Willie Johnson
Friend of Leo's
I'd like to, but just buying a cheap Squier and replacing what I don't like seems less expensive and easier, even if it doesn't give me 100% of everything I'd ever want.
Partscasters...would you do it again?
- Thread starter blueruins
- Start date
Dik Ellis
Tele-Afflicted
I don't own any partscasters, but I have seen some I would like to own.
Johnnypops
TDPRI Member
I've just bought my first real partscaster. It arrived Friday (in parts) because it needed some work before putting it ack together.
I also bought one a few years back thinking/hoping it was genuine but it wasn't and I got a beautiful '72 thinline that looks and plays amazing but it was a warmoth pickguard so assume it also likely to be warmoth neck and body too.
So back to this weeks purchase, it's the most resonant guitar I own (apart from 335s) and as such also plays louder than my other T&S style guitars. One tele I own would be fairly close for resonance but the new one (sorry it's a strat but I'm also comparing it with a few teles also) is breaking up the amp just like humbuckers would.
I might check the pickups readings soon to see what impedance they show as I wasn't expecting this, but as far as I can tell they are completely stock left handed pickups (i'm a lefty). I'm stoked with much of what I've now got, just need to tweak the action a little but it's playing great but just a little high but chokes out otherwise, nothing a tweak of the trussrod and a couple of paper shims under the neck plate wont fix.
Can really feel every vibration as it passes through the neck, I've got a Les Paul that has same sort of resonance and neck vibration
I also bought one a few years back thinking/hoping it was genuine but it wasn't and I got a beautiful '72 thinline that looks and plays amazing but it was a warmoth pickguard so assume it also likely to be warmoth neck and body too.
So back to this weeks purchase, it's the most resonant guitar I own (apart from 335s) and as such also plays louder than my other T&S style guitars. One tele I own would be fairly close for resonance but the new one (sorry it's a strat but I'm also comparing it with a few teles also) is breaking up the amp just like humbuckers would.
I might check the pickups readings soon to see what impedance they show as I wasn't expecting this, but as far as I can tell they are completely stock left handed pickups (i'm a lefty). I'm stoked with much of what I've now got, just need to tweak the action a little but it's playing great but just a little high but chokes out otherwise, nothing a tweak of the trussrod and a couple of paper shims under the neck plate wont fix.
Can really feel every vibration as it passes through the neck, I've got a Les Paul that has same sort of resonance and neck vibration
Gordocaster
TDPRI Member
I'm new to the Partscaster world, and it started because I bought a Donner Tele; for $100 I couldn't resist. The guitar was perfectly fine for what it was (I'm a bedroom player), but then I started thinking about modding. First was the headstock shape--I cut that to a traditional Tele style. Then I swapped pickups and pots and 3 way switch, then a new RockRabbit control plate, then an aged pickguard to replace the blinding white stock one...now I am researching a total new build. I've become a bit obsessed with building a Pinecaster, and hence I find myself here.
So I guess my "Tele" qualifies as a Partscaster. To answer the question, I wasn't searching for Shangri-la. Just a decent player to have fun with. Truth is, I could have left it completely stock. It played and sounded fine out of the box. I guess I would fall into the "Great diversion" camp. But that's just me. I'm not tracking down perfect playability or tone; I just like to build and I love guitars, so why not combine the two?
@Rockinvet has a good point. If playing is your major goal, versus building, it seems you can buy a really decent guitar for a little cash and be on your way jammin' instead of tinkering. But I love tinkering!
I am looking forward to learning more on this forum about the ins and outs.
Keep on pickin'
So I guess my "Tele" qualifies as a Partscaster. To answer the question, I wasn't searching for Shangri-la. Just a decent player to have fun with. Truth is, I could have left it completely stock. It played and sounded fine out of the box. I guess I would fall into the "Great diversion" camp. But that's just me. I'm not tracking down perfect playability or tone; I just like to build and I love guitars, so why not combine the two?
@Rockinvet has a good point. If playing is your major goal, versus building, it seems you can buy a really decent guitar for a little cash and be on your way jammin' instead of tinkering. But I love tinkering!
I am looking forward to learning more on this forum about the ins and outs.
Keep on pickin'
Wide Ranger
TDPRI Member
I voted "The best, never buying off the shelf again", but I won't hold myself to that. I love putting guitars together. I sometimes make my own bodies in custom shapes. Always buy the necks ready made though, so can't call myself a luthier. Ah well. Still, you learn a lot about guitars doing this sort of thing, and you've got to be prepared to do some work to make them function properly, and to make them play and sound great.
