Redd Volkaert Tele

[Mikey Likes It]

I just finished this unique T-style for Mr. Redd, to his specs:

Heavily flamed maple neck (I used roasted maple, courtesy of Tommy Rosamond) - the neck is quite beefy, 0.95" at the nut and 1" at the 12th fret, V to C contour, 9.5" radius, 1-3/4" nut, vintage stainless steel frets and a very thin nitro finish.The neck is bolted on using stainless steel bushings from Onyx Forge.

One-piece light (just under 4 lbs) swamp ash body with a walnut stain, Glendale bridge (the bridge and saddles you see are temporary - I'm still waiting for the no-cut plate and twang saddle set that Redd wants but used this bridge so I could finish the nut and do some setup work).

Electronics include a vintage kit from RS and a set of Fred Stuart Black Guard pickups. Redd got the anodized gold aluminum pick guard from Tone Guard.I sure hope Redd likes it as much as I do!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/telesavalas/DSC_0310.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/telesavalas/DSC_0306.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/telesavalas/DSC_0253-1.jpg

[Stratofuzz]

nice
thanks for sharing

[Mike Duncan]

Excellent!

[peskypesky]

wow! can't wait to hear Red play that. gotta catch him next time i'm in Austin. my brother is a big Volkaert fan and sees him several times a year.

[_jmp]

looks great

[OM Flyer]

I'll be on the lookout for this down at the Continental. Nice job!!

[Mikey Likes It]

Sure hope you see and hear it at the Continental! I'm trying to decide whether to trust FedEx with it or just fly down myself for a couple of nights and soak up some good music while I'm there.

[mijstrat72]

Wow, what an honor to be able to build a beautiful instrument for an awesome musician! Your very fortunate and gifted!

[Boris Bubbanov]

It sure is a lot more comfy than that cold ya'll been getting up there.

That guitar looks excellent. I love that "bone" maple that Tommy seems to be able to find. Sounds like Redd's necks are not that different from what I've been doing.

Hadn't tried the Roasting yet. There's always next batch.

Nice!

[Mikey Likes It]

Tommy always does me right. First roasted maple I've tried; it's lovely, and the guitar sustains forever. And the plan is for Redd to wear the finish off pretty quickly and oil it with his own sweat, which is what he did on his '53. These roasted necks are warranted without finish, so I think it'll hold up pretty well.

[diego]

A handsome beast!

[jaxn slim]

Wow. That's gorgeous.

I had the pleasure of meeting him a few times and seeing him play several while I was living in Austin. Nice guy and a monster player!

[bluesjuke]

I vote for a visit to Austin.
Might as well see him play it firsthand.

Looks good!

[Zounds Perspex]

that's a fine looking Tele, sir - good job.

[stump]

Absolutely gorgeous!

[BigViolin]

... or just fly down myself for a couple of nights and soak up some good music while I'm there.

Ya gotta!

Great job, well done. Redd's a beast, I'm hoping to get down again there sometime this year, hopefully to see your fine work as well.

[bluesjuke]

What's the total weight ending up at?
Do you know?

[musicofanatic5]

Nice neck wood.

[lumco]

Very well done and I am sure Redd will do it justice.

[Mikey Likes It]

What's the total weight ending up at?
Do you know?
Thanks for the kind words, folks. I haven't weighed her, but will do so tonight.

[therhodeo]

Very cool. Love Redd's playing and tone. Got his OC Duff set in my Baja and its a great sounding set of pickups.

[markophonic]

I love the looks of the walnut stain on that ash body contrasted by the anodized pickguard...beautiful!

Redd is a cool mofo...hope to see him playing it.

[M40A1]

That is magnificent work!

[SouthernShred]

That's beautiful! Can you tell me a bit more about the body finish? What type of stain, grain filler, lacquer, etc? Is there any lacquer?

Just gorgeous man, I may have to build one of those

[Mikey Likes It]

Redd showed me some old Fender steel guitars that had sort of a walnut finish. To replicate that I mixed some powdered Mission Brown dye that I got from Reranch with denatured alcohol and gradually added some Stew Mac liquid Tobacco brown until it looked right. I used Timbermate grain filler, one good coat, to leave just a bit of residual grain for the nitro to sink back into - this guitar is going to be naturally reliced pretty quick if Redd plays it much (he asked for very little finish on the neck and plans to wear it off completely in short order).

