Partcasters - Your experiences

Chalky

A suggestion. Learn how to set up guitars. It is a job that needs time and concentration, mainly because what seem like tiny differences in the depth of a nut cut, or height of a saddle, or filing a fret, can make a bigger difference to the feel of the guitar. So you need a place where you can leave the guitar between working on it, if only because when you start you won't be anywhere near as quick as someone who does many setups every week. And you need to follow a Youtube tutorial or two and do it in your own time, moving at your own pace and concentration.

But after you've done two or three guitars you will start to learn how much a difference it can make to how good your guitar feels, and more importantly, you start to learn what type of setup suits YOU.  For example, I really like having a very low action on a jazz guitar for playing chord melody, but I prefer a much higher action on a Strat to get a better grip for bends and a fuller tone.  You will start to appreciate how good polished frets can feel and rolled fingerboard edges (especially if you are a thumb over the top player), and how doing this to a cheap guitar makes it play so much better for YOU.

Fez

I have built 3 bitsacasters 1 Tele style & 2 Strat Style All are playable. So long as you realise that bitsa's have no resale value it's great fun building them and you learn a lot along the way. A Tele type is a good starting point. Plenty of help available round this forum too.

dean111music

right i have done it.

started my tele build. thanks everyone for your input.

I did get fender to build me a custom guitar but there was lots of this aesthetically wrong that it didn't feel right. I wanted a feeling i had and was holding a vintage instrument. It fell too shiny and new. So main goal is to make the guitar look and feel like an old guitar. Watch this space!

I have just ordered a Musikraft 2 p/c neck, 1 5/8 nut. I play with thumb over a lot! Really can't wait.

Medium Roasted rock maple with either aged oil or Tung oil, 6150 SS Frets, Heavily Rolled edges, Dark rosewood, compound 10-16 radius

I have sent the neck to MJT. They will find the tightest fit body (light weight Swamp Ash) then paint the body for me. I didn't actually work out that more costly!

Going to team this up with Callaham Hardware and either Budz Daoncaster pickups or Lindy Fralin Broadcaster set. any experiences?

i'm going for a hybrid set of saddles. 2 brass for DGBE strings and one steel saddle for the EA. this way i'll get more punch on the EA strings and smoother response on the higher notes. more balanced overall

Bridgehouse

By old do you mean NOS or Relic?

sawyer

Good man! You won't regret it!

dean111music

I'm going Bridgehouse said:

By old do you mean NOS or Relic?

It will look more like fender spec "journeyman" I have opt'd for more of a sheen on the paint work rather than glossy. I'm not a fan of that! 

Bridgehouse

dean111music said:

I'm going Bridgehouse said:

By old do you mean NOS or Relic?

It will look more like fender spec "journeyman" I have opt'd for more of a sheen on the paint work rather than glossy. I'm not a fan of that! 

Light relic hardware and a few dull spots should look very nice.. pretty much how I'm going to do my prototype esquire discardocaster 

jellybelly

My esquire was put together, including a Mojo pickup, for less than £400. Easily better than the Mexican Baja I was considering and more characterful than a US Standard. Like you I wanted something specific I couldn't readily buy - a neck the size of a baseball bat (thanks allparts). 

Like you said, it's a tele. Put it together and place the bridge properly and there's no reason it's not going to play and sound great. my Jazzmaster was a bit more of a challenge but not by much. Just thinking of putting something together in the Gibson vein makes me think 'it's probably not worth it' but if Fenders float your boat, theres no reason not to give it a go. 

Oh, hang on, perhaps one reason : the guitar you build will not even be worth the price of the parts if you ever want to sell it!!

dean111music

I'm in complete agreement with everyone who stated you wouldn't want to sell it! You can tweak things and not care. 

I had a lovely fender custom shop strat but didn't like the gloss neck or glossy finish on the guitar. The amount I lost selling then buying again I could of easily got the guitar refinished, but would of lost much much more.

im liking the idea of this even more!! I'm confident I know what I want in a tele. Watch this space  

Bridgehouse

I recently got a CS strat - everything about it worked for me. If it hadn't I'd have left the shop empty handed. 

With all partscasters I've done, I have either given them away or rebuilt into something else, they are awesome for adapting and changing to get right. 

To be clear, I have given them away because I've liked them and thought the recipient would like them too. 

Veganic

Cynic warning.

What I have learned from this thread;

Partscasters are good but really it is all about a professional setup.

Partscasters are good because you can have any colour you want as long as it is mostly wood stain.

Partscasters mean you can specify exactly what you want except you can't as the parts are hard to come by and really expensive so lets trust to serendipity and make one from whatever falls in our lap.

So just buy a guitar with a bolt on neck and modify it so it has the resale value of a partscaster?

Did I miss anything?

impmann

Veganic said:

Cynic warning.

What I have learned from this thread;

Partscasters are good but really it is all about a professional setup.

Partscasters are good because you can have any colour you want as long as it is mostly wood stain.

Partscasters mean you can specify exactly what you want except you can't as the parts are hard to come by and really expensive so lets trust to serendipity and make one from whatever falls in our lap.

So just buy a guitar with a bolt on neck and modify it so it has the resale value of a partscaster?

Did I miss anything?

My partcaster Jazzmaster was painted by Rich - Custom Shop quality paint. So no, you don't have to have wood stain.

