Advice - build high-quality Telecaster or buy a pre-made decent-enough one

crunchman

Some of the Fender Mexico stuff is really good.  Now the shops are open again, you ought to go and try some.

The other thing I would add is that I'm not sure an Ebony board on a Tele is a good thing, as @dcg said above.  An ebony board does make a guitar sound brighter, and is likely to be too much on a Tele.

Bungle1

Unless you want to build something that isn't available as a retail model, the full custom route isn't worth it. I built 2 Warmoth teles over the last 10 years. One came together really well and was my main player for 10 years and the other just didn't work out for whatever reason so there is a risk there.

I picked up a 1990s strat from eBay for about 1/3 the cost of a custom and it was better than both of them so in hindsight I could have probably purchased a cheap tele and modded it at a fraction of the cost to get the same, or better, results.

Rocker

I always look for a guitar - not a box of guitar bits that need to be assembled to make a guitar.  Names to look for: Darnley, Kelly.  Worth checking out too is Feline Guitars.  And there is little wrong with a Fender (especially a USA built Tele).

Don't overthink it.  Get your hands on a Tele and play it. You may not like the sound or the feel, better to find out before you splash out a lot of money.

SlopeSoarer

It's different strokes for different folks in my opinion.

I currently only have one electric guitar which I assembled and think done to a good standard. I embraced whole process and developed some skills along the way and have a guitar that I will never get rid of... I love it.

But it could have gone badly wrong and ended up with something very poor. 

The safe bet is buy a Fender.

Seziertisch

Bungle1 said:

Unless you want to build something that isn't available as a retail model, the full custom route isn't worth it. I built 2 Warmoth teles over the last 10 years. One came together really well and was my main player for 10 years and the other just didn't work out for whatever reason so there is a risk there.

I picked up a 1990s strat from eBay for about 1/3 the cost of a custom and it was better than both of them so in hindsight I could have probably purchased a cheap tele and modded it at a fraction of the cost to get the same, or better, results.

In terms of how a particular neck and body work or sound together it really is trial and error when putting randomly selected parts together.

You might find a “cheaper” neck/body combo gives more pleasing results than a more expensive one. Pickups, hardware, finishes etc. all contribute but the neck and body combo define how good the end result can be. I’ve played high-end partscasters that have been less fun to play than Classic Vibes.

In terms of being sure of the end result you are probably better off finding an off-the-shelf guitar that speaks to you and doing some improvement to that. 

Also, paying an experienced professional to put the bits together can be money well spent even if you have some skills of your own. I know I’ve done set ups and they’ve played fine, and then subsequently gotten a more experienced hand to do one and seen the gap in quality. This is particularly true of the necks on partscasters because even most “premium” ones still need probably at least a little TLC at the time of assembly.

Funkfingers

Seziertisch said:

trial and error

This is the key to the entire process.

Several of my best guitar builds and modifications have come about as a result of wondering, "what would happen if I combined these?"

For example, my favourite old Charvel Model series guitar consists of a neck and body combination that the company never issued. Purists would lynch me!

Planning in advance what combination of components should turn out wonderfully invites disappointment.

•

Needless to say, it helps to have a bunch of pre-owned interchangeable bodies and necks with which to experiment. With prices for Eighties MIJ Charvels as they are today, this is no longer a viable option.

M1ck

I’m in the process of building a tele from readily available parts and so far it’s cost considerably more than anticipated or buying a decent one with the intent of modding, however I am enjoying the process, I know I will never recover the financial cost but I doubt I’d ever sell it anyway. 

Go with your gut feeling - if you want to build one go for it and enjoy, it there are plenty of reliable resources on the internet as well as the knowledgeable folk on this site who always seem happy to help anyone willing to have a go, just don’t think about what it’s costing you or you could end up hating it just because it cost you more than anticipated, on the other hand, if your gut is telling you you need to try a tele, try and get a decent used one to see if you like it, as others have suggested it will have more residual value and probably be more sellable if it’s not for you, I used to dislike teles with a passion when I was younger, I now have two bought ones and sufficient parts to build two more. 

Good luck with whichever path you choose and don’t forget to show the forum when it’s done.

guitarjack66

M1ck said:

I’m in the process of building a tele from readily available parts and so far it’s cost considerably more than anticipated or buying a decent one with the intent of modding, however I am enjoying the process, I know I will never recover the financial cost but I doubt I’d ever sell it anyway. 

Go with your gut feeling - if you want to build one go for it and enjoy, it there are plenty of reliable resources on the internet as well as the knowledgeable folk on this site who always seem happy to help anyone willing to have a go, just don’t think about what it’s costing you or you could end up hating it just because it cost you more than anticipated, on the other hand, if your gut is telling you you need to try a tele, try and get a decent used one to see if you like it, as others have suggested it will have more residual value and probably be more sellable if it’s not for you, I used to dislike teles with a passion when I was younger, I now have two bought ones and sufficient parts to build two more. 

