Feather-caster

[jsntg]

It's Friday night and I should be either practicing or at the honky tonk but instead I sit wondering about the relative weights of Tele components. Yeah.

Anyways, maybe someone could edujumacate me on the rough average weights of the following:

1. Standard Tele body
2. Thinline or chamber body
3. Neck

I know there is prolly a huge range in body weights but curious about the middle of the bell curve. I'm guessing necks, like hardware, are pretty narrow in their range.

This goes to my desire to assemble a lightweight practice Tele. Not really worried about crazy sustain or a 3D sound so much as I am something that won't require a shoulder massage at the end of the day. That said I don't want something so dead and thin that I end up reaching for my twangdiddley 7.5 pound Baja + asprin. So looking to strike a balance in there somewhere.

What are the lightest weight body woods? I know basswood is relatively light, how does it compare to swamp ash?

Any suggestions for putting together a Feather-caster?

Thanks in advance,

Hugh

[newtwanger]

I've seen alot of "pinecasters" that have bodies in the 3 - 3 1/4 lbs range.
You could also get a thinline body that would weigh about the same.
Swamp ash goes from about 3 3/4 to 6 lbs.

[tiktok]

I don't know how they meter on on the scale, but my stock '69 RI Thinline never causes shoulder/back fatigue. It's like, Parker Fly light.

[beep.click]

Originally Posted by jsntg

This goes to my desire to assemble a lightweight practice Tele. Not really worried about crazy sustain or a 3D sound so much as I am something that won't require a shoulder massage at the end of the day.

The older I get, the more I sit.

Seriously, I much prefer playing seated. The bonus is, unlike my shoulder -- my leg can't tell how much the guitar weighs.

As for Tele body weights, I've never seen a HEAVY Thinline...

[Telenator]

If you want to experience what a really light Tele feels like, go out and play a Gibson SG. Stand up and put a strap on it. The neck dives right for the floor because the body on an SG is so light. Same goes for a Tele.

Personally, I find a body weight of 4 to 4 1/2 lbs to the best for balance and a pretty safe bet for sound.


Anyway, here's the "original" Feather-Caster!

Feather is my last name so I had a decal made up to look a little Fender-like, but bearing my name.

I made the neck in 1982. It's my first handmade neck and I still play it. The body is Warmoth, very light, and the pickup is a Kinman. It's sort of an adult sized Musicmaster.

The scale length is a custom 25 3/4"

[51tele]

great looking guitar----and I love that decal

[e-merlin]

That's awesome. I haven't had the courage, or the tools, to make my own neck yet.

[TG]

I find that a low/medium weight but well balanced guitar is easier on the back than a very light guitar that's neck heavy. Even a slight forward pull of the strap gets to me after a while...more so than a bit more weight hanging straight down on both strap ends.

And as I very much prefer a solid chunky neck to a modern slim one any very low weight body will result in a neck-heavy guitar.

From what I can tell a 4.5 to 5 pound body is usually about right.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by jsntg

I don't want something so dead and thin that I end up reaching for my twangdiddley 7.5 pound Baja + asprin.

If 7.5 pounds is heavy for you, you must want something very, very light. A friend with a bad back had a custom built Tele put together for him, picked out things to cut weight such as old style tuners, but ones with plastic tuning pegs. The body was a lightweight wood. Used a single pickup to cut another several ounces. I think it ended up around 4.5 pounds.

You could skip the tone, switch, and volume controls and go straight to the output jack. Save you some more weight. Lots of little tricks if you want to cut the weight down. Such as cut down the bridge plate, use a mahogany neck which is lighter than maple and will help with the neck dive problem. Use a graphite non-adjustable truss rod. (Works with steel string acoustic guitar necks, ought to work with lighter tension electric guitar necks.)

You get the idea.

[jsntg]

Good suggestions all. I think my strategy is to buy/build a Tele that is balanced (CG at 21st fret). From your suggestions it would seem that using a standard maple neck and standard hardware I should be looking for a body that's ~4.5 pounds. Does this sound about right?

I played a couple MIM thinlines recently and they were both a tad tail heavy.

There is also another practical concern when it comes to weight: I sit at the computer a lot and practice so I'm taking both hands off the guitar (like right now) to type or set up a song and I don't want to worry about the neck going for the sky and the subsequent rescue which happens frequently.

Hugh

[FredDairy]

I've got a swamp ash body that weighs in under 4.0 lbs and it's unbelievably light... it feels like a toy, once I got past the initial shock of how light it was it's turning into my favorite standing and playing guitar.

[CDKopf]

Dean was/is makin those dirt cheap vendetta's out of Paulownia. Super-light and very toneful.