Cheap Johnson project (pics)

TG · April 14th, 2005, 07:31 PM

I got a super cheap Johnson tele on ebay. Just over a hundred bucks including delivery from Arizona to Ireland.

I wanted to convert it into an esquire but the pickguard I have doesn't fit very well. So I've ripped the magnet and pole pieces out of the nasty stock ceramic neck pup and put it back in the stock pickguard as a dummy just to fill the hole. The bridge pickup is now a Duncan AlnicoII. I've got a new switch and I'm waiting for new pots since it came with little cheap ones, so for the time being the pickup is just wired to the output.

The bridge is a 3 saddle top-loader but seems OK. It's what I wanted. I drilled a new set of holes a bit lower to increase the string break angle a little. Cut the Gatton notch and found that it was pretty solid.

I was assuming that a neck replacement was fairly certain, but this has a nice fat profile with a 12" fret radius. Like the body, the neck feels like a reasonably good chunk of wood. Solid. Kind of like the necks on the old Squiers in the early 90s. The nut was OK but the frets were all over the place. I levelled and crowned them and it's now very playable.

But the headstock had to go. I couldn't do a proper Fender headstock reshape without gluing on a bit of wood to fill in a big notch that wouldn't been on the end so I did a more compact version. I think it turned out OK. I hand painted the logo this afternoon (as you can see, I'm not pretending it's genuine). The tuners are cheap but they work. I still need to put the string guide in the right place.

So for under 200 bucks including shipping I have a pretty decent little tele/esquire. It's mid-weight and it feels like a good guitar. It doesn't feel cheap.

If you people knew what guitars cost over here you'd understand how smug I'm feeling.

Here's pix...

tonfarbe · April 14th, 2005, 07:54 PM

Hey, I just did exactly the same.
Got this Johnson Tele with a nice cream body binding off ebay for 70 €.
First picture still with the original neck, but already with an Esquire pickguard and a David Barfuss PU that I had still lying around:

And here with the new Migty Mite neck (12" fretboard radius, V shape) I got off ebay for 100 US $ incl. shipping.
I took the Kluson style tuners from the original neck and replaced the crappy switch and pots.

I wired it like this:
Position 1: fixed bassy sound

Position 2: no tone control
Position 3: normal tone control

Btw, nice work with shaping the Johnson headstock - I realy can't see where you glued the additional wood.
In case you are still looking for an Esquire pickguard:
I got mine from guitarpartsresource.com and it fits perfect - of course you have to drill new screw holes.

FraKo · April 15th, 2005, 04:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TG

The bridge is a 3 saddle top-loader but seems OK. It's what I wanted. I drilled a new set of holes a bit lower to increase the string break angle a little.

Never had a problem with the break angle, that bridge is OK out of the box JMHO, but I use 11's. Great guitar for the money. You could cut a one-ply Esquire guard from a blank foil using the stock one as a template. I agree, that neck (ugly headstock apart) is a good one, and I guarantee it's pretty stable, I adjusted the relief just once in more than 2 years, and I keep that axe in a house that's out of heathing for 4 months a year (in a VERY cold place). Unbelievable.

weelie · April 15th, 2005, 05:21 AM

Tonfarbe, your esquire looks the bomb! Super-geil! :D

I have a Richwood tele. I think I've put about 270 euros in it by now. US 52RI pickups, Gotoh tuners, compensated saddles etc. I really dig it. But the spending on it must stop right now!!! :D

tonfarbe · April 15th, 2005, 05:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by weelie

Tonfarbe, your esquire looks the bomb! Super-geil! :D

I have a Richwood tele. I think I've put about 270 euros in it by now. US 52RI pickups, Gotoh tuners, compensated saddles etc.

Thanks for the compliment.
Actually, this is my dream combination of an Esquire:
Black body with cream binding, parchment white pickguard and alder neck.
I had the pickup and the brass saddles lying around here, so the total costs for this guitar
is around 180 € right now (and I guess I can sell the original neck for at least 30 €, so I'm down to 150 € again).

Still waiting for a '52 RI bridge pickup that i got reeealy cheap from ebay.
The Barfuss PU is way too hot.

