Telecaster Body

thegummy

Looking at telecaster bodies for partscaster but the cheapest I can find are still more expensive than you can get full t-style guitars for, even Squiers.

So, if you bought say a Squier or Harley Benton and even removed everything except the body, would that body be worse than the one you can just buy for £180? (Northwest Guitars is where I found that)

If so, what are the differences?

Any tips on a good place to find a good Tele body?

poopot

Do you want finished or unfinished?

thegummy

poopot said:

Do you want finished or unfinished?

Oh definitely finished, should have mentioned that. Initial thought was that I'd love to paint it myself but when I looked into it it's a very involved task so definitely finished.

poopot

thegummy said:

poopot said:

Do you want finished or unfinished?

Oh definitely finished, should have mentioned that. Initial thought was that I'd love to paint it myself but when I looked into it it's a very involved task so definitely finished.

That’s not a bad price for a finished body...

the northwest guitars stuff is decent, in fact they sent me a tele body by mistake when I ordered a strat body from them. It looked really nice I thought... sent it back for the correct body tho’.

they are finished In poly but they are good.
the strat body I have ended up with is really good!...

thegummy

poopot said:

thegummy said:

poopot said:

Do you want finished or unfinished?

Oh definitely finished, should have mentioned that. Initial thought was that I'd love to paint it myself but when I looked into it it's a very involved task so definitely finished.

That’s not a bad price for a finished body...

the northwest guitars stuff is decent, in fact they sent me a tele body by mistake when I ordered a strat body from them. It looked really nice I thought... sent it back for the correct body tho’.

they are finished In poly but they are good.
the strat body I have ended up with is really good!...

I'm sure the body is fine but the question is what makes it better than the body from a cheap guitar where the whole guitar is cheaper than just the body from Northwest?

CasperCaster

It's the same argument as 'what is the difference between a cheap Tele and an expensive Tele?'

Lots of things. Type of materials, and the quality of those materials, quality of machining, quality of fit and finish etc.

Now, many inexpensive instruments look fine and work perfectly well in their own right. But many do not actually conform to Fender specifications, so you might find you have to keep the bridge or the neck as nothing else will fit - not helpful if you want to use them as a source of parts.

By way of example I purchased a new Fender Mexican Classic Strat body from First Avenue Guitars at the start of the year, around £150. It's two piece alder and beautifully machined and finished, and as it's Fender, then Fender spec parts fit without hassle. A similarly priced complete guitar would probably be 4, 5 or more pieces of indeterminate wood prepared as a spread, maybe veneered to hide the joins, or maybe just finished in thick poly. And fit and finish would be nowhere near as good as the Fender body.

stimpsonslostson

I guess it depends on your ultimate goal with the build. 

I’ve modded a HB tele and built a partscaster from the best parts I could afford. I’d start with the best body and neck I could afford in future.
They’re the foundation of the guitar you WANT- if you’re going to upgrade the hardware it seems daft not to invest in the bit that you hold, touch and look at. 
Plus some budget models have slightly different dimensions meaning that your “posh” parts might not fit easily. 

The only advantage of upgrading a cheapo is that you have a guitar you can play from the start. 

skunkwerx

On a Squier Affinity Tele I had until recently, I noticed almost all the screws into the body except the ones for the strap pegs didnt tighten very well. 

The scratchplate, bridge and control plate screws would go in but never really bit, they’d turn forever and never be what I’d call tight. 

I’m guessing it was fixable by filling all the holes with stuff, but I reckon  it was cheap body woods that caused the threads to strip at low torques. 

munckee

I just waited until a body turned up used here, got a US Highway telecaster satin nitro body for £120.

Gulliver

The main issues with buying something like a Squire body are that the dimensions are often slightly different to Fenders and parts sometimes don't fit well. The other big downside is the really thick polyurethane finish, which doesn't sound as good as a nitro finished body nor does it wear as nicely.  

When I built my strat, I bought a body from guitarbuild.co.uk and finished it with a kit from Wudtone.  If I was doing it again, I'd probably buy something from SC Relics which is a bit more expensive, but cool.