Custom T-shape Build (My first!)

[Ns10Fan]

So, lately, I've been lurking around this site gleaning some information while putting together my first custom guitar with my uncle. Tonight, we finally made some good headway, so I decided I'd post up some pictures! Special thanks goes to JWells393 for his tips on the string-through/ferrule drilling (while ours aren't perfect, it's better than they would have been!)


Body wood is solid Sapele. It's pretty heavy! Body Style is sort of a mix between a Jazzmaster and a Tele Deluxe.


Neck from Doug @ Soulmate Guitars. He had some spare Sapele, so he used that with curly maple binding. It turned out pretty great.


Headstock shaped.


With the Gotoh tuners installed.

[Ns10Fan]

Hipshot Hardtail installed.


String Ferrules installed! Not too shabby...:-)


Pickup Switch cavity drilled.


So far, so good!


Again, thanks for letting me be a lurker around the forums. I'll try and poke my head around a bit, and keep this thread rolling as the final stages are pushed out.

Take care,
Mike
www.geisert8band.com

[boozer]

i'm not seeing any pics? what gives?

[Tim73]

No pics showing, I'm afraid - big fan of custom builds so it'd be nice to see them. Always welcome...

[mowcheeba]

Originally Posted by boozer

i'm not seeing any pics? what gives?

+1 This thread is useless without pictures...

[Ns10Fan]

Sorry...I guess google doesn't like their hosting. Hosted them through my band's site. Sorry for the size (if you can actually see the photos now!)

[riolux]

I can see photos!
It's looking good, and it's refreshing to see a variation of the tele shape for a change. The headstock goes well with the body shape.

[mowcheeba]

Very interesting, not much of a Tele. Somebody might move
your thread

Looks great so far, have you decided on what pickups?

P.S That body shape reminds me a bit of Rice Custom guitars
new guitar(Orgy?)

[mowcheeba]

How did you rout the cavity for the volume/ tone controls, especially
where the plate is going on the back??

[Ns10Fan]

Originally Posted by mowcheeba

Very interesting, not much of a Tele. Somebody might move
your thread

I figured as much, but I figured since I started off with the Tele Deluxe shape, it's closer to that than anything else! (Actually, if you follow the shape of the pickguard on a Tele Deluxe, that's where I got the idea for the cutaway...it always seemed tacked on that design for me ).

Originally Posted by mowcheeba

Looks great so far, have you decided on what pickups?

Pickups are going to be a Wolfetone Marshallhead in the neck and a Wolfetone Fenris in the bridge.

[Rich Rice]

Wow, you've got great taste!


(by the way, these are "Osprey", not "Orgy"... LOL)

[boris bubbanov]

Ns10Fan, your new Tele is coming along great; very nice indeed.

I believe in co-evolution, and your guitar does share a lot with the Rice Osprey, but also with some of Jim Soloway's beautiful designs (and I would bet others, too).

Nice headstock, as well.

Beauty is beauty, right?

[Ns10Fan]

Hey guys,

Wow, I had no idea about the Rice Osprey, and boy it looks like I completely ripped that off! Those are all absolutely gorgeous in the pic too, Rich. I'm surprised I'd never heard of your guitars either (I grew up in Morton Grove, IL...)

Anywho, I finally got around to starting the finishing coats on the guitar, and thought I'd post a few pictures. Sorry for the angles, but it's hard to take a picture of this guy without glare...I guess it's a good thing.

Currently, the neck and top side of the guitar are pretty much done, and am working at stage on the rest of the body. After dorking around, figured that 13 coats of the wipeon seems to do the trick.

[scottwatermusic]

I'm digging it!

Will you make one for me next?

[mrothacker]

Very cool !!! I notice how the color of the wood goes perfectly with the label on the Killians , Coincidence ?

[andy__woods]

that neck is sweet!

[Ns10Fan]

Hey all,

I admit I got lazy with the holidays, and despite this guitar still NOT being finished, I managed to buy myself a lap steel. Yikes.

Anyways, I finally got around to finishing the sides/back, and widening the wiring holes, so tonight, I started the wiring for the Jimmy Page setup. Some pics to follow! I'm super sorry they are woefully out of focus...my camera phone isn't much, but it's all I have at the moment!






Mock pickup placement (bought new bezels).

[Ns10Fan]

While I started the wiring, it's proving difficult for me and my limited workstation to complete. One of my dad's buddies (who does TV work and is an avid guitar player as well) is going to hopefully finish up the wiring in the next week or so!

Here's a pic of what the body should look like!

[boris bubbanov]

Lookin' very nice indeed.

Did you ever figure out how much this sapele body weighs, roughly.

I understand if you're not looking to know; I've a few like that myself.

[Rich Rice]

Sexy lookin', for sure. ;)

[boneyguy]

That's starting to look very sweet. Nice job.

[Ns10Fan]

Ugh, so I started hating on myself for at least not attempting to do the wiring. So I did. Only issue right now is the neck pickup doesn't want to run standard...only coil-tapped. I'll have to look at it some time soon.

So I finally strung it up and played a bit. The nut is cut too deep on the A/D (ordered it pre-cut), so I'm now looking for some solutions to that little issue. Other than that, when the thing is working proper, it sounds beastly.

Here are some pics of it "almost done." At least playable. Sorry for my work clothes...they are grotesque.

[Telenator]

Nice work! Beautiful guitar!

[BAW4742]

That sapele body looks great. Nice hunk of wood there.

Sweet build. You should be proud!

[Ns10Fan]

Originally Posted by boris bubbanov

Lookin' very nice indeed.

Did you ever figure out how much this sapele body weighs, roughly.

I understand if you're not looking to know; I've a few like that myself.

Just got around to putting it on the Wii Fit scale. While not super accurate, it looks to be around 10.5 lbs. That is the whole guitar though, not just the body. I thought it would be more than that, but I guess not. Still hefty.