NGD- Telecaster/Languedoc

[Big Twang Theory]

So I finally got her built this week after collecting parts for about 6 months now. In my band we play more Americana type music, but I've been a huge Phish fan forever. So I always wanted something similar to Trey's Languedoc guitars. There's a couple of guys out there that sell clones, but they get pretty bad reviews. I tried a PRS hollowbody, but didn't really bond with it. So I decided to see what I could come up with going the partscaster route after seeing Warmoth makes some fully hollowbodys. So here's the details:
Body: telecaster shaped full hollowbody from Warmoth. It's not a center block, but fully hollow except for under the bridge. Mahogany body with maple top and back.
Neck: Warmoth as well. 25 1/2" scale. Angled headstock. 1 11/16" bone nut. Maple with ebony fretboard. 12" radius with medium jumbo frets.
Hardware: Graphtech locking tuners. Gotoh wrap-around tailpiece (similar to PRS.)
Pickups: Lindy Fralin Sunbucker Blues in the neck. Lindy Fralin Sunbucker in the bridge. These are brighter more articulate humbuckers. Somewhere between a PAF and a single coil. The Blues one in the neck has a little more PAF than single coil than the bridge. The Sunbucker in the bridge is nice and twangy for a HB.
Two push/pull 500k pots. A coil split (with a 7k resistor, so it doesn't get too thin and no volume drop,) and second push/pull is a bright switch that removes the volume and tone pot from the signal.

So far I'm really happy! I can usually tell pretty quickly when trying out partscasters if I hit the mark or not. It's always a crap shoot. You can have great overall components, but sometimes for whatever reason, the whole just doesn't equal the sum of the parts. Fortunately, I think I nailed it with this one. Great sustain, articulate, and punchy. Can get really cool controllable feedback when I kick a Tubescreamer. Thanks for checking out this post!

 

[drmordo]

I'm surprised no one else posted - nice work, I love that guitar. I had no idea anyone made full hollow Tele bodies or I'd have built one by now, so thanks for the GAS. This is definitely my next project, not that I need another Telecaster. Next question, single coils or humbuckers? or - CRAP - I probly need one of each...

BTW - "second push/pull is a bright switch that removes the volume and tone pot from the signal". Is that how Anastasio's guitar is set up? I am not a Phish fan but love hollowbodies so I picked the Eastwood "Changuidoc". It's a pretty nice guitar but there is one switch that does something I don't understand - their website says it's a series parallel switch, but it isn't.

 

[Big Twang Theory]

Hey @drmordo , thanks for the reply! Yeah, I was stuck on the SC or HB question too. I'm normally a SC guy. So that's why I went with the Fralin Sunbucker and Sunbucker Blues option. They're HBs but voiced more as SC. Definitely the most articulate humbuckers I've ever played. The regular Sunbucker in the bridge is nice and twangy. Lindy describes it as 75% single coil and 25% bucker. Played my first gig last night with this guitar, and it went great! Bridge was twangy enough for when we play tunes like Folsom Prison, and the neck was nice and creamy for bluesy leads.

I'm pretty sure Trey's guitar has a series/parallel switch, but it's not something that interested me so that's why I went with the bright switch instead.

 

[drmordo]

Hey @drmordo , thanks for the reply! Yeah, I was stuck on the SC or HB question too. I'm normally a SC guy. So that's why I went with the Fralin Sunbucker and Sunbucker Blues option. They're HBs but voiced more as SC. Definitely the most articulate humbuckers I've ever played. The regular Sunbucker in the bridge is nice and twangy. Lindy describes it as 75% single coil and 25% bucker. Played my first gig last night with this guitar, and it went great! Bridge was twangy enough for when we play tunes like Folsom Prison, and the neck was nice and creamy for bluesy leads.

I'm pretty sure Trey's guitar has a series/parallel switch, but it's not something that interested me so that's why I went with the bright switch instead.

Interesting. Like I said, I'm pretty sure mine is not series/parallel but I need play with it more.

I can't find where to get a truly hollow Tele body from warmoth. All the options I am seeing are chambered or have a center block like a semi-acoustic, not a tiny block under only the bridge like a Languedoc. Was yours special order?

 

[Big Twang Theory]

Interesting. Like I said, I'm pretty sure mine is not series/parallel but I need play with it more.

I can't find where to get a truly hollow Tele body from warmoth. All the options I am seeing are chambered or have a center block like a semi-acoustic, not a tiny block under only the bridge like a Languedoc. Was yours special order?

No, it wasn't special order. When you have the body types in the drop down menu, it's under "carved top telecaster."

 

[brookdalebill]

Cool!

 

[shallbe]

Great choices! Love the ebony board and the pickups. I have a Sunbucker in my build and love it. It does twang pretty well, and covers a lot of ground.

 

[Big Twang Theory]

Great choices! Love the ebony board and the pickups. I have a Sunbucker in my build and love it. It does twang pretty well, and covers a lot of ground.

Thanks. Man, your build is gorgeous! I originally had the Sunbuckers in a partscaster exactly like that, daphne blue. I never could bond with it. All the parts were great, but the whole thing together just never had the mojo. So I sold it and started working on this one.

 

[shallbe]

Thanks. Man, your build is gorgeous! I originally had the Sunbuckers in a partscaster exactly like that, daphne blue. I never could bond with it. All the parts were great, but the whole thing together just never had the mojo. So I sold it and started working on this one.

Thanks! This one turned out really special. It has a really sweet tone that is right between a single coil and humbucker no matter where the switch it. And it is noiseless. SS frets, plays so easily. Just what I was hoping for, but you never know until it all comes together.

 

[Big Twang Theory]

@shallbe What's the p90 in the neck? Is that a Fralin as well?

 

[shallbe]

@shallbe What's the p90 in the neck? Is that a Fralin as well?

Yes. It is the Fralin Alnico Rod P90. Noiseless with a great tone. Take a P90, a stapletop Gibson pickup from a 54 Black Beauty, combine that and add a dash of Strat neck pickup. That is what it sounds like---really sweet and clear treble, with a nice round low end that is not flubby or overpowering.

 

[Big Twang Theory]

Yes. It is the Fralin Alnico Rod P90. Noiseless with a great tone. Take a P90, a stapletop Gibson pickup from a 54 Black Beauty, combine that and add a dash of Strat neck pickup. That is what it sounds like---really sweet and clear treble, with a nice round low end that is not flubby or overpowering.

Nice! That's one I've been mulling over getting. I pretty much have Fralins in all my guitars and they are just so sweet sounding.