PDA

View Full Version : Simons TL1-A



SIMpleONe89
07-05-2014, 09:26 AM
Hi all, I purchased this kit about a month ago and haven't really posted anything yet.

My plan is to do a modern telecaster, with features of the strat, i.e. arm and body contours, and also an asymmetrical neck heel joint like the Fender American Deluxe series.
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/zq9s4-IMG_20140412_161959.jpg
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/b3879-IMG_20140415_164558.jpg

jarrod
07-05-2014, 10:06 AM
Sounds like you have a good plan Simon. Looking forward to seeing it unfold to a nice axe.

SIMpleONe89
07-05-2014, 10:14 AM
Forgot to mention that I would be doing a surfer girl on it. Unfortunately, some areas don't absorb that well but I'm sure with more coats they will.


http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/v065v-IMG_20140504_150329.jpg

stan
07-05-2014, 10:22 AM
sound like nice upgrades

SIMpleONe89
07-05-2014, 10:24 AM
Here's a pic of the contoured belly heel. It was very tiring scraping the wood off with a rasp. I also shaped the neck to make it slimmer, similar to my highway 1 strat's profile.
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/k5k52-IMG_20140412_162036.jpg

SIMpleONe89
09-05-2014, 10:33 AM
Here are more pics, after the 4th coat. Colour is starting to get more solid.

Colour is more greenish in real life.
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/221hm-IMG_3883.JPG
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/1c7qq-IMG_3884.JPG
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/gv823-IMG_3886.JPG

SIMpleONe89
09-05-2014, 10:38 AM
Neck is finished in amber.
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/6pts5-IMG_3887.JPG
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/4bdjv-IMG_3888.JPG

jarrod
09-05-2014, 10:46 AM
Looking good buddy

gavinturner
09-05-2014, 11:22 AM
Looking great!

cheers,
Gav.

SIMpleONe89
09-05-2014, 12:40 PM
/<\\/p>[]<\\/p>/Quote from gavinturner on May 8, 2014, 20:22
Looking great!

cheers,
Gav.

I hope I can get mine to the colour of your strat! Alder is a much tougher wood to work with! Hard and non-absorbent!

SIMpleONe89
26-05-2014, 11:17 PM
Here are some pics after some layers of clear coat.
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/r05uj-IMG_3903.JPG
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/l77fn-IMG_3904.JPG
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/42r3i-IMG_3905.JPG

stan
26-05-2014, 11:52 PM
very slick finish Simon, looks good

Fretworn
27-05-2014, 01:48 AM
After your early troubles that colour has come up really nice.

wokkaboy
27-05-2014, 02:26 AM
looks great Simon, the colour is deep enough, looks great with clear coats !

gavinturner
27-05-2014, 06:00 AM
looking great Simon!

cheers,
Gav.

Brendan
27-05-2014, 11:44 AM
Colour's come up a treat after your early problems! Great job and even better persistence!

SIMpleONe89
27-05-2014, 12:32 PM
Thanks guys for the kind words. It looks darker in person!

bargeloobs
27-05-2014, 09:29 PM
That body's gonna look unreal coupled with the amber neck. I'm loving the contours you've done too, it kind of tricks the eye into thinking you're looking at a Strat, really nice touch.

SIMpleONe89
20-06-2014, 04:11 AM
Here it is! Finally done, after 2 months of hard work! I had a few spots of sand throughs on the back :( but oh well they won't be seen!

Overall I'm pretty happy with the hard finish, the shine and the colour. It turned out way better than I thought, considering I had troubles with wudtone absorbing it.

Other modifications include a pearloid pickguard, Tonerider Hot Classics with a push pull for pickup in series, contoured body, asymmetrical heel joint, string roller trees, and nicer looking strap buttons and jack plate. I had to enlarge the bridge pickup cavity using primitive tools (chisels :D) and it looks ugly beneath but who cares?

Some pics to show! The hardcase is courtesy of Artist Guitars. Great looking tweed, smells great, and is super affordable.