I've had my '77 Telecustom for 40 years and still going strong, but I've never had a more standard Tele, so I decided to put a partscaster together that included some of the things I like about the Telecustom and some things that I specifically wanted for it. So, it's a Tele that's very much to my specification with 7.25" radius fingerboard, Fender 70's style slothead tuners, six saddle vintage bridge (with brass saddles), lightweight swamp ash body, Tru- oil finish, maple on maple neck, tortoiseshell pickguard. I was lucky in that the neck pocket fit is perfect, barely needs the neck screws. I decided to get Fender '51 Nocaster pickups and I liked the idea of the Broadcaster Blend wiring, so went with that.
As it's a quite recent project I'm still tweaking the value of the capacitor in the forward switch position, trying various things out.
Problems have been: the A string was popping out of the saddle, so I filed the slot a little deeper, a simple fix. The pickguard has screw holes for the neck pickup, so I used them. However, there's a slight mismatch between the pickup cavity rout and the pickup position on the pickguard such that the pickup is touching the side wall of the cavity and isn't sitting horizontally, it's at a slight angle. When I come to change strings I shall sort this out. These are the kinds of things that one must be prepared to do with partscaster builds. Things don't always fit together as you might hope they would.
The guitar itself is great. Couldn't have asked for better. It's very light in weight, plays beautifully, has a very sweet tone. Indeed, the tone is unlike any other Tele I've known, but is still unmistakably Tele tone. It's certainly not a model that you can buy off the shelf.
An earlier build was a Jazzmaster. Again a swamp ash body and maple on maple neck. Schaller locking tuners keep it nicely in tune. SP Custom Vintage Jazzmaster pickups. Tortoiseshell pickguard. I've used mostly Fender parts for both builds, but not for every part, and not the woods. I'm not trying to build guitars that can be passed off as Fenders. It sounded great, but didn't quite have the Jazzmaster tone I was looking for. I eventually decided that it had to have a rosewood fingerboard to get that sound, so I bought a Fender MIM neck for it and couldn't be happier. I'll use the old neck for another build.
I've customised it by adding a second slider switch in the Rhythm circuit. This switches between vintage and modern wiring. Vintage is sweeter and more natural sounding, modern is less distinct but has a honkier tone that I like. The Vol and Tone thumbwheels react differently to each. However, I'm thinking of just using the modern wiring and using the extra slider switch to switch in a BTB (behind the bridge) pickup, that I would of course have to rout a cavity for. I've worked out that I can keep the stock rhythm circuit intact, yet via the switch I can switch in the BTB pickup and co-opt the rhythm circuit's Vol and Tone controls for use with it. I wouldn't be doing this sort of thing with a genuine Fender Jazzmaster. Partscasters are good for my experimentations.
I can't say that my partscasters are better than a good Fender, but they are certainly better than some not so good Fenders I've played. If I'd bought them off the shelf I'd be more than happy enough with them and would regard them as good uns. I haven't always been so successful with builds, but you just keep tweaking until you're happy with the guitar. Sometimes that means buying expensive parts, but not always. My six saddle Tele bridge was very inexpensive. Fender don't make one with brass saddles so I had to look elsewhere. The one I got I had to file off some burrs and change the intonation screws as they were too long, but hey ho, works well enough.
So it's a big yes from me. But it is time consuming. Time that could be spent playing guitar I guess.
I've had my '77 Telecustom for 40 years and still going strong, but I've never had a more standard Tele, so I decided to put a partscaster together that included some of the things I like about the Telecustom and some things that I specifically wanted for it. So, it's a Tele that's very much to my specification with 7.25" radius fingerboard, Fender 70's style slothead tuners, six saddle vintage bridge (with brass saddles), lightweight swamp ash body, Tru- oil finish, maple on maple neck, tortoiseshell pickguard. I was lucky in that the neck pocket fit is perfect, barely needs the neck screws. I decided to get Fender '51 Nocaster pickups and I liked the idea of the Broadcaster Blend wiring, so went with that.
As it's a quite recent project I'm still tweaking the value of the capacitor in the forward switch position, trying various things out.
Problems have been: the A string was popping out of the saddle, so I filed the slot a little deeper, a simple fix. The pickguard has screw holes for the neck pickup, so I used them. However, there's a slight mismatch between the pickup cavity rout and the pickup position on the pickguard such that the pickup is touching the side wall of the cavity and isn't sitting horizontally, it's at a slight angle. When I come to change strings I shall sort this out. These are the kinds of things that one must be prepared to do with partscaster builds. Things don't always fit together as you might hope they would.
