway, I believe the guitar sounds as nice as it plays. I just wish I could play it better. I can lay down some rhythm, but I never did much with lead playing on acoustic. Besides having lots of fun I'm practicing major scales using CAGED method right now. I'm avoiding the pentatonic temptation for now, mostly. I'm also starting lessons, hopefully next month if 'the guy' at 'the shop' has an opening. I'm about to turn 41. I've piddled around on acoustic for nearly 10 years, on again, off again. Marriage and babymaking slowed down the fun (bet you know that song). But where most of my hobbies are fun for a while and then I burn out, I still keep coming back to guitar. So this will be my middle-aged crazy thing. Next year, if I'm progressing, I'll buy a killer amp, and then start saving for a Strat. Like I told the wife ... it's cheaper than a Goldwing, and few have died while playing guitar.

May 22nd, 2008, 01:44 AM	#4 (permalink)
Telemarkman Friend of Leo's Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Norway Age: 61 Posts: 4,395	Definitely a beauty, with just enough grain showing through for a typical '55. These guitars also have the "modern" (post '67) wiring, so you don't have to worry about doing any soldering/switching of the pickup wires. Congrats on your new baby ...

May 22nd, 2008, 01:49 AM	#6 (permalink)
tjalla Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 1,824 7 Photos	Oh those wildwood '55s! Very nicely done

May 22nd, 2008, 09:27 AM	#7 (permalink)
Grin'n'pick Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Sarf Eas' Laandon Posts: 1,928 38 Photos	I think I've said before on here that had I known they'd do '55 thin skins I might have held out instead of getting my '52. Don't get me wrong I love everything about my thin skin but in truth I think I prefer the look of the later 50's teles, sacrilegious though it may be to say it here. You've really got a beauty there, everything I could desire! Before long with any luck I'll buy one as a playmate for my 52 if they're still commissioning them from time to time. But most important of all, I hope you get many many years of blissful enjoyment playing yours, it really is stunning. Very good photos too btw, you feel like you can just reach in and touch that guitar! Thanks for sharing.

May 22nd, 2008, 09:59 AM	#8 (permalink)
Teledelphia TDPRI Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: philadelphia Posts: 48	That's a beautiful Tele. I love my '52 Thin Skin. I played a ton of Telecasters before I bought my '52 Thin Skin and it was just superior to every one except for a couple of Custom Shops (but they were almost twice as expensive...). Good luck with your new Tele....but if you think it sounds good now, wait until you get yourself a nice tube amp......

May 22nd, 2008, 10:32 AM	#11 (permalink)
Canadiense, El TDPRI Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Ontario Age: 23 Posts: 34	Looks like you've got a wonderful guitar there! I'm just wondering why they included another neckplate with the case candy, and another 3 barrel bridge? Maybe you'll have to put those parts to use... if you catch my drift... __________________ "What's a Gee-Gee?" "It's a horse. It's a crazy horse with a..." "The raven? You don't want to know what happened to him."

May 22nd, 2008, 10:37 AM	#12 (permalink)
Magic Bean TDPRI Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Ontario Age: 32 Posts: 40	Beautiful! Are these necks reasonably fat? And what's with the few "SE-----" serial numbers? How are they different from the others?

May 22nd, 2008, 11:19 AM	#13 (permalink)
gtrwrks Tele-Holic Join Date: May 2003 Location: oklahoma city, ok Age: 44 Posts: 736	Sweet looking Tele. __________________ www.myspace.com/toddlynchmusic

May 22nd, 2008, 02:34 PM	#14 (permalink)
PJ Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 1,909 4 Photos	Good stuff, Todd. __________________ PJ "I don't know if it's art, but I like it."

May 22nd, 2008, 03:02 PM	#15 (permalink)
teleon Tele-Meister Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: nevada Age: 41 Posts: 389 14 Photos	Nice pics, Bullwinkle. A good Tele will never let you down.

May 22nd, 2008, 03:06 PM	#16 (permalink)
newtwanger Tele-Holic Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Quebec, Canada Posts: 720 5 Photos	Why do they provide 2 neck plates? What the difference, please? Oh yeah, BEAUTIFUL guitar, now get those stickers off it and have fun! __________________ _________________

May 22nd, 2008, 03:23 PM	#17 (permalink)
teleon Tele-Meister Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: nevada Age: 41 Posts: 389 14 Photos	newtwanger- My 55 came whith the SE-serial number neckplate on the guitar and the limited edition one in the case candy. For whatever reason, they come both ways. Look at Wildwoods site to see what I mean. http://www.wildwoodguitars.com/elect...tele/index.php Note the different shades of neck color.

May 22nd, 2008, 05:26 PM	#19 (permalink)
Ed Bickert Tele-Holic Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Cape Cod, MA Age: 39 Posts: 946	Looks awesome! The folks at Wildwood always seem to have some of the best Ltds. __________________ Sorry, not the real Ed Bickert. Just a fan.

May 22nd, 2008, 07:20 PM	#20 (permalink)
60HzShuffle NEW MEMBER! Join Date: May 2008 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 2	Can you tell us more about the neck profile? I had a 52 thinskin and I'm either getting the 52 or the 55. I think I would prefer the C profile of the 55 if it is not too skinny (as in skinnier than an American Series)

May 22nd, 2008, 07:43 PM	#21 (permalink)
mowcheeba Tele-Holic Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Elqui Valley, Chile Age: 31 Posts: 602 43 Photos	Nice looking guitar. The more I see those 55 Whithe Blondes the more I almost regret chosing Butterscotch Blonde.........

May 22nd, 2008, 07:45 PM	#22 (permalink)
garcia Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Northern California Age: 36 Posts: 483	Incredible guitar. I will have a '55 Thinskin someday. Garcia __________________ “Desolation, desolation, I owe so much to desolation.” ...“The Dharma Bums”

May 22nd, 2008, 08:34 PM	#23 (permalink)
ROADMAN Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: delta b.c. canada Age: 53 Posts: 1,011	nice score Bullwinkle....

May 23rd, 2008, 03:03 PM	#25 (permalink)
teleon Tele-Meister Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: nevada Age: 41 Posts: 389 14 Photos	I agree whith Bullwinkle-mine is niether deep nor chunky.If any of you have ever played the 1982 version of the 52 RI, it's about the same. I prefer the big-ass necks, but have no problem whith this one.