My First (2) Builds

It may be a bit premature to start a build thread before I've even gotten the kits, but after snagging both the sunday night specials, I figured I'd have a wee bit of extra cash to look at some upgrades.
So.... I've got a basic TL-1 and ES-3 on order and before they ship I'm looking for some feedback on what might be money better spent for upgrades.
The tele looks to be a straight forward build, so it'll be up first. For those who have played the stock pickups, do you feel they are worth upgrading right away? My thinking is maybe not - for a couple reasons - 1) I'm still (re)learning guitar and a better pickup would be lost due to my lack of skill, and 2) the pickups are much easier to get at on a tele (compared to the ES-3) and could be upgraded fairly easy later on. If not pickups, what about tuners? Are the kit ones decent enough? Again, it looks like they could be upgraded easily down the road, but the upgrade price when buying with a kit is much better than buying them later.
The ES-3 will be second and much more challenging so I've got a bit of time on this one, but I'd like it to be a better build, so I'm looking at reasonably priced humbucker upgrades for this one. No audio clips from anyone for this kit yet so I'm not sure what the stock pups are like but since it's much tougher to work with the electronics on a hollow body, I'd like to only have to do it once. So, if anyone can make some recommendations I'd appreciate it.

Let the fun begin!
Peter.

Two builds Peter...my kinda guy! good on you.

There is nothing wrong with the stock pick ups that come with the PBG kit, that is, they work.

As first instance, I would probably give some consideration to the finish of each guitar. If you have't already chosen/purchased the filler, stain or paint of your choosing, that can add up. I would not cheap out on the finish, is spend money and time on a good finish, then consider other upgrades.

That being said, I have upgraded all of my pick ups from PBG to Toneriders. Toneriders aren't that expensive (about $90 bucks for the tele set and $120 for a Humbucker set - thats $AUS) and its totally worth it. Not sure if you can get your hands on a set of Wilkinsons (UK based), they are also well priced (on the lower end) and produce a fabulous tone.

You are right though, changing the pickups in either guitar later is not that difficult and does not require special tools.

You also could consider upgrading all the electronics, the volume and tone pots, the switch, the jack, capacitor and wiring as all of those parts are relatively inexpensive and would cost much less than a set of pickups. (a good work out for your soldering skillz) Be aware that when upgrading the pots, you most likley will need to widen the hole in the control plate in the tele and the top of the ES.

Personally, only lastly would I consider upgrading any of the hardware, ie bridges, tuning pegs etc (although i've done them on mine) there really isn't anything at all wrong with the PBG ones and those parts can really add up. Maybe consider those on a "re-work".

Hey peterh, you're lucky to snavvle that Tele. I saw it 10 minutes after Adam posted it and my finger was hovering over the 'buy' button for as much time as it takes for common sense to kick in... (Which for me can usually be quite a while!)

Already got one build on the go and another one hopefully arriving this week.

@Andy - thanks for your feedback - some sound reasoning on where to put the budget. I have a couple questions for you though. Which Toneriders did you use? Since I'm primarily going to be playing jazz styles of music, I'm looking for something warmer/smoother for lack of better terms. Saw some NOS Wilkinson Deluxe pups on eBay - not sure if there the same as the specs I've seen for the current Wilkinson's or not.
Is it actually easy to change the pups on a hollow body like the ES-3? I thought it was quite a struggle to get the electronics in/out of the body - which I assumed included the wiring for the humbuckers. Do you need to pull all the wiring out to change the pups or can it be done right from the routed cavity?
For finishing, I think I'm going to order some of this grain filler http://www.woodessence.com/Brite-Ton...ler-P4369.aspx and this analine dye kit http://www.woodessence.com/ColorFX-D...ts-P51C12.aspx. For finish layer I think I'm going to try TRU OIL (don't want to say that too loud around here ;) )
Might take a look at cost of upgrading the electronics instead, as you suggest, since they're a cheaper option. I'm pretty sure GFS has upgraded electronics kits that have all those parts.

@Muzza - sorry I snagged that kit away from you - maybe I saved you from a moment of weakness?

Hi Peter,

Sounds like you've got the finish sorted out. great. Don't forget to factor in any tools you may need/want into your budget as well. Have a look at Stewmac's range http://www.stewmac.com/ for anything you may need.

I think you are right in concentrating the upgrades for your ES as it would be easier to do any modifications whilst building. However, if you want to modify the ES after the build, it can be done, a bit more fiddly than the tele but not too difficult. For example - John Cooper on Youtube shows how to reintall electronics in a semi-hollowbody through the F-hole: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKH2kK4P-RU. He's also got a video on changing the pick-ups, but he did have to re-drill holes which you wont need to do between PBG standard humbuckers and tonerider or wilkinsons.

I've heard from other guys in the forum that GFS pick-ups are also good - I see you're from Canada so you should be able to source them easily.

I cannot remember the type of wilkinsons I have on by semi-hollow body but I bought Alnico II Classics for my LP because I prefer the tone to a "hotter" pup. Unfortunately, I have no answers for you here as its purely your taste. Its a matter for doing your own search and finding the type of tone you are after. What I can say is Toneriders sound exactly like the demo videos on the website. I think Tonyh and the guys on the forum know a lot more about pick-ups than I and may be able to shed more light on the subject when they read this.

PS. I've got Tonerider hot classics for my tele, havent tried them yet but am keen to do so! As your "over that side of the word" maybe you might consider upgrading the PBG pups to Wild Bill's Keystones some time in the future: http://wildepickups.com/Wilde_Bill_s_Keystones.html

Good luck mate

@Andy,
This may be a dumb question, but if I wanted to upgrade the electronics do I need to worry about the diameter or length of the pot shafts? I see PGB has 'mini' Bourns and CTS pots - what's the difference between them and regular pots? Can I assume that since PBG only sells mini's, that they will fit the PBG kits without modification?
How do the electronics attach to the control plate on the tele - soldered on or do they screw/thread onto the plate?

thanks,
Peter.

The pots screw onto the control plate, and you will have to modify the plate if you want to use Bourns or CTS pots as the both have a wider shaft than the generics. Totally worth it though.

P.S. There's no such thing as a dumb question. Ask away.

Thanks Pablo..... although I may prove you wrong on there being no dumb questions ;)
If I went with new pots, is there any issue with the length of the shafts? Would I need to add extra spacers or anything to get the knobs to sit the proper height above the plate? Will the stock knobs fit okay on Bourns or CTS pots (split shaft?)?

Bourns pots - yes. CTS pots - no. CTS pots require their own special knobs (24 spline as opposed to 18 I think). I find most pots need to be adjusted for height. Washers or such work well.

Pabs knows more than me pete and I would defs agree with him.

Things are moving along nicely.
Received my bottles of Tru Oil a couple days ago; analine dyes and filler (may not need filler for these kits) are ordered and on their way; fret rocker and fretboard straight edge on their way; kits arrived in BC and were released by customs today (pretty good - 4 days from AUS to CAN) but likely another 4 days to get to the other side of the country. Really looking forward to actually getting a look at the kits and see what kind of trouble I've actually gotten myself into ;)

that's great peter, it takes nearly a week for stuff to come from PBG central across the country to my place, looks like it's quicker if you live overseas!