So, how do your Partscasters actually compare?

jaymenon

This is my new partscaster - cost a grand total of £300. (mind you, that is the cheapest one I’ve got, most of them cost more than that).

I just ordered a set of Kinman P90s at £250. Sounds crazy, but the instrument is really that good...

I have no idea what wood the body is made of though...

https://i.imgur.com/AAQBKAP.jpg

AndyJP

Really happy with mine.   It's a USACG neck, one piece MJT body, callaham hardware, with Klein S7 pickups.    To me it's more about the spec of the components than the name on the headstock.

maltingsaudio

My bitsa suits me, it’s had more mods than triggers broom over the years and is probably about right now until I see something shiny and novel to bolt onto it and change it again. Bit like hot Rod ding a car.
It seems to me nowadays people are scared to mod their branded guitars in case they do something bad to its retail price in the future. This undermines Leo’s original design ethic that it was built to be repaired in the field bit like a Land Rover.

Funkfingers

Put it this way. I traded my 2011 Fender USA La Cabronita Tele-bration model and kept my self-assembled Warmoth LCT Especiale. The slightly hotter TV Jones Classic Plus pickup was one factor. The compound radius “boat” section neck was the main reason.

mcsdan

I have one atm (a 60s tele style with light relicing) and one I'm getting bits together for early next year (gold Jazzmaster).

I really enjoy the process and the tele is great to play and sounds fantastic.  I tend to spec good quality parts so tend to not be as cheap as you;d think but the result is fantastic. Also enjoy learning about the subtle differences in parts choice, wiring etc.

To answer the OP question - I have several CS fender/gibsons aswell as USA spec levels. The tele certainly is up there witht eh CS tele i have in terms of playability, sound etc.  TBH I see it more as a financial decision than quality. A CS will cost more but retain value if sold. A partscaster is more than the sum of it's parts but lose alot of money if resold or even parted out.  CS I try to buy used and for partcasters I try to get as much used parts as possible to reduce losses.

stickyfiddle

mcsdan said:

To answer the OP question - I have several CS fender/gibsons aswell as USA spec levels. The tele certainly is up there witht eh CS tele i have in terms of playability, sound etc.  TBH I see it more as a financial decision than quality. A CS will cost more but retain value if sold. A partscaster is more than the sum of it's parts but lose alot of money if resold or even parted out.  CS I try to buy used and for partcasters I try to get as much used parts as possible to reduce losses. 

I realise I didn't cover this bit in my post. I have a couple of CS/Memphis Gibsons and my partscasters are there or thereabouts (genuinely better than your average off-the-peg production Fender), only with exactly my preferred spec including *very* heavily rolled edges which is half the attraction for me. 

Cost wise I figure they're almost CS quality for around 1k, and while you won't get all that back if you sell them as a whole, you lose more than that on day 1 if you buy a new CS, so I'm not going to stress about it. 

DrJazzTap

On a par with my USA Standard, i made the mistake of going down the rabbit hole and what started out as a cheap build ended up costing the same as a mim or mij strat. 
I don't really regret it. Its got a callaham trem and is a  two piece swamp ash body with a huge allparts neck. 

The thing to bear in mind is to not sell it, or break it down for parts if you do which seems a shame. It can be a money pit. I can't get my head around £3k for a relic strat.

dazzajl

I love mine



The strange white thing is made from bits it took me years to collect, the strat I bought as it is. Both have mexi classic player necks, custom made bodies and all the hardware on the strat is from the (relatively) lowly classic series. I adore them both, the strat is wonderful to play and the most soulful I've had my hands on. The strange beast is pretty much the opposite, raw and alive and no matter how you dress it up or where you take it, you'll always find it playing in the dirt.

rossi

my partscaster Tele is a real mish mash but suits me perfectly .A Fender strat  replacement neck in roast maple  with a 12 radius  on a really cheap as chips paulwonia body I got from a bloke on ebay for  20 quid  .it isnt really routed that well and but is very light with a tummy route  and I over came its issues.Coupled with American bits and pieces and gotoh fender locking vintage tuners,its all mine and i couldnt really buy one to suit unless I had a body specially made and sprayed .the burst finish is poly but very thin ,thinner than nitro usually is and no primer or such coats .I play it at pub jams and jazz nights and its a slight as a feather to lug around the city .
https://i.imgur.com/yo0foaI.jpg

