TV

Well this one will get me in trouble!
Another day in the workshop while I can use my power tools.
Looking through the ugly guitar thread one of the standout, fairly basic uggers is the yellow Flycaster, a quite poorly executed design mish mash. (apparently these are now commanding premium price's due to the short production run and consequent rarity) Now I love Telecasters, I also love Flying V's. The V, in my opinion is one of the most comfortable guitars to play, when standing and with a strap (obviously!) Its not a guitar to just pick up and jam with, or write or just exercise your scales or whatever ( I fitted a Steinberger flip over leg rest on my V because of that)
So I set myself a challenge, can I make a TV hybrid and not get sent to the ugly thread?
It will be a ply top with a pine main body(clamped, gluing up and drying at this time) Tele type pick up set up but with compact humbuckers. Its 24.75 scale. I have tried to keep the body fairly compact, with the design cues of each parent not, hopefully degrading the other. I hope the weight will be bearable.
I have got it centred and mocked up, to me it looks like it might work. Probably upset the purists though. :rolleyes:Its not my most radical plan, that's yet to come
TV (2).JPG (203.0 KB)

Anything different is good. Be interested to see how it pans out.

I have no words...

I totally dig it.

It looks ...excited.

Oh, Simon!

You can't un-see it now...

It’s odd that a regular tele doesn’t have that appearance even though the lower horn appendage is identical ( I traced around a telecaster for my initial drawing) Perhaps the straight lines simply draw the eye to the horn.
I said there’d be trouble with this one and I can’t unsee it now too! I will persevere and hope that the eye can be drawn elsewhere.

What if you continued the Tele line around past the bottom wing a bit like this?


https://i.imgur.com/YbbH7mS.jpg

Perhaps if the upper bout on the base side also reflected some of the telecaster influence, the overall impression might be more of a blend of Tele and V.

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Originally Posted by impala59

I said there’d be trouble with this one and I can’t unsee it now too! I will persevere and hope that the eye can be drawn elsewhere.

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It could make for an interesting paint job hehe .

Nice "rubbing stamping" there Sonic!

I do like your idea though.

I could also see a TOM bridge with a humbucker and then a tele neck pickup...

Perhapth a small hump on the top to balanthe thingth out Thir?

Just curious, do you pronounce it (sorry, pronounth it) ee-gor, or eye-gor???

Probably what @Ig0r was getting at, but you could mirror the right side. That would make it either balanced........or twice as horny :o

Now, we know there were drawings and rumour has it one or two prototypes may have been made of the Moderne....but I think @impala59 stumbled upon a drawing of a 4th Gibson alongside the Flying V and the Explorer. A design so devious and depraved that Gibson was too ashamed to admit that one of *their* designers could have the indecency to come up with it.....

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Originally Posted by McCreed

Just curious, do you pronounce it (sorry, pronounth it) ee-gor, or eye-gor???

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Aye-gor. 🤔

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Originally Posted by McCreed

Just curious, do you pronounce it (sorry, pronounth it) ee-gor, or eye-gor???

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Pronunciation matters little as his hearing has a lisp as well. The important part is to bellow it loudly and immediately issue crazy instructions. e.g.

"IGOR! FETCH THE ELECTRODES!!!", "IGOR! RELEASE THE KRAKEN", "IGOR! CHOC ICE AND SPRINKLES!!" etc etc.

Thanks for the rescue attempt Sonic! I think you may have inadvertently created a new design there. Sort of splitting the hybrid down the centre line. At least it’s good for a laugh as is🤪🤪🤪
As for a lump on top, alas it’s all cut now, maybe a cxxxxxxion on the bottom is a possibility. Oh no more room for double-entendres 😀

Carry on guitar!
It looked ok when I drew it, honest guv!

Steve Vai has his trademark monkey grip, now Impala has his trademark ‘donkey’ grip. ;)

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Originally Posted by Simon Barden

Steve Vai has his trademark monkey grip, now Impala has his trademark ‘donkey’ grip. ;)

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His what now grip? Oh DONKEY you said, whew!

Oooh Mr Barden!, you are awful 🤨

I'm being restrained!

Everything played in the key of dong I guess, hope the straps don’t bite too much!

What's the next guitar going to be, a semi?

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Originally Posted by impala59

Everything played in the key of dong I guess, hope the straps don’t bite too much!

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So it's a percussion instrument like a piano? Does this mean you play it with a stainless steel franga?

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Originally Posted by Simon Barden

What's the next guitar going to be, a semi?

