NGD: The Dave-O-Caster

[James R]

Beautiful Telecaster!
My hat's off to Dave on the craftsmanship, and my congratulations to you Rob for aquiring such a great guitar.

 

[Jakeislove]

Dude makes some sweet looking guitars!

 

[LtDave32]

That's beautiful!! I'm starting to feel the full tele bug, as much as I hate to admit it. And if you're not using those Dots anymore....
I need need need that tele bridge pup!! I need it!!
My wife is gonna be pissed when she finds out.
Pissed, but not surprised. I married a smart one.

Here you go:

Vintage Tele

 

[Guitarhack]

Gorgeous tele.

 

[artis_xe]

very nice , and Congrats Rob
is always a good ending , when something like this goes to a good home

may you enjoy many years of playing it __ and become better that what you even think that you're capable of

 

[LtDave32]

I guess it's time I weighed in here.

What to say to this..

First, I'm extremely humbled by Rob's kind words, both of the work I did for him, and his opinion of my character. I don't know what to say in response, other than Rob, like most folk deserve the best that one has to offer in this life.

Treat people right, and it comes back to you.

I sometimes get overwhelmed with personal and professional activities; I'm busier at this stage in my life than I have been ever since I was a young man. This causes a few delays here and there, but it's always forgiven if one key gesture is made; call them. Communicate with people, and everything will work out right. I was a month or more delayed on this instrument for couple of trivial reasons, some related to the build, some not. But not anything extreme, as he received his guitar in a fairly timely manner, considering it was built from all "billet" material. The body cut and shaped from an eight-quarters or "8/4" hardwood blank (a hardwood industry term, meaning 1 and 15/16" thick) from the supplier outfit that serves Fender Custom Shop in Corona, CA. When the color scheme changed from an opaque gray (Rob's original choice) to a translucent color, that changed the wood selection, and hence a short delay. I needed a blank that featured a good amount of grain that one could see though the color. This also was a stone bitch to grain fill. We decided on a flat, glassy finish in nitro. That means even after grain-filling, there's going to be a lot of build coats that are going to be sanded back to fill the valleys of dark grain. This is an inherent problem with high-figured swamp ash; it's figured much like oak. More work, but worth it in the end.

That neck on the guitar is not the first neck. I built an entire other one, all the way to finish prep. I love to carve necks, as they are the very soul of an instrument. It's where you "speak" to it, where you communicate. I was hot on building "Tadeo Gomez" necks (Fender neck carver, 1948-1957) which were very coveted and sought-after on vintage Fenders, and featured a particular style of carve. I finally got the hang of that, and was wanting to give Rob a taste of such, yet slightly slimmer than the 1950's offerings from Tadeo. Soft, truncated "V", rounded off flat at the very back, and a few other appointments gave Tadeo Gomez his signature carve (Eric Clapton's "Blackie" features a Tadeo-carved neck), and so I carved Rob one. But Rob is a player who's young at the art, and I realized that such a neck might not suit him. I wanted this neck to be familiar to him. So I took a sample of my best friends early 1968 Tele neck and gave him that profile instead. That meant starting over on a whole new neck. My policy here is "No one leaves my shop unhappy", and I wanted Rob to enjoy as much "swoon factor" as I could give him. Not many people are familiar with Tadeo Gomez necks. They do not grow on trees (ahaha), and their are few of them around. The reissue Tele's do not feature them, but the big "U" baseball bat instead. I still have that TG-carve neck with a Katalox fretboard, which I was going to put on Rob's guitar at first, but changed my mind. What to do with that, I reckon?

Back to Rob's current neck. It was cut from a clear maple billet of 8/4, down to below one inch thickness. I do that to ensure a true, straight blank. The ebony board was also cut and trued from a thicker blank of ebony, and I must confess, a real chore to sand a 7.25 radius in. Fret slotting into that damn iron did my sawblades no favors either It was like trying to sand a curve into a leaf-spring. But, time and effort paid off, as with most endeavors. Sand an hour, soda, TV show. Sand another hour, soda, TV show. Sand a third hour, Maker's Mark on the rocks, The Byrds "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" on vinyl, etc.. This is how Dave spends a Saturday afternoon.

One thing I did not count on that I absolutely loved was the visual interaction between the abalone dot markers and the "mother of toilet seat" black pick guard. Like a tie and a stick-pin, it just worked. Happy with that.