TTBZ

@impmann totally agree on the Fender comments and it's why I'd have a hard time buying one, especially anything much above MIM pricing. I find the idea of an expensive telecaster just totally wrong and against what that guitar is all about. The only reason for me to buy a complete Fender is because knowing my track record with F style guitars I'd probably end up selling it and losing loads of money again, at least that isn't so bad with an off the shelf guitar

PVO_Dave

The majority of my guitars now are parts casters, mainly with parts/kits from the amazing @GSPBASSES ;

My favourite guitar and most played is this one built to my spec: hardtail, Koa top, mahogany body, P90 + humbucker, with a solid (chunkier than normal) rosewood neck. Even had my signature made in abalone and recessed into the headstock on this and another one  

Fuengi

PVO_Dave said:

The majority of my guitars now are parts casters, mainly with parts/kits from the amazing @GSPBASSES ;

My favourite guitar and most played is this one built to my spec: hardtail, Koa top, mahogany body, P90 + humbucker, with a solid (chunkier than normal) rosewood neck. Even had my signature made in abalone and recessed into the headstock on this and another one  

Man, I need to get more creative! There was me thinking a Telecaster with a Dynamic pickup was adventurous. 

PVO_Dave

Fuengi said:

PVO_Dave said:

The majority of my guitars now are parts casters, mainly with parts/kits from the amazing @GSPBASSES ;

My favourite guitar and most played is this one built to my spec: hardtail, Koa top, mahogany body, P90 + humbucker, with a solid (chunkier than normal) rosewood neck. Even had my signature made in abalone and recessed into the headstock on this and another one  

Man, I need to get more creative! There was me thinking a Telecaster with a Dynamic pickup was adventurous. 

This was another build to spec (walnut and maple top, ash body, rosewood neck etc..)



Then a sparkly one:


Even a Monterey pop one  


 

mudslide73

There's some lovely stuff here - in fact, all these partscaster threads throw up loads of inspirational non-traditional builds. I play my MJT Strat at least as much as my 52RI Tele and I'd say the quality is pretty much on par; if anything the MJT is slightly better.

TTBZ

@PVO_Dave that's awesome! Humbucker/P90 is a great combo.

Zoolooter

Mixed feelings.......as I’m about to put another Tele together. My first was a blackguard which is brilliant, everything I wanted it to be. Then disaster with a chambered tele I put together. Cost a small fortune, no matter what I tried it was just dull and uninspiring. Then disaster number two in the form of a Strat. Didn’t cost as much this time but still extremely disappointing. That first blackguard build lulled me into a false sense of security, fingers crossed for my whiteguard inspired final build. 

maltingsaudio

Hmm can bitsa’s built to your spec by the likes of @GSPBASSES and @GoldenEraGuitars ,judging by the fabulous work shown here, really be classed as bitsas and partscaster? Should be another word to recognise the sub species.

dazzajl

maltingsaudio said:

Hmm can bitsa’s built to your spec by the likes of @GSPBASSES and @GoldenEraGuitars ,judging by the fabulous work shown here, really be classed as bitsas and partscaster?

No. I think the better term for those is a custom build. That level of craftsmanship and work absolutely deserves a matching level of respect. 

Fez

I have four the first one a tele wasn't so great so it now hangs behind the bar in a local venue. Then I did a white strat which is currently being resprayed daphne blue. I then did a red wudtone finish strat with black hardware and Oil city stone tones. Both of these play well and have their own character. I also have a mongrel I bought which has a body of unknown provenance but a real fender neck. This has a sound of its own and records quite well.

impmann

dazzajl said:

maltingsaudio said:

Hmm can bitsa’s built to your spec by the likes of @GSPBASSES and @GoldenEraGuitars ,judging by the fabulous work shown here, really be classed as bitsas and partscaster?

No. I think the better term for those is a custom build. That level of craftsmanship and work absolutely deserves a matching level of respect. 

Interesting.

So when a business makes a bitsa, it’s a custom build but when an individual does the same it’s a partcaster?

Without taking away from either Scott or Graham here, that seems to imply that their work is somehow better than say, me, in screwing bits of wood together and soldering using the same parts? 

No... they are still bitsas. Nice ones, but bitsas all the same.