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Kit arrived today, opened the box put a few things together and everything appears to be there. Now the task of sanding begins while I start mixing some colours as testers until I settle on a final colour. I should have time to complete the prep sanding by the weekend hopefully, we will see.
Good stuff Aadamdun, great kit to start on the tele. Ask any questions you have in this build diary. Would love to see some pics of the kit your scored.
Best of luck with the build
I'm looking at bridge options tonight and am considering one of those Babicz TL style. Can you top load with both of the single coil model bridges? One thing I don't have is a drill press so top load it has to be.
the FCH is top loaded, check the alternative pic that shows the back better, unsure about the Z series one, looks the same though
great project and the Babicz stuff is top notch, I bought some before PBG stocked it
Hi Aadamdun, gotta love the TL biulds. I am assuming its a TL-1? wish i could afford a babicz bridge.Quote:
Originally Posted by Aadamdun
You can always consider drilling a string through without a drill press (just have a look at my TLA-1R diary) but I would be settled on the bridge first in case you need to modify the pup rout for the scale length.
Keep us posted
I'm pretty much going to buy one of the Babicz bridges. I think they look pretty sharp and I've not picked up on any negative feedback yet. The more expensive bridge can top load but I can't find any info on the z series at all.
I pretty much only need bridge and pups and I'm good to go.
What pups are you thinkin?:cool:
Not %100 certain yet, it's probably the hardest decision I have to make.
....and yet one of the most epicly awesome.....(<whisper>go toneriders)
I'm thinking an EMG tele set. Something different to the normal stuff you see.
I'll have to look them up....you have me intrigued:confused:
Never seen EMG's in a Tele before? Will they be passive or active as the latter will also require a battery compartment?
The ones I'm looking at are active. I'd like to work it so I can run them but if it's too much trouble I'll go to plan B.
Never used any EMG's so cannot comment any further.
Yeah me and my crazy ideas but I've got a bit of time before I need to decide.
How do you upload photos? Can it be done off your phone?
There are a few ways. First, you can hit the "Go Advanced" button down next to "Post Quick Reply", this will let you upload straight from your pc/phone by hitting the "Manage Attachments" button.
Second is to host the photo off site (Photobucket/Imgur/etc, etc) and insert it into your comment by pasting the url between a [img] and a [/img].
I never even knew these beasties existed.....http://www.emgpickups.com/guitar/single-coil.html new fact learned!Quote:
Originally Posted by Andy40
I will work this photo thing out soon it seems my pics are too big.
This afternoon I spent about 4 hours sanding on the body and got it blocked out to a standard I'm almost happy with. I still have a lot of work to do on the sides but I should get it near ready for some dye tomorrow if not ready. Tomorrow morning I will be mixing colours and doing some samples on some pine to see what I can come up with.
Been doing some reading and apparently the battery will fit in a standard control rout. Only downside will be pulling it all off to change battery.Quote:
Originally Posted by wazkelly
Suppose you could use them in passive mode as I just had a look at the Tele set and there was no mention of any battery pack however there was a link to how to setup 9v or 18v battery power.
Have a look at Pablo's MMB4 to see how neat and tidy a job he did installing a battery pack in the back. Not so sure it wouldn't rattle about and maybe short things out if left unrestrained in the control cavity.
Very good point about the control cavity. Last thing I want is thing getting knocked about in there.Quote:
Originally Posted by wazkelly
Decision time again, orange, blue, purple or black. With all black hardware and a satin finish
[attach=config]14058[/attach
Ok so I've worked out how to post a pic of my kit I'm starting. Now I'll post more as I go.
Attachment 14059
Here is another angle of the TL kit
I've been looking at other options for pups and the toneriders seem like pretty decent value. I might just put a hot set in and if I don't like them I can change them. All the YouTube clips of them sound really good.Quote:
Originally Posted by Andy40
Basswood body with Black Hardware..... I would suggest a lighter, brighter colour for the black to work it's magic as the contrast.
Would caution using blue as basswood can have a weird colour tone with a tinge yellowish green lurking in the background which becomes even more pronounced under blue, and top coats can also add their influence too. On my Tele the top is flame maple whilst back and side are basswood and under the blue those parts came out more teal than the aqua/turquoise on the front. Unfortunately no good shots in my library that show how this came out and will see if I can do some and post this week if you are interested.
Orange wouldn't be a problem as the yellowish tinge of the timber would be barely noticeable. Coolangatta Gold would look absolutely stunning with black hardware and scratch plate.
Ok so it's safe to say I'm less then impressed with the basswood body. After countless hours of sanding to a standard that I'm %95 happy with a second time. I've now realized it might only be suited to painting. Whilst the look of the dye is not bad, it's far from a standard I'd be proud to put on display. I will use this guitar as a practice build but will not be finishing this body as I want a beautiful trans finish on my TL guitar. I'm now left with the decision whether to go with alder or ash? Can anybody with experience give me some pros and cons about each?
Hi Buddy, Ash has a very strong grain pattern that sometimes results in 'grain waves' in the finish where it is nearly impossible to get a flat finished surface. Overall effect looks great but if you want that 'dipped in plastic' look maybe another timber would be a better choice.
Have only used Basswood on 3 builds and Ash on 1. With Basswood the top colours were orange on one and gold on the other which were unaffected by the slight yellowish tinge inherent in that timber species however under the blue Tele things did turn a bit more Teal than Blue.
Haven't built with Alder so cannot comment other than to say my Antique White Pacifica made from the same stuff feels and sounds great, but you wouldn't really know what the timber was as it is hidden under a solid colour.
Thanks for the input much appreciated.Quote:
Originally Posted by wazkelly
This style of guitar is one that I badly want for my collection so near enough is not good enough for this one. The basswood body I have just looks ugly because there is 2 very big spots of very soft grain on the front side. As soon as you wipe colour over it the spots turn into big dark blobs. I attempted to grain fill it but it didn't next to nothing. Just a not so great piece of timber, but that's the luck of the draw. At this price point you must also expect these types of issues. If I wanted a solid colour body great but I'll be roasting marsh mellows over this one.
Hi Adam,
Have you found a pic of the finish type you are trying to achieve?
As you say, its the luck of the draw with basswood (or with any wood for that matter). Although I have an idea, most of the time I don't really settle on the colour/finish scheme until I've sanded for a few hours.
I love my basswood strat (solid paint build) and prefer it to my others sometimes as its so light and comfortable yet not compromising on tone.