TL-1HA First Build

TL-1HA

I've always wanted a Tele Deluxe type guitar. Looking to do a dark stain body with hardware upgrades.

https://i.imgur.com/B8GsZltl.jpg

This is my first time building a guitar so I'm going to take this build slow and double, triple check everything which in turn will lead to many questions on here (probably at every stage!).

Question before I start. When doing the mock build do I commit to the final positions of everything (bridge, neck, pickguard etc) & drill holes? or am I just marking it up at this stage & drilling later in the build?

Cheers

Hi and welcome to the forum.

The mock build is really just a check that you have everything you need and that the parts fit where they should.
Nothing is committed at this stage.
Things to check for are,
Does the neck fit cleanly?
Does the pick guard fit correctly? Gaps around the neck equal etc.
Do the pickups fit the routing or does it need adjusting?
Are the holes for the wiring all there? (Earth wire for the bridge etc)
Does the body need any reshaping or remedial work?
Do you understand how it fits and what you want?
Now that you are looking at the guitar, are there any upgrades you want to do?

There are mixed views on whether you should drill before you apply the finish or after (I prefer after).

In fact as the build progresses you will probably do multiple 'mock builds' so take your time.
As always, if you are in any doubt, ask the question ....... we all do!

Good luck.
Cheers
Ricky

I upgraded the pickups, pickguard & tuners for genuine Fender. The wide range pick ups & control positions required the routes to be enlarged. I did this free hand thinking it'd right as I'm just trimming a bit more off. Got the holes the right size but they're messy! they'll be covered by the pick guard. The larger pickguard has pushed the bridge back & really stretched the limit of the scale length. Only just makes it with the saddles extended all the way forward. I'll try getting some longer screws if there's a problem. I did a walnut stain with Tru Oil finish, was a bit of trial & error & learning as I went but happy with how it turned out. Just waiting on shielding tape & then I'll start putting it all together.

https://i.imgur.com/Bw2UpYy.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/ZDS29DP.jpg

Looking good to me.

Whilst it's nice to have neat pickup routs, if they are covered by the pickguard then it really doesn't matter how neat they are. It's your guitar, you aren't manufacturing them for public consumption. And whilst it's slightly messy looking, its the right size for the pickups, and far better IMO than a neat 'swimming pool' rout that you see on a lot of guitars where all the wood between the first and last pickup position is missing.

You should be fine with the current bridge intonation screws. The intonation length is always slightly longer than the scale length, maybe by 1mm-1.5mm depending on string gauge. But yes, slightly longer screws will solve any issues if that doesn't end up the case. The current screws are normally M3, 15mm long, so M3 20mm or even 25mm long should sort you out if necessary.

If you aren't already aware, the foil shielding needs to be connected to ground to work. With the large scratchplate, you just coat the underside fully in foil. That gets grounded by contact with the pots attached to it. Foil the cavities and leave foil running over the edges of the cavities (where it's not going to show), and contact with the underside of the pickguard will then ground those. I'd be tempted to also link the four cavities together with bits of foil as well, running over the top of the body, so that if one cavity's foil doesn't make good contact with the top, then it will be grounded via the link to another cavity.

I like your build. The colour and headstock are great

Keen to know how your pickups sound.


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Thanks Simon, great advise re shielding. I'll be doing as you recommend.

Finished this build more or less. The frets need a bit of filing & the electronics although they sound great don't quite behave as they should. Things I'll address next time I have the strings off.
Overall very happy with my first build. Stain & Tru Oil came up nice, Fender wide-range pick ups sound fantastic.

https://i.imgur.com/BMuuA0Q.jpg

Very nice!
The Fender WR pickups probably cost more than the kit! (a concept I'm very familiar with btw)
That's nice figuring on the headstock too.

What electronic issues are you having? I'm sure someone here will able to help...

Great look guitar BoMo, something to be proud of.

rob

One of the tone pots seems to be working in reverse - 10=no treble, 1=treble, One volume does turn down to silent, kinda goes loud & a little bit louder. Playing around with them I can get a setting that sounds awesome. Like I said when I got the strings off sometime I'll check all the wiring see if I can work it out.

Nice build

Cheers!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BoMo

One of the tone pots seems to be working in reverse - 10=no treble, 1=treble, One volume does turn down to silent, kinda goes loud & a little bit louder. Playing around with them I can get a setting that sounds awesome. Like I said when I got the strings off sometime I'll check all the wiring see if I can work it out.

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Sounds like tone pot is just wired backwards, but can’t say what the volume issue may be.
When you get it apart, posting a couple of clear close-up pix would help in diagnosing any problems.

Had a play today. To clear things up both volumes don't change the volume instead they act more like tones going from kinda muddy to bright but on a lesser scale than the tone knobs.

Do you have shielding tape or paint in the control cavity?

If there is a short against the shielding, it can cause strange behaviour in pots. For instance tone controls acting like volume controls.

Thanks for the tip McCreed, there is copper shielding in the cavity & the pots are pretty tight in there so a good chance something is shorting. I'll check it out.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BoMo

Thanks for the tip McCreed, there is copper shielding in the cavity & the pots are pretty tight in there so a good chance something is shorting. I'll check it out.

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If the cavity is tight and enlarging it is not an option, you can wrap a bit of insulating tape around the pot body so it doesn't touch the sides of the cavity. It's not my favourite option as the adhesive on electrical tape always seems to fail eventually and the tape falls off.

Another thing to look for is that the pots don't turn when you tighten up the nut.
If the pot shifts inside the cavity, it can cause a solder lug to make contact with the shielding also creating a short. A set up like you have (pots through pickguard) it's best to tighten the pot nuts securely before fitting the guard into place. You can physically hold the pot in position with one hand whilst tightening the nut with the other so you know which direction the lugs are facing.