Good luck with whichever path you choose and don’t forget to show the forum when it’s done.

Are there businesses who put together guitars from parts or kits rather than an inexperienced person doing it themselves and ballsing it up? Would this make it cheaper or more expensive?

RaymondLin

You can always get a Thomann's kit and start with that as a learning process.  It's about £60 or so last I checked.  Doesn't matter if you mess it up.

SteveRobinson

The Thomann kit will not make a high quality guitar though. An okay Tele, but not high quality.

RaymondLin

SteveRobinson said:

The Thomann kit will not make a high quality guitar though. An okay Tele, but not high quality.

Hence i said £60 as a learning process, a lesson in building.

rather than learn it on an expensive guitar.

That's what I said "doesn't matter if you mess it up".

I do know £60 won't get you a high quality guitar, no one claim it is.  But the £60 learn from it would be valuable enough to apply to the more expensive build.  Not a fact, but just my opinion.

Treewig1

@guitarjack66, I sourced all the parts I wanted and Jamie Davey (who builds guitars for Status Quo and Robert Fripp, amongst  others) put it together and set it up for me.  He did a terrific job and did not charge much.  I’m delighted with the end result (see above). I’ve put together a few guitars myself, but I wanted Jamie’s expert touch on this, and I’m delighted with the guitar he produced. 

rossi

My partscaster Tele is a very cheap very light import body hung on a Fender replacement neck to the spec I prefer with Van zandt pickups which I love .Most people would hate it as its body routing is all over the place and the neck sits slightly deeper than usual (bonus),nothing really is in plumb but it all works fine It suits me and is my to go pub jam guitar or at least was until the dreaded came along.Fairly worthless as it is ,of course unscrew it all and I would probably get my money back on it .The neck was about 300 quid. and  my keeper .The body only cost 20  so can be useful firewood

https://i.imgur.com/yo0foaI.jpg

longjaw

If you buy decent quality parts built to Fender spec and take your time building them I think it's difficult to go wrong. I've built a Jazzmaster and some Strats and Teles and had no major problems with any. I'm happy with them all too.  

elstoof

I’ve built a few from parts, it’s not massively difficult for anyone used to using hand tools and making things as long as you begin with good quality stuff. For the amount of money you’ll need to spend on decent tools, if it’s just one guitar you’re better off taking it to a tech and paying them probably less than you’d pay stewmac and import duties for a few nice fret files

TheMarlin

I’d get @Corvus to build one. His creations are stunning!

TINMAN82

Off the peg unless you’re happy to delve blind into a money pit for a bit of fun (not that that’s a bad thing necessarily). 

M1ck

@TINMAN82 ;;
A money pit indeed, but when mines finished it will have all the bits I wanted on one guitar so in theory it will tick all my boxes, with the added pride of doing it myself. And yes so far it has been fun and a much needed distraction, however, I very much doubt I would do it again!

guitarjack66 said:

Are there businesses who put together guitars from parts or kits rather than an inexperienced person doing it themselves and ballsing it up? Would this make it cheaper or more expensive?

I suspect you already know the answer to that!

GSPBASSES

guitarjack66 said:

Are there businesses who put together guitars from parts or kits rather than an inexperienced person doing it themselves and ballsing it up? Would this make it cheaper or more expensive?

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/209372/ngd-thinline-twinhumbucker-strat-like-gspbasses-lamf68-oil-city-feline-content#latest

Snap

Tele builds are quite easy. I'm in the middle of one at the moment, including doing a nitro finish, Loads of great info and equipment came from Steve Robinson, on this board, AKA Manchester Guitar Tech (Yes, steve, I still haven't finished it, grain filler has been on since, err, September,,,,,,ffs!)

I started with a Korean Squier from 1989, built in the Samik factory, that I bought new in 1989. Over the years its been modded all over the shop, and now the only piece of it that will go into the new one is the neck, which is actually lovely and very very played in. And its' a great aged maple colour.

It will have a 4 way wiring and all the parts will be decent. For me, it's not about price or value, it's about personality and the experience.

There isn't a lot you can get wrong with a tele build really. The wiring is easy, especially in standard config, and mods are pretty simple to do too.

Price of a proper set up is reasonable too.

Unexpected costs are things like good soldering kit and various gauges. 

Careful though, guitar modding is an addictive thing, like all things GAS related tbh.

Having said all the above, ask me again when I've finished the nitro!! It could well be a pig's ear.

EDIT - the best tele mod IMO is a very cheap one - the electrosocket, which if you don't know is a modded jack socket. The amount of times I've pulled the entire jack assembly out of my tele by accident.....this solves it very easily