Fender Telemeep Project

I'm frothing at the twatmouth with this thread already.

Don't forget to custom letter your new axe when finished.

OK, this could be cool.

meepin' Wotak's gotta call me right in the middle of dinner.

If I sounded distracted, it was 'cause I had a taco in my left hand the whole time we were talking.

TACOS!

Dent, l think these are 100% scale after clicking. It's probably a supersecret font but l'm guessing an image could be used rather than a font... What do you think? Fender Custom Telemeep?

Here are a couple examples of early headstocks:

l think those are also close to scale, after clicking.

Also, is that Peter Pan Peanut meeper l smell? WTF?

_{On 2010-07-04 at 10:15:43, Wotak asked to smell your meep}

Wotak: TACOS! Dent, l think these are 100% scale after clicking. It's probably a supersecret font but l'm guessing an image could be used rather than a font... What do you think? Fender Custom Telemeep? Here are a couple examples of early headstocks: l think those are also close to scale, after clicking. Also, is that Peter Pan Peanut meeper l smell? WTF? _{On 2010-07-04 at 10:15:43, Wotak asked to smell your meep}

I'll take care of it.

This might come in handy, or at least save Dent some tracing.

You rock.

I rarely chime in on much around here, but this looks like a cool project. I'm currently building a Telecaster based bass and I built a '52 P bass last year that is my main bass for shows. I look forward to seeing how this progresses...

Ok, l shipped the semi-completed custom neck off to Spankie so he'll have it when he needs it. Spankie has a few more important projects to work on before he starts this one but l'm going to use this time to pick up the parts l'll need for my design from the ebays.

This post is going to detail why l've chosen the hardware that l've chosen, so far.

First, l had to decide on what hardware l wanted to use. Fender has built many variations of the Telecaster over the years so l have some excellent 'Genuine Fender' options to choose from. Let's look at some of the big ones:

The Thinline Telecaster was the first to feature the smaller bridge. l really like this bridge design because it's small and well engineered. This was a semi-hollow guitar that relied, partially, on internal acoustics for it's tone. It was one of Fenders attempts to challenge the Gibson 335 market and it wasn't very successful. It was very beautiful, though.

A reissue of this bridge would look beautiful on the body that Spankie is building but l want this guitar to have wicked sustain. Spankie is using very dense woods, which is great for sustain because more mass equals better sustain. It will be a bit heavier but it'll sound excellent. l want a more substantial bridge that will add mass and still have that classic look. This is the only reason l'm not going with this meepy bridge.

l really want a humbucker in the bridge position because it'll give me a bit more bite and punch. Back in the 70's Fender built a Telecaster with exactly this option built into the classic style bridge.

While this is also a meepy look and it would give me pretty much exactly the sound l'm looking for, it doesn't really have that classic edge that l want this guitar to have.

The 60's Telecasters were simple and functional. The guitar was designed to sound bright and clean. The bridge pickup was even angled to aid with this clean, clear tone. This is the Telecaster that most people think of when they think 'Telecaster'. It's classic and timeless and it's also the foundation of the modern American Standard Telecaster that has been available since the early 50's through today.

This came to be known as the 'ashtray bridge' because it came with a cover that pretty much everyone removed. The cover looked like an ashtray:

While l don't like the ashtray look with the cover on, the cover off look is pretty much instantly recognizable as a classic Telecaster. That's what l want. It will also add the most mass. The only downside is the fact that it came with a three saddle bridge, and they suck when it comes to setting up the intonation on a guitar correctly. Fortunately, Fender has a reissue of this model with a 6 saddle bridge.

So this gives me a functional, heavy, classic looking bridge but it won't allow a standard humbucker to be installed in the bridge position because it's set up for a single coil pickup. Luckily, there is also an answer for that:

This is what is known as a hot-rail style humbucker. It's basically two single coils with one wired normally (and one wired RWRP) around thin magnetic rails instead of the two traditional bobbins with 6 stud magnets each. Like this:

It will fit perfectly into the bridge l want to use and it will function like a humbucker. The one l have is also 'coil tapped' which means an extra set of leads are wired further into the coil to give you an alternate ohm rating, making it switchable between two ohm ratings: full coil and tapped in somewhere within the coil (usually half way). The one l have is 12.5 Ohms and 6.5 Ohms. So switching between the two diffrent leads will make it function almost exactly like a single coil (without the hum) and optionally like a tame humbucker.