Bridgehouse

Veganic said:

Cynic warning.

What I have learned from this thread;

Partscasters are good but really it is all about a professional setup.

Partscasters are good because you can have any colour you want as long as it is mostly wood stain.

Partscasters mean you can specify exactly what you want except you can't as the parts are hard to come by and really expensive so lets trust to serendipity and make one from whatever falls in our lap.

So just buy a guitar with a bolt on neck and modify it so it has the resale value of a partscaster?

Did I miss anything?

Never had one setup by anyone other than me

Never used woodstain, only Nitro

Parts are as prolific as threads about Les Pauls are on here

To an extent a new Fender _is_ a partscaster

Veganic

impmann said:

Veganic said:

Cynic warning.

My partcaster Jazzmaster was painted by Rich - Custom Shop quality paint. So no, you don't have to have wood stain.

I said 'mostly'

Bridgehouse said:

Veganic said:

Cynic warning.

Never had one setup by anyone other than me

Never used woodstain, only Nitro

Parts are as prolific as threads about Les Pauls are on here

To an extent a new Fender _is_ a partscaster

I am sure your set up is very  professional.

I said that about Fenders up there somewhere.

I was not being very serious. I am just waiting for the EN standard for neck joints but Brexit has probably scuppered that. Which raises the questions: Does Fender have a standard pocket? How closely do other manufacturers follow Fender pockets?

I always thought it was weird that guitars and necks are not sold seperately as standard.

GoldenEraGuitars

The partscaster I finish for customers are done in nitro, to spec and finished by one person - me. I don't call myself a builder or a luthier. Not sure where I fall tbh.

Im also trying to gradually put stock out there for people to buy, at will, in order to assemble a dream machine of their own. Nothing with a strat or tele that doesn't say "fender" on it. Make it your own... love it, play it, enjoy it. With a modicum of knowledge regarding setups you could make a bloody good partscaster!

Gagaryn

Veganic said:

Cynic warning.

What I have learned from this thread;

Partscasters are good but really it is all about a professional setup.

Partscasters are good because you can have any colour you want as long as it is mostly wood stain.

Partscasters mean you can specify exactly what you want except you can't as the parts are hard to come by and really expensive so lets trust to serendipity and make one from whatever falls in our lap.

So just buy a guitar with a bolt on neck and modify it so it has the resale value of a partscaster?

Did I miss anything?

not sure of any of this. All guitars benefit from a setup. People choose to stain for ease - painting is still doable. Parts are readily available.

Veganic

Gagaryn said:9

Veganic said:

not sure of any of this. All guitars benefit from a setup. People choose to stain for ease - painting is still doable. Parts are readily available.


To be honest, I am not sure myself so would love to be wrong.

All guitars benefiting from a set up is the point I was obliquely making. Left too much between the lines as no one wants a wall of text.

I am just suprised at how many people, when given an unlimited choice, choose something that looks like an old sideboard - just personal taste.

I am not sure about the readily available, everyone seems to mention the same couple of sources. Available at a known quality at a "reasonably" price seems even harder to come by. 
 But I admit to not looking seriously. 

I'd love to make one though.

Funkfingers

Veganic said:

Partscasters mean you can specify exactly what you want except you can't as the parts are hard to come by and really expensive so lets trust to serendipity and make one from whatever falls in our lap.

Partscasters tend to fall into two categories.
1) The idealised, fantasy, "perfect" specification project.
2) The "what happens if I try this?" project.

Your comment about buying a famous brand guitar then modifying it extensively is half right. Partscasters are often made from the left-over bits removed during modifications to other guitars.

Think of this as a solution to the problem of storing all those bits that get stashed away just in case you ever decide to sell a specific guitar and wish to return it to original specification.

Dominic

MJT or Warmoth put together by good luthier = any custom shop Fender 
It will cost about 40 % of the Fender
It will be a harder sell and will lose 30% of value
The Fender will lose 30% of value too

WezV

There are a few factors which lead to the sideboard look on partscasters and home builds.   I don;t thnk it makes them any worse, but it definitely does happen.  I can spray, but i still favour on oil finish on many styles of guitar

at one end you have the simplicity factor - wipe on oil finishes can be done by anybody at home.   The biggest hurdle to spraying is finding somewhere to do it safely and then developing the skills to do it well.     they are in no way a second class finish, but they are certainly easier - kind of a no brainer if its your first attempt

There is the cost.   A £10 bottle of oil can do a few guitars , plenty to strip back and start again if you mess up.   Rattle cans will cost at least 5 times that for 1 guitar, and there is no room for error.  Spraying properly is cheaper, once you have paid for all the equipment to do it.

The lure of the wood counts for a lot too.  You will be hunting for parts so you go go to warmoth and you end up drooling over showcase pieces of wood. Maybe you are reading a lot of build thread in preparation and your tastes start to sway towards that woody look.  This gets even worse when you start building bodies and necks from scratch - its impossible to resist an interesting  looking piece of wood.    I  like to ensure i have a lot of contrast in the woods i use or they do just end up looking like brown side boards.

This strat i am building is a good example, it easily could have ended up too much like a sideboard.   African walnut body which varies from chocolate to golden brown (very much like a 70's sideboard) with a  bloodwood top which will probably be quite brown in a few years.   If i put a pale rosewood board on it it would end up looking really dull.... but I think a nice  maple neck works well