Which Tele to look for to build a Bludgeon without breaking the bank?

[ryangtogtx]

New to the forum. I've read a lot of good information in this forum. I'm seeking advice on which Tele I should be on the lookout for if I want to build a Bludgeon without breaking the bank. I've already purchased a set of Seymour Duncan Bludgeon pickups and I'm on the hunt for a good Tele to put them in without breaking the bank. I know there are many options for HS setup from Squier to MIM. The dilemma is that the set of Bludgeon pickups I bought happen to be a set of the original signed limited edition which I got a smoking deal on from a no-reserve eBay auction. I was going to simply buy one of their new sets directly from Seymour Duncan, but stumbled across one of the 250 signed sets, new in the box, for a price I couldn't pass up. Should I be worried that they deserve to be put in a better guitar than a Squier? I've seen some decent MIM guitars that are about $200 more that a Squier. I'm personally not a guitar player, but I'm building this guitar for my 17 year old son who loves to play. We saw Bonamassa a couple of weeks ago and loved the sound of his Bludgeon so we're pursuing this project. Any advice is appreciated!

 

[arlum]

If your son is 17 years old, already plays the guitar and is a fan of Joe Bonamassa spend at least enough to get the Fender logo on the head stock. He'll thank you.

 

[ryangtogtx]

If your son is 17 years old, already plays the guitar and is a fan of Joe Bonamassa spend at least enough to get the Fender logo on the head stock. He'll thank you.

Thanks, that's kind of what I was thinking. He plays a Silver Sky currently. We wanted to do a father/son build for a fun project. Having a Tele is a nice weapon for him to add and why not try to build one of the best sounding ones if we're going through the effort? I'm just not sure which one is best to start with. Need one that's already routed for the neck pick up. Don't need to overpay for options we don't need if we're modding anyway.

 

[dlew919]

The body doesn’t matter much sound wise. Weight is a consideration and how comfortable it is. As far as I can tell any squier body should work. Maybe a fender or Yarmouth neck? And good hardware.

 

[Mongo Park]

I don’t know what all the mods involve. Squire guitars are not so bad. I have a friend who has a squire Strat, he added different pickups and he loves it, one of his favourite guitars. He said he also loves that it is a nice guitar but not so expensive that he is worried about using it a lot and not damaging it. It doesn’t have to sit safe in a case it is out and hanging around ready to be played. What is it you don’t like about the squire. The answer can help you find what you want. I think it is a balance between cork sniffing boutique guitars and a good working class guitar.
Also depends on your skill. If you can level and crown the frets and do a setup most likely lower the nut after the fret job you will have a killer guitar squire or not.

 

[toomuchfun]

Since you don't play, let your son play a bunch of Tele's and decide the feel he prefers. Even if it's a no name.

I also think you referring to a guitar as a weapon is very wrong, it should be a friend.

 

[ryangtogtx]

Since you don't play, let your son play a bunch of Tele's and decide the feel he prefers. Even if it's a no name.

I also think you referring to a guitar as a weapon is very wrong, it should be a friend.

Ha! Joe Bonamassa named his guitar "The Bludgeon". I didn't name his guitar after a weapon. Lighten up man.

 

[Hiwatts-n-Gibsons]

Since you don't play, let your son play a bunch of Tele's and decide the feel he prefers. Even if it's a no name.

I also think you referring to a guitar as a weapon is very wrong, it should be a friend.

Someone should inform the majority of the guitar playing world that it is no longer PC to refer to your weapon/tool of choice as an axe. I'm sure they'll all get right on correcting that once they know just how harmful it is.

Facetious moment past. I get what you're saying, but just relax as men and women attach other associations to an already phallic symbol and tool of creativity. Well except for Flying V's. Those are more vaginal in appearance.

 

[Hodgo88]

“Bludgeon” is a 51 Nocaster, so if you want to go whole hog you’re looking for a blonde nitro finished ash body.

