I Like My Build Better

trevorus · Apr 25, 2022

I’ve had both cases. I built a Tele-gib with GFS pickups, GFS XGP body, and a $99 roasted maple ebay neck, and it turned out to be a bad ass, killer guitar. My other tele I built is a Fender MIM Players Tele body, an American Pro neck, Lollar Pickups and a Wilkinson bridge. It turned into my number 1 pretty immediately.

Hell, I have a USA Hamer that I actually had to swap pickups in. The Seth Lover HB’s in it were just too dark. I resisted changing anything on that guitar, because it was so awesome otherwise. I picked up a set of Gibson Livebuckers from a local guy, and put those in, and it woke the beast in that guitar.

Contrast that with my EB Silhouette, it’s all stock, and it’s great just the way it is.

I’m never afraid to tune and mod a guitar to my liking, though I try to do it in a reversible way, without drilling through wood and such if I can help it.

KelvinS1965 · Apr 25, 2022

ChicknPickn said:
I was curious, if not skeptical, a few years ago when some posters here raved about fat neck profiles. I thought, what will it do to my speed? Then I realized that I had no speed. I was not a shredder. The truth sometimes hurts. But when I got my first fat neck, the Allparts TMO-FAT, it was like coming home. The support for my hand made chording easier. Speed? It's not my concern. Being clean and accurate is the goal these days.

Yes, I'm no shredder either though decently fast when I need to be.

I actually like having a mix, so I play the Allparts FAT neck on the newer Strat, but then if I change to another guitar with a slim neck (eg my Gibson SG) I adapt quickly and it seems to help with my ageing hands too. Sometimes I just need to swap so my hand gets a different grip, though I do think that the fatter neck seems to help in that regard anyway.

Just got some coats of tinted nitro on my Allparts V profile Tele neck this weekend, so it's getting closer to being to actually play it. Not quite as fat as the Strat neck (or my MIM 'Fat 51 U' neck on my avatar Tele) at the first fret, but goes to just under 1" by the 12th fret.

ChicknPickn · Apr 25, 2022

KelvinS1965 said:
Yes, I'm no shredder either though decently fast when I need to be.

I actually like having a mix, so I play the Allparts FAT neck on the newer Strat, but then if I change to another guitar with a slim neck (eg my Gibson SG) I adapt quickly and it seems to help with my ageing hands too. Sometimes I just need to swap so my hand gets a different grip, though I do think that the fatter neck seems to help in that regard anyway.

Just got some coats of tinted nitro on my Allparts V profile Tele neck this weekend, so it's getting closer to being to actually play it. Not quite as fat as the Strat neck (or my MIM 'Fat 51 U' neck on my avatar Tele) at the first fret, but goes to just under 1" by the 12th fret.

View attachment 976947 View attachment 976948

Beautiful tint. Looks almost edible.

Fenderdad1950 · May 22, 2022

Nice finished product

bobio · May 22, 2022

This is why I will not buy a guitar in the $1500 range from anywhere but Sweetwater.
Had I received something with the problems the OP stated, it would have gone right back.

I have many more partscasters than factory Fenders, mainly because Fender doesn't always offer configurations I am looking for. When I do find a factory guitar I want, I am a firm believer in either extensively checking out a guitar in person or buying from a source with a good return policy. There is no reason to settle for a guitar with problems.

I just bought an American Professional II Strat from Sweetwater and it is perfect, no complaints about it whatsoever.

As soon as Sweetwater gets more in stock, I will be picking up an American Professional II Tele Deluxe as well.

jays0n · May 22, 2022

Valkyrie said:
It is. But in all my years of buying and selling guitars, PRS is the only manufacturer who’s guitars were perfect. I have owned three or four over the last 25 years and every one of them was absolutely perfect in fit, finish and quality. Perfect frets, perfect finish, perfect everything.

…..

I experienced this last year. I got a PRS Fiore and it was perfect from the factory. I did not have to change intonation, relief, or do anything to the frets or nut. Pricy but I got what I was after.

TeleTown · May 23, 2022

Valkyrie said:
Than my factory American Professional Tele.

The factory guitar is nice don’t get me wrong. But the frets needed leveled, the nut needed adjusted, the neck angle was off and that Allen screw tilt adjustment thing is not great so I had shim it. For a 1500$ guitar I had to do a bunch of work to it. And I know all guitars require a good set up but compared side by side, the guitar I cobbled together with 750$ in parts is superior.

Now that I know what I like I am building another!!

Pretty much the way it always turns out when you start building. The last 3 fender teles i bought were just crap. That was about 15 yrs ago. Build, Learn ,and enjoy. My last yrs. build and it turned out killer.

shallbe · May 25, 2022

I certainly like my builds better than anything Fender I have played in 15 years or so. I have a bunch of great T and S style guitars---some my builds and some by Kirn, Suhr, Protocaster, Asher. I wanted my builds to approach the level of the the boutique guys. Just takes some knowledge, patience and the will to make it as good as it can be.

The only Fender I still own is an old Mexi Precision bass.