Playability.. I wanted Rob once again to receive the best of my efforts, so I took the usual care, which is extra care, into leveling the frets, recrowning, polishing and dressing the ends. I wanted him to have a no-compromise guitar, as he has already in his collection the iconic greats of the guitar industry. That is my competition, and I wanted this guitar to be able to take its own rightful place in that room. He did not get that guitar shipped to him until I had exhausted myself playing it over the next weekend, looking for bugs, buzzes, any other chink in the armor of my workmanship.

Price.. I charged Rob half of what Fender Custom Shop charges for a comparable instrument. This is not an "off the rack" guitar as you would find at GC, this is a handmade, made-to-order instrument. I don't relic, I don't age or "beat up" my instruments. I feel that road-wear should be earned, not issued. I like a guitar to have a vintage flavor, but appear as if it had been hidden under the bed for 40+ years. I only work in nitro lacquer, and over the years, Rob's guitar is going to crack and check on the finish. It's inevitable. But it has that lacquer glow about it, something that poly just doesn't quite reach, IMO.

I'm not about counterfeiting, so there's subtle variations; the flat where the input jack is has a more pronounced flat area, and there's no Fender decal. the shape of the headstock is just ever-so-slightly different as well. In addition, the body is just a little bit slimmer in thickness than what Fender offers; I planed it down, not much, just a bit. This also served to keep the weight down. There is also no name-branded Fender hardware or pups; All aftermarket items from private companies, but the best quality I could buy.

I made this guitar, from scratch and by hand, along with the simplest of hand-held power tools and non-power tools alike. Why should I give any other outfit credit for it?

Anyway, that's most of the back-story behind this build. I seem to be known for building Tele-style guitars, but I build many others as well. My first build was a Rickenbacker type instrument, a 1958 325 Capri. Second build was a 1960 LP Special-type with the owner's name cut from MOP and inlaid into the headstock. I've built many, many guitar since then. Great hobby. It's a hobby that makes people happy. What better could there be?

My next horizon is to get into acoustic guitar making. This is where one separates the serious from those who dabble. Serious hand work in that art.

And that's about as much as I'm comfortable with tooting my own horn in here. Though I'll be happy to answer any questions you good folks have with this build, or any other questions.

 

[tazzboy]

You did a good job Dave

and you got a good guitar too Rob.

 

[socialhero]

There is a very special magic to a tele. It took me many, many years to discover that. I have two built by Ron Kirn, and one I made myself. They're all awesome. But I will admit I often look at Vic's tele by Dave, and now Heartstring's and Rob's...and lust for yet another. I haven't bought a new guitar in years. Maybe someday soon.

Congrats Rob. That beast is awesome.

And congrats Dave on yet another axe well done.

A great story about how it came together, and continues to inspire. Cheers fellas.

 

[Bigfoot410]

I guess it's time I weighed in here.

What to say to this..

First, I'm extremely humbled by Rob's kind words, both of the work I did for him, and his opinion of my character. I don't know what to say in response, other than Rob, like most folk deserve the best that one has to offer in this life.

Treat people right, and it comes back to you.

I sometimes get overwhelmed with personal and professional activities; I'm busier at this stage in my life than I have been ever since I was a young man. This causes a few delays here and there, but it's always forgiven if one key gesture is made; call them. Communicate with people, and everything will work out right. I was a month or more delayed on this instrument for couple of trivial reasons, some related to the build, some not. But not anything extreme, as he received his guitar in a fairly timely manner, considering it was built from all "billet" material. The body cut and shaped from an eight-quarters or "8/4" hardwood blank (a hardwood industry term, meaning 1 and 15/16" thick) from the supplier outfit that serves Fender Custom Shop in Corona, CA. When the color scheme changed from an opaque gray (Rob's original choice) to a translucent color, that changed the wood selection, and hence a short delay. I needed a blank that featured a good amount of grain that one could see though the color. This also was a stone bitch to grain fill. We decided on a flat, glassy finish in nitro. That means even after grain-filling, there's going to be a lot of build coats that are going to be sanded back to fill the valleys of dark grain. This is an inherent problem with high-figured swamp ash; it's figured much like oak. More work, but worth it in the end.

