I really enjoyed it, thanks. I was hanging out to watch it but had to wait until I had an hour spare. :) Nice guitar, similar body colour to my 2007 MiM.
I was curious about the exact specs of my Tele as I got it second-hand so I emailed Fender with the serial number and they emailed me back an hour later with this info: Model Name Standard Telecaster® (Upgrade) (2006-2008), Maple Fingerboard, Chrome Red Model #0135102325 Series Standard Series Country Of Origin MX Color Chrome Red Body Alder Body Finish Polyester Body Shape Telecaster® Neck Material 1-Piece Maple Neck Finish Satin Urethane Neck Shape Modern "C" Scale Length 25.5" (648 mm) Fingerboard Maple Fingerboard Radius 9.5" (241 mm) Number of Frets 21 Frets Size Medium Jumbo String Nut Synthetic Bone Nut Width 1.650" (42 mm) Position Inlays Black Dot Bridge Pickup Standard Single-Coil Tele® Neck Pickup Standard Single-Coil Tele® Controls Master Volume, Master Tone Pickup Switching 3-Position Blade: Position 1. Bridge Pickup, Position 2. Bridge and Neck Pickups, Position 3. Neck Pickup Pickup Configuration SS Bridge 6-Saddle Standard Strings-Through-Body Tele® with Block Saddles Hardware Finish Chrome Tuning Machines Standard Cast/Sealed Pickguard 3-Ply White Control Knobs Knurled Flat-Top Strings Fender® USA 250L Nickel Plated Steel (.009-.042 Gauges) Unique Features Upgraded in 1/2006 with new hotter pickups, Medium Jumbo Frets and shielded internal cavities. So I don't have to shield my cavities myself. :) I might fit one of those Obsidian Wire 4-way switches though.
Bailey is Bailiff or Prison Warden the guy that grabs you in England and arrests you to go to prison. The Bailey I know is a BEAST OF A MAN HE IS ANGLO SAXON AND THE LAST THREE LETTERS “LEY’ is the Anglo Saxon names like MANLEY IR KELLEY NOT KELLY BUT KELLEY ! These gene pool of Anglo saxons are extremely strong 💪 people so if your a pussy go see your doctor! Sometimes something maybe affecting your natural mighty strength as a BAILEY Or BAILIFF!
Stratocaster guitars have a bridge ground that is connected to the tremolo claw that holds the springs. Telecaster bridge pickup is grounded to the volume pot. The bridge and saddles and strings are all bonded to ground by the bridge pickups ground connecting to the volume pot.
Fyi when screwing something like a neck for example with 4 screws in a square pattern u need to tighten them in a diagonal pattern. If u start with top left screw - then second screw should be bottom right - then back to top right - and lastly bottom left. This is to avoid any type of tilt and makes things tighten down evenly
Another great video . Nice to see someone who knows what they want , and how to achieve it . I am 72 years old , been playing since 1963 , and still play every day . As another Tele lover , I appreciate your love of Teles , and all guitars . Teles are great for gigging , and can handle any type and style of music . You also have a nice style of presenting your ideas and describing the work . Hats off to you young man ! After over 50 years of gigging , I feel I can honestly say these things !
@@landonbailey I'm still learning myself. I recently built a replica of a Hittite guitar (Western Anatolia) found in a grave during dam construction in Turkey (1924). It dates from about 1600 BC, pushing guitar history back 3600 years. My next project is to build a Roman guitar dating from 100 BC. This instrument has such an incredible history...and it still continues to this day.
@@landonbailey Hi Landon, great video, thanx. I finished very similar partcaster, not candy apple red but olympic white alder mexican body and just the same roasted maple neck. I had problem with symmetry of string to the neck and bridge position. You know, every holes are predrilled so you do not have any possibility to shift neck in neck pocket or move bridge to compesate the symmetry. I had to change original fender bridge and use gotoh BS-TC1 Vintage Telecaster Bridge w/ In-Tune Saddles. Now I have quite good distence e string to edge of neck and e string does not fall out the neck/frets.
