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View Full Version : New Guitar Day! Custom Walnut Tele!

SPROING!
04-30-2012, 06:11 AM
I've been working on this one for a while now and got it playing late last night.
Specs:
Body: Chambered 25+ year old American black walnut with bookmatch walnut top. Maple binding.
Neck: American black walnut with Indian rosewood and Fender medium frets and graphite nut.
Tuners: Fender American Std strat takeoffs.
Bridge: Wilinson three saddle, top load.
Pickups: bridge, Fender Original Vintage tele. Neck, Duncan SM-3 mini humbucker.
Controls: 66 tele wiring, 500k volume, 250k no load tone, .047 orange drop cap. Switchcraft output jack.

http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z352/ElijahGardener/IMG_5574.jpg

http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z352/ElijahGardener/IMG_7289.jpg

http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z352/ElijahGardener/IMG_0173.jpg

http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z352/ElijahGardener/IMG_5984.jpg
Jaan
04-30-2012, 06:17 AM
Very nice!
SPROING!
04-30-2012, 07:39 AM
Thanks. I was up pretty late jamming!
The sound is pure tele straight outta Bakersfield!
Langun
04-30-2012, 07:47 AM
That looks a lot better than the pictures you showed of your finishing style.
PB Wilson
04-30-2012, 07:53 AM
People ought to realize that the early pics were in-progress. It's much different from the final product, which is really beautiful! Enjoy the hell out of your guitar. Shellac is some really nice stuff to work with.
SPROING!
04-30-2012, 07:54 AM
That looks a lot better than the pictures you showed of your finishing style.

The finish evolved quite a bit as it went. I tried different lighter/darker options.
The better camera doesn't hurt, either. :)
SPROING!
04-30-2012, 07:57 AM
People ought to realize that the early pics were in-progress. It's much different from the final product, which is really beautiful! Enjoy the hell out of your guitar. Shellac is some really nice stuff to work with.

True, and I love working the shellac.
Gotta admit, though, in the end I topcoated with acrylic lacquer. I'm weak and I let people influence me. ;)

I figured this one is gonna get carried around and played live, so the extra hardness of the lacquer is probably a good thing.
PB Wilson
04-30-2012, 10:06 AM
Until it cracks and crazes...
Ryan
04-30-2012, 10:11 AM
That's awesome!
SPROING!
04-30-2012, 10:22 AM
Until it cracks and crazes...

Then the value doubles! :o
tonecontrol
04-30-2012, 11:48 AM
congrats, nice top!
SPROING!
04-30-2012, 11:56 AM
congrats, nice top!

Funny thing about that top...My original plan was to paint the whole thing. The body was made out of some mismatch pieces and I grabbed a piece of "scrap" I'd been using for finish experiments. When I cut it open with the band saw to get the thickness right, I found the figuring inside. I couldn't let that go to waste. :)
vortexxxx
05-01-2012, 12:34 AM
nice!
CadillacRed
05-01-2012, 02:22 AM
That's really nice Elias, great job.
SPROING!
05-01-2012, 05:04 AM
Thanks. Did some changes last night, including a four way switch. I can now do a bridge+neck split. I like that tone quite a bit.
Also went with some traditional tele knobs.

http://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv134/EliasGraves/OklahomaCity-20120430-01165.jpg
gmann
05-01-2012, 05:58 AM
Thanks. Did some changes last night, including a four way switch. I can now do a bridge+neck split. I like that tone quite a bit.
Also went with some traditional tele knobs.

http://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv134/EliasGraves/OklahomaCity-20120430-01165.jpg

Beautiful guitar! You should be proud. The only thing I was gonna say, fm lookin' at the 1st pics as I was scrolling down, was I think it would look better with traditional knobs. Great minds thinkin' alike here.
SPROING!
05-01-2012, 06:02 AM
Indeed. :D
JaySwear
05-01-2012, 06:28 AM
I love it! Makes me wanna ditch work right now and drive home to play my tele...
JB6464
05-01-2012, 06:47 AM
Awesome guitar ! :dude:
SPROING!
05-01-2012, 08:13 AM
I love it! Makes me wanna ditch work right now and drive home to play my tele...

Yeah, I had to tear myself away this morning. :)
SPROING!
05-01-2012, 05:03 PM
Ooh yeah! This thing likes a Vox amp! :D
SPROING!
05-01-2012, 09:20 PM
My first ding! :o

http://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv134/EliasGraves/OklahomaCity-20120501-01166.jpg



But, holy crap, this thing rocks! The bridge+neck split tone is incredible.
SPROING!
06-04-2012, 09:53 AM
Fresh pics.
http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z352/ElijahGardener/a57c0498.jpg

http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z352/ElijahGardener/42b4692f.jpg
SPROING!
06-04-2012, 09:54 AM
http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z352/ElijahGardener/7192b560.jpg
cbguy
06-04-2012, 12:16 PM
pretty!
robertkoa
06-04-2012, 03:55 PM
Nice Job ! Classic looking.(Fancy Classic)

So the Walnut sounds like an old Alder Tele or a little deeper/ darker ?- how would you describe it ?
Jdstrat
06-04-2012, 04:28 PM
That might be the most beautiful guitar I've ever laid eyes on. I love that binding.
SPROING!
06-04-2012, 06:20 PM
The walnut is interesting. I have a couPle different things going on.
1. It's chambered almost to the point of being hollow.
2. The neck is very fat and is actually a three layer laminate if you count the fretboard.
3. The walnut cap on top is about 3/16" thick.

I can't say it's especially bright sounding...no more so than any other tele. But the attack is immediate. There are a lot of complex harmonics, so it's not like just a giant mess of fundamentals, but there's no "bloom" to it. Bam. It's there.
Also quite percussive sounding.
The sustain is really something else. We timed an open E chord the other day at a full minute where you could still hear it.

My son has a solid walnut tele with one piece maple neck and the same bridge pickup.
Mine sustains better but the overall tone between the two is very similar.
Sharp attack, well balanced sound. You don't get overpowering highs, mids or lows. Pretty even EQ, I'd say.
SPROING!
06-04-2012, 06:21 PM
That might be the most beautiful guitar I've ever laid eyes on. I love that binding.

Thank you very much. I had to make it pretty wide to cover the thick top, but I like the look, too. It's unique.
robertkoa
06-04-2012, 11:38 PM
Thanks for the very detailed Tone Review.

One minute of sustain is great- we've all wanted to do a one note 56 second solo- OK , not for that- IMO it's so the guitar sings more and notes stay at full volume as long as you want instead of dropping off initially.....

Surprising that it doesn't "bloom " more with the Semi -Hollow construction but - you want a Tele to snap and pop anyway right ?
rogthefrog
06-04-2012, 11:38 PM
That's gorgeous.
SPROING!
06-05-2012, 05:25 AM
Thanks for the very detailed Tone Review.

One minute of sustain is great- we've all wanted to do a one note 56 second solo- OK , not for that- IMO it's so the guitar sings more and notes stay at full volume as long as you want instead of dropping off initially.....

Surprising that it doesn't "bloom " more with the Semi -Hollow construction but - you want a Tele to snap and pop anyway right ?

Indeed. I kinda thought going in that it might have more semihollow properties. I can only guess it's because of the top thickness that it does not.