Unfortunately this might be my last build, as time is really tight for me. I had loads of fun building these kits and with the community.
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/8i263-Telecaster-1-of-16.jpg
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/f39dj-Telecaster-2-of-16.jpg
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/nga3d-Telecaster-3-of-16.jpg

SIMpleONe89
20-06-2014, 04:13 AM
More pics.
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/082zg-Telecaster-4-of-16.jpg
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/6b0a1-Telecaster-5-of-16.jpg
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/an117-Telecaster-10-of-16.jpg

SIMpleONe89
20-06-2014, 04:14 AM
MOAR
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2d22a-Telecaster-8-of-16.jpg
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/29090-Telecaster-9-of-16.jpg
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/15750-Telecaster-14-of-16.jpg

groundfloordoofus
20-06-2014, 04:16 AM
What a beauty!

lawry
20-06-2014, 04:23 AM
Hell. That looks good Simon. Is that Vintage Amber on the neck? (I'm too lazy to go back through the posts to check). The neck, body AND red-lined case all look very cool together. Well done, man!

pablopepper
20-06-2014, 04:25 AM
That is freakin gorgeous!

SIMpleONe89
20-06-2014, 04:26 AM
/<\\/p>[]<\\/p>/Quote from lawry on June 19, 2014, 13:23
Hell. That looks good Simon. Is that Vintage Amber on the neck? (I'm too lazy to go back through the posts to check). The neck, body AND red-lined case all look very cool together. Well done, man!

Nope it's Amber leftover from a previous build. It looks vintage because I adjusted some of the colour saturations :D. Such a cheater...

wokkaboy
20-06-2014, 04:37 AM
awesome Simon that looks excellent, like the mods you have done. Is that bridge/bridge plate an upgrade as well ? looks different to the one on my TL-1A
how does it sound with the tonerider classics ?

SIMpleONe89
20-06-2014, 05:14 AM
/<\\/p>[]<\\/p>/Quote from wokkaboy on June 19, 2014, 13:37
awesome Simon that looks excellent, like the mods you have done. Is that bridge/bridge plate an upgrade as well ? looks different to the one on my TL-1A
how does it sound with the tonerider classics ?

Oh yes forgot to mention the bridge. I got it from eBay China, but I might change the saddles soon. I personally don't believe solid steel or super expensive saddles are worth the difference in tone.

As for the pickups, they sound really awesome but I can't compare them to the PitBull ones as I've not used them. They aren't hum cancelling though, but shielding helps a little.

pablopepper
20-06-2014, 05:55 AM
I just noticed you flipped the control panel. Very clever little mod that. Did you move the volume pot to the first position too?

SIMpleONe89
20-06-2014, 06:07 AM
/<\\/p>[]<\\/p>/Quote from pablopepper on June 19, 2014, 14:55
I just noticed you flipped the control panel. Very clever little mod that. Did you move the volume pot to the first position too?

Yes! So I can do volume swells. Don't really like the pickup selector at the front!

WeirdBits
20-06-2014, 09:19 AM
Great looking Tele.

Nickosaurus
20-06-2014, 01:55 PM
Sweet!

I have a feeling my strat and your tele would be great play mates once she's finished. ;)

gavinturner
21-06-2014, 02:59 AM
Awesome job Simon. I want it bad!!

cheers,
Gav.

Fretworn
21-06-2014, 10:47 AM
Awesome job, Simon. Looks fantastic

SIMpleONe89
15-08-2014, 06:39 AM
Hi guys, I decided to route a middle pickup cavity for a Nashville style tele, after getting a router. Fun times! It's much more versatile now, and I'll do a demo soon.
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/nr098-PHOTO_20140729_230140_fx.jpg
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/xg0iy-PHOTO_20140729_230200_fx.jpg

wokkaboy
15-08-2014, 06:44 AM
nice mod Simon, looks cool, look forward to a sound demo. Hope you live far enough away from the tele napper !

gavinturner
15-08-2014, 12:55 PM
Wow, I t's even better!
Great work Simon!

Cheers,
Gav.

stan
17-08-2014, 06:07 AM
very cool mod Simon, nice job too

crampstastic
12-02-2016, 06:28 AM
Hi Simon, I know it's been a long time since you did this build diary but I'd like to replicate that look you got with the grain showing through, can you give me your secrets?

Tweaky
12-02-2016, 02:58 PM
Easy, don't use grain filler prior to staining or putting the varnish/ coating over the stain.

When I first saw it , I thought Oh Oh...he's stuffed up, but he's managed to get a cool looking guitar out of this build, done in his own way....BIG UP'S ! :cool:

SIMpleONe89
20-02-2016, 08:47 AM
Hi Simon, I know it's been a long time since you did this build diary but I'd like to replicate that look you got with the grain showing through, can you give me your secrets?

Hey crampstastic. All I did was to use the Wudtone stains over the bare wood. No sealers or grain filling. After that I applied wipe-on-poly but I'm sure there are way better and faster methods. I currently only spray with acrylic lacquer in my garage and I get near factory finish results.