I like and appreciate the step-by-step detail of your build videos, showing all of the parts used and the comparison with the Fender Custom Shop build. These videos are a "must see" for anyone attempting a first assembly. Sharing the mistakes and the "figuring it out" parts makes it real (nothing ever goes wrong or is difficult in a Stew Mac video!). You're an excellent teacher Landon.
With all the considerations... pick ups, shielding, pots and tuners... plus the set up and intonation, the most important thing? That colour is GORGEOUS!!!! Perfect!!! Love the candy apple red!
A tip for inserting the ferrules... Use a pencil style soldering iron in the hole of the ferrule and let the heat do the work. Goes in like a hot knife through butter.
Sweet!!! I had no idea Fender had DIY kits available, but for the money I would've spent on a kit I could've had a brand new guitar off the shelf for about the same, right? I built a "parts caster" strat many years ago and when I totalled up what I spent on parts, it came out to around $750 more or less. I don't have the guitar anymore. I gave it to a friend in need and he traded it in for some piece of junk that he liked better. I asked the music store if they still had it and they said that they sold it and the person who has it loves it very much. At least someone appreciated my handy work.
Only step you missed that I would’ve done was leveling/dressing/polishing the frets☺️ also I put the neck on after I assemble the body because of this. Also bc i know you have to do that for non Humbucker neck routes. Cool Tele!
I have a Candy Apple Red American Special Strat and I've been toying with the idea of swapping on a roasted maple neck but I wasn't sure how it would look with that red (and white pick guard). Now, seeing how great it looks, I'm considering that and giving a build a try. Thanks for being so thorough. Stay safe, Cheers from Florida.
Top job Landon. I agree with the 'hand tool' philosophy, the exact attention to detail with regards to using a cloth to shield the guitar's paintwork, the paraffin wax with the screws and, well, all of the minor (yet MAJOR) aspects that you've picked up when doing a guitar build. As the old saying goes "if a job's worth doing, it's worth doing right". You do your build "right". Top stuff.
I do all the wiring business first - before attaching the neck - mainly because it's what I struggle with the most. And I figure why have the additional weight and mass of the neck when I'm positioning the pickups and wiring, etc. This may not be an issue for you, in that you're using the solderless wiring harness. I usually use ToneRider pickups and their wiring diagram includes the bridge ground wire, so I do it. Sometimes I replace the latex(?) rubber tubing with springs because I have concerns that tubing like that might tend to dry out and get brittle over time. Thanks for the reminder about waxing the screws. Totally forgot about that on my last build. Nice job!
There is something special about a guitar build video. No matter how many hundreds of guitars I have watched built on You Tube they never fail to interest me.
@@landonbailey Hell yeah, looking forward to more! It would be cool to see someone put together an explorer! Or better yet a headless guitar. You don't see stuff built like that.
Preparing to attempt my first build, This video will be a huge help, and I will be referring to it several times through out my build I'm sure! Thank You! Beautiful build BTW!
Hi Landon: thanks for the complete walk-through. Very useful. I have a suggestion: do as much work on the body and neck as you can (string ferrules, shielding, tuners and string trees) before attaching the two together. The body will lie flat for you while you press in the ferrules, and the neck will be easier to handle while you do the tuners, etc.
I suspect it’s conceivable that you have a ground path from the bridge to the controls through the rear pick up like you were told. You could use your multimeter ohm setting to verify that it is. However, the effort you put into shielding on the pickgaurd and the neck pick up and other cavities. Really need to have a physical connection to ground or they’re doing nothing. Great video! Thanks for sharing.
About 18 years ago I got an American '62 reissue Strat. I put on a compound radius neck from Warmoth. The original neck had a rosewood fretboard so that's what I stuck with. I had them use skinny frets and I had it drilled for Sperzel locking tuners. Then I installed a five way switch and a DiMarzio Air Norton S pickup in the neck. These are two companies that make some of the best after market parts around.
A small tip for anyone really looking at a budget build is that you can pick up Fender reject bodies and necks very cheaply. My tele body and neck were about $250USD. There are a couple of downsides to this - first they are usually unfinished and require you to sand, fret and paint them yourself. This takes quite a lot of time and practice to get remotely close to the professional finish. Second the rejects usually have a few defects for example the neck saddle on mine was .2mm off the factory standard. But the defects are normally minor - my TC body was about $100 and was rejected for having 'an ugly grain'.