I brushed on a couple coats of sanding sealer, sanded flat and sprayed the dye on with an airbrush - I find that I can avoid variations in the porosity of the wood by doing it that way as opposed to rubbing stain directly into the wood. Then I sprayed about 15 thin coats of nitro and let it cure for 4 or 5 weeks before wet-sanding and polishing. The idea was to keep the nitro fairly thin, but you have to have enough on there so that you don't sand through the stain when you're wet-sanding. It's all too easy to do that around the edges, and I had a bit of that here, which I had to retouch.

[cugel]

this thread is total bs and spam and a scam. i dont beelive its really Redd's guitar.
i will have this thread moved and you reported unless you proceed post haste on building a complimentary lefty tele of identical specs, with my name on the neck plate, to be provided to me to test for an indeterminate period of time.

[Mikey Likes It]

Is your name Doyle Bramhall Jr.?

[cugel]

just engrave "Paul Mc.", mate

[tonecontrol]

wow, I really like that..I need one!

[Ken I]

Great looking tele!

[QQQ]

Beautiful guitar.

[Mikey Likes It]

Thanks for the kind words, folks. I haven't weighed her, but will do so tonight.


She goes 6 and-a-half pounds. I think if the body were much lighter she would be neck-heavy.

[Deathmonkey]

Stainless steel frets and roasted maple, huh? Too bad all that stuff is snake oil, and people who like vintage stuff like Redd would never stoop so low as to buy into that hype...










:D Seriously, this must make the TGP Grumpus crowd's heads explode. What a gorgeous guitar, and well thought out as well. Color aside, this is almost exactly how I'd spec a tele. Awesome job, man. :aok

[Boris Bubbanov]

She goes 6 and-a-half pounds. I think if the body were much lighter she would be neck-heavy.

Aye.

If I know Tommy, that neck will be (before nut and tuners) about 550 grams.

[gmann]

That sure is a beautiful guitar. Can you pls explain about the roasted part? I've heard about this lately but am not really sure what it is, how it's done or what it is that is unique about it. Either way, it does look fantastic!

[dysorexia]

Great looking guitar.

[Mikey Likes It]

Stainless steel frets and roasted maple, huh? Too bad all that stuff is snake oil, and people who like vintage stuff like Redd would never stoop so low as to buy into that hype...










:D Seriously, this must make the TGP Grumpus crowd's heads explode. What a gorgeous guitar, and well thought out as well. Color aside, this is almost exactly how I'd spec a tele. Awesome job, man. :aok

Thanks very much. Redd is definitely old-school, and we didn't ask for roasted maple, but Redd does like nice flame and the only neck blank with good flame that Tommy had big enough for our specs looked pretty bad after he started carving it. So Tommy graciously offered us a roasted neck at no additional charge - Tommy is definitely my man. I won't get into the roasted argument but I will say that the fact that Tommy will warrantee this neck without a hard finish gives me a bit of added security, as I know Redd will wear it bare in no time at all.

Stainless frets? He decided he'd like to give them a try. In my experience, they last a lot longer, which is a good thing if you use small, vintage-sized wire. They feel good when you bend. Do they affect the tone? Personally, I can't hear the difference.

[Mikey Likes It]

That sure is a beautiful guitar. Can you pls explain about the roasted part? I've heard about this lately but am not really sure what it is, how it's done or what it is that is unique about it. Either way, it does look fantastic!

I think the roasting technology is an old furniture-builder's approach to making the wood look older, and perhaps more stable. I haven't read much on it, but I think the wood goes into a 300 degree kiln which carmelizes the sugars in the sap, giving it a darker tint and perhaps a more dense structure. I don't want to get a dispute going, and time will tell whether this becomes an accepted option or just a passing fad. All I can say is it looks and feels great. And whether the roasting has anything to do with it or not, the tone is gorgeous, both unplugged and amped.

[vanguard]

gorgeous! nice choice on pickups too. i've got a blackguard bridge pup, but haven't bought a neck pup to match yet. how do you like the neck pup?

[dougk]

First walnut finished guitar I've ever liked! bravo!!!

[Mikey Likes It]

gorgeous! nice choice on pickups too. i've got a blackguard bridge pup, but haven't bought a neck pup to match yet. how do you like the neck pup?

I've used a few different sets of Black Guard pickups and like them all, both neck and bridge - this particular neck pickup is the warmest I've yet heard but it doesn't veer into "muddy" territory. The middle position is especially sweet!