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I’m almost afraid to say!
I have a couple more weird ones to get out of my system, a proper 22.75 scale tenor and a themed one which may or may not reach any level of building.
I would like to make an acoustic telecaster, I shall have to read up on techniques though or maybe just blunder through as usual! I now have a few to finish so maybe I should get on with those, if my lack of patience permits. Just hate waiting for things to dry and such

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Originally Posted by impala59

I now have a few to finish so maybe I should get on with those, if my lack of patience permits. Just hate waiting for things to dry and such

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Heh heh, part of the crew, part of the ship!

Taking on board the comments, I am now looking at a slight modification to the offending appendage. A touch of SG maybe, but also going towards the way of the Moderne but without losing the fundamental balance of the soft V or the comfortable waist of the Tele. Not finalised or cut yet and my photo cropping is not on a par with Sonic unfortunately. I have a couple of days in the workshop next week before the in-laws take it over, so hopefully move forward
Before and after pics

I must say that it looks a lot better to me, a more cohesive design.

Maybe a bit less pointy on the horn, something like this?
Attachment 38321
Thats an exact copy of the tail horns though, and I think there would be mileage in making it a bit smaller.

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Originally Posted by impala59

I would like to make an acoustic telecaster,

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I have a set of mdf moulds for a true acoustic telecaster. I made a start on what was supposed to be going to be a centreblock semi using them, but for some reason that escapes me I made the ribs 3 inches deep, which really means a true acoustic, which I don't really have the skills and design for. Then I got diverted by lockdown, mandolins and 66 bodies, so its all boxed up in the workshop roof waiting for me to decide whether to proceed with a full acoustic or else start again with a new set of ribs that are centreblock thickness.

Personally I prefer the original design, or Jim’s version to the more pointy one. If you are going with a pointy V and may be an assymetrical one like a Jackson Rhoads?

Following Jims suggestion, I am quite taken with the Mk3, more in keeping with the original plan and retaining the balance I am looking for.
As far as your 3" semi Jim, I think that would be a really cool project, so different to the usual. it really appeals to my sense of familiar but so different. Sort of midway between solid and acoustic.
Its quite odd but despite my love of the telecaster, the one I don't get on with is the Thinline, I had one but gave it away, I just didn't like it!. Your potential guitar would/could be full electric but also would have the depth for true acoustic (plus if it works out and you have the mould, you could make another! hint hint:D (especially as you are not in Oz!)

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Originally Posted by impala59

As far as your 3" semi Jim

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Chortle! ;)

So, still debating with myself over the lower body shape. It is quite important to me to keep the top straight, the V equal and the lower 'waist' section Some thoughts below
1 original TL lower horn, 2 pointy sg, 3 cropped tele, 4 round 335, 5 cut back round

They all look wrong to me, with 2 looking least wrong. But it's your guitar, so ignore me and just do what you like the best.

The V-part itself is far stumpier/chunkier than a normal V, which isn't helping matters in my eyes.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/8...923/M8ZpTc.jpg

I do take your point Simon and the shorter body, I hope will reflect the Tele side of it once the hardware etc is fitted. It is just a bit of fun really and if it all goes pear shaped (now there’s an idea!) then I will salvage the parts and try again. I do value your opinion, thoughts and sense of humour, this site has got me doing stuff I never thought possible. When we can get out playing again, to be able to play something that I made is something that I never thought that I could achieve. I used one of my creations on some tracks that a friend was recording and was more than delighted with my sounds and the playability. I recall making a solid bodied guitar at school, it was an unmitigated disaster, now I am making stuff for friends who want something a little different. Just goes to show, you’re never too old to learn 😁

3, then 1,4,5 & 2.

The SG horn just reminds me of these ugly things....
https://www.musiciansfriend.com/guit...lectric-guitar

It's probably between 3 and 4 for me.

I think what I am maybe looking for is more internal consistency. The style of the majority of the body is straight line/single radius/straight line/radius. The double curve at the top bout/neck is a bit of an exception, but otherwise it applies except for your lower horns, which all have complex and double curves. So I wonder what it would look like if you made the whole body line/radius, and made the neck joint on the top bout a single radius meeting the neck at 90 degrees, and gave the lower horn short straight sections between the radii?

It's odd, you've got me thinking about body design in a depth I haven't before. It now seems to me that a consistency and flow between the different areas is what is required. Maybe if I'd realised this before my little parlour semi wouldn't have been so goddam ugly! I suppose the other thing I'm realising is that body design is damn difficult.

Another interesting question is how to apply the line/radius/line theme to a headstock. Maybe the double curve on the top bout to neck is right after all if it mirrors a double curve that is pretty much inevitable at the other end of the neck?