If I were building a replica I’d go snatch this body from BloomDoom. https://bloomdoomguitar.com/shop/nitro-lacquer-relic-butterscotch-t-style-guitar-body-4lbs-2oz/

If it has to have a Fender logo, I’d begrudgingly use this Vintera II neck and tuners: https://www.ebay.com/itm/387692952501

However I’d be more likely to use an AllParts TMNF-V personally: https://www.allparts.com/products/tmnf-v-replacement-neck-for-telecaster

If I weren’t going to solder my own, I’d look at this wiring harness with the .1uf cap on the tone control per Seymour Duncan’s spec for a reasonable price: https://www.hoaglandcustom.com/product/hoagland-custom-handcrafted-joe-bonamassa-the-bludgeon-tele-wiring-harness-w-orange-drop-cap/
Edited the above, per Bonamassas website it should have a .05uf cap which is period correct

And of course I’d want a Bakelite pickguard from WD music custom ordered for a 5 hole / neck humbucker configuration: https://www.wdmusic.com/wd-custom-pickguard-for-fender-esquire-or-telecaster-details.html

Lastly I’d finish it off with Fender’s “Road Worn” bridge plate/control plate/dome knobs/switch tips/strap buttons for a very mild patina appearance on the hardware.

Then you would just need to rout the neck humbucker out yourself or have it done by a luthier. All in you’re probably looking at about $900-$1000 + the cost of the pickups.

Building it would be a very fun project for you and your son, and the end result would be a very authentic and unique guitar that I bet he’d cherish forever.

Alternatively if you don’t care about things like it being made of the right wood, or having a nitro finish that will age over time the way Joe B.’s guitar has, the Vintera II 50s Nocaster would be a perfect starting point.

 

[ryangtogtx]

“Bludgeon” is a 51 Nocaster, so if you want to go whole hog you’re looking for a blonde nitro finished ash body.

If I were building a replica I’d go snatch this body from BloomDoom. https://bloomdoomguitar.com/shop/nitro-lacquer-relic-butterscotch-t-style-guitar-body-4lbs-2oz/

If it has to have a Fender logo, I’d begrudgingly use this Vintera II neck and tuners: https://www.ebay.com/itm/387692952501

However I’d be more likely to use an AllParts TMNF-V personally: https://www.allparts.com/products/tmnf-v-replacement-neck-for-telecaster

If I weren’t going to solder my own, I’d look at this wiring harness with the .1uf cap on the tone control per Seymour Duncan’s spec for a reasonable price: https://www.hoaglandcustom.com/prod...udgeon-tele-wiring-harness-w-orange-drop-cap/

And of course I’d want a Bakelite pickguard from WD music custom ordered for a 5 hole / neck humbucker configuration: https://www.wdmusic.com/wd-custom-pickguard-for-fender-esquire-or-telecaster-details.html

Lastly I’d finish it off with Fender’s “Road Worn” bridge plate/control plate/dome knobs/switch tips/strap buttons for a very mild patina appearance on the hardware.

Then you would just need to rout the neck humbucker out yourself or have it done by a luthier. All in you’re probably looking at about $900-$1000 + the cost of the pickups.

Building it would be a very fun project for you and your son, and the end result would be a very authentic and unique guitar that I bet he’d cherish forever.

Alternatively if you don’t care about things like it being made of the right wood, or having a nitro finish that will age over time the way Joe B.’s guitar has, the Vintera II 50s Nocaster would be a perfect starting point.

Thank you. That is all very helpful information and exactly what I was looking for. One of the guitars I am looking at is a used Special Edition Deluxe Ash in Butterscotch Blonde. Would need to change around the reversed control panel but I think I can buy it for under $500. The pickups were $275 with tax and shipping, which I thought was a steal.

 

[cousinpaul]

The MIM bodies are cut for a neck humbucker and a vintage bridge with 4 mounting screws. A Squier Classic Vibe might also be a good starting place. As with any guitar, the neck should be a good fit for the player. If you go partscaster, it opens up some possibilities for the neck and frets. Fat 50's, soft V, Maple or rosewood, etc. Also, you wouldn't be paying for parts you're not going to use.

