So what was on your work bench today?

A pal is bringing over a Chapman ML3 and a PRS McCarty today for some setup tweaks.

I have the baby Tele on my bench right now for some minoor mods.  Swapping out the tulip tuners that were supplied with the Stooge Mac kit; they are really craptacular.  They work, but they are...crunchy.  I may also install some compensated saddles.

probably....but yours looks nicer anyway...;-0

Chances are the fretboard shrank a little since it left the factory; the necks are made by gluing the fretboard to the neck and everything is sanded flush.

Fenders sonmetimes have a similar issue, but usually with the walnut skunk stripe on the back of some maple-fingerboard necks.

If the neck is bound then it's most likely the binding that has shrunk. Usually takes a while though. That said, the binding on my D-18 shrank enough within it's first year to break the lacquer.

Yeah, like I said it usually takes longer. My '84 Les Paul has that issue, body and neck both. In the case of my Martin I think they either got a new supplier for binding or got a bad batch. After spending nearly two hundred bucks to ship it to them they were kind enough to do a slap-dash job blasting more lacquer over it and re-buffing (and doing an obviously crappy job around the neck joint). Within another year it was obvious that it was still shrinking.

My new Tele has officially left the bench after almost two months of sanding, building, waiting for parts, screwing up one nut, buying better files, installing a new nut, etc.



I was going to just buy a new Tele, but then I ordered a cheap neck to see where that would go. It came in and I sent it back because it didn't inspire me. In the meantime I picked up this pine body for $62. It was roughly finished but it started to look kind of nice after some 600 grit. Then I chose a new Fender roasted maple neck, locking tuners with vintage buttons, various parts, and BYO Vortex pickups. I have those pickups on a G&L and I love them. I put the same ones in this tele so that I could establish a baseline. It's now fully set up and plays great! The best part is that the whole thing is 6.4 lbs, and the whole thing is very resonant. It sounds great unplugged. This isn't my prettiest guitar, but it's quickly become my favorite since I've bonded with it from start to finish. I've actually never built a partscaster before. This pine body is going to get beat up pretty easily. Eventually I might want a new body with contours (yes, contours). I don't really need a belly cut but I think a forearm contour would make this more comfy for me. I'm going to enjoy it as-is for now. This thing rocks!

That's beautiful! Well done!!!

Thanks for the kind words fellas! I too like the knots on the back side of the body. And the light weight is going to set a new precedent for me. My ASAT hollowbody is just a tad heavier, but still under 7#. My 8.4# G&L Legacy and 9# Les Paul might be hanging up on the wall for a while. Telecasters can do it all anyway! But now that I'm done building I should really practice more! I think I fall into the mold that Rick Beato mentioned in a recent video. "Most players stop learning around age 30...". That was me. I actually probably stopped learning in my 20s, but continued to gig for a while. At 43 now, my kid is more independent and I have more time to try to understand music rather than just play it.

Two items:

A Fender Modern Player with H-S-S noiseless pickups came in with an intermittent neck pickup. I assumed it was the switch, because when the neck pickup is selected, it works for about 30 seconds and cuts out. Tap on the pickguard and it comes back for a little bit and cuts out again. Flicking the switch back and forth would bring it back...sometimes.

I pressed on the pickup cover and that also affected the signal. Sometimes it made it cut out and sometimes it came back to life. It appears to be a broken wire inside the coil. The guitar is only six months old so the owner is contacting Fender for warranty service.

A Peavey Delta Blues amp came in with a complaint of crackly operation. These amps are basically a Peavey Classic 30 in different clothing, and were also offered in a 1x15 combo. Really great amps when they're working, but holy cats what a pain to work on. Like the Classic 30, the PC board is three pieces folded into a C-shaped channel, with the three long, narrow boards connected by many bare jumper wires that are notoriously brittle. I cleaned the pots and re-tensioned the tube sockets and the amp operates nice and quietly now.

Problem is the reverb is also quiet (it's dead). Usually when a reverb dies, it's either the driver/recovery tube (or a microchip op amp if no tube like this amp), or it's the little wires crossing the suspension in one end of the pan. These little wires are attached with pinch connectors, which are really horrible for a system that is designed to move because the connector damages the wire when installed, and over time the wire work hardens and breaks.  It's the same concept as the little blue connectors that come with a vehicle trailer light kit: they're designed to fail.

I tested the JRC 4558 chip (it's a $1 part) and it was not passing current so I replaced it.  Still no worky.  I tested the connecting wires and they were good.  I tested the suspension conductors at each end of the tank and they were good.  But when I Ohm'd the transducers in the pan, the driver was open circuit; I wonder if the chip failed hot and cooked the transducer.  No way to fix or replace just the transducer, so a new pan is neccessary ($30 from most suppliers), and it's an identical replacement part. 

I called the owner to provide an update, and asked if the reverb was working before; he said he never uses it.  However, he wants the amp to be 100% (this is a good thing) and said to go ahead with the pan replacement.  New pan on the way.

Today I’m staining a 1 pc. sugar pine Tele body. Pics later if I get to that point.

It's neither, really. I do it as a sort of cottage industry. Custom builds and instrument and amp repair. Word of mouth advertising only, and usually a barter system, e.g., I fix your amp for the cost of parts and a slab of that killer brisket you do in the smoker, etc.

Knot-free 😎

Hey, thanks! I'm still diggin it!