TLA-1 "Slugger"

[Scott J.]

Woo Hoo! ... the "home straight"

With the wiring completed and installed, I got the neck attached and the rest of the hardware installed. Most of the hardware was standard PBG, but upgraded a few items ...

- Bone nut (mentioned earlier)
- 3-ply scratch plate (Black/White/Black)
- recessed, round "cup" jack plate (rather than the standard PBG surface mount square plate - altho' the pic show the standard plate temporarily attached for testing purposes)
- felt pads under strap buttons (rather than provided plastic ones)

... well now she's ready for strings and the final set-up (action, intonation, etc.)

[Scott J.]

Final set-up done and "muchos" happy with the end result.

Being my own worst critic, I always prefer an unbiased second (and third) opinion as to how it actually "plays in the hands".

So down to my local dealer (Big Music at Crows Nest, NSW) with a pro-muso mate in tow - we took over the demo room to try it through a variety of amps and different pairs of hands (most of the shop staff also took it for whirl!).

Although it took some convincing to get me to believe they weren't just being nice about and didn't want to hurt my feelings, the general consensus on both playing and sound was a highly surprised "very nice axe" and general disbelief that it started as a $160 kit!

I'll take few "poster" shots of it in the next couple of days for lodgement in the Gallery and entrant in the GOTM ... but in the meantime here's a pic of the finished beauty in the hands of its maker (me ) relaxing the demo studio at Big Music after its test runs.

Someone once said that when it comes to Tele's, "It don't mean a thang if it aint got that twang" ... well, this baby's sure got that twang! 8-)

[stan]

very slick, Scott, it looks like a pro job!

[gavinturner]

Really nice Scott! Makes me want one of my own.. Very well done!

Cheers,
Gav.

[Brendan]

Great build Scott - nice and elegant and clean.
You've got every right to be proud of it!

[Dengreg]

Very neat. Classic look.
Thanks for the slug repellent hint.

[lawry]

Looks great Scott. Bet she jangles very nicely.

[maxaxe]

Whoa - that's one very tidy looking Tele. Great "period piece" with attributes having been well thought out and applied.

[quiet1_au]

Interesting tip re: the slug-repellent copper foil Scott. One question though, the stuff I was looking at on eBay claims to have a conductive adhesive (others describe it as conductive both sides - perhaps some have a plastic film one side?). Did you happen to test with a multimeter to see if the overlapping foils are all electrically connected? I'd rather buy it locally than have to wait up to a month for it to come from China somewhere... ;-) Thanks.

[Fretworn]

I use the snail tape for B****gs. It's exactly the same as the copper tape I bought from GuitarAust. Just a bit thicker and significantly cheaper.

http://www.bunnings.com.au/insect-tr...72561_p3010314