1st Guitar Build

[c0ffinspire89]

Thanks for the kind words. Jugglindan I'll post some audio once I have it completed as I'm also very curious to hear how this tone will work out. I'll even try to write out the tone so people can read how it sounds!

Bakersdozen, thank you for the tip on the cavity, I hadn't even thought about that. The wiring should be in tomorrow, my goal is to solder it all this weekend if possible. I may try a dry fit with it once it comes in before wiring it up. I bet single coil and P90 sounds incredible! That sounds like a fun future upgrade project when I don't have two other projects on hold haha

[c0ffinspire89]

The updated wiring came in a few days ago, and created some unexpected issues. Had to get new knobs to fit the full size pots, had to get a new switch cap for the larger size switch, and had to drill out the holes on the control plate to fit the pots too. So far it's good to go now, just waiting for the cap and knobs.

The new wiring has raised a question about the output jack (the original jack is with the gold washer and nut). The new output jack is larger than the jack that came with the kit, it also looks more sturdy, but maybe not. The problem is, it seems like the jack needs another nut to keep it secure to the jack plate. The original jack came with two washers and two nuts, one nut and washer went below the jack plate, the others went on the outside. The new wiring only has two washers and one nut, when I tighten the plate completely the jack sticks out about 3/4 of an inch. Would using the original smaller jack cause any sound problems? I'd prefer the original if there's no sound loss as the gold pieces match the rest of the hardware. Sorry if it's a dumb question, I just have no idea. Thanks in advance for any help!

[king casey]

Probably not the answer to the problem, but I got a couple of these for the tele's...

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Quality-...frcectupt=true

cheers, Mark.

[Simon Barden]

Those electrosockets are good. But note that they do come in two thread sizes (the socket size itself is otherwise identical). The metric thread one will fit the original kit jack socket, whilst an imperial thread one will fit your new (presumably Switchraft) socket.

[c0ffinspire89]

Thank you both for the helpful answers! Mark, thank you for the link, I may look into those as a future option, unfortunately with how many other pieces I had to swap out to make this change I'd prefer not to spend more money on the output jack right now haha.

As long as there is no sound loss, I have no problem sticking with the original metric thread and original plate. This is one (of many) times I wish we in the US would just get on board with the rest of the world and use the metric system.

[c0ffinspire89]

There's a little bit more to work out as far as the intonation, but I think I've finished my first guitar! It took a couple of hours for me to wire up the 4 way switch. This was my first real soldering experience outside of just attaching a pickup to a pot, it's not the prettiest wiring job, but it sounds great so far. The wiring kit I bought came with an optional treble bleed too, so I wired that up as well.

The 4th position sounds great! To be honest I've previously never had much desire for a tele, I've always like the sound of LP's better, but this seemed like a good starter guitar. With the pickups in series it sounds more like the LP than any tele I've heard, so I'm very happy!

I'll post some better pictures when I have a better camera and more time, but I was excited to post this update! Thank you to everyone for the help along the way, I couldn't have done it without the help.

[c0ffinspire89]

I'm way, way behind on posting some nicer photos of this guitar, but having no decent photography equipment made it a struggle. I was finally able to coordinate with our graphic design manager at work and have her take a few "glamour shots" for me. They turned out beautifully so wanted to update the build diary.

[JimC]

Damn, that's nice. Wish mine were so tidy.

[c0ffinspire89]

Thanks Jim!

She definitely took some dents and dings in the finish because I waited to do all the wiring and drilling holes until the finish was done. But I just look at the dents and dings as the first of many battle scars!

[Simon Barden]

Very nice, clean and simple. A great effort.

Well worth adding your own headstock logo!