Stimpsons TE52

stimpsonslostson

My Modding challenge guitar arrived this morning!!

I went for the TE52 telecaster clone- my intention is to build an Eldred wired Esquire with a stripped oil finish & custom pick guard made from an old LP.

I should say from the outset that this will probably be the slowest moving thread in the challenge- my second child is due next month & I'm rammed at work... I expect to do the wiring and stripping etc in July (!!). I bought the guitar now as I had vouchers expiring.
In the meantime I intend to play it "as is" & see what kind of guitar I got for such a bargain bucket price!

Initial impressions:
The guitar itself is pretty good.
Three piece ash body (one piece is the last inch from the controls to the Jack).
Maple neck with smooth satin finish (I hate gloss necks so was VERY happy not to have to get my sanding pads out immediately!
The frets seem fine & the neck straight. The action was sky high... I'll fix that & the intonation ASAP.
The strings are corroded & need replacing. I prefer 10s to the stock 9s so this was inevitable anyway.
Tuners work and are the split pin type.
Pickups are both wilkinson- they're OK. I might replace them, but it's not essential.
Overall it ain't bad. Certainly not for WELL under £100. It's better than an Affinity tele & is probably roughly on a par with a Vintage V52 (I suspect it's more or less only a headstock shape and logo change away).
Oh, and there was a free cable in the box- thanks Thomann!

The plan. (With approximate costings).

I've never done anything more ambitious than a basic setup & restring in the past, so this is a brave new world for me! I think it's feasible though.

Guitar- Thomann TE52
€125 (minus vouchers)= £65ish
Bridge- Wilkinson Tele Brass Saddles
£15 (£80)- £10 from Vanson Guitars on eBay. 
Scratch plate- Springsteen LP
£5 (£85)
Capacitors- Mojo 0.047f (x2)
£12 (£97)
Wiring
£3 (£100)
Strings
£5 (£105)
Strap

Potential further mods...
Bridge pup- Catswhiskers TP90
£45

PushPush 250k pot- £15 (To let me go from P90ish to "true" single coil.
Tuners- Wilkinson Kluson style
£20

DIY kit.
Heat gun £Borrowed
Soldering iron £Borrowed
Sand paper/blocks
TruOil £9
Dremel £Borrowed

Stage 1. Order guitar from Thomann: Done.
Stage 2. Unbox. Done.
Stage 3. Setup & assessment. Play! Done.
Stage 4. MiniMods- Take any gloss off neck (using scotchBright pads)- no need! Satin finish!!
New bridge (& restringing). Play! Done.

Then the main event...
Stage 5. Get capacitors from Mojo
Stage 6. Cut new guard from LP (dremmel).
Stage 7. Rewire! Eldred mod wiring.
(Reverse control plate?)
Stage 8. Strip finish (heat gun).
Stage 9. TruOil sanding & finishing
Stage 10. Rebuild!
Stage 11. Headstock reshape. Done.
Stage 12. Headstock refinish (+ logo)

Stage 13. If deemed necessary: Get Tp90 pickup from Catwhiskers Pickups & install

When I get home & started I'll post pictures etc.

entee

Good to see another modder with a thread.  Look forward to seeing pics of progress 

stimpsonslostson

http://i1295.photobucket.com/albums/b625/stimpsonslostson/Mobile Uploads/9F8BEF76-36CC-402C-B13A-CCF1C3BFEB4B_zpswypz2kl7.jpg

http://i1295.photobucket.com/albums/b625/stimpsonslostson/Mobile Uploads/CB1F6B39-B136-40A5-A1DC-F1972148989B_zpsnoflhkni.jpg

http://i1295.photobucket.com/albums/b625/stimpsonslostson/Mobile Uploads/D937308A-6353-4436-BEF3-76D042D3AC09_zpsmwhfz8fp.jpg

JudasVigilante

@stimpsonslostson Great to see you're up and going. Nice guitar, should be easy enough to refinish. Can't wait to see how it ends up and also, hope all goes well for you and the Missus with the new arrival. You sound like you could do with a few tins of Red Bull! All the best.

Niallmo

Looks like the same neck as my TE-80 Prinz which means it's very good. I love the neck on mine. The satin finish is great.

stimpsonslostson

Mini mod 1 almost complete-
In playing the guitar for the last couple of nights I've found a few rough patches on the neck. A quick wipe with my finest sanding block has tidied it up.
While I was at it I've blunted the "tip" on the headstock simply by rubbing with the same sanding block. The shape is much more "authentic"- I just need to tidy it up & oil the patch of bare wood.

Following a setup & intonation correction it plays well & sounds good. The bridge has that tele twang & bite. The neck pickup is a bit bland- but that's irrelevant: it's coming out when the guitar becomes an Esquire.

http://i1295.photobucket.com/albums/b625/stimpsonslostson/Mobile Uploads/C2A5943C-1CDF-48A3-8421-457D151BAA71_zpsf8yjh0xo.jpg

JudasVigilante

My neck pickup in the te-30 was the worst sounding one too.

littlethoughts

Love that raygun sg in the background!

stimpsonslostson

Paul- it's weird, the neck pickup is just totally "meh". It sounds fine, it's just the acoustic equivalent of beige. (Suffice to say I won't lose any sleep over removing it).

