Finished My Custom Tele Deluxe (with demo)

[rockabilly69]

I've been working on this guitar for the last month, and I finally got the neck feeling right. I filed all the pokey fret sprout fret ends, sanded all the old finish off the back of the neck (down to 2400 grit), and then applied a few coats of true oil. It feels like a professional pool cue!

I know some people may feel stripping the neck of a brand new guitar may be a bit wacko, but I got inspired to do this after playing a few Musicman guitars, which I think may have the best feeling necks that I've ever encountered on a production guitar. And now mine feels that good too.

(Fortunately after much trial and error, my good friend Brian, who I build a lot of guitars with, pretty much figured out the secret sauce that Musicman does to get their necks there)

I couldn't possible imagine this guitar coming out better than it did. It's a rock and roll beast, I just love rippin' licks on this thing...

nice transition into the headstock


a little peekaboo flame


heel transition


Here's the first song I wrote on it, a little crotch rockin' nod to my youth when I played my original 1974 Tele Deluxe. The hot DiMarzio pickups (PAF in the neck, Super D in the bridge) really light up my Mesa Fillmore 50 amp. No pedals were used here, I just plugged straight in. I go after it on the solo...

[GoPappy]

Great job on that neck. I hate sticky necks, that one looks smoooooooooth just like it should be.

And the guitar sounds great on that recording. Well done.

[davidd]

Feather the end of the neck where the sanding ends. It doesn't look right IMO. Other than that it sounds like a real rocker.

[KevWind]

Very cool Love the contrast to headstock and the fretboard

[Chickee]

Hey Rocky

Is the neck white because maple wood is that color before a stain is applied and that is the au-natural appearance?

Did you also roll the edges of the fretboard during the neck mod like Fender does to many of its products now? I have a 2016 Strat Performer with a rolled edge neck and find it to be very comfortable. I was quite surprised originally that such a small change would make such a big difference in overall feel and playability.

Also, if you can, post some pix of the whole guitar. I really would like a peek at your current handiwork, please. And, because you take such nice guitar photographs!

The guitar sounds thick and strong with no effects or pedals in-between. That guitar and amp play nice together.

Stay well cowboy.

frank d.

[Glennwillow]

Man, Daniel,

The sounds on your recording are great! Have fun!

- Glenn

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by davidd

Feather the end of the neck where the sanding ends. It doesn't look right IMO. Other than that it sounds like a real rocker.

I think the photos giving a little optical illusion here it’s a very smooth transition into the dark area, and it feels exactly like a Musicman neck, which we have had plenty of, to compare to.

You can just barely feel the line where the finished area meets the sanded area. If you listen to the song that I posted, you can hear that I was playing a lot of open notes in the main riff, and I didn’t once feel the transition, what I felt was a smooth neck that was fun to rip on.

This guitar is purely about rock ‘n’ roll, the aesthetics are second in the scheme of things. When I bought this guitar, there was a blemish on the back shoulder, and I didn’t care. I just sanded it off, so it looks like I wore it off. And what’s funny, on my original 1974 Tele deluxe, I wore through that area so this little blemish gave me warm and fuzzies. This is one of the few guitars of many that I could pick up and put a ding in, and I wouldn’t care in the slightest, and that’s coming from somebody that normally does not like relic guitars.

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by GoPappy

Great job on that neck. I hate sticky necks, that one looks smoooooooooth just like it should be.

And the guitar sounds great on that recording. Well done.

Thanks Pappy.

Originally Posted by KevWind

Very cool Love the contrast to headstock and the fretboard

Thanks Kevin

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

Man, Daniel,

The sounds on your recording are great! Have fun!

- Glenn

You hit that nail on the head, it's the most fun guitar!

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by Chickee

Hey Rocky

Is the neck white because maple wood is that color before a stain is applied and that is the au-natural appearance?

Did you also roll the edges of the fretboard during the neck mod like Fender does to many of its products now? I have a 2016 Strat Performer with a rolled edge neck and find it to be very comfortable. I was quite surprised originally that such a small change would make such a big difference in overall feel and playability.

Also, if you can, post some pix of the whole guitar. I really would like a peek at your current handiwork, please. And, because you take such nice guitar photographs!

The guitar sounds thick and strong with no effects or pedals in-between. That guitar and amp play nice together.

Stay well cowboy.

frank d.

Is the neck white because maple wood is that color before a stain is applied and that is the au-natural appearance?

Yes the maple is very white, which I like because of the contrast of the finished fingerboard and the back of the neck. I was considering tinting the back of the neck like Musicman does, but I really liked the white!

Did you also roll the edges of the fretboard during the neck mod like Fender does to many of its products now?

Yes I did, and I've done it to a few guitars, I love the feel of it.

here's the front of the guitar Frankie Boy...

[Chickee]

That’s a good looking guitar, no doubt about that.

fd

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by Chickee

That’s a good looking guitar, no doubt about that.

fd

Thanks Frank, Just took some more pics for you...





I actually like my more colorful Tele's in looks better, but this one is my favorite to play because it's so much more fat sounding, and the neck feels sublime. The only thing I would have done different on this guitar, is that I would have used an actual mini switch for the coil split, because the knob that I pull up for the split is kind of slippery. But to be honest I would rarely use that split tone.

[Chickee]

Yes, my cowpoke comrade, I can attest that a good many of your hot rod guitars certainly fall into the more colorful(and by all accounts more beautiful)camp….. but, and I say BUT, with my god as my witness, there is not a Telecaster in this guitar laden world that is more appealing as a rock and roll stage machine, more balanced and well proportioned stem to stern, more commanding in outright appearance than a Telecaster with a jumbotron style CBS era Stratocaster headstock!!!

Man, you’re too cool for school, Dano! Another great example of self expression from the Rockabilly HotRod Guitar Saloon!!

fd

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by Chickee

...but, and I say BUT, with my god as my witness, there is not a Telecaster in this guitar laden world that is more appealing as a rock and roll stage machine, more balanced and well proportioned stem to stern, more commanding in outright appearance than a Telecaster with a jumbotron style CBS era Stratocaster headstock!!!

Hahahahaha I'm with you here Frankie Boy. I have always LOVED the CBS era bigass headstock! They totally look rock and roll to me. We are truly brothers from different mothers!

And another BIG plus, the bullet truss-rod is so much easier to work with!!!

Someday, I may have to build one like Jeff Beck's Blow By Blow guitar with the ABR and Stoptail. I wonder if I could have Warmoth build me a short scale (Gibson length) and 12 degree radius neck. I would use something like African Mahogany for the body, and a birdseye maple neck. I bet it would be killer!

Here's Jeff's...

[Chickee]

Originally Posted by rockabilly69

…….Someday, I may have to build one like Jeff Beck's Blow By Blow guitar with the ABR and Stoptail. I wonder if I could have Warmoth build me a short scale (Gibson length) and 12 degree radius neck. I would use something like African Mahogany for the body, and a birdseye maple neck. I bet it would be killer!

Here's Jeff's...

That’s one hardcore Telecaster. Look at the through body string holes behind the bridge! Looks like Jeff took out the old Black&Decker and eyeballed an ABR-1 bridge and stop bar tailpiece, Les Paul style, to match up to the Gibson scale length neck! A perfect bucket list project, I say. We’ll compare notes at the end.

fd

[Bob Womack]

There's a certain refined Steve Howe vibe about that plank.

Bob