This is not the first partscaster I’ve built but it is the first Telecaster-styled partscaster I’ve attempted. I have learned the following lessons:

  • Neck was bought from a no-name brand on Amazon for about $50 bucks - it’s actually quite nice. 14 inch radius, two-way truss rod adjusted from the heel. looks like Indian rosewood. if you are willing to put in the fret work and want to save money, a cheap neck with a two way truss rod is the way to go. you can fix almost any kind of neck with a two way truss rod and get it dead straight.
  • Body was bought from aeguitars.com. Allegedly it’s alder but it seems a bit too light and soft for alder. I suspect it’s poplar? The body shipped quickly to me but had a lot of off-gassing smell for a few days. The finish looks nice but the neck pocket is NOT tight.
  • pickups are the EMG-T set. the neck pickup did not fit into the pickguard (also a cheap no-name brand from amazon, I picked it for the pattern). Cheap parts are nice but be prepared to get work with a file or Dremel.
  • A telecaster is (counterintuitively) harder to build than a Strat. It’s a very nerve wracking process to position the bridge.
  • If you’re used to building Strats, don’t forget the a Telecaster has a SINGLE cutaway body. Don’t drill the strap button hole on the horn… ask me how I know.
  • EveningPancakes@lemm.eeEnglish
    2·
    2 months ago

    Looks awesome, nice build!

    Mind if I ask you how much of a pain in the ass is it to swap out pick ups? I recently started playing again and have been paying more attention to some of the gear some bands I listen to use. I was thinking about swapping out the pickups in a Squire Tele I bought, because why not tinker around - https://www.mk-guitar.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=22_32&products_id=114

    Might do the bridge as well.

    I’m good with cracking open computers and changing out components. I could probably use some practice on soldering though.

    • rustydomino@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      2·
      2 months ago

      changing pickups is not super hard, but does take a little time. You will need a soldering iron and various soldering supplies, and some wire, wire stripper/cutter, and maybe electrical tape (or shrink wrap if you want to do a more fancy job) etc.