Easy, don't use grain filler prior to staining or putting the varnish/ coating over the stain.

When I first saw it , I thought Oh Oh...he's stuffed up, but he's managed to get a cool looking guitar out of this build, done in his own way....BIG UP'S !

Alder isn't porous so no grain filling needed! I wasn't too happy with the final finish as you can see there were patches that didn't take the stain. I got a feeling it was the alder wood as some others had great results with basswood.

SIMpleONe89
20-02-2016, 09:10 AM
Guys I made some modifications to this guitar because of the following reasons:

1. Finish wasn't even. Some areas didn't absorb the Wudtone stain as well as others. I had a hard time getting an even look as a result.
2. Wipe-on-poly wasn't tough enough or it was probably too thin. I had areas of sand through and the finish was very easily dented.
3. The string spacing wasn't well done. The high E string was much closer to the edge of the neck and this really bothered me. I didn't centre the bridge properly the first time round.

Seeing this build was almost 2 years ago and I had gained much more experience in measuring, routing and finishing, I made the following changes:

1. Sprayed a solid colour close to surf green.
Thanks to Gavin Turner for recommending MTN94 Luminous Green! In retrospect I didn't prepare the wood well enough and getting an even finish during wet sanding was hard. Hence, I learned the lesson of sanding and more sanding even if you hate it!
2. String through body.
I drilled string through for this guitar because changing strings on a top loading bridge (Squier/MIM style) was a pain. Unfortunately I still couldn't get a perfect alignment.
3. New pickguard.
I loved the look of the tortoise shell pickguard against the surf green. I had to modify the centre pickup cavity because I previously measured it wrongly.

For the TLDR summary:
I modified this guitar. Here are the pictures.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b378/SIMpleONe89/Telecaster%201%20of%2015_zpso1oyvp52.jpg

SIMpleONe89
20-02-2016, 09:13 AM
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b378/SIMpleONe89/Telecaster%202%20of%2015_zpswh1klrxc.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b378/SIMpleONe89/Telecaster%204%20of%2015_zpsog0tk5gw.jpgi/img]
[img]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b378/SIMpleONe89/Telecaster%206%20of%2015_zpsgi3kawew.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b378/SIMpleONe89/Telecaster%207%20of%2015_zpspvl4ivep.jpg

SIMpleONe89
20-02-2016, 09:14 AM
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b378/SIMpleONe89/Telecaster%203%20of%2015_zpsr4wikmrd.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b378/SIMpleONe89/Telecaster%205%20of%2015_zps26vaof9d.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b378/SIMpleONe89/Telecaster%209%20of%2015_zpssuny3psb.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b378/SIMpleONe89/Telecaster%2011%20of%2015_zpsvu0dmabo.jpg

wokkaboy
20-02-2016, 09:31 AM
love it Simon, looks really cool, how does it play and have you got standard strat style 5 way switch ?
Noticed you reversed the control plate so the switch is at the bottom.
Surfer green really suits the pickguard, nice build mate !
Is that a Gotoh bridge ?
If you haven't entered it in GOTM previously you might as well enter it for March GOTM

SIMpleONe89
20-02-2016, 10:46 AM
Thanks wokka. It plays ok because the neck is rather chunky and I didn't shave off too much wood that time. I still need to fix the action to make it lower.
The tonerider hot classics sound awesome. I also added a seven way sound mod on top of the standard five way. I prefer the volume closer to the picking hand so I did reverse it intentionally.

SIMpleONe89
20-02-2016, 10:49 AM
The bridge isn't a gotoh but it's from a squier affinity series.

wokkaboy
20-02-2016, 11:31 AM
cool, cheers Simon

tonyw
20-02-2016, 12:12 PM
Hey Simon dont know if you thought about putting new saddles in that bridge? i did this mod to an Affinity bridge, works a treat.

8817
8818

SIMpleONe89
20-02-2016, 12:56 PM
Hey Simon dont know if you thought about putting new saddles in that bridge? i did this mod to an Affinity bridge, works a treat.

8817
8818

Hey Tony yes I actually thought of brass saddles but I actually prefer the six individual adjustable ones for perfection intonation. Thanks for the tip.

tonyw
20-02-2016, 01:25 PM
Hey Tony yes I actually thought of brass saddles but I actually prefer the six individual adjustable ones for perfection intonation. Thanks for the tip.


No such thing as perfect intonation... but i get what your trying to say :cool:

gavinturner
20-02-2016, 01:48 PM
Looks amazing Simon. Love the colour and the pickup selection is really cool.

cheers,
Gav.