How rare are one piece bodies?

[rocknroller]

Not that it matters tone-wise, but it can certainly impact cometics either positively or negatively to have a 1-piece body versus multiple pieces. I have a '97 MIM Tele and an '06 MIM Deluxe Player's Strat (ash) that are both 3-tone sunburst and both definitely made with 1-piece bodies (clearly evidenced by the visible grain patterns). I also have a Tele Deluxe RI in Seafoam Green that is a 3-piece (you can see the join lines even though it's painted solid). If anyone knows how the process of choosing a body works at the Fender factory I would be curious to know. I can't believe that bodies are all arbitrarily mixed together and some low-end models "just happen" to end up with Custom Shop quality 1-piece bodies and vica versa. I've seen some god-awful mismatched grain patterns on high-end American models made from multiple pieces. Not that it would stop me from buying a guitar that played exceptionally well, but I've seen some $1,000+ guitars were put together with no thought whatsoever about matching the grain patterns, particularly for see-through finishes.

[telex76]

Nah, I'll let others burst your bubble.

[Telemarkman]

The MIM sunbursts were (are?) veneered, not 1-piece. That's why the grain pattern looks perfect.

A 1-piece body on a production Fender is is as rare as hen's teeth. I've seen ONE example of 1-piece body on a '52RI - that's all.

[rangercaster]

The MIM sunbursts were (are?) veneered, not 1-piece. That's why the grain pattern looks perfect.

+1 the veneer covers a multi-piece body

[telex76]

Between my two brothers and I, we have had 12 Custom Shop Teles,
at least 6 AVRI 52's, 2 American Deluxe's, 3 American Standards,
several Classic 50's and other MIM teles.
I know alot of other players with high end teles and I've never seen a one piece body.

[McGlamRock]

So what are the characteristics of a one piece body, for say an ash guitar?

[KevinB]

A picture - in this case from the Fender Ensenada factory - says it all!

[notdave]

Originally Posted by rocknroller

Not that it matters tone-wise

HERESY!!!

Burn the heretic!

[boris bubbanov]

Originally Posted by McGlamRock

So what are the characteristics of a one piece body, for say an ash guitar?

It is pretty!




Rocknroller's MIMs are not one piecers. If a finisher knows what he's doing, on a burst body he can hide the seam so easily on many ash multipiece bodies and the "one piecer" turns out to be three pieces.

FMIC has no real gain in creating any aura of specialness around one piece bodies because (except for their contractors in Japan, and CS) they're not making any. But the impulse to make a guitar body attractive is strong, and sometimes the net result is pretty sweet.

If you really want a 1 piece body, look at USACG's webspecial site.

http://www.usacustomguitars.com/usac...rge/body5f.jpg

Tommy buys lots of wood in the wider dimensions that make producing a one piece body second nature and because 2 things have happened in the last few years, they're actually fairly inexpensive:

1) Demand for aftermarket bodies is down (weak economy, heavy impact on guitar projects) and prices for Webspecial bodies are down; and

2) The bubble about the fantastic sonic supremacy of the 1 piece body has totally burst.

But guess what? F^$k whether they sound better. Lookit how cool they look, and imagine how much fun it'd be to finish one yourself. And (and this applies most to alder, basswood) you never have to worry about seam lines telegraphing through that nice thin finish you do!

[Big Tony]

Does it look good? Does it play well? Do you bond with it? Are your Internet community impressed?

Play it, and make up your mind.


/ Tony

[rocknroller]

So in the case with my guitars, they veneered both front and back because there are no join lines on either side. Seems like a lot of extra labor is being put into the lower-end models to make them look perfect versus some of the butt-ugly higher end models (I say this facetiously). Do they use the same wood for veneer as the bodies, i.e, alder or ash? Or are the bodies made out of mutile pieces of a "cheaper" wood and then just veneered with alder or ash? I don't really care anyways since my guitars are fantastic players! Thanks for satisfying my curiosity.

[boris bubbanov]

Originally Posted by rocknroller

So in the case with my guitars, they veneered both front and back because there are no join lines on either side. Seems like a lot of extra labor is being put into the lower-end models to make them look perfect versus some of the butt-ugly higher end models (I say this facetiously). Do they use the same wood for veneer as the bodies, i.e, alder or ash? Or are the bodies made out of mutile pieces of a "cheaper" wood and then just veneered with alder or ash? I don't really care anyways since my guitars are fantastic players! Thanks for satisfying my curiosity.

No, the '06 Deluxe Player is not veneer. FMIC does not fool with ash veneers. Besides, with some exposure, any fellow can spot ash veneer from 50 feet away. Unmistakeable, very different appearance altogether as the ash log is peeled into a veneer from outside to in. Compare that to a flatsawn, riftsawn or quartersawn piece of ash. BIG difference.

What Fender has done is artfully match the grain lines so they APPEAR to be all one piece of wood - when in fact they're just nicely married. Then, the cover up the end grain area (what I have shown above in clear) with sunburst - which is normally the telltale area where a guy like me exposes the real one piecers from the excellent replications of one piece bodies.

[PumpJockey]

I made a couple when I had access to a friend's 13" planer, but when I ended up getting a 12" planer used I switched to 2-piece bodies. As far as I could tell, no difference during the "tap test". Certainly not as important as many other things I could think of, starting with pickups, bridge, neck, nut, etc.

[jjpish68]

For my own knowledge and education. Is this a one, two or three piece body? Looking at it I can not tell.

[Micromet]

I recently made a replica '52 Blackface Telecaster - see attached photo. The body is 1-piece Swamp Ash that I got from ToneTech Luthiers (UK). Only just big enough. French Polish finished to keep down the finish depth. Bakelite pickguard and post'53 control wiring (Vol and tone to each pickup and switch = B, B+N, N). Currently Squier Classic Vibe 50 pickups that another TDPRI forum reckoned were alright - but may change if I find a better set.

[Telemarkman]

Originally Posted by jjpish68

For my own knowledge and education. Is this a one, two or three piece body? Looking at it I can not tell.

But you're looking at the wrong place! You'll have to look at the grain in the bottom edge, where the strap button is. On a well-matched body there's no way you can see the seam on the front or back of the body.

[spankdplank]

I have an original 58 that appears to be 1 piece when viewed from the top and bottom. When you look at the end grain, you can see that it is two pieces, with the second piece being a 1 inch sliver where the jack cup is. That is a close to a one piece Fender as i have ever seen. I'm not saying they don't exist, but I would love to see an end grain shot of any Fender which is claimed to be a one piece. Top and bottom shots can be deceptive.

[brookdalebill]

I suffer from "one piece body" fetishism.
My 57 Tele and 55 Esquire both had em'.
Bill Giebitz made my ol' #1 Bender Tele with a one piece light swamp ash body.
Looks great.
I don't think it matters a hill o beans to it's sound, though.

[Ron Garson]

Here's one that I know is one-piece. It even says so on the spec sheet.
My Hahn 228.

[jjpish68]

Originally Posted by Telemarkman

But you're looking at the wrong place! You'll have to look at the grain in the bottom edge, where the strap button is. On a well-matched body there's no way you can see the seam on the front or back of the body.

Thanks, since I can't tell from that angle that tells me this is a well matched body and that is good enough for me. This is a body from a 2005 52AVRI that I used for a project. Thanks for the help.