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Today I pulled the trigger on the TLA-1Q kit with a few upgrades to make it as close as possible to the Custom Shop original but as a bolted neck rather than a through body set neck with chambers.
Hopefully I can do the great man justice with it
Attachment 15959
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv61zBZacpo
Some nice close ups in this clip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6evsqCwwzc
I REALLY love this guitar, so I'm super keen to see how this turns out :)
Considered trying it myself but a bit tough for a first build I think haha. Good luck!
Nice build plan Dave.
Are you going to try and emulate the through neck colour wise on the back?
Yep that's the plan Daniel, DB has given me some tips and I'll be trying it on scrap first.Quote:
Originally Posted by Zandit75
I've spent half the afternoon looking at YT for inlay tips and tricks to do the dog on the headstock.
There won't be any more updates until after the 9th when the kit arrives, Adam has it in stock to send now but we are away next week and I don't want to miss the delivery.
Upgrades to the standard kit are:-
22 fret maple neck
gold hardware including ferrules
Tonerider Gold Hot Classics ( close enough to Texas Specials )
white pearloid pickguard
Because there must be a limit to what options Adam can stock I'm ordering from OS a six saddle bridge, an oval jack plate and round string tree all in the correct CS style ( might see if I can find a CS neck plate on the net as well
The Wilkinson & Babicz bridges are not close enough to the Fender item
For finish I'm using Coolangatta Gold & Black Stump with clear finish for the neck but a bit of CG might sneak into the mix to highlight any grain highlights in the maple
As they say in the classics, wish me luck
All the bits are on the way from various parts of the world, really looking forward to getting this started
Great plans DK. Its going to be awesome. Had a crack on my tele with hot classics tonight....you'll love them;)
Thanks Andy I hope it goes according to plan, I will be taking plenty of time because " you can't rush mediocrity " :)
made me laugh:D
Should be sweet Dave, marty fine lookin' geetar.
As requested, I wish you luck.
The kit turned up this morning all bits there and accounted for, still need the bespoke bits to arrive from the US in the next couple of days
A wipe down with a wet rag showed very little if any glue residue on the quilt but a bit on the side under the neck pocket which will need attention
Attachment 16212
Now that is nice
This is going to be one nice Tele Dave
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nice kit Dave, gold hardware on quilt will look tops. What stain colour you going - looks like a tobacco burst on your first post ?
Because you dont want mediocre mediocrity...you need to shoot for top quality mediocrity. 😋😜Quote:
Originally Posted by dave.king1
Or you could simply aim for 'good' without putting much effort in.Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankenWashie
Nice quilt pattern, Dave. It should look great at the end.
Almost looks good enough to go straight for the clear top coats and not bother with a stain.
To Merle Haggard, or not to Merle Haggard. That is the question.
Thanks for the comments I am very pleased with it at the moment ( I haven't touched it yet :) )
And it will definitely be a Merle tribute guitar I have played so many of his songs over the last 40 or so years and enjoy the battle of coming to grips with the fabulous guitarists who have graced The Strangers ( Roy Nichols, Roy Buchanan & Redd Volkaert in particular ) Merle himself was a very talented picker but he was leaving it to the younguns at the end because the mind and the fingers didn't have it anymore.
@ Woks I am using Coolongatta Gold and Black Stump for the finish on DBs recommendation and I think I can do a fair job of it because I won't be rushing it, there is no need the current herd covers the sonic palate I need. Truth be known the only guitar I probably need is my 1976 Shergold Masquarader until I need Strat quack and a wiggle stick ( but a man can never have too many toys )
Looking forward to seeing this evolve Dave, it looks a fantastic kit to work with.Quote:
Originally Posted by dave.king1
Made a small start, marked out and cut the headstock & pickguard.
The bits from the US have arrived so just about ready for lift off.
One minor issue arose last night when I was checking the Toneriders, the wrong pickups were in the correctly marked box.
Vintage Plus instead of Hot Classics so I sent Adam an email late last night and he shoved the correct ones in the mail this morning, the VPs are on the way back to PB as well.
Damn I love the customer service that we get from PB, a big thumbs up from me
Yep, can't ask for better customer service.
First build photo post dummy build
Shaped pickguard sitting in place along with the correct six saddle string through bridge, now hunting the correct switch tip and the pearloid tuning heads and MOP veneer for the dog
Attachment 16273
love the pickguard shape DK really suits the tele shape and hardware !
I'm making it as close as is humanly possible within the constraints of the kit and available reasonably priced upgrade parts.
After a lot of searching I found the pickguard template on the net and cut this from the kit item with a fret saw then bevelled with a dremel and then scraped the resulting edge with a Stanley blade to clean it up, the dogs head is another whole world of challenge yet to be confronted
Mmm...Starting to feel the mojo on this one Dave. Look forward to seeing how you go with it!Quote:
Originally Posted by dave.king1
I knew the kit black barrel switch tip was wrong so I went and had another look at the Custom Shop pic and the tip should be a Strat tip in cream so it was back to fleay bay and then I remembered I have a white Strat hardware package looking for purpose.
White tip, white pickguard, perfect :)
sounds good DK, see if it fits on the switch. When I've upgraded switches the top of the switch blade are usually wider than the PBG ones. You might be lucky and it slips on fine.
PB switch to PB switch, installed half an hour ago
It may pay to double-check your scale length and ensure the bridge pup will fit in the rout at that length before going any further, as sometimes the TL bridge pickup rout needs a tweak to fit aftermarket pups. Mockup looks great.
Near death experience for the Dog, there was a minimal strip of glue on the cap join so I hit it with some Goo Off and an old T shirt.
Somewhere in the past a bit of something got onto the shirt and suddenly I had a dark purple stripe.
A bit more goo off and some fine sandpaper appears to have sorted the stain but now I can see more glue stain in that area so more work to do.
I think I mentioned it elsewhere, the Toneriders that arrived with the kit were the wrong pickups in the correct packaging, Vintage Plus instead of Hot Classics.
As ever the Pitbull customer service has been brilliant and the replacement gold Hot Classics turned up this morning, hopefully Adam has the VPs I sent back by now as well.
Today if I get time I'll mount the neck and get the bridge setup so I can drill the body for the string through and ferrules.
Then I can get on with finishing the sanding on the body
Looks like it's all going to plan. And another example of great PBG customer service!
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Just roughed it up and the bridge rout does indeed require attention, around 7mm
Wow thats pretty far DK. but no surprises, I remember mine (and Wokks has mentioned before) it should be about 5mm out
The 22 fret neck may have something to do with it, as ever throu it will be a matter of measure many times before cutting onceQuote:
Originally Posted by Andy40
Ahhh right...sorry I forgot it was a 22
I get excited about teles, played mine all day yesterday (my other guitars will think i am having an affair):o
Only really discovered how good Tele's were recently. Tend to prefer them over a Strat nowadays as never been a whammy bar user and like the brighter bridge PUP sound more than the Strat's.
They say you learn to play guitar and then learn to play Telecaster :)
A Tele has an amazing sound palate once you learn how to find it and more importantly exploit it