So, this gives me the basic foundation of the style and sound l'm looking for.

l think the most recognizable and classic electronics set-up on this guitar is the American Standard Telecaster. It featured a 3 position switch, volume knob, tone knob, a lipstick style single coil pickup at the neck position and a standard single coil pickup mounted into the bridge on an angle to brighten the sound.

l'm starting with that configuration in mind but l'm going to change things up a bit. l had one of these Telecasters for years and l always hated the jack being mounted into the lower edge of the guitar. l never used the neck pickup because l thought it sounded a bit soft. l also never used the tone knob. l liked the bright sound and always kept the tone knob cranked up to full treble.

What l'm going to do is use the standard Telecaster control plate:

...but l'm going to remove the tone knob (the one on the right end) and put the jack into that position. That will save me from drilling extra wood out of the body to mount the jack on the bottom edge of the guitar (losing mass and sustain) and it'll also put the jack on the front, where l want it.

l'm not going to install a neck pickup at all, so that's even more wood saved - and l'll set up the three position switch to take advantage of the coil-tapped pickup with an off position in the middle. The off position will work like a kill-switch, giving me the ability to use that neat little tool without adding an extra switch or meepon.

And that is pretty much my intended design. l'm going to go over this with a good friend of mine who is a guitar electronics guru and have him help me draw up a simple schematic to put up here for anyone who cares.

My design will not have a pickguard so all of Spankies beautiful woodwork will be visible. It will also only have two minimal sized holes routed into it, saving all that extra mass for sustain and tone.

Stay tuned.

_{On 2010-07-09 at 01:52:53, Wotak asked to smell your meep}

skotsour: l'm currently building a Telecaster based bass and l built a '52 P bass last year that is my main bass for shows.

Man up, yo.

l'd like to see what you're building and what you've built.

Post that meep here for us to admire and use this uploader to host your images.

Is that Gold Bond l smell?

_{On 2010-07-09 at 01:10:31, Wotak asked to smell your meep}

dent: I'll take care of it.

This is awesome news.

Hey, look what showed up on my doorstep! The poor thing looks like it's had a hard life. -Think I'll take it in and give it some love.

_{On 2010-07-24 at 16:43:53, spankerchief asked to smell your meep}

Cool, it arrived in one piece.

The bridge and humbucker pickup arrived today from the ebays. The bridge is quite substantial. l think it's made from 1/8th inch steel. It's quite heavy and very well made. l bought both of these from a custom shop in Ontario, through their ebay store. They have excellent prices and very high quality products that l believe are made in Canada. Anyway, this bridge and pickup combo is going to look fantastic on the Telemeep.

_{On 2010-07-31 at 22:08:07, Wotak asked to smell your meep}

Instructables is one of my favorite sites and I check it almost every day. This was a recent instructable on making your own guitar, but there are a couple on there that had me jonesing for a guitar for the last year. Alas, I cannot play. And I'm far too lazy to see the making of one through to the end. This is definitely cool.

-=Whittey=-

Cool spot, Whittey!

What's the word on this thing?

Okay. Starting over...

Here's the first three options: With this one I copied the roman pattern on your ring... The tramp stamp... And this (unfinished) celtic weave.

Like my dear old grammy said when I walked in on her in the toilet: See anything you like?

spankerchief: The tramp stamp...

Oh OH THIS!

Wotak:

spankerchief: The tramp stamp...

Oh OH THIS!

It's ok, that won't keep me from telling people that it's genuine Louisiana Swamp Ash with Cajun souls imprisoned within the very cells of the plank.

Wood's ordered. It'll be a few days.

Made a new tool last night:

This applies because I need it for the Telemeep. (Also 'cause I've only done it once, but I'm already damned tired of this meep):

All I have to do now is thread a length of brass wire between the bearings, tighten them down and pull:

-And VOILA! I can control the length and thickness of the inlay lines on the Telemeep:

spankerchief: further evidence of fabrication genius

You are out of control.

I'm re-watching Iron Man right now and wonder what Spanky could do with A.I., a holographic interface with exploded view capability and unlimited resources.

You would all get functional lightsabers and have robot Triceratops'es'es('es?) to commute to work on, just to start. Also: The wood's arrived and I've got the body glued together. While it's drying, I think I'll do a little metalwork.

Okay, Now you said something about wanting to do all the installation from the back... What do you want hollowed out and where?