@littlethoughts- Thanks! The SG is a beauty ain't it! It plays great & sounds phenomenal. Everyone should have a Jr. there's something liberating about how basic it is. Im doing an esquire because I've totally caught the one p'up bug.

JudasVigilante

@stimpsonslostson Biege: I couldn't have said it better. Biege. LOL

BigMonka

I'm liking the sound of the mods! What's the finish at the moment? Is it thick clear poly over the bare wood?

The idea of a Springsteen LP scratchplate is quality, can't wait to see it! I'm assuming it'll be Born To Run, but will you be able to see the album name when it's done?

stimpsonslostson

@BigMonka Yes, its a clear poly over bare wood. I'm not too sure how thick it is, but I don't think its very thick- the guitar resonates quite nicely as it is. I tend to find that thicker poly deadens this, so when it comes off I could have a very lively guitar!

Regarding the scratch plate, it'll be Born to Run (for obvious reasons) or The River (double album= two tries at getting it right). With careful positioning I believe the label should be visible, especially as I won't have to cut a neck pickup hole.

Here's inspiration:

https://mmguitarbar.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/img_2925-imp.jpg

Brass bridge saddles ordered today… I'll post my thoughts when they're in place.

BigMonka

Fantastic, i've never seen that done before so I'll be keeping an eye on this thread (even if you are expecting it to be more of a long term project).

And lol at using The River so you get two attempts!

stimpsonslostson

Tonight's progress- the saddles arrived from Vansom guitars today (24hrs after the order went in!) So I got my tools (& Totoro neck rest) & set to work. 

 http://i1295.photobucket.com/albums/b625/stimpsonslostson/Mobile Uploads/F8FD4953-6818-4EF0-B806-3732F2D6E7CE_zpsabf2ft0r.jpg 

With a set of fresh strings on, it now intonates and plays properly. The action is good & buzz free. I don't know if the brass improves the tone, but it sure looks cool! This is the first time I've had split post tuners- I'm converted, most hassle free string change I've done in AGES. (No pointy string ends flapping about either)!

http://i1295.photobucket.com/albums/b625/stimpsonslostson/Mobile Uploads/C80DD580-9805-4A01-AE51-973A194F15A2_zpszre19sa3.jpg

JudasVigilante

I bought a few parts from Vanson this past couple weeks and found them to be brilliant. My stuff arrives in 2 days to N. ireland. 

JudasVigilante

I was wondering how you'll go about cutting/shaping the vinyl record without it cracking to smithereens? Though I've never done one, so I don't know. Will look cool as hell.

WezV

when its warmed in the over first I would assume, makes it a lot more pliable 

stimpsonslostson

The options I've seen are:
1- as Wez said: Warm in an oven & cut whilst pliable
2- cover with cloth use a steam iron to soften it.
3: use a heat gun to soften the area to be cut.

In all cases heating the cutting implement will help & some fine sanding to tidy it up afterwards.

I expect hot vinyl smells WONDERFUL & probably isn't good for you. So I'm tempted to do it in my fume hood at work.

I plan to take a few tries to refine the method & am very thankful it's an esquire so there's no pickup hole at the neck.

There'll be no progress for a while now: I'm crazy busy at work & with the baby getting closer I've not got much spare time for this.

I'm quite enjoying having a telecaster- I've not had one before.
The harsh tone is taking some getting used to. Fitting a Catwhiskers TP90 is looking increasingly likely- I want to keep the twang & snap, but add a bit of snarl.
I expect work to begin again in summer once my life calms down. I'll be watching everyone else's progress with interest (& no small amount of jealousy).

impmann

My suggestion on the 'harsh tone' is to fit a Seymour Duncan Broadcaster bridge pickup. *much* warmer, fatter mids and still sounds Telecaster-y. I'd also suggest better pots and check the value of the cap.

Telecasters come to life when you learn to use the tone control IMHO. A smidge of roll off can work wonders to drop into a band mix and then crank it open for the cut for a solo. In conjunction with the warmer, fatter tone of the Broadcaster pickup this sounds wonderful.

I have this set up in my 1972 Tele - and have done for many years. Very little comes close IMHO.

Hope that helps

stimpsonslostson

Thanks! Have a wisdom!

JudasVigilante

@stimpsonslostson I gave you a wisdom for the vinyl cutting method. I'll maybe use this sometime myself. Do you have to drill mounting holes whilst it's warm too? It's a true saying that one learns something every day. I've seen guitars with vinyl scratchplates before, but never had a clue how it was done. All the very best to you and your Missus for the new arrival. Hope all goes well. The modding challenge will be here for you when you get time. @impmann That sounds a really nice pickup. I usually put 0.22 capacitors in my strat and tele's as I love the harshness. But that's just for my lo-fi punk indie alternative stuff.