Building my first Tele (Warmoth)

scottp

Fractal Fanatic
So... I'm building my first Tele.
As far as the hardware goes, do you like to get a kit that contains everything,
or get each piece individually?

I'm all ears for resources and recommendations.

The body is black Korina.
 
Hardware is just pups, bridge and tuners. I'd scan ebay for the best prices for my current tele build
 
And control plate, and pots, and switch, and string ferrules, and string trees, and strap buttons, and pickguard, and screws... ;)

guitarfetish.com has a decent choice of options that won't break the bank.

I bought a pre-assembled control plate plus pots, switch(es) and wiring from 920D...
 
I also check eBay and Reverb for parts and have bought pre-wired pickups with pickguard from 920D and Stratosphereparts.
 
Obsidianwire and ToneShaper also offer good options if you don't want to do soldering for pickups, switches, and pots.
 
Maybe so, but cheap and easy to buy. 3 way switch by Fender would be a tenner on eBay etc. 😉
IMO, everything you listed in your post is also cheap and easy to buy if you choose to go that route. GFS pickups can be had for $30-40 and I've had great results with them.
 
The Warmoth body is nice . Remember when you come to assemble the guitar there is an order you must use to properly determine the position of the control plate to perfectly align with the pick guard .
You should fit the neck and bridge first to give you reference for straight on the pick guard .Then when the pick guard is screwed down you can position the control plate. On the subject of hardware I have some firm recommendations. Bridge The best vintage sounding three saddle is the Gotoh , available with or without sides
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Next the control plate and jack;
The jack should be and electro socket;
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The controls plate and pick guard need to be a perfect fit for USA or Mexico Fender or you will have problems.
Obviously these are just my recommendations but they are from extensive testing of pretty much all that is available . I was shocked to hear the difference between the brands of brass saddles and how many compensated ones didn't get even close it correct intonation. I compared the tone on a real 53 and whilst I still thought the original bridge had the best tone (F knows why) this Gotoh was a close second and quit a bit better than the others. It also was pretty much dead on intonation with a set of 10s.
 
I built a Warmoth Tele a few years ago. One piece of advice I wish I had: Make sure the control plate has all the components attached before you drill the holes for the screws. The tone pot does not have a lot of room. I placed the control plate without the pots attached and drilled the holes in the wrong place. I ended up having to plug the holes and redrill once I tried to attach the control plate during final assembly.
 
The Warmoth body is nice . Remember when you come to assemble the guitar there is an order you must use to properly determine the position of the control plate to perfectly align with the pick guard .
You should fit the neck and bridge first to give you reference for straight on the pick guard .Then when the pick guard is screwed down you can position the control plate. On the subject of hardware I have some firm recommendations. Bridge The best vintage sounding three saddle is the Gotoh , available with or without sides
View attachment 82320
Next the control plate and jack;
The jack should be and electro socket;
View attachment 82321
The controls plate and pick guard need to be a perfect fit for USA or Mexico Fender or you will have problems.
Obviously these are just my recommendations but they are from extensive testing of pretty much all that is available . I was shocked to hear the difference between the brands of brass saddles and how many compensated ones didn't get even close it correct intonation. I compared the tone on a real 53 and whilst I still thought the original bridge had the best tone (F knows why) this Gotoh was a close second and quit a bit better than the others. It also was pretty much dead on intonation with a set of 10s.
Another really good bridge is the Rutters bridge. I have two of his Half Bridge units on guitars here, one of which replaced a Callaham unit that I'd sawed off in 2008. One has the E/A bridge saddle in steel with the other two in brass, which adds a little bit of bite on the low strings.

https://ruttersguitars.com/bridges
 
Another really good bridge is the Rutters bridge. I have two of his Half Bridge units on guitars here, one of which replaced a Callaham unit that I'd sawed off in 2008. One has the E/A bridge saddle in steel with the other two in brass, which adds a little bit of bite on the low strings.

https://ruttersguitars.com/bridges
I wasn't convinced by the steel but it is a good bridge. The intonation is good and a set of these saddles on a vintage fender plate is a good look for a vintage build.
Here are my last two tele builds;
IMG_0574.jpg
A Broadcaster and a 53 replica with a couple of modern twists for the customers who wanted to stop taking their vintage gear on tour and Suhr playability. So both have 16' radius and jescar 57110 SS frets.
 
IMHO a guitar kit should have everything you need to build a guitar, unless you specifically opted out on some options. Otherwise its not a kit but just parts you're buying. That's one of the issues I have with Crimson Guitar kits, you're only getting a body and a neck. Which might be fine if you can select all the other hardware via your website, like with Warmoth, but Crimson doesn't have all the other hardware. Definitely for advanced home builders only. Whereas kits are supposed to be for the beginner/intermediate builder who is either new to building, or doesn't want to source their own parts.
 
There is NOTHING beginner about the finishing part ( and I don't just mean painting). Essentially that is the difference that costs X$$$$ when you go custom shop. If you can't speck out a decent list of the hardware and know if it is suitable your not ready to build a guitar. You won't even begin to know what you don't know, never mind if you can actually do it. As for Crimson, Ben is an excellent woodworker but he makes some crazy awful instruments. More about the idea and if you can do it than does it actually work or sound good.
 
There is NOTHING beginner about the finishing part ( and I don't just mean painting). Essentially that is the difference that costs X$$$$ when you go custom shop. If you can't speck out a decent list of the hardware and know if it is suitable your not ready to build a guitar. You won't even begin to know what you don't know, never mind if you can actually do it. As for Crimson, Ben is an excellent woodworker but he makes some crazy awful instruments. More about the idea and if you can do it than does it actually work or sound good.
Very good point about finishing. I’ve always opted for pre-finished bodies when buying from Warmoth. The price is $100s more compared to unfinished, but I could never get the good of a result on my own - not without all the right equipment and space, a mentor, and a LOT of practice.
 
I built a Tele Deluxe with Warmoth not to long ago. It came out great, and has become one of my favorite guitars i own. I spec'ed mine to tribute to the Friedman Vintage T as opposed to a more traditional Fender. But the quality of the work Warmoth did was excellent.
20200905_131214.jpg20200905_131257.jpg
 
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