Couldn't help watching the whole build all the way through,you basically just made my dream guitar, what a beauty, sounds amazing, great job,enjoy Landon.😊👍🎸
I have built more Telecasters than I can count for myself and many customers.You asked about grounding the bridge pickup. I use a hole under the bridge plate via the output and ground it to the back of the volume pot. Must've been expensive if all Fender parts. I agree with the routing for a humbucker in the neck.Easier with 21 frets.When filming maybe consider what you are filming- often your hand obscures the work itself (see 44 min. 40 sec. mark and others). Cost? Terry from Oz.
I really enjoyed this video (yes, I watched it all the way through) because it helped me understand how the various components fit together to make a whole instrument. I have no desire to build my own guitar (I have more than enough trouble just learning how to play it) but seeing one being assembled teaches me how every part makes a contribution to the creation of the sound. Finally, as soon as my BSB Tele gets paid off, I will be buying my first Stratocaster and I have already decided that it will have a candy apple red body, so your video reinforced my choice. Thank you.
Nice job, I hope you enjoy it! One tip, after all that work putting in the shielding tape, you never grounded the tape in the neck pickup cavity or the wire channel (the control cavity got grounded when you put the body ground through the tape, and if some tape was sticking up high enough to touch the bridge the bridge cavity will be grounded). If you don’t have a soldering iron, put a little copper tape between the lug of the neck pickup cover and the foil on the pick guard. That will ground both cavities that touch the pick guard. Ideal, of course, would be to solder a little ground wire to the cavity tape. The other slight thing I would suggest is to file the top of the nut so half the wound strings are above the slots. This will help with tuning stability. These issues are really slight though. You really did a great job, and you have a guitar you should be proud of!
The grounding wire should be under the bridge pickup so that the shield is connected to the back of a pot, the ground on the back of the bridge pickup connects the bridge to the back of the pots, that is why you don't need to ground the bridge. Set the bridge height generally then cut the nut, then redo bridge height and intonation, make sure truss rod is correct then play guitar and then let settle for 24 hours, and come back and check truss rod and saddle heights. It looks and sounds great 👍👍👍👍
There are right hand threads and left hand threads. Typically most threads are RH and this means that, when looking down on the screw you turn it clockwise or "righty tighty" to tighten. LH threads typically are used when you don't want something to rotate out. Bicycles use LH threads on the left pedal (for example).
It was a lot of fun to watch. I've always wanted to try it and now after watching your video I think I will. You did a great job explaining everything and the whole project was interesting too. You're very organized and that helps. Thanks, I'll definitely watch your other videos.
LB, this was a fun video to watch and didn't skip ahead. I'd build this in a heartbeat with perhaps different vintage 50's pickups, but the Autumn Blaze Metallic doesn't seem to be available. Only as an option in the Mod Shop. The rig sounded great. Loved the fact that you fessed up on scratching the paint and head stock. I've done the same working on my Strat. All the best.
Personally i stopped putting the neck on first if its a 22 fret as it makes it a lot harder to fit the scratch plate with the pickups in because of the 22nd fret overhang. BTW if you ever want to remove string ferrules, all you do is put a drill bit through from the front side down the string holes and very gently tap out with a mallet.
Man im just ordered my first kit to mess up and Im excited. I ran across this video and I love your attention to detail. I am that way in things I love doing. Now Im super stoked!!👍
Love watching these builds Landon. There is something about building your own custom Tele that is so much more satisfying than ordering it built. This is such a lovely combination of parts as well. I have also watched the StewMac video, Build Your Dream Partscaster Guitar, which has some interesting tips. I recommend watching it. Is that String Tree still keeping you up at night! Is STPTSD a thing? What is he talking about?
As of right now this is probably the most beautiful guitar I’ve ever seen. I’m about to start slowly acquiring the parts to do essentially the same looking build just non fender parts.
Heeyyyy Landon! Love your "I made it myself" videos. Dude, seriously. These assembly videos are chock full of info and content. Pretty well filmed and creatively presented too. Great "how to" set up instruction. I know, you're not a luthier. Neither am I. Keep these videos coming. American cousin Steve M.
