Beginner player and first build - TL - 1TB

Hi everyone,

Just started learning guitar and thought I would make one.

I like the sound of humbuckers, played clean rather than with distortion, which is a reason I picked this kit. I also like the look of the kit with the Bigsby and semi hollow. I am not a fan of the Strat bridges because they are a bit agricultural from a design point of view.

Question: Can I split the humbuckers? Perhaps using a switching pot. Thoughts?

Happy to hear advice and clarification or correction of a beginner's understanding of things.

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Originally Posted by Dwubyd

Hi everyone,

Just started learning guitar and thought I would make one.

I like the sound of humbuckers, played clean rather than with distortion, which is a reason I picked this kit. I also like the look of the kit with the Bigsby and semi hollow. I am not a fan of the Strat bridges because they are a bit agricultural from a design point of view.

Question: Can I split the humbuckers? Perhaps using a switching pot. Thoughts?

Happy to hear advice and clarification or correction of a beginner's understanding of things.

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Hi and welcome!

The humbuckers with my TL1-TH have just 2 wires, so splitting is not possible. I assume your kit will be same. But generally: 4 wires=splittable, 2 wires=not splittable.

A big challenge I have is how to divide my time between guitar practice and building. I will be interested if you have some good suggestions on that.

I am sure I will find out. I don't plan to spend a lot of time building. I expect I will build this guitar, finishing it nicely, but not over the top, then just play it.

Then again, if it is anything like bikes, the correct number to have is n+1 where n is the current number you have.

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Originally Posted by Dwubyd

...if it is anything like bikes, the correct number to have is n+1 where n is the current number you have.

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It is exactly like bikes. I have 5 bikes and 13 finished guitars, with a bike build in parts, and several guitars in states varying from rough shaped body blank, to awaiting final finish coats.

GAS (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome) is very real and quite incurable.

I think I am immune to GAS then. I just have 4 guitars, 1 on the way, and only 3 bikes. Just don't mention all the effect pedals I have been building :)

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Originally Posted by jugglindan

I think I am immune to GAS then. I just have 4 guitars, 1 on the way, and only 3 bikes. Just don't mention all the effect pedals I have been building :)

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immune....LOL!

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Originally Posted by FrankenWashie

immune....LOL!

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I must be the closest to immune out of you blokes. 2 guitars with 3 in varying stages of the build process, 2 pedals in the works and 3 cars (2 of which are completely stripped down to the shell) but zero bikes haha.

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by Woltz

I must be the closest to immune out of you blokes. 2 guitars with 3 in varying stages of the build process, 2 pedals in the works and 3 cars (2 of which are completely stripped down to the shell) but zero bikes haha.

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

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Just keep telling yourself that. If you believe hard enough, it might come true!

Im-mune......In denial...... They kind of sound the same....

Wooowwww. How quickly my post got hijacked!

;)

Okay, I received the guitar today. Neck fit is very snug. I had to round off the edges so it would seat back in the pocket nice like.

My issue is that the fret board is sitting up 8mm. I think it is fine. I will round off the corner real neat like and its all g.

What say you expert geetar builders?

Attachment 35500

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Originally Posted by Dwubyd

Wooowwww. How quickly my post got hijacked!

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You just need to post more often and shoo the naughty boys away! ;)

That neck's fine. Bolt-ons sit higher than glued-in necks as they don't have any significant neck angle (unlike glued-in necks) so need to be higher off the body to clear the pickups and give enough height for the bridge to work.

A small rounding off of the end of the fretboard would tidy things up considerably. Just the very ends with say a 2mm radius.

Does anyone have a suggestion on what glue to use to glue in a rather loose fitting bone nut?

I use either PVA or Titebond all along the mating surfaces. You can use CA (superglue) but only use a couple of small drops, don't fill the slot up with it or you'll never get the nut off again.

Thanks Simon

Finished. .

But I do have a question. I have a Bigsby style trem and it does stay in tune when I use the trem. Should I lube the pivots, install a roller bridge or some other idea?

A little lube on the pivots may help and a roller bridge is always a good idea with that sort of trem, but the nut slots are normally the main culprit. Lightly rub the bottom of the slots with some folded fine grit sandpaper. You only want to smooth them, not deepen them (unless they are on the high side). I typically use P400 and then P800. I'd start with that and the pivot lube and see where you are. Not a lot of oil and wipe away any excess.

Locking tuners may help with tuning stability as well as a roller bridge (any you need to make sure the rollers on those roll rather than lock up, so they need occasional light oiling). All these things can help a bit, there is no single cure.

Thanks again Simon.

I lubed the pivots, checked the bone nut and lubed it with a pencil and it still does not stay in tune. BUT (it is a big but), I dropped into my LGS on the way home and checked out a Gretsch with a Bigsby. It does exactly the same thing. With both guitars, f the guitar is tuned after pressing down on the trem and then you only press down on the trem it will stay in tune. If you pull up on the trem it goes out of tune. All you have to do to fix it is to push down on the trem and it is good again. Both the Gretsch and my Pitbull do the same thing, but mine does it a bit less.

It will be interesting to see whether the roller bridge stops it going out of tune when the trem is pulled. I suspect it won't.

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Anything that reduces friction on the string will help increase tuning stability. But you are also at the mercy of how well the trem system is manufactured and designed.

Roller bridge and roller string tree arrived and have been installed. The roller bridge did not really make any difference to the tuning, but it looks great and satisfies my engineering inclinations.

Warman zebra pickups also arrived and installed. I also installed two 3 position switches so I can have them in series, single coil or parallel. They sound a lot better than the stock pickups. A much fuller sound. The bass and mids are thicker. Nice to have lots of tonal options too.

Attachment 36542

Hi,

Wondering what the finish is on the guitar ? It looks great.

I used a few different stains - black, red and brown, and topped it off with Organoil. I think it is basically tung oil. We used it on our kitchen bench and floor so I had some left over. Makes for a super smooth finish