Big Stu's TLA-1Q Build

[Big_Stu]

Ok so initial inspection is complete:



The neck fits snugly with some fantastic grain on the maple, really glad I'm planning on a clear finish.

The Fender electronics I got fit in the selector plate which is good.

All the parts and screws look to be here.

The issue I have found is that the Fender pickups I have are too wide for the pickguard hole (not that big a problem) and the bridge plate hole (this is a bigger issue).

So I guess the question is.. do I modify the bridge plate or do I buy an aftermarket bridge plate? I'm thinking the angle I'd have to use to get the strings under the pickup magnets would be more angled then the cutout on the existing one or is this not really an issue?

Also the cavity doesn't exactly fit the bridge pickup so I guess I just take some wood off equally in either direction. Maybe I should resolve the issue with the bridge plate first...

[pablopepper]

I'd consider a new bridge. If you are going to the expense of upgrading the pickups, a decent bridge won't go astray. Be aware though, if you don't want to drill for string throughs, you'll need to find a top loading one, which can be a bit tricky.

[dave.king1]

I'd consider a new bridge. If you are going to the expense of upgrading the pickups, a decent bridge won't go astray. Be aware though, if you don't want to drill for string throughs, you'll need to find a top loading one, which can be a bit tricky.

Check the GFS bridge out, the site has measurements and the one I have can be either top mount or string through

[Big_Stu]

Thanks all, I picked up a wilkinson tele bridge from PBG, it looks like its top loading so I'll go with that. I checked the pickup cutout size and it does fit the pickups I have.

I've been looking at the build instructions on the forum, a few people have suggested screwing the neck on and working out all the string angle calculations before doing anything with the body. How far should I go? Should I fit the machine heads and use double sided tape to locate the bridge etc? Could I just clamp the neck to work these things out (putting the neck screws in seems like a pretty important step for someone as green as me).

[Andy40]

Hi Stu,

If you can find it, I did a build diary with a Wilkinson tele bridge on my ash tele. Its a little shorter than the PBG bridge so I had to fill the existing predrilled bridge holes and measure the scale length with the neck on to mark out the new bridge holes. Make sure you check the bridge is centered to the neck etc.

As a rule now, I do all modifications to the guitar before I start sanding or doing any finishes. I have found that even changing little things like the pots or the switch require some fiddly changes to the kit. Not difficult, but its better to sand out any dings or clamp marks only once.

When i did my tele I did the whole thing and played it before doing any finishes just to make sure (cos teles are cool like that).

[Big_Stu]

Hi Stu,

If you can find it, I did a build diary with a Wilkinson tele bridge on my ash tele. Its a little shorter than the PBG bridge so I had to fill the existing predrilled bridge holes and measure the scale length with the neck on to mark out the new bridge holes. Make sure you check the bridge is centered to the neck etc.

As a rule now, I do all modifications to the guitar before I start sanding or doing any finishes. I have found that even changing little things like the pots or the switch require some fiddly changes to the kit. Not difficult, but its better to sand out any dings or clamp marks only once.

When i did my tele I did the whole thing and played it before doing any finishes just to make sure (cos teles are cool like that).

Thanks Andy! I'll take a look, the more I think about it the more I think I should put it together properly first. Fortunately I haven't drilled the bridge holes yet. Once the bridge gets here I'll measure it all up and post the results.

[wazkelly]

Good advice from Andy.

Doing a PBG Tele kit too at present and they all seem to need a bit of work done around the bridge PUP rout to either make upgrades fit or repositioning for correct scale and bridge positioning. If doing an Oak Grigsby switch upgrade they sometimes may touch the bottom of the control plate rout and therefore require a bit of sanding to provide some clearance and prevent shorting on any shielding stuff used.

Cheers, Waz

[Big_Stu]

Ok so finally got the chance to set up a work area. I've measured from inside of the nut to the middle of the 12th fret, the distance is 323mm so I guess that means the scale length is 646mm. The 646mm mark is where the red arrow is in the picture. So how is the placement of the bridge plate? I've installed two machine heads (both E strings) to look at the horizontal alignment of the bridge plate and I found the mini-grover machine heads are a bit loose in the pre-drilled holes. Is this an issue? I guess my next step is to drill the bridge plate screw holes, put the bridge plate on and then look at the neck alignment and string height from the neck? Is there a set way to measure the vertical alignment of the bridge plate, for instance can you measure off from the center of the bridge pickup route or the neck route?

[Big_Stu]

Ok so I've used a coping saw to shape the headstock then used a rough and fine wood file, I went for a 'telecaster' shape. The wood file was a bit old and had a bit of oil on it somehow but I'm sanding back so I figured this would be ok.

[Big_Stu]

I've measured out the bridge plate placement and found that that I'm going to need to take some wood off to fit the new pickup/bridgeplate. The scale length ended up being 646mm, I adjusted the string compensators to about have way and lined that up with the scale length. Then I calculated the middle bridge plate placement based off the fretboard alignment