This could be the greatest thread ever.

My sack is slowly leaking from the tip of my glanspenis.

spankerchief: What do you want hollowed out and where?

Just fit the neck. I'll cut all of the other holes here.

Wotak: My sack is slowly leaking from the tip of my glanspenis.

spankerchief: What do you want hollowed out and where?

Just fit the neck. I'll cut all of the other holes here.

I did a bit of research and found that a lot of the older Fender logos incorporated Futura for the "custom" moniker font. Looks pretty!

I am 100% love. Is this scale?

edit after re-looking

The 'Custom Telecaster' font shape looks super close but the original seems to have a more 'old english' twist to it.

How does one accomplish this?

An reference photograph:

_{On 2010-12-10 at 00:51:14, Wotak asked to smell your meep}

I've dressed up the edges and cut the pocket for the neck. The specs say 5/8". Does this look too shallow to you?

You guys know that there will have to be many audio files, right?

Wotak: I am 100% love. Is this scale? edit after re-looking The 'Custom Telecaster' font shape looks super close but the original seems to have a more 'old english' twist to it. How does one accomplish this? An reference photograph: _{On 2010-12-10 at 00:51:14, Wotak asked to smell your meep}

I can probably match that font pretty well, if that's the style you prefer. WOOT!

spankerchief: I've dressed up the edges and cut the pocket for the neck. The specs say 5/8". Does this look too shallow to you?

No. Looks perfect.

dent:

Wotak: I am 100% love. Is this scale? edit after re-looking The 'Custom Telecaster' font shape looks super close but the original seems to have a more 'old english' twist to it. How does one accomplish this? An reference photograph: _{On 2010-12-10 at 00:51:14, Wotak asked to smell your meep}

I can probably match that font pretty well, if that's the style you prefer. WOOT!

ATLisbon Bold is close. Maybe you can tweak it. Clicky for bigger pic.

It will be interesting to see how the inlaid brass affects the sound.

fastlane: ATLisbon Bold is close. Maybe you can tweak it. Clicky for bigger pic.

That's closer than anything I have, and I have about 300 fonts (thanks to my job). I just ended up hand lettering it, but it looks pretty close. I would prefer Lisbon, but it's $29.99

dent:

Getting there....

That's hot. Did you use a router put that groove into the face?

Wotak: That's hot. Did you use a router put that groove into the face?

I used a dental bit in the pencil attatchment on my rotary tool. (The cutter head is almost too small to see.) Basically just traced the lines on the first pass, then went over it several times holding the pencil as upright as I could to cut a straight channel. Took about two hours.

When I get the rest of the brass hammered in I'm gonna smooth-file it and finish sand.

Btw, you wanted this back without any finish on, correct?

Yeah, I want to finish it with tung oil. I have a can of it here to use for finishing after I've completed the build with the electronics and hardware.

That grain and tramp stamp design should look pretty sweet once it's complete. Nice work so far.

Thanks. I should have it done tonight.

Click here for .EPS file

dent:

fastlane: pic.

That's closer than anything I have, and I have about 300 fonts (thanks to my job). I just ended up hand lettering it, but it looks pretty close. I would prefer Lisbon, but it's $29.99

Good work on the lettering. And we know that Tak ain't worth $30.

Also Spanky I hate you for your skillz.

Done.

Beautiful. I like the treble clefs up the sides.

spankerchief: Done.

Sweet.

Thanks to Mr. Lance, this meep is PERFECTION.

Masturbations all around!

Erm... I has a concern: The inlay on this is only press-fitted, since I didn't want to risk screwing it up by getting epoxy all over it. Therefore, there's a very real risk of bits of the inlay vibrating loose over time. It's your toy, but I'd give serious thought to maybe going with an epoxy finish to bind it in properly...?

Also, I test-fitted the neck:

I broke tradition and matched the holes to the ones already in the neck, so the heads are just a hair off spec:

However:

I may epoxy on your advice. There is a steel plate that goes behind those neck bolts.

Wotak: There is a steel plate that goes behind those neck bolts.

meepz. I was wondering about that. The holes are uber snug. You're going to have to decide between filing/filling & redrilling the holes or modding the plate or just going bareback and using 1 1/2" #12's

It's out of my hands now:

Cool. I'll handle it.

I'll keep the thread going with the rest of the build when it gets here.

Nice jorb, meatbag.

:salutes:

-cricket noises-