Dude so I ended up getting a pro 2 Strat coz of your comparison videos. Now i'm looking to either buy or build a Tele. And of course you already have a video of pretty much a similar build I'm thinking of with the candy apple red and roasted maple neck! Your channel is probably one of the best Fender resources on youtube!
Wonderful, you can be proud of this build. Well done ! The Obsidianwire kit is a must and makes wiring a joy. Great sound. Hope you enjoy many hours of playing this fine guitar. Greetings
Landon - this is a great video. It looks amazing. Candy red with white pick guard and maple neck - yum yum. A suggestion for a video - have a mex and USA pro Tele then swap parts one by one doing a sound and play test in between to see what makes most difference.
Hey Landon, I just wanted to say thanks for your videos - this one particularly. I missed a used CS Tele I was watching a year or two ago, and nothing with similar spec has come up since, so having seen your videos I decided to source the parts to my preferred spec and assemble it myself. Never done it before, but hey, I have now! Thanks again 😎
I used one of the fender roasted maple necks for my strat. Turned out great, I got 12" radius wide oval. It came out awesome, but I play with my thumb over a lot, and the edge of the fretboard itself was so sharp it was cutting me!!! I rolled the edges, now its awesome
From Leo: "last time I drilled through the back, I won't be doing that again" I hope everyone pays attention. No need for everyone to learn the hard way. Nice looking guitar. I think you will like the 12 inch radius fretboard. You cannot go wrong with 4 way switching.
Outstanding video, very organized. I’ve been wanting to do a build for awhile now, definitely be using your video as a guild. Love that you did the online Fender Mod Shop comparison 👍🎸🇨🇦
I'm planning on doing a custom Stratocaster build this year, I'm going to be ordering a fiesta red Stratocaster body and vintage style 21 fret all maple neck from Warmoth, and some gold hardware and a 1-ply white scratchplate for it from Realtone Music, I've also decided on a set of Tonerider Surfari Stratocaster pickups, which I will also order from Realtone Music, it's basically inspired by Hank Marvin's fiesta red Stratocaster.
Landon, I'm old school enough that I remember when the branding used to say Made in USA. without periods, because Japan named an island USA, not U.S.A! I don't know if that still holds true or not. But if you remember me from other comments, I've been playing Telecasters for over 55 years, and I've never had shielding, other than a bridge ground wire! Maybe those were from the days when the music was so exciting, that there were no such things thought of. I'm getting more used to your delivery, so I thoroughly enjoy these newer videos!
Very well done video for those who want to venture into “assembling” their our parts-caster. Intonation is shortening or lengthening the string in relation to the 12th fret vs open. Setting up the pickup height especially with the three points is an adventure for a luthier journey person. Nice job!
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Man this is a great video, fantastic to watch and very educational. I got a Squire Telecaster and want to do some partscaster mods so your video has come in real handy for me. Appreciate all your work you've put into this video. Thanks so much, appreciate it..
The neck is not from a professional series, it's made in Mexico. It can also be seen on the video, the edges are not rolled as they would be on an American one.
Don’t know if I missed the part where you grounded the copper tape - but if you didn’t it won’t do much. You’re right on the money about the tele base plate grounding the bridge though. Looks great overall. 👍
As far as I understand the pickup plate connects the circuit ground wire to the bridge, which connects to the strings which connects to your body which serves as the ground. The copper tape doesn't need to be grounded to the circuit to act as a Faraday cage and shield it from external electromagnetic fields.
Latino Sci-Fi Geek you’re not creating a faraday cage. That’s a misnomer. What’s actually happening is your creating an antenna of copper tape. When the copper tape is grounded all the interference signal that we don’t like is caught by this copper foil tape net/antenna and sent to ground so that it’s not introduced into the signal path.
@@huddyskiba1 I respectfully disagree. The conductive shielding doesn't need to send the interference anywhere. A conductice material's electrons align themselves in order to mantain a constant electrical potencial all over it, which shields the interior of a cavity it surrounds from incoming electromagnetic waves, i.e. Faraday Cage. The circuit ground is a separate part of the system, using the human body connected to the strings to keep the circuit ground at a constant potential. The reason to connect the pickups' grounds to the copper tape is to simply that, to connect them together and themselves to the strings via the bridge, claw or some other way.. In this particular system that isn't needed because the obsidian circuit already have a common ground connecting the pickups grounds and the bridge through the bridge pickup plate.