The guitar itself is great. Couldn't have asked for better. It's very light in weight, plays beautifully, has a very sweet tone. Indeed, the tone is unlike any other Tele I've known, but is still unmistakably Tele tone. It's certainly not a model that you can buy off the shelf.
An earlier build was a Jazzmaster. Again a swamp ash body and maple on maple neck. Schaller locking tuners keep it nicely in tune. SP Custom Vintage Jazzmaster pickups. Tortoiseshell pickguard. I've used mostly Fender parts for both builds, but not for every part, and not the woods. I'm not trying to build guitars that can be passed off as Fenders. It sounded great, but didn't quite have the Jazzmaster tone I was looking for. I eventually decided that it had to have a rosewood fingerboard to get that sound, so I bought a Fender MIM neck for it and couldn't be happier. I'll use the old neck for another build.
I've customised it by adding a second slider switch in the Rhythm circuit. This switches between vintage and modern wiring. Vintage is sweeter and more natural sounding, modern is less distinct but has a honkier tone that I like. The Vol and Tone thumbwheels react differently to each. However, I'm thinking of just using the modern wiring and using the extra slider switch to switch in a BTB (behind the bridge) pickup, that I would of course have to rout a cavity for. I've worked out that I can keep the stock rhythm circuit intact, yet via the switch I can switch in the BTB pickup and co-opt the rhythm circuit's Vol and Tone controls for use with it. I wouldn't be doing this sort of thing with a genuine Fender Jazzmaster. Partscasters are good for my experimentations.
I can't say that my partscasters are better than a good Fender, but they are certainly better than some not so good Fenders I've played. If I'd bought them off the shelf I'd be more than happy enough with them and would regard them as good uns. I haven't always been so successful with builds, but you just keep tweaking until you're happy with the guitar. Sometimes that means buying expensive parts, but not always. My six saddle Tele bridge was very inexpensive. Fender don't make one with brass saddles so I had to look elsewhere. The one I got I had to file off some burrs and change the intonation screws as they were too long, but hey ho, works well enough.
So it's a big yes from me. But it is time consuming. Time that could be spent playing guitar I guess.
Tom Quartz
TDPRI Member
I built a Charvel inspired partscaster in college and ended up selling it on craigslist for a loss a few years later. I'd compromised on many parts for budgetary reasons, and ironically would have had a more enjoyable experience going with a used Super-Strat instead. I've discovered that if you don't mind going to Leo's other companies (Music Man or G&L) you can usually find close to the configuration you're after. I feel like a partscaster/art guitar may be in my future, but only when I can dedicate the time and money.
Mine are parts masters but they came out great! They are completely perfect for me and not available off the shelf with these specs.
AV trem, seymour duncan antiquity 2s, staytrem bridge, american professional neck, nitro finish, pickguards from spitfire. hardware from fender.com.
AV trem, seymour duncan antiquity 2s, staytrem bridge, american professional neck, nitro finish, pickguards from spitfire. hardware from fender.com.
mad dog
Friend of Leo's
I've been lucky. Of my three teles, only one is production. A '96 G&L ASAT Special. The other two are partscasters. One I bought. A replacement neck later, it's my main guitar. The other I sourced parts, had it put together. Rutter body, spanish cedar, 2 x P90 pickups, Allparts TMO fat neck. And this one has such a great sound and feel.
I doubt I could have found any production guitars quite like the partscasters. But it does come down to luck.
I doubt I could have found any production guitars quite like the partscasters. But it does come down to luck.
Given the size of this thread, this has likely already been said (I didn't read through all of the previous posts), but here goes:
As far as playability is concerned, my partscasters are the cream of the crop. I buy the components (bodies typically come from either Warmoth or MJT, necks from Musikraft, and quality, USA-made electronics and hardware with boutique pick-ups), and I get my local luthier to assemble it for me. He's been at it professionally for over 25 years, so he knows how to do it right.
I end up with a guitar that costs somewhere in the $1400-$1500 range, but that possesses the quality of a custom shop guitar. If it's a Fender-style guitar that I'm after, then it's going to be a partscaster.
That being said, I go into recognizing that I'll never recoup that cost. I've sold a couple of partscasters in the past, and have lost my shirt on both. The resale value just isn't there. When I put together a partscaster, I do it with full knowledge that it's a sunk cost. I'll get an instrument that I love, but I'd better plan on keeping it for the rest of my life. That's the only way that the commitment makes financial sense to me.
