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Greenburst Tele now complete

Discussion in 'Telecaster Discussion Forum' started by rogerzilla, May 28, 2008.

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  1. May 28, 2008 #1
    rogerzilla

    rogerzilla Tele-Meister

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    Going for a Billy Bragg vibe, a bit like his Burns Steer (which is too odd as a guitar for my liking):

    http://www.imuso.co.uk/directory/reviews/electric-guitar-reviews/burns-steer.htm

    Only two jobs turned out to be tricky: getting the bushings in for the tuners (Warmoth certainly don't make them oversize!) and soldering to the pot casings with a wimpy 25W iron. In the end some plumber's flux helped it stick.

    Warmoth alder body, flame maple top, greenburst, Allparts b/w/b pickguard, Warmoth Vintage Modern neck with ebony fretboard, 22 vintage-size stainless frets
    [​IMG]
    Fender repro Klusons. Quite easy to line up using a clamp and a short ruler.
    [​IMG]
    "F" neckplate, because they're more interesting than plain ones.
    [​IMG]
    Wilkinson compensated 3-saddle vintage bridge (the green around the pickup screw is a reflection of one of the kids' toys). Seymour Duncan Vintage Stack pickup, which is incredible (the neck pickup is the matching one). I used 500k CTS pots and a 0.022 Allparts Vitamin Q cap. I think it would be muddy with the usual 250k and 0.047 cap. It's wired in the "modern" Tele fashion: bridge pickup only/both pickups/neck pickup only. I thought about coil splitting but decided not to bother in the end, and I'm glad I didn't because the tone is just right as it is.
    [​IMG]
    It sounds thicker and warmer than my Strat, but there is a full range of tones available, and I can get it quite spiky if I need to. With both pickups on and the tone control set halfway, it's a lovely sound. The sustain is out of this world, even compared to a Les Paul (I've had a couple of them at various times).

    And that's my first ever guitar build.
     
  2. May 28, 2008 #2
    magicguitar

    magicguitar Tele-Afflicted

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    Very nice job and LOVE the color.
     
  3. May 28, 2008 #3
    Scotland

    Scotland Poster Extraordinaire

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    Beautiful guitar and well constructed. You did a great job there. That colour is stunning. If it sounds half as good as it looks then you have a keeper
    Congratulations on a job very well done.
     
  4. May 28, 2008 #4
    cminor7b5

    cminor7b5 Tele-Meister

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    Great Build!

    I like the fact you started with a theme…

    I like your rationale for the neckplate and…

    I like how the maple top and the unusual sunburst give the guitar a unique identity without going too far out there.

    It's still a Tele… you know?

    again nice build.
     
  5. May 28, 2008 #5
    nasonm

    nasonm Friend of Leo's

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    Very cool. I like the finish...Yours is much prettier than a Burns Steer for sure
     
  6. May 28, 2008 #6
    Tele Fan

    Tele Fan Friend of Leo's

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    Nice!
     
  7. May 28, 2008 #7
    Crawfish

    Crawfish Tele-Afflicted

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    What a gorgeous guitar. Fantastic color. Great job!

    Agree with you about the Steer - I thought about buying one as recently as last week but it's just too bizarre for me. Can't quite pull the trigger on one.

    Haven't seen Billy play his Steer live for a number of years - the last several times he's been playing a sparkly silver or grey Tele clone - rosewood board and a sort of hockey stick shaped peghead. Before that he had a black Tele I believe.

    -Kevin
     
  8. May 28, 2008 #8
    PJ55

    PJ55 Poster Extraordinaire Silver Supporter

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    Roger...beautiful! What neck did you use?
     
  9. May 28, 2008 #9
    ucnick

    ucnick Tele-Meister Gold Supporter

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    About that plumber's flux...

    FYI - if I was you I'd keep an eye on that connection to the pots that required plumber's flux, and maybe rethink about having used it. Better to use a higher powered iron or gun and electronic flux. This is because plumber's flux uses acid as the active ingredient, it fluxes really well but is very corrosive - it tends to fairly quickly corrode the soft metals such as copper wire, the steel pot case will last a little longer. When used for soldering copper pipe it is typically washed off afterwards so that it doesn't affect the copper, but if it is left on it will eat away the copper pipes.

    Electronic flux uses either rosin (not typical anymore, kind of unhealthy) or an organic fluxing compound which, while not as effective as the acid, does not eat the metals.

    You may want to consider buying or borrowing a higher powered (150W/300W?) soldering gun, disconnect the wires and try to clean off as much of the acid flux as possible, maybe use a little baking soda in water to neutralize it (dry well!), then use the soldering gun and electronic flux to make the connection. It would be an unhappy thing to have the connection break right in the middle of a solo during a performance, which is when Murphy says it will happen...:oops:
     
  10. May 28, 2008 #10
    ucnick

    ucnick Tele-Meister Gold Supporter

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    Almost forgot - beautiful axe, by the way!
     
  11. May 28, 2008 #11
    Lance

    Lance Friend of Leo's

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    Dang! That's amazing looking!

    I really was thinking of something just like that as a build....but I wanted to get a matching headstock with an ebony board....and then the price went through the roof.

    In the end, I'm doing a Warmoth strat build. The parts came last night and I did 99% of the soldering but ran into the low power iron issue as well. It'll get completed this weekend when I get back to my place with the heavy iron. I'm very happy with what was sent but I guess I'll need to wait to see how it's going to sound.

    Anyway, nice job!
     
  12. May 28, 2008 #12
    Beatbx

    Beatbx Tele-Meister

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    Congrats, very nice!
     
  13. May 28, 2008 #13
    hekawi

    hekawi Poster Extraordinaire

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    WOW, Beautiful Guitar!
    the ebony fretboard was a good choice....really compliments the body and pickguard.

    POST MORE PICTURES!

    did you have a custom made decal for the headstock?
     
  14. May 28, 2008 #14
    Frank B

    Frank B Tele-Holic

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    Beautiful... ebony fretboard, the color is amazing... very nice.
    Congratulations ! ;)
     
  15. May 28, 2008 #15
    Grin'n'pick

    Grin'n'pick Friend of Leo's

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    Stunning looking tele, I think it is a real beauty.
     
  16. May 28, 2008 #16
    johnnylaw

    johnnylaw Tele-Afflicted

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    Gadzooks! Luxurious and not gaudy! Nice job.
     
  17. May 28, 2008 #17
    Southern Ill

    Southern Ill Banned

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    Turned out great...Enjoy..Nice work!!!!
     
  18. May 28, 2008 #18
    braderrick

    braderrick Tele-Afflicted

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    Sweet! I always liked all the greenburst stuff I've seen. Everything you picked out is perfect and top of the line. Congrats.
     
  19. May 28, 2008 #19
    boneyguy

    boneyguy Doctor of Teleocity

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    I'm not much for funky colours on guitars but I like that green. I think the black p/g makes it work for me. That's a real beauty for sure.

    I just noticed the ebony board. Wow!! The ebony and the black p/g against that green........beeyoooteeful!!
     
  20. May 28, 2008 #20
    BritishBluesBoy

    BritishBluesBoy Former Member

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    Nice one mate! That's one hell of a good looking Tele!!
     
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