This is the first guitar I've ever built from the ground up. Assembled is probably a better term. With the exception of the body, these are all licensed Fender parts that can be bought off the shelf. From ~10ft, its a reasonably accurate '55-'58 Telecaster replica. Total damages are ~$600 so far and I've got 10hrs of time in it, mostly in the sanding and finish work. FWIW, this is cheaper than you can buy a Mexican '50s Classic for.
Unlike a real '55-'58 tele, the body is made of pine and weighs 3 lbs 7 oz by itself. Pine was only used on the very early prototype guitars and on some of the first blackguards. Fender never defined a spec for the wood, but Ash is the correct wood for a blonde or a blackguard and Alder would probably have been used on anything painted a solid color by Fender. Anyway, this body has all of the little nuances and identifying features from the routers and tooling that the '50s guitars would have.
I used a water based Minwax stain for the finish, sanded to 400 grit, and rubbed a few coats of truoil gunstock varnish on it to give it more of a pale yellow patina. Its not the correct nitrocellulose, but overall, I think the color is pretty close to what Fender was using on the blonde guitars back then. Its a good thin finish, it only cost about $20 total, and was all done by hand without spray equipment.
The hardware is mostly Allparts with a Fender bridge, vintage brass saddles, control plate, pots, and a cheap off the shelf duncan bridge pickup. Allparts licensed neck with '50s V profile, small frets, and 7.25" radius. The knobs are for a '75+ guitar, but everything else is as correct for a '55-'58 as you can get with after market parts. Its also wired like a '50s-'60s guitar, FWIW. I guess I should have wired it like an Esquire since I only have the bridge pickup right now.
I've never really played a tele for any length of time. I built this just to noodle around with while I gather funds and decide if I really want a real vintage '50s or '60s guitar. It still needs a setup, but this is really a good piece of wood. Unplugged its just freaking loud and acoustic with a lot of upper midrange and treble. It vibrates like my '66 345 and it sustains a lot better than I expected. Its a little thin sounding, but I think thats the way pine is supposed to sound. This is going to be a really good guitar. Way better than any non vintage fender Ive ever played to date. Its going to be a lot of fun with a setup and the right pickups. Total weight is well under 7lbs also, so its a featherweight
Anyway, gratuitous pics:
