New short scale Tele partscaster...breaking the rules?

[gonzo]

"New short scale Tele partscaster...breaking the rules?"

i don't understand this question...
where are these 'rules' listed, i can't find them.

 

[gonzo]

by the way....

NICE tele!

 

[Sax-son]

You should build the guitar to fit your personal needs and preferences without apologies. To me, that what it is all about. Everyone will have their own preferences and opinions, but that is on them and their own business. Keep on keeping on.

 

[Wound_Up]

I recently finished this short scale Telecaster. I've always loved the sound of Telecasters but I have never been able to be comfortable with one, so I finally assembled one to be ergonomically correct for me.

View attachment 1017107

- 24" scale like my Mustang which is my favorite to play. I guess that for many this already doesn't qualify as a Tele. Is this even allowed here?
- 7/8 size Warmoth, chambered, roasted, alder body with forearm and belly contours. I used a router, a Dremel and a lot of time to further hollow out the body so that it is nearly a hollowbody guitar now.
- 24" scale neck from Sound Guitar Works. Roasted maple with ebony fretboard, 1 5/8" width at the nut, .87" C shape with 7.25-9.5 compound radius, SS 6150 frets. I chose one of Sound Guitars headstock shapes instead of the usual Tele Mr Potatohead.
- SS zero fret.
- Dimarzio Area Hot T bridge pickup
- Dimarzio EJ Custom neck. This is a very low power pickup that is supposed to have a "Filtertronish" sound. Maybe not quite, but I think it sounds great and the output matches the bridge pickup. In-between sounds are really good too.
- Control plate turned in the "correct" orientation.
- 5lb 15oz.

I had a lot of fun doing this project and I'm very happy with the way it turned out. Finally a Tele that's super comfortable and fun for me to play. I think it sounds great...like a Tele...almost (a concession to all the Tele purists here).

How is it nearly a hollow body? Wouldn't that entail removing the entire face or back of the guitar to hollow out most of it? I don't particularly see a DIY'er hollowing out a Tele from only the pickguard access so I was just curious?

 

[Wound_Up]

I recently finished this short scale Telecaster. I've always loved the sound of Telecasters but I have never been able to be comfortable with one, so I finally assembled one to be ergonomically correct for me.

View attachment 1017107

- 24" scale like my Mustang which is my favorite to play. I guess that for many this already doesn't qualify as a Tele. Is this even allowed here?
- 7/8 size Warmoth, chambered, roasted, alder body with forearm and belly contours. I used a router, a Dremel and a lot of time to further hollow out the body so that it is nearly a hollowbody guitar now.
- 24" scale neck from Sound Guitar Works. Roasted maple with ebony fretboard, 1 5/8" width at the nut, .87" C shape with 7.25-9.5 compound radius, SS 6150 frets. I chose one of Sound Guitars headstock shapes instead of the usual Tele Mr Potatohead.
- SS zero fret.
- Dimarzio Area Hot T bridge pickup
- Dimarzio EJ Custom neck. This is a very low power pickup that is supposed to have a "Filtertronish" sound. Maybe not quite, but I think it sounds great and the output matches the bridge pickup. In-between sounds are really good too.
- Control plate turned in the "correct" orientation.
- 5lb 15oz.

I had a lot of fun doing this project and I'm very happy with the way it turned out. Finally a Tele that's super comfortable and fun for me to play. I think it sounds great...like a Tele...almost (a concession to all the Tele purists here).

How is it nearly a hollow body? Wouldn't that entail removing the entire face or back of the guitar to hollow out most of it? I don't particularly see a DIY'er hollowing out a Tele from the pickguard. Just wondering.

 

[3of5]

How is it nearly a hollow body? Wouldn't that entail removing the entire face or back of the guitar to hollow out most of it? I don't particularly see a DIY'er hollowing out a Tele from the pickguard. Just wondering.

The body was Warmoth's "chambered" style. Much of the interior of the body looks like a honeycomb inside (you can see a picture at their site). I did not alter any part of the exterior of the body at all. I first routed around the pickup openings and the control opening to make them about 5/8" wider in all dimensions, leaving 3/16" of the top surface unaltered. Then came the tricky part. I used a Dremel tool, sometimes with a right angle attachment and a verity of the longest cutting tips I could find and carefully extended the openings between the top and back surfaces, breaking up as much of the wood honeycomb of chambers as I could. I also modified 10" long drill bits to use in a handheld drill to remove wood to as close to the sides of the body as I dared, leaving maybe 1/2" to 1/4" around the perimeter. I took my time...and it did take some time. I ended up taking out about 1/2lb of wood in the process. Warmoth says that they also remove about 1/2lb of wood when they do their honeycomb chambering. So I doubled the amount of wood removed. Much of the front and the back of the guitar sound quite hollow when I tap on them. The entire completed guitar now weighs 5lbs 15oz. It is well balanced and has no neck dive.

It's certainly not something I would recommend for the inexperienced or the faint of heart but I have had many years of experience doing similar kinds of things in my job and I have very steady hands.

 

[tintag27]

A beautiful instrument, and obviously well-planned and executed. A lot of thought and ingenuity went into this guitar...

 

[dswo]

A beautiful instrument, and obviously well-planned and executed. A lot of thought and ingenuity went into this guitar...

That guitar is a lot better looking than this silly video:

 

[Giuseppenola]

I recently finished this short scale Telecaster. I've always loved the sound of Telecasters but I have never been able to be comfortable with one, so I finally assembled one to be ergonomically correct for me.

View attachment 1017107

- 24" scale like my Mustang which is my favorite to play. I guess that for many this already doesn't qualify as a Tele. Is this even allowed here?
- 7/8 size Warmoth, chambered, roasted, alder body with forearm and belly contours. I used a router, a Dremel and a lot of time to further hollow out the body so that it is nearly a hollowbody guitar now.
- 24" scale neck from Sound Guitar Works. Roasted maple with ebony fretboard, 1 5/8" width at the nut, .87" C shape with 7.25-9.5 compound radius, SS 6150 frets. I chose one of Sound Guitars headstock shapes instead of the usual Tele Mr Potatohead.
- SS zero fret.
- Dimarzio Area Hot T bridge pickup
- Dimarzio EJ Custom neck. This is a very low power pickup that is supposed to have a "Filtertronish" sound. Maybe not quite, but I think it sounds great and the output matches the bridge pickup. In-between sounds are really good too.
- Control plate turned in the "correct" orientation.
- 5lb 15oz.

I had a lot of fun doing this project and I'm very happy with the way it turned out. Finally a Tele that's super comfortable and fun for me to play. I think it sounds great...like a Tele...almost (a concession to all the Tele purists here).

I’ve done 3 conversions from Fender to Gibson scale, and one ground up build. They’re great, the short scale guitars. My favorite is empress wood (Pawlonia) with 24.75 scale, rosewood board, fender ish headstock and 2 Charlie Christian wound pickups.

Ironically, playing the short scale guitars made me appreciate the longer normal tele scale more. Both have a place in the rack.

 

[ponycar]

I have several conversion necked guitars. Love them. I had a new Warmoth 7/8ths body, 4lbs, for sale on this forum a while back and had zero interest. I should probably list it again. They intonate with a Mustang or Jaguar neck.