Thread: Latest tele

Looking good, what is the Myrtle like to work with?

Looking good ray!
Hows the new work shop going?

Newbie from TDPRI signing in.

Really interested in this one. I've put together a few Teles from parts and now interested in building. I've heard that Australian tonewoods are some of the best in the world and considered 'exotic'.

I'm not that good in terms of woodworking, probably because it doesn't excite me that much. But my love for Teles gives me the urge to have a go.

I've been getting great info from this forum and looking forward to building Teles from Aussie timber.

Southern myrtle its called locallyfairly soft but very dense grain and polishes up with fine grit to a very nice shine - it makes a great tele and this will be the 3rd one i have done in this timber.it is a fairly plain timber but you get some real nice grainish things happeing on the edges. It carves and machines beautifully and it is a fave of mine.local vic ash also is a great tonewood but can be tricky to work and like many "ash" species needs a fair deal of grainfill. its cheap and you can buy it anywhere.blackwood, qld maple and qld walnut is also a favourite of others in the forum but i have not used it so far... i have played guitars out of these 3 and its sounds killer but makes a heavy guitar

i like the "tele meets jaguar" look of the lower bout. I reckon the plain wood looks just fine on the teles - they're such a plank to start with ( i mean this in the best possible way) that if you try to tart them up much beyond a 'burst then they look silly. I saw a "tele" at the country music festival with a bound fretboard, big old M.O.P. fret markers a gaudy flame top spangly gold hardware abalone purfling etc etc etc too much. Fenders are the "less is more" guitars and IMHO should stay that way.

Cheers

Originally Posted by Deano

Looking good ray!
Hows the new work shop going?

yeah its coming along - its a mess still but getting organised and working on the tele today

I'm rapt you're posting this one up as a progress thread

Still can't get over how lightweight that body was to hold.
It felt like a heavily chambered one, although.......not.

Welcome Telejazzer. Nice to have you aboard too.

This I will enjoy.

Peter

I'm very keen to follow this also Ray......Southern Myrtle is Tas Myrtle yeah? What are your thoughts tonewise?

OZ, Deano and myself the other night had some fun doing some tap testing on tonewoods and we were all quite staggered......Bubinga, African Myrtle and Makore RANG out in a huge way, Blackwood and QLD Maple rang but not as much and Vic Ash, Tas Oak and Tas Myrtle were kinda dead......I guess each piece of the same species can be different also......we were consistent in our method....rubber mallet tapped at the same spot holding it the same way etc......very interesting exercise. Chime in Oz and Deano if I have reported something different to what you thought here.......

The Tas Myrtle I have carved is a pleasure to work with......enjoy the build and good on you for making this one for yourself

Originally Posted by EtherealGuitars

Chime in Oz and Deano if I have reported something different to what you thought here.......

Dare I mention the tap tone of MDF

Originally Posted by EtherealGuitars
Chime in Oz and Deano if I have reported something different to what you thought here.......
Dare I mention the tap tone of MDF

And the pine that seemed to sound second best to the African myrtle.

Fitting it up - you can just see the laser i use to line it all up. Neck pocket fit is a nightmare. Found out why Allparts necks are cheap. Oversize heel, incorrect heel radius and the sides of the heel are not square to the bottom. Apart from the geometry problems, the fingerboard has dribbles of finish where the masking wasnt down tight and there is also finish to be cleaned out of the nut slot and a patch unfinished on the side of the fingerboard. I would not recomend Allparts at all. Every Warmoth neck I have used has been perfect.

I saved us$40.00

If i dont build em myself in future i will use warmoth or usacg

Mongrel, here's an old 1968 Tele that is covered with hand embossed leather, and played by Ian Scott, a great Australian picker. It is a fancy piece of work, and it doesn't look out of place in a country band when seen on that sort of stage setting. This guitar has a history of being one of, or THE first with a B-Bender in Australia.

Originally Posted by Buzza

Mongrel, here's an old 1968 Tele that is covered with hand embossed leather, and played by Ian Scott, a great Australian picker. It is a fancy piece of work, and it doesn't look out of place in a country band when seen on that sort of stage setting. This guitar has a history of being one of, or THE first with a B-Bender in Australia.

Yeah, that I like, I am also partial to the tooled leather ones and that sort of thing, but IMHO if you want a tele, dont "gibsonize" it. I have plans in the future (don't we all) of building a tele with a truly carved top - i guess it would be a bass relief top. But it will be timber toned and all "tarting" will be carves. But thats when I get time . . . I havent built a guitar for so long it is criminal.
Check this one out.
Not mine but its the idea anyway