Telecaster Specification Hunting

stephen.wood125

Hi everyone, 

May well be looking for a unicorn/custom shop job here.

Would like a Fender Telecaster with Nitro Finish, maple board and jumbo frets (ideally stainless) nice to have but not a must is double binding. Does such a thing exist or do I start saving up to go full CS?

Cheers,

DanR

I can’t think of one CS I’ve seen with stainless frets.

Jackobean

Get Feline to refret an American vintage?

Funkfingers

Somebody on this forum recently advertised either an AVRI or a Hot Rod Fifties Telecaster that had been refretted with stainless steel. [It was not me!]
 

stephen.wood125

@DanR yeah me neither!

@Jackobean I'm ok with re-fretting them, done a few of my other guitars and some for friends- just being lazy! I've only heard great things about Feline, may well be the best option.

@Funkfingers yeah I PM'd him he never responded other than to update the thread a few hours later that it was sold. 

Thank you all for taking the time to reply, definitely some food for thought!

gjonesy

Kotzen tele? Front bound, not sure if it’s nitro

Barnezy

Maybe look a Shur 

stimpsonslostson

You could build a top of the line Partscaster. 

stickyfiddle

stimpsonslostson said:

You could build a top of the line Partscaster. 

This, for me 100%

Barnezy

Only downside to a partscaster is they are worth a fraction of what they cost to make if you ever want to sell it. 

stimpsonslostson

Barnezy said:

Only downside to a partscaster is they are worth a fraction of what they cost to make if you ever want to sell it. 

True, but if you’re building to an idiosyncratic spec preference then I’d hope you were building a dream guitar. 
With a solid body/set neck I’d go to a custom builder (Feline probably) but a telecaster is something I’d be confident in my own abilities to put together. 

Philly_Q

As far as I know the Fender Custom Shop won't do stainless frets.  At least they wouldn't when I got my Strat a few years back.

Seziertisch

Premium partscaster all the way. Sure, it won’t hold its value, should you decide to sell it ever, but it will have cost a lot less to begin with.

bacchanalian

Barnezy said:

Maybe look a Shur 

If you are after stainless steel but can forgo nitro I would second Suhr. I had an Alt T Pro and it played better than any of the Fenders I have owned or played. The only reason I moved mine on was that I am trying to have only one example of each pickup configuration. There is one in the classifieds at a bargain price.

guitars4you

Philly_Q said:

As far as I know the Fender Custom Shop won't do stainless frets.  At least they wouldn't when I got my Strat a few years back.

I've never heard of it as an option 

idiotwindow

Seziertisch said:

Premium partscaster all the way. Sure, it won’t hold its value, should you decide to sell it ever, but it will have cost a lot less to begin with.

Yes. I would have thought a top quality partscaster could be put together for less than the likely depreciation on a full custom shop tele. Also much less outlay to begin with.

stickyfiddle

idiotwindow said:

Seziertisch said:

Premium partscaster all the way. Sure, it won’t hold its value, should you decide to sell it ever, but it will have cost a lot less to begin with.

Yes. I would have thought a top quality partscaster could be put together for less than the likely depreciation on a full custom shop tele. Also much less outlay to begin with.

Yeah this. You can build a CS-level Tele for around £1k without any compromise. 

A CS Tele is what, 3k(?), and a used one is sub-2k, and that’s before you account for extra cost of stuff like stainless frets, plus extra depreciation because most folks don’t want them.

FelineGuitars

This Feline Tabby Special ticks many of the boxes but not the double binding - has strat contours instead and a lean back headstock





luminlay side dots

stephen.wood125

Thanks everyone! Lot to think about, that Feline guitar is absolutely stunning!!

TINMAN82

stimpsonslostson said:

Barnezy said:

Only downside to a partscaster is they are worth a fraction of what they cost to make if you ever want to sell it. 

True, but if you’re building to an idiosyncratic spec preference then I’d hope you were building a dream guitar. 
With a solid body/set neck I’d go to a custom builder (Feline probably) but a telecaster is something I’d be confident in my own abilities to put together. 

True, but it doesn’t mean the sum of those parts will match the dream. I made a premium strat based loosely on the Eric Johnson design and ended up selling it for parts.

It also assumes whatever neck you buy is equivalent to Fender CS quality. The musikraft neck I ordered wasn’t up to that level and required a luthier fret dress to prevent choking out on bends despite a 12” radius.

stimpsonslostson

Despite having built 3 Partscasters (& currently hoarding parts for my next) I always budget for a proper setup by a professional.