Mahogany Tele Build

[ImmortalSix]

Hey everybody. I started this guitar a long time ago, then forgot to finish it. I started building it when we were expecting our first child, with a goal of finishing it before he was born - that kid is taller than my wife now - whoops! I'll do a brief catchup with all the pictures from 15 years ago, then show what I've been up to this month.

Body:
One piece mahogany body
Lower bout of a Tele, upper bout templated off the PRS Singlecut (or whatever they call their LP these days)
Back will be natural mahogany, top will be Honda "Electron Blue Pearl," a color I've always liked that Honda put on the 90's Civic Si

Neck:
USACG
Flat-sawn maple, ebony fretboard, 6150 frets
"Fat-back" profile, 1" thick from tip to tail - it is a baseball bat
Reverse headstock (because why not)

Electronics:
Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder bridge
Mini Humbucker middle
P90 neck
Brent Mason wiring (approximately)
Gibson-style 3-way toggle for neck-both-bridge, with a blend pot for the middle pickup
Master Volume, Master Tone, Blend

 

[ImmortalSix]

2010

2024

 

[ImmortalSix]

Started finishing it - used Dupli Color spray can primer and Honda "Electron Blue Pearl," and using Watco semi-gloss nitrocellulose lacquer for clear coat

I hate finishing wood, so this is more interesting than fun, haha

 

[ImmortalSix]

Finishing and mocking up the hardware

 

[ImmortalSix]

It's got 2 coats of nitro clear on it now, only 12 to go

Slow-going, given I live in southern NC - you're not supposed to spray nitro when it's over 50% relative humidity, and for me in NC, that will be...never, haha. I'm just going ahead and accepting the finish may not be perfect

Here's the control scheme:

I am going to need your help with the wiring!!!

 

[ImmortalSix]

Wiring help would be sincerely appreciated. Here's what I've come up with - but the "analyzer" is telling me a few weird things:

I don't even know where to start on my questions - anyone who knows about wiring, will you please help me!

I'll paste down below what I used as reference material to come up with this bird's nest​

(REMOVED old diagram, to eliminate confusion)

 

[ImmortalSix]

What I'm going for is:

- Neck P90 and Bridge QP are on 3 way switch - Neck P90 - Both - Bridge QP - just like a regular Tele or Les Paul
- Master Volume for Neck P90 and Bridge QP, or Master Volume for everything including the Middle Mini Hum - I don't actually care
- Master tone for Neck P90 and Bridge QP, or Master Tone for everything including the Middle Mini Hum - I don't actually care
- Blend pot so I can bring the Middle Mini Hum in and out partially or fully

 

[GuitarStv]

Looks great so far!

 

[GuitarDoc]

Started finishing it - used Dupli Color spray can primer and Honda "Electron Blue Pearl," and using Watco semi-gloss nitrocellulose lacquer for clear coat

I hate finishing wood, so this is more interesting than fun, haha

I really love the color, the pickup choice, and the electrical configuration.

But because you "hate finishing", a sealer then a grain filler with light sanding could have saved you hours, and hours, and hours of work and would have given you a MUCH nicer finish/end product.

For what it's worth (for those of you who remember the Buffalo Springfield), the main thing I have learned about guitar finishing after many years of building guitars is that a little bit of "extra" work at the beginning, saves MUCH work at the end...AND gives you a better result...a win-win. It's a tough concept to learn, because in the beginning you skip important steps because you are so excited to hurry and get to the end so you can actually admire the product that has been in your head for so long.

"Rush the beginning, resent the end".

 

[ImmortalSix]

Thanks Steve! Good to "see" you again! And thank you Guitar Doc.

I think when I originally made this body ~15 years ago, I wanted an open grain finish, so I did sanding sealer several times and left it at that. Now that I'm trying to do a paint finish and clear coat and all, I think you're right, I should have made the body smooth.

Since this body was in it's "sanding sealer + rough sanded" state for 15 years, I'm not so worried about stability, that's not my reason for finishing it with paint and clear coat, but I have realized that a level / glossy finish is not something I'm going to get on this guitar. Unless I want to do a gallon of nitro clear, which would take 6 months to do, or sand back down to wood and start over

I picked this project back up because I saw the body (it had been on a shelf) and thought - what a waste not to have put that thing together and be enjoying it - so I think I'll just get some kind of finish on it and let er rip

I'm more concerned with figuring out the wiring!

 

[GuitarDoc]

The wiring won't be too difficult and I think it's going to sound very cool.

At this point, as far as finishing is concerned, I'd say you've got 2 choices. (In any case I wouldn't put any more clear gloss on it yet).
1. Sand, put a grain filler on, sand smooth (with 320-400 grit), and redo the color, clear, and finishing process.
2. Put a flat, or at most, semi clear finish on it. Heavy grain doesn't lend itself to gloss, but looks really good with flat finish.

 

[Mincer]

Wow, what a post! And congrats on a very unique, interesting guitar. I love that color!

 

[ImmortalSix]

Thanks!

I updated the wiring diagram so it'll be clearer - (selfishly, so I can get more help with it!)

Now everything seems to be in order EXCEPT I don't have any hum-canceling in any position.

Do y'all know about that / how I can get hum cancellation in the Middle position on the 3-Way toggle?

 

[ImmortalSix]

The wiring won't be too difficult and I think it's going to sound very cool.

At this point, as far as finishing is concerned, I'd say you've got 2 choices. (In any case I wouldn't put any more clear gloss on it yet).
1. Sand, put a grain filler on, sand smooth (with 320-400 grit), and redo the color, clear, and finishing process.
2. Put a flat, or at most, semi clear finish on it. Heavy grain doesn't lend itself to gloss, but looks really good with flat finish.

You may have just inspired me to just leave it like this with a few coats of clear on it and let it be what it is - an imperfect open-grain slab

 

[ErikH]

Builds are fun. Glad you are getting to finally get to it.

 

[ImmortalSix]

I think I figured out that there's no hum canceling because there aren't any RWRP pickups in the mix. I'll just need to live with the hum, and if that drives me nuts, I'll just look at new pickups that are either inherently hum-free, or get a RWRP pickup for one of the spots.

Thanks all.

Will keep you posted as I wire it up, I'm excited to hear it plugged in. It's really loud unplugged, very resonant, and very light. It's a wonderfully musical piece of mahogany

 

[GuitarDoc]

You could just reverse the magnets on the P-90 and use the ground wire for the lead and use the hot wire for ground. That will give you the RWRP for the P-90.

 

[ImmortalSix]

That's a great idea! Thanks Doc

 

[ImmortalSix]

Coming along!

I found a Humbucker routed Tele pick guard last night and mocked it up with a GFS Mean 90 to see how I felt about that, and the lack of a middle pickup, but I like the way it looks with the ugly cream soapbar and the mini hum better, plus I really want to see how that middle pickup blend turns out, so I'm going 3 pickup.

Keeping the Mean 90 pick guard loaded just in case wiring up the 3 pickup with Blend kills me and I need to tap out and simplify, haha

Today is wiring day, and if I have time, I'll put the tuners and strap buttons and jack on it and string it

OR

 

[ImmortalSix]

Wiring:

And all wired up and getting final hardware - tuners, string tree, bridge reinstall after grounding, output jack

reused a set of strings from earlier neck test-fit, it'll get new/real strings after I get its electronics sorted