telecaster

i wanted to make a replica of a telecaster. what kind of pick ups does its use? is it a low or high/ can someone describe me a telecaster. thank!s!!

Telecasters are some nice instruments. I'm not a big fan of their looks, but as far as everything else is concerned they're at the top of my list.

Teles use typically low-output single coil pickups. Tele pickups can be purchased from a wide variety of companies. Here are a few good ones to get you started-

http://www.seymourduncan.com/website/products/teles.shtml
http://www.kinman.com/html/myProducts/teles.htm
http://bareknucklepickups.com/
http://www.dimarzio.com/f_pickups.html
http://www.fender.com/products/show.php?seek=s.p.a._pickups
http://www.detempleguitars.com/home2.htm

I recommend highly the Tone Zone T from Dimarzio. Doesn't really sound like a full sized tone zone, but its a fantastic pickup. It really suprises people to hear such a big powerful sound come out of a telecaster!

is the wood used in the whole guitar affect its sound? im thinking of using a plywood and mahogany.. im making my own pick-ups. what kind of magnets does tele uses? i want the common one

Plywood?? :eek:

Please search this site before you do something you (and everyone who hears you) will regret later!

Originally posted by joe scalene
is the wood used in the whole guitar affect its sound? im thinking of using a plywood and mahogany.. im making my own pick-ups. what kind of magnets does tele uses? i want the common one

Wood has some huge effects on the sound. You don't want to use plywood and your average tele is not made from mahogany (that's more commonly used in LPs). Teles are usually made with a maple neck, maple or rosewood fretboard, and an ash or alder body. Making your own pickups is a difficult process, you'll probably save money, time, and have a better finished product ordering from a separate company such as DiMarzio.

Brief wood stuffs using my poor skills of description-
-maple: hard wood, brighter
-alder: vintage, light wood
-mahogany: darker sound, middish
-basswood: even tonal balance but it's soft
-rosewood: stiff fretboard material also used for the back and sides of some classical guitars. This has a few varieties including Indian and Brazilian, all of which have some very significant differences.
plywood: used in $20 souvenier guitars sold in Mexico to tourists who don't know a fret from a bridge
-ash: vintage rockish

what if i put one layer of plywood and the upper layer is mahogany(both 1 inch thick)

my friend have already built a guitar using plywood is itwas okay the only problem was its pick-up ,it has extra noises in it(high output). coz he use large magnetic wires... the magnets also sucks (he use a magnet found on speakers)

have you ever heard of a narra wood(came from the philippine national tree) its hard. do you think its a good idea to use this one?

I already made a pick-up before . it has clean sound an okay . (cant buy great pick-ups here in my place. its kind of a remote area here..)

A two inch thick guitar is pretty big, I would recommend something more like an inch and a half no plywood.

Narra isn't commonly used in making guitars. I can't think of anything wrong with it, it's probably just not common enough for mass use like maple is.

Where do you live?

Originally Posted by: joe scalene...my friend have already built a guitar using plywood is itwas okay ...

OKAY!?!?!? :rolleyes:

You can get a merely "okay" guitar for less money without enduring the hassles of building your own, just by buying one!

Building your own guitar only makes sense if:

• Nobody makes a guitar that is quite right for your needs/requirements.
• You have lotsa money and want to test/show-off your woodworking skills.

Guitar manufacturers buy parts in large quantities, so they get them for much lower prices than you can. And the skill level required is well beyond that of the typical hobby-shop woodworker. So, even a very good DIY guitar is usually equal in quality to a mid-range guitar from a major brand, and costs about half-again as much to build. :eek:

Besides being able to buy in bulk there's also the economy of scale created by the amount of money necessary for setting up shop. Massive industry for the benefit of the common man. It's like the phone company, calls don't cost much but that's only because when you divide the setup and maintenance costs by the number of people who use phones it's not much. If you tried setting up your own phone lines across town or to Russia or wherever you would find out real quick like just how expensive it is. Guitars are the same way, they don't cost a whole lot from a factory compared to what it takes to do it yourself because their total fixed costs (like tools/equipment) are divided among a much larger production than just for yourself, so even using the same average variable costs per guitar (theirs is actually even lower from buying in bulk, as was mentioned by Lats) it's a huge drop in expenses for the same quality product.

Natural monopoly is not always a bad thing.

i live in the philippines.!!! the boot like island in the middle of the arc...

the island next to ours is actually know for making guitar. if i buy guitar at that place either the guitar gets stolen or i get to be stab by evil freaks...

its very rare to find nice parts here in my place ,since people like using cheap and pirated parts so leaving original brands rare or too expensive. lots of fake guitars here (mostly fender) .

okay i better by the maple thing and mahogany as neck...
buy a standard tele pick-up(not really sure about this because i might by a fake) and make my own custom pick-ups

Originally Posted by: joe scalenei live in the philippines.!!! the boot like island in the middle of the arc...

Magandang umaga! Bahay kubo! Na saan carne nan baka? Salamat po! Boksan ang pinto!

you have been to the philippines? what place? :D
u forgot the trademark word MABUHAY!!!

If you really want to make a tele and not a guitar that looks like one but doesn't sound like one then once and for all take note. The wood is an intregal part of the sound of the instrument!

Yes , making your own pickups is great fun. Here's a good source of information on the subject: "Animal Magnetism for Musicians". The Bold Strummer in CT is selling this book.

Instead of making the guitar, you should consider building one out of parts. Check out these books:

Building The Ultimate Solid Body Guitar

Building The Ultimate Fender Telecaster

I bought a copy of the first one, and it was a real eye-opener! I've been lusting after a Tele for some time now. I'm going to get a copy of the second book, and start acquiring parts. Don't worry if you miss one of these auctions. Ron Kirn has these titles on eBay all the time. Just click on the link to "View seller's other items" and use the "Buy it now" link for the title you want.

thanks!!!!!

Thats a lot of help :D

Originally Posted by: joe scaleneyou have been to the philippines? what place? :D
u forgot the trademark word MABUHAY!!!

Sorry, I forgot that I posted in this thread. I forget what "mabuhay" means... I've never been to Asia (maybe next year I'll make a pilgramage to the motherland), but I have tons of Filipino friends who teach me all kinds of fun phrases. Like "boksan ang pinto" (open the door). Very useful.

mabuhay means long live.. VIVA!!!

Originally Posted by: joe scalenemabuhay means long live.. VIVA!!!

very much wrong!

Mabuhay means Welcome in tagalog ;)