Latino Sci-Fi Geek there is one ground in the guitar; The ring of the output jack. If the copper tape or whatever shielding medium one uses is not, in one way another, connected to the ring of the output jack, the shielding medium will be useless. It’s not doing what you think it’s doing despite how many books you’ve read or how many classes you’ve taken. The reason noise goes away when you touch the strings is because the interference that your body is picking up was getting into the signal but is now going to ground because you are connecting yourself to ground - the sleeve of the output jack via the strings. You’re grounded because you’re touching the sleeve of the jack not because your feet are on the floor. The hum doesn’t come back if you jump in the air.
@@huddyskiba1 If that was true the guitar wouldn't hum if no one were touching it or if the strings weren't connected to the circuit. Why connect the strings to the ground if it's the ring on the jack sleeve which acts as ground? That doesn't make sense. The human body is not the source of the interference, the pickups and circuit being hit by external electromagnetic waves are. The body doesn't need to have its feet on the floor to act as a constant potential, which is what an electrical ground is. Also the guitar bulit on this video doesn't have the pickups cavities connected to the ground, only the obsidiam circuit cavity, yet the pickups are perfectly shielded from interference. All my arguments are based purely on physics, which doesn't depend on how many books I've read, classes I've taken or guitars you've played or built.
You was bang on correct about the pick up grounding of pick ups a fender jaguar has a similar thing with like teeth round pick up but if it was me I'd go springs as after time the rubber goes soft and breaks up plus all adds to metal connectivity with bridge pick up but the rubber grommet is a small thing and can be changed in minutes if so! So nothing major I just personally like springs more sweet tele though man super nice parts them obsidian wire kits are super sweet I personally think they are the best money can buy top pots and switching always so well done super nice instrument for life that one
The second ground is to ground the strings, so they don't become 6 long antennas, but if you don't have hum or squealing, rock on. I guess they could be finding ground through the bridge pickup
I’m in the process of doing my first build, a kit from Solo Music Gear. It’s been a really great learning experience for me. That said, for anyone getting a kit, know that a lot of kits aren’t configured for standard size parts-I’m currently attempting to get my obsidianwire kit to fit in the control cavity (and I don’t have a dremel, so it’s taking forever 😝, even had to take a chisel to it to make it a few mm deeper)
Landon Bailey yep it’s a tele kit! Ran into other problems too (like the pickguard’s neck pickup cutout was too small for a Fender pickup to fit in, so had to file away a bit of that). But overall it’s been a fun project.
I had a made in Korea Tele that had the same problem. The cavity for the volume/tone controls needed to be dremeled out a few millimeters to drop in flush. Be careful one slip and you will go through the back...lol
@@bobboitt3126 I actually did go through the back and had to patch it up lol. There’s currently a sticker covering some wood filler that I couldn’t get to look right haha
46:14 You actually can reverse this. Put small a pinch of baking soda into the slot. Then put your index finger over the slot and blow the extra dust away. Put a small drop of super glue on it. wipe off excess and wait for it to dry. You should be able to re-cut the slot for the string.
when installing the string ferrules you could of used a short wooden dowel rod and a mallet and to make sure all six ferrules were flush with each other at the same depth the you also could of used a small wooden rectangular shaped block.
Watching in 2022. Awesome! I want to build this exact Tele. Gorgeous neck and body. Love that (solderless) Obsidian Switch too! Yep. Gotta get one of these puppies built. What an amazing guitar!
Love it !! I can't believe you've built another one already while I'm still waiting for my parts that I ordered since you last posted the ice blue mettalic tele video! 😂😂😂
great video, you should give your editor a raise, that color is so nice, now i need a candy one, maybe we should just get all the colors its possible, your wife may not thinks so, this type of build would be the way to go for me, because painting anything always turns to disaster.
Really great video. Very helpful. I've done a few of my own builds, some more successful than others. Learned a few tips here. Congrats - and hey you ended up with a very lovely guitar.