FraKo - I also realy like the original neck. Very good quality, but the headstock, the headstock...

weelie · April 15th, 2005, 06:29 AM

The black with cream looks like the Lew UK one when it still looked like my dream guitar:

http://www.telemodders.com/l_koprowski.html

And I usually hate black guitars. But that is one sweeeeeeet exception.

dogcityrocker · April 15th, 2005, 08:32 AM

That black tele is sweet. Darn it fellas, Ive been saving up for a new amp, but now Im Gas'in for a cheap tele to mod! I tell ya, its dangerous coming on this forum!

e-merlin · April 15th, 2005, 07:32 PM

Cool guitar. It would be cool even with the Johnson headstock.

Anyhow, I think "Cheap Johnson" would be a great band name.

sparky · April 16th, 2005, 12:05 AM

If you ever become a multinational guitar-making corporation with high-powered lawyers, please remember I am you TDPRI friend and not sue me;
because I will have to steal that super-cool logo idea; maybe for a Ted Quilly signature model?
The rest of the guitar looks good too, btw.

TG · April 16th, 2005, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sparky

If you ever become a multinational guitar-making corporation with high-powered lawyers, please remember I am you TDPRI friend and not sue me;
because I will have to steal that super-cool logo idea; maybe for a Ted Quilly signature model?

Good idea. I'll call this one Dougal from now on.

I managed to fit the esquire pickguard so here's a pic of the finished item. Much nicer looking, I think.
I'm taking it to a gig tonite. I wonder if anyone will notice the logo.

Fatmanstratman · April 16th, 2005, 07:32 PM

I picked up a Stagg Tele copy from eBay some time ago (when they still had the headstock shape 'similar' to the Fender. Decided to make it a project guitar, and since then I have changed EVERYTHING except the neck and the body!

I even had to re-shape the neck 'cos it wasn't quite close enough!

Pic 10: Original headstock (with "Stagg" badge removed, wood filled, and decal applied).

Pic10a: Re-shaped headstock, tinted amber, vintage Kluson style tuners, decal applied.

Pic11: The 'business' end!

For those of you with too much time on their hands, who would like to see the 'Upgrade Story' (and bigger, clearer pictures), check it out here: http://www.stevesguitarsite.com/StaggTeleUpgrade.html

Funny thing is - this guitar plays and sounds superb, and is my main "beater". So many nice guitars to play yet we always tend to turn to the "Frankenstein" that we put together ourselves.......

J-man · April 16th, 2005, 07:55 PM

Haha "Fecker" Nice touch.

:D

TG · April 16th, 2005, 10:12 PM

Played it for most of tonite's pub gig. Sounds and plays as good as the Fender guitars I've had.
It was my first time using an 'esquire'. I see what everyone means about the improved harmonics and the screaming leads. Very cool.
I did miss having the neck pickup a few times, though.

I'll probably just keep it for home noodling and noisy jam sessions.

April 14th, 2005, 07:31 PM	#1 (permalink)
TG Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Beside a bog in the west of Ireland Age: 47 Posts: 4,500 7 Photos	Cheap Johnson project (pics) I got a super cheap Johnson tele on ebay. Just over a hundred bucks including delivery from Arizona to Ireland. I wanted to convert it into an esquire but the pickguard I have doesn't fit very well. So I've ripped the magnet and pole pieces out of the nasty stock ceramic neck pup and put it back in the stock pickguard as a dummy just to fill the hole. The bridge pickup is now a Duncan AlnicoII. I've got a new switch and I'm waiting for new pots since it came with little cheap ones, so for the time being the pickup is just wired to the output. The bridge is a 3 saddle top-loader but seems OK. It's what I wanted. I drilled a new set of holes a bit lower to increase the string break angle a little. Cut the Gatton notch and found that it was pretty solid. I was assuming that a neck replacement was fairly certain, but this has a nice fat profile with a 12" fret radius. Like the body, the neck feels like a reasonably good chunk of wood. Solid. Kind of like the necks on the old Squiers in the early 90s. The nut was OK but the frets were all over the place. I levelled and crowned them and it's now very playable. But the headstock had to go. I couldn't do a proper Fender headstock reshape without gluing on a bit of wood to fill in a big notch that wouldn't been on the end so I did a more compact version. I think it turned out OK. I hand painted the logo this afternoon (as you can see, I'm not pretending it's genuine). The tuners are cheap but they work. I still need to put the string guide in the right place. So for under 200 bucks including shipping I have a pretty decent little tele/esquire. It's mid-weight and it feels like a good guitar. It doesn't feel cheap. If you people knew what guitars cost over here you'd understand how smug I'm feeling. Here's pix...