[Mikey Likes It]

First walnut finished guitar I've ever liked! bravo!!!

Thanks, Doug - that's big coming from a fellow Rerancher and especially big coming from you!

Who loves ya, baby?

[bluesjuke]

Aye.

If I know Tommy, that neck will be (before nut and tuners) about 550 grams.


Is that an average for that type neck from Tommy?

[Rumblur]

That's the finest balance of new, old, classy, twangy, hell just everything. It has mojo and I bet it sounds even better. I'm usually a BSB Tele guy, but that's a stunner.

[riff1006]

Really nice! I hope to see him playing it soon.

[Mikey Likes It]

Thanks again - so do I. Still waiting for Redd's bridge. In the meantime, I'm cutting and filing a new nut. The one that's on there is fine for setup and ferting around but the string spacing isn't quite right.

[I'm Incinerator]

awesome tele!

I think the combo of the anodized guard, the walnut stain and the shade of the neck give a great asthetic. I'm sure Redd will make it sound like a great Tele should :)

[19181911]

I just finished this unique T-style for Mr. Redd, to his specs:

Heavily flamed maple neck (I used roasted maple, courtesy of Tommy Rosamond) - the neck is quite beefy, 0.95" at the nut and 1" at the 12th fret, V to C contour, 9.5" radius, 1-3/4" nut, vintage stainless steel frets and a very thin nitro finish.The neck is bolted on using stainless steel bushings from Onyx Forge.

One-piece light (just under 4 lbs) swamp ash body with a walnut stain, Glendale bridge (the bridge and saddles you see are temporary - I'm still waiting for the no-cut plate and twang saddle set that Redd wants but used this bridge so I could finish the nut and do some setup work).

Electronics include a vintage kit from RS and a set of Fred Stuart Black Guard pickups. Redd got the anodized gold aluminum pick guard from Tone Guard.I sure hope Redd likes it as much as I do!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/telesavalas/DSC_0310.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/telesavalas/DSC_0306.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/telesavalas/DSC_0253-1.jpg
Very nice, you should post this at tdpri too!!!

[Redd]

I can't wait to wear the paint off this beauti!!

Mike! What can I say but hurry the hell up, and come to Austin!

Redd

[zul]

Stunning. Everything looks right.

[edi_87]

Beautiful!

[Mikey Likes It]

I can't wait to wear the paint off this beauti!!

Mike! What can I say but hurry the hell up, and come to Austin!

Redd

Redd, I have too much going on this week to travel, but I will have her Fedexed so she'll get there right after you get back from behind the Cheddar Curtain.

[Home Grown Tele]

Awesome job on that one Mike!! I'm sure Redd will burn her up!!

[rydog2223]

Hey going to see Redd tomorrow! Was hoping I'd get to see this beauty as well. Very nice!

[Ed Alvarado]

Nice work as always my friend! You are the Man!

[B-Nads]

Wow!:omg

[Mikey Likes It]

Redd, it's on the brown truck and headed to Austin.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/telesavalas/DSC_0396.jpg

Dale's new "Patent Pending" bridge plate and your wide Twang set:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/telesavalas/DSC_0397.jpg

[Mikey Likes It]

At least I THINK it's on the truck - what a great time for UPS's computer system to crash!!!

:waiting:waiting:waiting

[rydog2223]

Oh man that is killer! Saw Redd on Monday night in Green Bay. Redd thanks for the great show and putting up with me afterwords.;) And thanks again for signing my Tele pickguard!!!

[Cornbread]

i love everything about that guitar...i usually hate flamey necks

[SouthernShred]

maybe my favorite color tele ever

[Gas-man]

That finish reminds me of my uncle's rumpus room circa 1973.

[tsar nicholas]

This is flipping sweet!

[Mikey Likes It]

That finish reminds me of my uncle's rumpus room circa 1973.

And my bedroom as well!

[SAVOIE]

Where can I get myself a tele body that looks like that, that is that light weight???

I'm dead serious that's exactly what I've been trying to find for months.

[Lo Blues]

Pretty guitar. Redd's the man!

[phoenix 7]

Beautiful!

[Mikey Likes It]

Where can I get myself a tele body that looks like that, that is that light weight???

I'm dead serious that's exactly what I've been trying to find for months.

USA Custom Guitars will do it for you. Or Warmoth. USACG has always been good about finding a light piece of swamp ash. With Warmoth, you can browse their showcase for a light, unfinished body and then call them and tell them what finish you would like.