Idea for a build

Megii

I'm thinking a zebrawood top tele thinline, with single f-hole on the bass side, chrome hardware, modern style tele bridge unit, ebony board neck (I have one suitable). The neck pickup would be a zebra coil bucker (so a real "zebra" guitar), with chrome surround. So not exactly the same, but I did find this pic of someone's tele build while randomly surfing, and I really like the general look:

So mine would have a zebra coil neck humbucker and no middle pickup, ebony board neck. I'd probably go for swamp ash for the body wood below the top also, rather than the darker wood used above. But I reckon it could be a plan.

jd0272

Tele's and variants are supposed to be plain and boring, which is why folk are so amazed when they boot the Les Paul off the stage.

(Unless it's a Les Paul Junior).

JohnB

Go for it I reckon

jd0272

JohnB;693413" said:

Go for it I reckon

Oh it'll be pretty etc, but won't look like a Tele.

WezV

jd0272 said:

JohnB;693413" said:

Go for it I reckon

Oh it'll be pretty etc, but won't look like a Tele.

don't be daft - tele's are versatile, they don't all have to be a blackguard

axisus

Not a fan of zebra wood personally, but go for it if it's what you like

Sassafras

I suppose it would look all right in the flesh but in photos zebrawood always looks a bit formica-ish to me.

jd0272

WezV;693486" said:

jd0272 said:

JohnB;693413" said:Go for it I reckon

Oh it'll be pretty etc, but won't look like a Tele.







don't be daft - tele's are versatile, they don't all have to be a blackguard

Quite correct Mr V. Lots of lovely colours to spray them, and they can have white guards too.

Fancy woods look too 'boutique' for a blue collar guitar.

I'll still Wow one when they appear tho

randomhandclaps

It will look awesome.  I have a zebrawood Les Paul and would kill for a similar tele.

Andyjr1515

With an ebony board it would look fantastic!

Megii

Thanks for the comments chaps - I was interested to hear what people thought. I guess zebrawood might be one of those marmite things... Actually, I can see where the formica comment is coming from, but I would hope that I could avoid that being an issue if I use a nice Tru Oil finish. I still look at it and like it anyhow.

hobbio

Go for it @Megii

jd0272

Megii said:

Thanks for the comments chaps - I was interested to hear what people thought. I guess zebrawood might be one of those marmite things... Actually, I can see where the formica comment is coming from, but I would hope that I could avoid that being an issue if I use a nice Tru Oil finish. I still look at it and like it anyhow.

Zebrawood's stunning, I'm just mentally trapped into seeing that sort of finish on pointy/boutique things is all.

Megii

jd0272 said:

Megii said:

Thanks for the comments chaps - I was interested to hear what people thought. I guess zebrawood might be one of those marmite things... Actually, I can see where the formica comment is coming from, but I would hope that I could avoid that being an issue if I use a nice Tru Oil finish. I still look at it and like it anyhow.

Zebrawood's stunning, I'm just mentally trapped into seeing that sort of finish on pointy/boutique things is all.

I think it's possibly true that the whole boutique guitar/fancy wood kind of thing is not at all "rock n roll" - I can see that, and especially with regard to the tele. I'm a jazzer though, so I have no such worries.

Rocker

Go for it my friend. If it was my call, I would choose black hardware - bridge, pickup surrounds, tuners etc. and no scratchplate..

thermionic

You'll have to get the grain running vertically to match the pickup.

Megii

Rocker said:

Go for it my friend. If it was my call, I would choose black hardware - bridge, pickup surrounds, tuners etc. and no scratchplate..

The thought has occurred - I think that could be very good. Definitely no scratchplate I agree.

Megii

thermionic said:

You'll have to get the grain running vertically to match the pickup.

Could be tricky, I think I'll not worry about that one. Guitarbuild has a couple of thinline bodies up at the mo, where the grain swirls round, rather than the vertical stripes look - I think I might prefer that in fact. For e.g. http://www.guitarbuild.co.uk/collections/specials-actual-items-pictured-tc-bodies/products/guitarbuild-tc-thinline-body-one-piece-swamp-ash-extra-lightweight-1-3-kg-803755

But it really is speculation at this stage, I may not get the build going for a while, and I would have to get a body done with custom routing for that neck bucker, which I really do want rather than the classic tele neck pickup.

hobbio

@Megii, have you thought about doing it cabronita style with a pair of f-tron type thingies?

Megii

I have thought about the possibility of something "tron-ish" for the neck slot yes, but for whatever reason, I do want the tele-style bridge unit with the slanted single coil pickup. One can get tron-type pickups to fit in a regular bucker slot though - I like the idea of going with a standard bucker rout for the neck, and partly that's simply down to the range of different pickup types that are made in that size - it would mean I'm able to change for something else if I try a pickup and don't get on with it. I guess at the moment the strongest contender for me would be a PAF type, probably with 4 conductor wiring so I could tap it for a lighter tone. But yes, the f-tron types are very interesting, and I do wonder what such a pickup would be like for playing jazz.

Chalky

I'm with @Sassafras on this - zebrawood often looks great in photos and in the right light that accentuates contrast but can also look much less impressive or fakey in other light and in the flesh.