Cutting a pearloid pickguard for a tele headstock (with images)

alterguitars

Hi All (sorry for the previous post),

I'm new here, but have been lurking for a year or so. I wondered what people thought about my modification of putting pickguard material on the headstock of a tele? I think it looks pretty good. The full list of mods is below, this guitar was once a sunburst Harley Benton TE-20. Here is a video of the mods and sound:

https://i.ibb.co/r50nzSG/IMG-20190719-203557.jpg

I attached a pickguard to the headstock after modification, painted the guitar with appliance spray paint, changed out the pickups to a tapped Q Pickup from Croatia in the neck (6.5/12.5ohm) and a Chapman ML3 stacked bridge pickup (8.6/15ohm). I also dremeled a fender sized pickguard to fit the HB TE-20 body, drilled through the body to make it a string through, fit a new bridge, vintage tuners, jack, used a thin fender telecaster metal decal /logo for the headstock, darkened the neck with danish oil, and added fake "fender custom shop" neck plate.

https://i.ibb.co/fYFj5qk/first-image.jpg

Funkfingers

Welcome to this forum.

alterguitars said:
I think it looks pretty good.

I agree that the look is good.

alterguitars said:
used a thin fender telecaster metal decal/logo for the headstock ... and added fake "fender custom shop" neck plate.

Unfortunately, on this forum, these practices are frowned upon. Please do not be offended or surprised if the moderators delete this Discussion.

abw1989

Good work, but I agree with @Funkfingers , applying 'fake' official logos is a bit of a sore point.

You've made something custom yourself, why give some other company the plaudits is one argument; you've made a fake instrument is the other.

Many options for logos that look authentic but aren't, here is mine from a recent Jazzmaster inspired build I did:

alterguitars

funkfingers: thank you for confirming the aesthetics.
abw1989, your headstock looks great! I do have some regrets false branding mine.

In some ways I agree with both (funkfingers/abw1989) of your sentiments/concerns about false branding. I thought about it for some time. I really wanted a chrome decal and considered having one made but the cost to do so was prohibitive (though I may try to find the money to have one made, lucklily the chrome decal letters are easy to remove). In the end, I went for the inexpensive ready-made brand option. Because of that, I decided to run with it and use a fake neck plate as well. 

It is quite obviously not a genuine fender, it is therefore not a question of authenticity nor counterfeiting. For me it is about experimentation and cost. 

From a more cynical or radical perspective, when one buys a Fender, what are they paying over £800 for? The quarter sawn maple neck? The ash body? The pick-ups? These options (and better) are available on myriad guitars of “lesser” brands for half the price. People are paying for the label. One could argue, and I just might, that owning a fender is an expression of class. Opting to make one in lieu of buying one is an act of resistance to class-based branding practices. If you can’t afford a fender, make one. Discuss...

ICBM

Nice job - the headstock facing works very well, it's reminiscent of a lot of 60s European-made guitars.

The fake Fender logo is OK as long as you don't try to sell it - it's not illegal to simply own it. If you wanted to sell it (here or anywhere), you would need to remove the logo and the neckplate.

You can make it look like anything you like, for your own enjoyment - but don't try to justify it on cost... there is no 'right' to own a brand if you can't afford one, and it's not an act of resistance .

normula1

I've been guilty in the past of using 'F' logos on partscasters that are purely for my own use, but given that vendors such as Rothko & Frost produce any logo you like (in a similar 'F' font if you want it) for a very reasonable price that's really the way to go.

alterguitars

normula1 said:

I've been guilty in the past of using 'F' logos on partscasters that are purely for my own use, but given that vendors such as Rothko & Frost produce any logo you like (in a similar 'F' font if you want it) for a very reasonable price that's really the way to go.

Thank you, I hadn't realized this company did this. Looking at their options, they unfortunately do not offer laser cut metal decals. A waterslide wouldn't be suited to the pickguard, it woudl need to laquered over and the edges would be too visible. I'll keep looking for a custom company. 

abw1989

Contact the company you got the Fender logos from. If they can make a Fender logo, they should be able to make anything if you can provide them a file to work from.

Rocker

Nice work OP, what type of strap pins are you using?  Thanks.  BTW I listen to TVZ, the LEGEND...... album.  Nice playing.

alterguitars

Rocker said:

Nice work OP, what type of strap pins are you using?  Thanks.  BTW I listen to TVZ, the LEGEND...... album.  Nice playing.

Thank you! I like TVZ's unique travis picking style, his lyrics, and his singing is easy to replicate and sing along to. Oddly enough I only discovered his music about 6 months ago after watching, Heartworn Highways. 

Rocker

There is a legend, one I cannot prove one way or the other, that TVZ spent some time living in the midlands of Ireland sometime in the mid 1970s.  He was described to me as a guy who traveled light and was more than prepared to rough it [sleeping wise].  Nice story if it is true.

alterguitars

Rocker said:

There is a legend, one I cannot prove one way or the other, that TVZ spent some time living in the midlands of Ireland sometime in the mid 1970s.  He was described to me as a guy who traveled light and was more than prepared to rough it [sleeping wise].  Nice story if it is true.

I hadn't heard that, the emrald isle would be a welcome place for him. I wonder if he ever played Belfast...