Bought a Telecaster as a project... Few Questions?

ILiies

ILiies

New member
Alroght guys,
I bought a telecaster body as a project guitar (Got it and a white pickguard for $40). Just have a few questions. On the tele's ive seen, the strings go through the back of the body, this one doesnt have holes for strings so id assume its all done through the bridge/ tail like on a les paul, correct? Also, there's pictures below. i was just wondering what goes where the \ kinda shape is (just up from where the neck pick up goes). And yeah this was a spur of the moment kinda buy, dont know what brand it is, or what wood, although it feels like some kinda of Ash.
Any help would be apprecaited.
Thanks guys.

Telefront.jpg


Teleback.jpg
 
Re: Bought a Telecaster as a project... Few Questions?

The \ shape is where the neck pickup wire goes through to the control cavity I would think. It gets covered by the pick guard.

You should be able to find a standard Tele bridge with holes on the back edge for feeding the strings through. Chances are, this will be one with three brass saddles on it, rather than a six saddle job. If you did want to go with the six saddle version though, it wouldn't be too hard to drill through the body and put some ferrules on the back.

It's nearly impossible to tell what the wood is from those pics. Normally you'd expect to see a bit more figure on ash, even through a finish like that, so maybe it is, maybe it isn't
 
Re: Bought a Telecaster as a project... Few Questions?

Chris of Arabia said:
The \ shape is where the neck pickup wire goes through to the control cavity I would think. It gets covered by the pick guard.

You should be able to find a standard Tele bridge with holes on the back edge for feeding the strings through. Chances are, this will be one with three brass saddles on it, rather than a six saddle job. If you did want to go with the six saddle version though, it wouldn't be too hard to drill through the body and put some ferrules on the back.

It's nearly impossible to tell what the wood is from those pics. Normally you'd expect to see a bit more figure on ash, even through a finish like that, so maybe it is, maybe it isn't
Click to expand...

Great thanks, thast what i thought with the extra cavity, although it seems kinda pointless it being there. And as for the bridge, im fine with the 3 saddle look. Gives it a vintage sort of feel in my opinion. As for the wood (Oh the pics are bad, it was tasken on my iphone), its a very hard and pretty dense feeling wood. At first i thought Alder, with it being a Tele, but it seems just to hard, so thats the only reason is presume its Ash.
 
Re: Bought a Telecaster as a project... Few Questions?

What Chris said.

Wilkinson make a cheap yet very good bridge which allows you to anchor the strings either through the body or top-loaded. It also comes with three brass barrels, which are compensated for more accurate intonation. I have it on one of my Mexican Teles and I'm planning to put one on my other one. I'd recommend it.

Measure the mounting holes for the bridge carefully, though. Unless you want to plug them and redrill, that will probably limit which bridges you can use.

That's a pretty cool looking body, though. It would look awesome with a maple fretboard. Nice find and congrats! Enjoy your project. :beerchug:
 
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Re: Bought a Telecaster as a project... Few Questions?

Alternatively, go wild and install a vibrato bridge. This could be your chance to enter the wonderful world of Kahler or Bigsby. :D
 
Re: Bought a Telecaster as a project... Few Questions?

Some Teles aren't string through. But they are easy enough to convert if you have a drill press (or at least a jig for a hand drill). You also need to buy a six pack of string ferrules.

The weird rout is to make it easier for the factory workers to thread the wiring through the body.

It doesn't look like ash to me.

Good luck. Teles are always fun projects.
 
Re: Bought a Telecaster as a project... Few Questions?

i could be wrong but that body looks slightly smaller then a Fender spec body.... not that it matters... if it's soild wood for $40 thats a steal... i assume it's an EDEN or something simular
 
Re: Bought a Telecaster as a project... Few Questions?

WhoFan said:
i could be wrong but that body looks slightly smaller then a Fender spec body.... not that it matters... if it's soild wood for $40 thats a steal... i assume it's an EDEN or something simular
Click to expand...

It may be, im not bothered as long sa i can get all the hardware to fit xD Although, ive just measured the neck pocket, and that matches that of a fender, and i have a pickguard from a fender tele that also fits.
 
Re: Bought a Telecaster as a project... Few Questions?

wicotebrbrsa.jpg


This would work fine, but there are other alternatives as well.
 
Re: Bought a Telecaster as a project... Few Questions?

Alright guys your helping me out a bunch here, thanks.
Now the compensated Wilkinson bridge, I can't find measurements for that anywhere online. Anyone that has one, could you just measure the spacing between the screw mounting holes? Need to make sure it wouls fot correcty. Pretty please, haha.

And if I were to go for a bigsby instead. I need to know a lot more. I've never owned or istalled a bigsby before. Are they hard to install? Would I need to modify the body at all? What model bigsby would be best suited?

Thanks again guys

Edit: Ah you bigsby loving bastards xD I really like the Bigsby B5 now, but I think I need to set myself a budget with this guitar. In all honesty I am really glad you pointed out the Bigsby idea, doesn't seem to hard to install, just a little reluctant because of the price, and in case the holes I drill are in the correct position, that'd be a pretty big F up on my part
 
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Re: Bought a Telecaster as a project... Few Questions?

ILiies said:
Now the compensated Wilkinson bridge, I can't find measurements for that anywhere online. Anyone that has one, could you just measure the spacing between the screw mounting holes?
Click to expand...

Screw holes spacing, centre to centre = 21.5mm, 27/32nds inch.
Overall spacing = 65mm, 2 & 17/32nds inches

String hole spacing, centre to centre = 11mm, 14/32nds inch.
Overall string hole spacing = 54mm, 2 & 5/32nds inches.
 
Re: Bought a Telecaster as a project... Few Questions?

ILiies said:
Ah you bigsby loving bastards xD I really like the Bigsby B5 now, but I think I need to set myself a budget with this guitar. In all honesty I am really glad you pointed out the Bigsby idea, doesn't seem to hard to install, just a little reluctant because of the price, and in case the holes I drill are in the correct position, that'd be a pretty big F up on my part
Click to expand...

Vibramate has products that allow you to install a Bigsby without drilling any extra holes... http://www.vibramate.com/

That won't help with the price though!
 
Re: Bought a Telecaster as a project... Few Questions?

If you like the bigsby and want to stay cheap you could always go with a B-50.
 
Re: Bought a Telecaster as a project... Few Questions?

metlking said:
I too have the Wilkinson and recommend it!

Got mine here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Wilkins...965?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item4cf956a65d
Click to expand...

Wilkinsons are just "okay". There is much..MUCH better stuff out there, here anyway..and increasingly so since Wilkie were the only players in the game 5 years ago, but things are progressing rapidly. IMO, some of the other newer stuff is not so much more costly anymore , and worth the extra investment. I don't do Wilkie anymore..except their locking tuners are really good!
 
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Re: Bought a Telecaster as a project... Few Questions?

Think I am gonna go with a B5, love the warmer tone it gives it afterwards. Still looking for a neck at the moment though, been in contact with someone but turns out he was a little strange.... Anyway still looking for a neck, there's some on eBay with abalone inlays (Love abalone inlays).
And thanks for the offer about the vibrato mate but gonna opt against it, I'll be fine with the correct tools.

On a side note, has anyone ordered anything from the guys at Greasy Groove before? That seems like the place I'll be getting the majority of my accessories and parts from.
 
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