Tele Deluxe 72: cosmetic upgrades

[briansr]

its a '72 deluxe, 2006 RI... black on black


ive swaped the pots with 500k, changed all electronics, added coil split with push/pull in the tones, S-1 (paralell/series) circuit with mini toggle.

i have in agenda the graph nut, saddles and string tree, also straplocks

im pretty satisfied with my sounds.. now i want to improve the cosmetics, i like how the guitar looks, but it can be better

***im thinking of an ahstray, but im not sure if one will fit, because the bridge (strat style)
i cant seem to find many pictures of deluxes with astrays
http://img.hipersonica.com/2007/04/thom-yorke.JPG
http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/20..._300x435,0.jpg
thom yorke used to have one.. but that one doesnt look like a tele ashtray, seems more like an p-bass or not?

*** the pickguard, warmoths got them.. but again would like to see them on, and ive looked everywhere.. anyone got a pic of a deluxe with tortoise, gold or cream pickguard.. or if you could photoshop something will be great
im open to suggestions.. what do you think

*** finally the finish.. its probably the thing i like the least, its pretty thick, i was thinking bringing it down to the wood, and applying a clear coat.. or maybe a thin finish (this would be done by a professional)... is not just an cosmetic upgrade, as it will also affect sound, in a good way

so if you got any pics, let me see
any other recommendations? or suggestions?

[Blueblood]

Here's a pic of Outlawsteph1975's '72 Custom with a tortoise..


You can see mine with a Black Pearl in my profile...

The ash tray I would definitely say is a bass cover. Some Strats did have a bridge cover back in the day but not one to fit that...


Oh yeah, Welcome!!

[briansr]

im a long time reader.. so i feel at home:p

thanks a lot for the pic..
about the ashtray, would it fit the deluxe if i cut the pickguard where it goes under the bridge HB?

[briansr]

isn't the with of both (custom/deluxe) the same?

[Blueblood]

Here are some considerations for you...

http://www.wdmusic.com/p_bass_bridge...25228_prd1.htm

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Fender-R...00-i1130012.gc

http://www.angela.com/catalog/guitar-parts/bass.html

Scroll down for the mother load...
http://www.dguitarparts.com/bparts.htm

[BritishBluesBoy]

Nope. Ashtray won't fit.

[briansr]

rrrgg.. im not to fond of drilling holes into the body for the ashtray, i was attracted to the idea because of the snap-on feature

[briansr]

anything to take in consideration for the refinish?

[superbadj]

well.....you won't know what the wood looks like until it's exposed. So that's a bit of a gamble. Could be terrible. Could be great. If they used any filler to fix an imperfection, you'll be screwed. well, you could re-paint it again I guess.

[briansr]

mmm its got a chip in the back, about half an inch.. from there i can tell the wod grain, typical alder

another thing.. if i take the covers of the HB would it look like this?

from this topic http://www.tdpri.com/forum/just-pick...umbuckers.html

i belive the botom one is an original Wide Range, and the top is the RI.. i like the open coil look, but the wax around it ruins it.. if i take my covers off.. will it look like the top one?

[Blueblood]

A bit more detail...http://lidbjork.homelinux.org/72cc/

[OutlawSteph1975]

Originally Posted by Blueblood

Here are some considerations for you...

http://www.wdmusic.com/p_bass_bridge...25228_prd1.htm

That's where I got my pickguard. I'd buy from them again. It's really nicely
cut.

[Blueblood]

Originally Posted by OutlawSteph1975

That's where I got my pickguard. I'd buy from them again. It's really nicely
cut.

Ditto..!

[briansr]

i was thinking an an alternative pickguard design.. i like the extra horn thing.. but ive never been pleased with the shape of the pickguard itself..

of course it will have to cover the routing on the body, any ideas?

[briansr]

didnt want to make a whole thread about this..

im buying new saddles and nut
.. and i want to know which ones are the adequate

for the saddles
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/navig...FerraGlide&st=
which one exactly.. its a 6screw bridge with vintage saddles
import strat, vintage, or telecaster

i wouldnt want to spend 60bucks on the wrong set of saddles
also what do you think about the ferraglides, are they worth the price difference vs the standard stringsaver?..
i read the ferraglides are covered with theflon wich is 500% more slippery than graphite and it enhances sustain over 15% (from steel saddles)

i guess a regular strat nut will fit just fine since its an strat neck, and string trees is a no brainier aswell

[jazztele]

don't rule out mint green on black. very classy. but personally, black on black on this guitar is sweet. it's a tough looking mother--why mess with that?

oh, and if you take the pick up covers off, the sound can change. be careful.

[briansr]

what about the saddles?

[alexpigment]

Originally Posted by briansr

mmm its got a chip in the back, about half an inch.. from there i can tell the wod grain, typical alder

another thing.. if i take the covers of the HB would it look like this?

from this topic http://www.tdpri.com/forum/just-pick...umbuckers.html

i belive the botom one is an original Wide Range, and the top is the RI.. i like the open coil look, but the wax around it ruins it.. if i take my covers off.. will it look like the top one?

I've taken the covers off of the RIs, they look exactly like the top one, including the big ol' wax strip around it. I had no real problem putting the covers back on after I gold plated a pair, but I highly recommend you repot them in wax if you choose to do that. mine became microphonic

[jivetrain]

thom yorke does in fact use a p-bass cover. it's just taped on and not screwed down.

i tried using a hardtail strat bridge cover, which i thought looked pretty good. not as cool as a big ashtray, but it still made the guitar look neater. it seemed to fit just fine, but it pressed on the saddles a little and changed the tuning whenever i took it on or off, so i don't use it much. it's an idea.

[Parnassum]

I really like this vintage bridge cover for the tele deluxe.
Any idea onwhere to find one? Mine is an original 1973 tele deluxe. I've seen some similar vintage chrome strat bridge covers over there but I'm not sure it will fit. Thanks
http://home.comcast.net/~music_garage/TeleDel4465.jpg

[KevinB]

Nice!

Did you replace the tuners? I thought the originals were the Fender "F" tuners.

[Parnassum]

I think these are original, currently on Ebay.

I was just wondering where to get a similar bridge cover (as in my previous post)... anyone? your help is very much appreciated

[rextasy]

Originally Posted by KevinB

Nice!

Did you replace the tuners? I thought the originals were the Fender "F" tuners.

I'm beginning to doubt the originality of the "F" tuners on the reissues. Every vintage Tele Deluxe I've seen on ebay (where I could see the tuners) had the kind Parnassum's has. I like the look of the "F" tuners, though.

[KevinB]

Well, I checked in my Duchossoir book and now I believe the tuners on the eBay Deluxe to be original.

It says "In 1973, the Deluxe came out with one-pice die-cast Deluxe Schaller keys, characterized by the lack of a split shaft and a Fender logo stamped on the back."

I also noticed in an early 70's Fender catalog that the Deluxe is spec'ed with "individual deluxe machine heads" while the Custom just gets "individual machine heads".

Certainly, my 73-74 Custom has the "F" tuners...

[Nick JD]

Hey Parnassum - welcome! That very long photo is 20 000 pixels - it locked my somewhat slow computer up! People with slow connections or RAM-challenged computers will that you for perhaps just including a link to it...

[djdeacon]

Black pickguard screws - cost about 4 bucks, and change the appearance hugely.