My avatar guitar started out as a loaded MIM body and a chunky Allparts neck, both obtained used. The pickups are a Fender OV for the bridge and a SD 59 for the neck. I'm sure the Bludgeon pickups are great but it's the wiring mods that have me interested. I've obtained them piecemeal from various threads. Here's what I've got so far:
250k pots
.1uf tone cap
tone control on bridge pickup only
pickups out of phase
What am I missing?

 

[Hodgo88]

I'm sure the Bludgeon pickups are great but it's the wiring mods that have me interested. I've obtained them piecemeal from various threads. Here's what I've got so far:
250k pots
.1uf tone cap
tone control on bridge pickup only
pickups out of phase
What am I missing?

Honestly I did a little more digging and per Bonamassas website, it’s not a .1uf cap, it’s a .05uf Luxe-Radio PIO cap in the custom shops. It also makes no mention of a bridge only tone control, but the center position is definitely out of phase.

 

[Hodgo88]

Thank you. That is all very helpful information and exactly what I was looking for. One of the guitars I am looking at is a used Special Edition Deluxe Ash in Butterscotch Blonde. Would need to change around the reversed control panel but I think I can buy it for under $500. The pickups were $275 with tax and shipping, which I thought was a steal.

That would be a good place to start as well. Honestly Fender has a number of blonde blackguard style reissues, any of them would work. However, the Special Deluxe is still a polyester finish.

You could resolder the controls to be non reverse, here is the cap used in the CS guitars if you want (I wouldn’t): https://luxe-radio.com/products/bul...lar-wax-impregnated-paper-foil-05mf-capacitor

 

[SPUDCASTER]

What is your budget?

There's a Player II at Sweetwater for $899. Butterscotch blond blackguard.

Not sure if it's routed for the neck HB? You would also have to buy a pickguard cut for a HB. Or modify the existing one.

You might need some wiring tweaking to accommodate the HB/single coil.

For the "Fender" logo. Be prepared to be in the $1000 range. Give or take.

You won't save any money going to a site like Stratosphere and outsourcing the necessary parts.

Body, neck, hardware and electronics. Trust me. I've made several partscasters and you will eat a hole in $1000 with no problem with quality parts.

 

[cousinpaul]

@Hodgo88

Thanks for the heads up. I visited the Hoagland site today. Aside from a 250k linear tone pot, the only difference from a standard tele harness is a Sprague Orange Drop tone cap, value not given.

 

[cousinpaul]

@Hodgo88

Thanks for the heads up. I visited the Hoagland site today. Aside from a 250k linear tone pot, the only difference from a standard tele harness is a Sprague Orange Drop tone cap, value not given. That doesn't necessarily exclude out of phase wiring. I'll have to check it out.

 

[jvin248]

.

Get a MIM or for budget side a Harley Benton. Squier tends toward skinny necks. All their price competitors copy Fender MIM/MIA.

If the kid is still in the Metal Metallica Phase then he may be chasing "skinny fast necks" as goes the myth.

.

 

[cousinpaul]

I swapped the leads on my neck PAF for out of phase in the middle position. I already had a .05uf tone cap. I was a little skeptical about OOP with the HB and flatpole combination but doing some comparisons with Joe's Bludgeon video convinced me I was at least in the ballpark. There's a similar growl on double stops and twang on the low strings. No way does it sound as good to me as Joe's original or the CS copies. I would describe it as a useful sound. I added some OD to fake up a pushed amp and a bit of reverb for a better room. Another useful sound... I'm looking forward to playing it out later in the week. Thanks all for helping me get the mods right.

 

[ryangtogtx]

So I ended up buying a CV 50's in Butterscotch Blonde. I also ordered a Hoagland Custom Bludgeon wiring harness with "orange drop cap" as recommended by Hodgo88. Yes, it's got a polyester finish, but my son is 17. It looks good enough for him and will sound fantastic as soon as we get it wired up. I still need to order a black 5 hole pick guard for the humbucker neck. Any recommendations on the pick guard?

 

[cousinpaul]

Congrats on the CV! You might get more replies on the pickguard if you were to give the PG its own separate search. I'm thinking you might reach a broader base.