Any Electric Guitar Luthiers Here? I Want to Build a Tele

[deserter]

I finished one made from sycamore for myself, and that's pretty heavy. Very nice sound though.
I also recently finished my first custom order, which was an Alder body with maple cap which was quite a nice weight.
I try to use UK timbers as much as possible.


~Nil carborundum illegitemi~

 

[iNewbie]

I can state with a degree of certainty ( )hat Gibson Les Paul's are a combo of mahogany body with a maple top and either rosewood or ebony fingerboard. There are some 'special editions' utilising different timbers, but essentially maple and mahog.
SG's on the other hand tend to have a body of mahogany only, with some made from korina.

LPs' are quite heavy, but not so much as the padouk electric I finished last year, however....

Cheers,
Adam

/anal retentive

The LP Customs are all Mahogany.


Look-out for a lighter weight piece - if you dont want it heavy. Khaya is an alternative - and some were made from Cedar.

 

[Lee J]

I've made a Telecaster from Ash and a Musicman Stingray style bass from Mahogany.

The Tele is a simple guitar to make in terms of skill and tools required. I would always go for ash or alder but try to get the joint invisible and make sure when you spray the finish on you can see the grain through the paint. But if the timber is a bit boring or has visual defects it would get sprayed a solid colour.

You can buy the templates online so you can use a router.

As for pine, there is one manufacturer who uses reclaimed pine from barns and the like. They also sell the templates... http://www.ronkirn.com

 

[Favino]

A lot of Les Pauls these days are "weight relieved" or "tone "chambered" - fancy words for just routing out some mass and make them lighter.

For a first build I agree that OP don´t have to worry to much about wheter it´s alder, ash or pine in the body.
( I could be wrong, but i think the first esquires was built in pine). Also pine may be a good substitute to swampash.
I think it´s more a question of aesthetics and finish.
Transparent burst or butterscotch - Then maybe Ash
Solid color - Alder

I own about five teles, both in alder and ash and can´t really hear any tonal differences.
I prefer alder most of the time cause they are usually lighter.

 

[Kalimna]

Inewbie - sorry, but you may be thinking of Gibson SG Customs. Les Paul Customs are most certainly mahogany/maple with an ebony fretboard (rosewood for LP Standards, as a rule). It always helps to get facts correct when being anal retentive
Khaya is also a mahogany, though different genus to 'normal' mahogany. Didn't know about the cedar though.

Cheers,
Adam

 

[iNewbie]

Inewbie - sorry, but you may be thinking of Gibson SG Customs. Les Paul Customs are most certainly mahogany/maple with an ebony fretboard (rosewood for LP Standards, as a rule). It always helps to get facts correct when being anal retentive
Khaya is also a mahogany, though different genus to 'normal' mahogany. Didn't know about the cedar though.

Cheers,
Adam

No I wasn't.

I'm talking about whats know as the Black Beauty the original LP Custom (53) - not the later day bastarised version in later years. The original was known for having a Mahogany body - which is why it also sounds different.

Edit: the Mahogany bodies wire route was drilled through the output jacks hole all the way through to the switch hole. The maple top have a wire channel across the mahogany body.

 

[Kalimna]

Ahh, well, if you had specified the early model Customs, then fine, but unless you want to go back more than thirty years ago, maple plus mahogany has been the standard Custom

Either way, a damn fine guitar, in any arrangement! At least my '86 model, cherry sunburst, is

Adam

 

[twothumbs]

I always assumed under the 'paint' was MDF or other sheet material....like ply, cement board (forgotten the name) which is dense. or some of the non asbestos fire boards (can be veneered). I know nothing......of course, so why is it not used? heavy enough? stable, comes in suitable thickness's, etc. Hope I am not offending anyone by asking and do not intend to high jack the thread. Best wishes.

 

[Kalimna]

No offence at all, quite a reasonable question if you aren't familiar with guitar construction. Taking MDF first, it isn't used, I imagine, because it isn't strong enough to take a lot of the hardware associated, particularly the bridge (although you could probably get away with a violin style floating bridge), and unless a hard wearing fascia attached to the surface it would dent and mark very easily.
You could probably make quite a good body out of decent birch ply, as it is dimensionally stable and fairly dense and strong. In fact, I think that a lot of cheap guitars were made of ply, but chosen on a price basis rather than quality. A 'con' would be that (similar) to MDF, ply wood probably have an adverse effect on the tone.
Suitable sizes of material is less of an issue than perhaps it used to be. One of the reasons Fender guitars (Strat, Tele, Broadcaster etc) are the shape they are and constructed as they are is because of the easily available sizes of sawn lumber available to Leo when he started. Alder, ash and maple were all easily available, and for that reason were used. Mostly.
So, snobbery aside, the main reason the woods used today are because of tradition. There are many heated discussions in guitar fora that debate the relative merits of one body timber to another with regard to sound. The luthiery forums tend to talk about availability and timber stability, and eventual tone being a combo of the luthiers skill in construction and electronics used.
Of course, if you aren't applying a solid colour to the body, then a lot of woods simply look nicer than ply etc.

Cheers,
Adam

 

[twothumbs]

Thanks for that Kalima. I am not into guitars but do fiddle about with accordions......I should add playing not making. Best wishes.