finally... baritone tele project completed (long)

Jef · July 7th, 2005, 03:33 PM

I started this one about one and a half years ago... gathered parts and tools and worked on it very slowly.

I made the baritone neck from scratch. It was my first attempt at building a neck. I screwed up the fret job the first time, I couldn't get the radius right (12") so I had to order new (pre bent) fretwire. (in the picture, I added a 'standard' tele neck, just to compare the scale length)

The body is from a cheap Stagg tele copy. It's solid alder but the grain is not so beautiful. I plan to cover the body with tweed in the near future.

Bridge pickup is a Seymour Dunacan "hot" lipstick for strat. I mounted it on an elevator plate from a telecaster bridge pickup. Neck and middle are from Kent Armstrong. The middle pickup is wired to a mini switch. Bridge and neck pickups are connected to a 4 pole 5 way switch (neck / neck + bridge parallel / neck+ bridge series / neck + bridge series out of phase / bridge only)

And best of all: it really twangs. I'm kinda surprised that is it a bright guitar, even though it's tuned ADGCEA

Jef

Walter Broes · July 7th, 2005, 04:07 PM

Very, very cool Jef. I have a tele body on the way, and I'm getting a baritone neck for it as soon as I can afford one. (probably will go for a Rockinger neck).

Now you have me thinking Bigsby.....

Coyote · July 7th, 2005, 10:32 PM

She's a beaut' Jef, what gauge strings you got on there?

BluesOwl · July 8th, 2005, 10:14 AM

That is really nice looking!
Let us know more when you have spent some time with the beast...<er>....beauty...sorry.
Especially how you like or don't like the tones you get.
More specifically the tones of the wound strings....too muddy on the neck pup settting?

I have a Baritone (Pseudo-"Sub-Sonic") and I think I want to change pups and want to gather info/opinions first.

Jef · July 8th, 2005, 04:16 PM

Thank you very much, guys!

Walter,
I wanted to buy a Rockinger baritone neck too, but when trying out some cheap donor guitars, I preferred the Stagg over a Squier. When I took it apart, I noticed that the neck pocket was not Fender-compatible, so the Rockinger neck wouldn't fit either. Then I decided to do it the hard way, and build the neck from scratch. I learned a lot along the way, with trial and error, it took me a long time, lots of sweat, swearing and cursing.

Coyote,
I put on a d'Addario medium baritone set (XL157) .014 / .018 / .026 / .044 / .056 / .068

BluesOwl,
I will report back in a few days/weeks. The strings are balanced very good, better than my Gretsch "jet baritone" which is essentially a 6 string bass with all wound strings tuned one octave below standard tuning. I'm still wondering myself wether this one is a beauty or a beast. Actually, I like them having both sides

Jef

Raymond · July 9th, 2005, 08:38 AM

Congratulations Jef! That’s a beauty. I remember talking about this project a few months ago in front of a couple of bullekes and I was really impressed that you’d make your own neck. That must’ve been tough! You should be proud.

I can’t wait to check it out in person. My trip has been pushed back to the 25th. Are you going to be in town? I know you guys in Europe pretty much disappear for a few weeks during the summer while we American corporate slaves have to always work… :evil: :evil: :evil: You guys are lucky!

July 7th, 2005, 03:33 PM	#1 (permalink)
Jef Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Antwerp, Belgium Posts: 673 1 Photos	finally... baritone tele project completed (long) I started this one about one and a half years ago... gathered parts and tools and worked on it very slowly. I made the baritone neck from scratch. It was my first attempt at building a neck. I screwed up the fret job the first time, I couldn't get the radius right (12") so I had to order new (pre bent) fretwire. (in the picture, I added a 'standard' tele neck, just to compare the scale length) The body is from a cheap Stagg tele copy. It's solid alder but the grain is not so beautiful. I plan to cover the body with tweed in the near future. Bridge pickup is a Seymour Dunacan "hot" lipstick for strat. I mounted it on an elevator plate from a telecaster bridge pickup. Neck and middle are from Kent Armstrong. The middle pickup is wired to a mini switch. Bridge and neck pickups are connected to a 4 pole 5 way switch (neck / neck + bridge parallel / neck+ bridge series / neck + bridge series out of phase / bridge only) And best of all: it really twangs. I'm kinda surprised that is it a bright guitar, even though it's tuned ADGCEA Jef __________________ Amplification is not a social dinner, a literary event, a drawing or an embroidery; It cannot be done with elegance and courtesy. Amplification is an act of violence... (Mao Tse-Tube)

July 8th, 2005, 10:14 AM	#4 (permalink)
BluesOwl Tele-Holic Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Dexter, MI Posts: 551 48 Photos	A Beaut! That is really nice looking! Let us know more when you have spent some time with the beast...<er>....beauty...sorry. Especially how you like or don't like the tones you get. More specifically the tones of the wound strings....too muddy on the neck pup settting? I have a Baritone (Pseudo-"Sub-Sonic") and I think I want to change pups and want to gather info/opinions first. __________________ BluesOwl

July 8th, 2005, 04:16 PM	#5 (permalink)
Jef Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Antwerp, Belgium Posts: 673 1 Photos	Thank you very much, guys! Walter, I wanted to buy a Rockinger baritone neck too, but when trying out some cheap donor guitars, I preferred the Stagg over a Squier. When I took it apart, I noticed that the neck pocket was not Fender-compatible, so the Rockinger neck wouldn't fit either. Then I decided to do it the hard way, and build the neck from scratch. I learned a lot along the way, with trial and error, it took me a long time, lots of sweat, swearing and cursing. Coyote, I put on a d'Addario medium baritone set (XL157) .014 / .018 / .026 / .044 / .056 / .068 BluesOwl, I will report back in a few days/weeks. The strings are balanced very good, better than my Gretsch "jet baritone" which is essentially a 6 string bass with all wound strings tuned one octave below standard tuning. I'm still wondering myself wether this one is a beauty or a beast. Actually, I like them having both sides Jef __________________ Amplification is not a social dinner, a literary event, a drawing or an embroidery; It cannot be done with elegance and courtesy. Amplification is an act of violence... (Mao Tse-Tube)

July 9th, 2005, 08:38 AM	#6 (permalink)
Raymond Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Herndon, VA Posts: 2,417 3 Photos	Congratulations Jef! That’s a beauty. I remember talking about this project a few months ago in front of a couple of bullekes and I was really impressed that you’d make your own neck. That must’ve been tough! You should be proud. I can’t wait to check it out in person. My trip has been pushed back to the 25th. Are you going to be in town? I know you guys in Europe pretty much disappear for a few weeks during the summer while we American corporate slaves have to always work… :evil: :evil: :evil: You guys are lucky! __________________ "That's a hard pill to swallow, buddy; when you find out what the blues is all about"

July 7th, 2005, 04:07 PM	#2 (permalink)
Walter Broes Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Antwerp, Belgium Age: 38 Posts: 458	Very, very cool Jef. I have a tele body on the way, and I'm getting a baritone neck for it as soon as I can afford one. (probably will go for a Rockinger neck). Now you have me thinking Bigsby.....

July 7th, 2005, 10:32 PM	#3 (permalink)
Coyote Tele-Meister Join Date: May 2005 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 302	She's a beaut' Jef, what gauge strings you got on there?