As far as playability is concerned, my partscasters are the cream of the crop. I buy the components (bodies typically come from either Warmoth or MJT, necks from Musikraft, and quality, USA-made electronics and hardware with boutique pick-ups), and I get my local luthier to assemble it for me. He's been at it professionally for over 25 years, so he knows how to do it right.
I end up with a guitar that costs somewhere in the $1400-$1500 range, but that possesses the quality of a custom shop guitar. If it's a Fender-style guitar that I'm after, then it's going to be a partscaster.
That being said, I go into recognizing that I'll never recoup that cost. I've sold a couple of partscasters in the past, and have lost my shirt on both. The resale value just isn't there. When I put together a partscaster, I do it with full knowledge that it's a sunk cost. I'll get an instrument that I love, but I'd better plan on keeping it for the rest of my life. That's the only way that the commitment makes financial sense to me.
beerguy
Tele-Meister
I agree with johmica- I've found the same to be true. It seems folks say they like partscasters, but when it comes time to buy, they prefer factory-built name brand guitars.
0utputXfmr
Tele-Meister
Agreed. If your "dream guitar" is equivalent to a standard configuration, but with a different finish (basically, like 99% of "signature" Fender models), your best bet is to go through a custom builder. There are a metric crap-tonne of builders out there who do strats, tele's, and the occasional JM.
If you want something pretty unique, like the next build I'm putting together (I'm calling it the "Strato-TelEsquire"-- the pickups just came in yesterday, just need to order the body and pickguard yet), then a partscaster may be the better way to go.
Vermoulian
Tele-Meister
Most of the guitars I've acquired in the last 5-10 years have been partscasters, and several of them are among my very favorites---certainly on par with or better than anything off the shelf, especially for a similar investment. Having said that, a couple of my very favorite guitars are non-partscaster Fenders, my AVRI 51 Tele (see avatar) and a 2000 Standard Strat (albeit with some mods).
I voted for all partscasters/never off the shelf, but that's not a firm never-ever rule. I can readily believe that a regular production guitar could be as good or better (to my own tastes) than anything I could build. BUT, finding that guitar can take sifting through lots and lots of less-pleasant instruments. I would do it (I wouldn't have much choice) if I couldn't or didn't want to build my own, but since I can and do, I'm inclined to just put partscasters together if I want another guitar. They usually turn out pretty well.
I voted for all partscasters/never off the shelf, but that's not a firm never-ever rule. I can readily believe that a regular production guitar could be as good or better (to my own tastes) than anything I could build. BUT, finding that guitar can take sifting through lots and lots of less-pleasant instruments. I would do it (I wouldn't have much choice) if I couldn't or didn't want to build my own, but since I can and do, I'm inclined to just put partscasters together if I want another guitar. They usually turn out pretty well.
Honestly, I really wish Fender would sell more parts.
The Mod Shop was a great move on their part, but even then your options are limited.
I know some hate the business model, but I am glad shops like Stratosphere exist.
They are clearly filling a niche that Fender has neglected...
I think right now, the only Tele that I get GAS for from Fender is an American Professional II Telecaster Deluxe, particularly in the Batman Colors...Dark Night.
The Mod Shop was a great move on their part, but even then your options are limited.
I know some hate the business model, but I am glad shops like Stratosphere exist.
They are clearly filling a niche that Fender has neglected...
I think right now, the only Tele that I get GAS for from Fender is an American Professional II Telecaster Deluxe, particularly in the Batman Colors...Dark Night.
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leo was clever enough to work himself out of a job. first the genius bolt together design. fast forward as the parts market matures. for many the fender factory is not offering what they want.
i have no crack habit, boats, or high taxes. money into parts guitars is money well spent. there is a lot of personal development in playing guitar and a fair amount in getting electric guitar luthiery skills.
i have no crack habit, boats, or high taxes. money into parts guitars is money well spent. there is a lot of personal development in playing guitar and a fair amount in getting electric guitar luthiery skills.
like playing guitar, building a guitar is a skill, the the result is more about the builder than the stuff you build it with. If you can build and setup a guitar, you can build a great parts caster, if you are just screwing stuff together you are going to get some screwed together parts unless you get lucky and end up with a nice guitar. Well built guitar's are not magic combinations of parts, just like music is not magic combinations of notes, they are both the result of talent, skill and hard work.