April 15th, 2005, 05:21 AM	#4 (permalink)
weelie Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Helsinki, Finland, Yer-up Age: 34 Posts: 1,958 12 Photos	Tonfarbe, your esquire looks the bomb! Super-geil! :D I have a Richwood tele. I think I've put about 270 euros in it by now. US 52RI pickups, Gotoh tuners, compensated saddles etc. I really dig it. But the spending on it must stop right now!!! :D __________________ <- I don't need smileys, I'm smiling already.

April 15th, 2005, 06:29 AM	#6 (permalink)
weelie Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Helsinki, Finland, Yer-up Age: 34 Posts: 1,958 12 Photos	The black with cream looks like the Lew UK one when it still looked like my dream guitar: http://www.telemodders.com/l_koprowski.html And I usually hate black guitars. But that is one sweeeeeeet exception. __________________ <- I don't need smileys, I'm smiling already.

April 15th, 2005, 08:32 AM	#7 (permalink)
dogcityrocker Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Maryland Posts: 400	hell yeah That black tele is sweet. Darn it fellas, Ive been saving up for a new amp, but now Im Gas'in for a cheap tele to mod! I tell ya, its dangerous coming on this forum!

April 16th, 2005, 07:32 PM	#11 (permalink)
Fatmanstratman Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Fatmanville, Cambs., UK Posts: 2,933	Starts off as 'cheap', ends up costing a bomb! I picked up a Stagg Tele copy from eBay some time ago (when they still had the headstock shape 'similar' to the Fender. Decided to make it a project guitar, and since then I have changed EVERYTHING except the neck and the body! I even had to re-shape the neck 'cos it wasn't quite close enough! Pic 10: Original headstock (with "Stagg" badge removed, wood filled, and decal applied). Pic10a: Re-shaped headstock, tinted amber, vintage Kluson style tuners, decal applied. Pic11: The 'business' end! For those of you with too much time on their hands, who would like to see the 'Upgrade Story' (and bigger, clearer pictures), check it out here: http://www.stevesguitarsite.com/StaggTeleUpgrade.html Funny thing is - this guitar plays and sounds superb, and is my main "beater". So many nice guitars to play yet we always tend to turn to the "Frankenstein" that we put together ourselves....... __________________ . . . *"Behind every argument is someone's ignorance."*

April 14th, 2005, 07:54 PM	#2 (permalink)
tonfarbe Tele-Holic Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Berlin, Yer-up Posts: 760 20 Photos	Hey, I just did exactly the same. Got this Johnson Tele with a nice cream body binding off ebay for 70 €. First picture still with the original neck, but already with an Esquire pickguard and a David Barfuss PU that I had still lying around: And here with the new Migty Mite neck (12" fretboard radius, V shape) I got off ebay for 100 US $ incl. shipping. I took the Kluson style tuners from the original neck and replaced the crappy switch and pots. I wired it like this: Position 1: fixed bassy sound Position 2: no tone control Position 3: normal tone control Btw, nice work with shaping the Johnson headstock - I realy can't see where you glued the additional wood. In case you are still looking for an Esquire pickguard: I got mine from guitarpartsresource.com and it fits perfect - of course you have to drill new screw holes.

April 16th, 2005, 12:05 AM	#9 (permalink)
sparky Tele-Meister Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: UK Posts: 480	If you ever become a multinational guitar-making corporation with high-powered lawyers, please remember I am you TDPRI friend and not sue me; because I will have to steal that super-cool logo idea; maybe for a Ted Quilly signature model? The rest of the guitar looks good too, btw.

April 16th, 2005, 07:55 PM	#12 (permalink)
J-man Moderator Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: North Wales/Scarborough Age: 20 Posts: 6,288 9 Photos	Haha "Fecker" Nice touch. :D __________________ Write a wise saying and your name will live forever. - Unknown "The large print giveth and the small print taketh away." - Tom Waits

April 16th, 2005, 10:12 PM	#13 (permalink)
TG Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Beside a bog in the west of Ireland Age: 47 Posts: 4,500 7 Photos	Played it for most of tonite's pub gig. Sounds and plays as good as the Fender guitars I've had. It was my first time using an 'esquire'. I see what everyone means about the improved harmonics and the screaming leads. Very cool. I did miss having the neck pickup a few times, though. I'll probably just keep it for home noodling and noisy jam sessions.