Any thoughts on who made this?

[peoplescourier]

Hey!
Came across this and don't know anything about it; Is it a fender? Who might have made it? How can I tell? It's supposed to be a split maple top with a koa body, has anyone seen that before? Any insight at all will be welcomed. I'm new, so if I ask stupid questions, I ask that you forgive me. I am genuinly interested , I'm not trying to figure out what its worth in order to sell it, or trying to waste anybodies time . I'm using this body to put together my first telecaster (partscaster) and I just love the story behind things. So here are the pictures

 

[hemingway]

A committee?

There are a couple of elements that look a bit G&L. Beyond that I have no idea.

 

[tintag27]

That is an interesting acquisition!
I'm surprised that anybody who put this amount of work into a project left so little of their identity behind - maybe it was all on that missing neck?...
oh - and Welcome to TDPRI!

 

[Flyboy]

At an oblique angle, the body looks thicker than a Tele, which leads me to believe it might be Far East. AliExpress Chele bodies are all considerably thicker than your standard Tele.

Addition: looks like someone's fitted what may be a neck-tilt mechanism.

 

[Boreas]

Welcome aboard!

Pretty safe bet it has no Fender genes. Beyond that, you may get hints by looking under the hood at the electronics. Likely of Asian origin, but possibly Eastern Europe.

 

[peoplescourier]

At an oblique angle, the body looks thicker than a Tele, which leads me to believe it might be Far East. AliExpress Chele bodies are all considerably thicker than your standard Tele.

Addition: looks like someone's fitted what may be a neck-tilt mechanism.

There is a neck tilt mechanism, and I don't know about thickness but it is heavier than you would expect ( or i would expect anyway)

 

[peoplescourier]

That is an interesting acquisition!
I'm surprised that anybody who put this amount of work into a project left so little of their identity behind - maybe it was all on that missing neck?...
oh - and Welcome to TDPRI!

Right? its strange. It seems like a decent amount of work went into it. Then again maybe I am behind the times when it comes to cheap Chinese knockoffs

 

[peoplescourier]

A committee?

There are a couple of elements that look a bit G&L. Beyond that I have no idea.

Thanks! I"d love to find it was a G&L, It's certainly heavy enough.

 

[memorex]

I don't know what it is, but it's a Nashville type, so it can't be all bad. But it could benefit from a reverse control plate.

 

[fenderchamp]

G&L tributes are known to be heavy.

For some reason those weird knobs, the really thick finish, even in the neck pocket, the flame maple top, the multi-ply les customesque binding, the fact it doesn't have G&L MFD pickups in it, make me think "not G&L" The six saddle bridge and the body countour in the back are G&L ish though.

It doesn't look like somebody lovingly customized it to me, it looks like it was spit out of a factory "extra fancy".

what do the pickups look like from the back? Do they have bar magnets and what do the electronics look like?

It seems like a "super fancy" knock-off of some kind or the other, like a fire-fly or something of that ilk, that would have to be my guess and assumption until proven otherwise.

 

[Randy07ACV6]

That could literally be anything, anyone with a few woodworking skills can make a slab Tele body. Lots of companies make bodies but most seem to be more of a traditional style.

Some makers write or stamp info where the neck covers it, anything there?

I don't think it is any major brand, I don't know everything but have not seen a body like that ever before. Nice big comfort cut, interesting wood.
I own three G&L ASATs and don't see any of their hardware or their body style.

I like it, it could be a custom build. If it is not very expensive and not too heavy I would probably grab it.

 

[RiversQC]

I'd guess it's someone's DIY build?

-Finish is good but not great, not factory finish on back
-pickguard not a great fit for the body, likely aftermarket.

Seems good quality materials (at least wood) used. Binding very fancy!

 

[Travis1972]

Welcome aboard!

Pretty safe bet it has no Fender genes. Beyond that, you may get hints by looking under the hood at the electronics. Likely of Asian origin, but possibly Eastern Europe.

A lot of nice bodies coming out of Eastern Europe,a couple of telemasters from babik I’ve been eyeballing

 

[burntfrijoles]

When in doubt, blame Florida Man. In this case I would think it was Florida Man and his twin, who hold FM's beer while he tries out something.

 

[Boreas]

A lot of nice bodies coming out of Eastern Europe,a couple of telemasters from babik I’ve been eyeballing

I agree.

 

[Wrighty]

Hey!
Came across this and don't know anything about it; Is it a fender? Who might have made it? How can I tell? It's supposed to be a split maple top with a koa body, has anyone seen that before? Any insight at all will be welcomed. I'm new, so if I ask stupid questions, I ask that you forgive me. I am genuinly interested , I'm not trying to figure out what its worth in order to sell it, or trying to waste anybodies time . I'm using this body to put together my first telecaster (partscaster) and I just love the story behind things. So here are the pictures

Can't find it at the mo', but wasn't this posted a week or so ago?

 

[Peegoo]

That is not Fender, and it's not DIY; it's factory-made. Looks very similar to what was coming out of China about 10 years ago.

 

[fenderguy1]

Any luck on who made it? Have you opened it up? Maybe there's some clues under the pick guard. Good luck with it & let us know what neck you're going to use!

 

[peoplescourier]

Someone asked if this was posted somewhere else, and it was. I posted it in the new member intros as well, I mistakenly thought that nobody looked at those. I am Sorry for the redundancy. I have taken it apart. In doing so I noticed uneven contures on the pick guard like someone had done it at home. The pickups look cheap;there is not a single indentifying marker and the wire gauge is a bit smaller than I would expect(again this is all new to me). The screws on the saddle have really sharp edges much like when I have to cut bolts/studs at work on the fly with a metabo blade. Also notable was the screws themselves, overly soft pot metal that wanted to strip just by looking at it sideways. I'll post pics of the pickups later on just to get you alls opinion, but sad to say so far it seems to be cheaper layer by layer. You win some...

 

[peoplescourier]

Oh, I neglected to thank everybody for the insight and warm welcome, thanks!