That neck on the guitar is not the first neck. I built an entire other one, all the way to finish prep. I love to carve necks, as they are the very soul of an instrument. It's where you "speak" to it, where you communicate. I was hot on building "Tadeo Gomez" necks (Fender neck carver, 1948-1957) which were very coveted and sought-after on vintage Fenders, and featured a particular style of carve. I finally got the hang of that, and was wanting to give Rob a taste of such, yet slightly slimmer than the 1950's offerings from Tadeo. Soft, truncated "V", rounded off flat at the very back, and a few other appointments gave Tadeo Gomez his signature carve (Eric Clapton's "Blackie" features a Tadeo-carved neck), and so I carved Rob one. But Rob is a player who's young at the art, and I realized that such a neck might not suit him. I wanted this neck to be familiar to him. So I took a sample of my best friends early 1968 Tele neck and gave him that profile instead. That meant starting over on a whole new neck. My policy here is "No one leaves my shop unhappy", and I wanted Rob to enjoy as much "swoon factor" as I could give him. Not many people are familiar with Tadeo Gomez necks. They do not grow on trees (ahaha), and their are few of them around. The reissue Tele's do not feature them, but the big "U" baseball bat instead. I still have that TG-carve neck with a Katalox fretboard, which I was going to put on Rob's guitar at first, but changed my mind. What to do with that, I reckon?

Back to Rob's current neck. It was cut from a clear maple billet of 8/4, down to below one inch thickness. I do that to ensure a true, straight blank. The ebony board was also cut and trued from a thicker blank of ebony, and I must confess, a real chore to sand a 7.25 radius in. Fret slotting into that damn iron did my sawblades no favors either It was like trying to sand a curve into a leaf-spring. But, time and effort paid off, as with most endeavors. Sand an hour, soda, TV show. Sand another hour, soda, TV show. Sand a third hour, Maker's Mark on the rocks, The Byrds "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" on vinyl, etc.. This is how Dave spends a Saturday afternoon.

One thing I did not count on that I absolutely loved was the visual interaction between the abalone dot markers and the "mother of toilet seat" black pick guard. Like a tie and a stick-pin, it just worked. Happy with that.

Playability.. I wanted Rob once again to receive the best of my efforts, so I took the usual care, which is extra care, into leveling the frets, recrowning, polishing and dressing the ends. I wanted him to have a no-compromise guitar, as he has already in his collection the iconic greats of the guitar industry. That is my competition, and I wanted this guitar to be able to take its own rightful place in that room. He did not get that guitar shipped to him until I had exhausted myself playing it over the next weekend, looking for bugs, buzzes, any other chink in the armor of my workmanship.

Price.. I charged Rob half of what Fender Custom Shop charges for a comparable instrument. This is not an "off the rack" guitar as you would find at GC, this is a handmade, made-to-order instrument. I don't relic, I don't age or "beat up" my instruments. I feel that road-wear should be earned, not issued. I like a guitar to have a vintage flavor, but appear as if it had been hidden under the bed for 40+ years. I only work in nitro lacquer, and over the years, Rob's guitar is going to crack and check on the finish. It's inevitable. But it has that lacquer glow about it, something that poly just doesn't quite reach, IMO.

I'm not about counterfeiting, so there's subtle variations; the flat where the input jack is has a more pronounced flat area, and there's no Fender decal. the shape of the headstock is just ever-so-slightly different as well. In addition, the body is just a little bit slimmer in thickness than what Fender offers; I planed it down, not much, just a bit. This also served to keep the weight down. There is also no name-branded Fender hardware or pups; All aftermarket items from private companies, but the best quality I could buy.

I made this guitar, from scratch and by hand, along with the simplest of hand-held power tools and non-power tools alike. Why should I give any other outfit credit for it?

Anyway, that's most of the back-story behind this build. I seem to be known for building Tele-style guitars, but I build many others as well. My first build was a Rickenbacker type instrument, a 1958 325 Capri. Second build was a 1960 LP Special-type with the owner's name cut from MOP and inlaid into the headstock. I've built many, many guitar since then. Great hobby. It's a hobby that makes people happy. What better could there be?

My next horizon is to get into acoustic guitar making. This is where one separates the serious from those who dabble. Serious hand work in that art.

And that's about as much as I'm comfortable with tooting my own horn in here. Though I'll be happy to answer any questions you good folks have with this build, or any other questions.

How much for the Tadeo neck?

 

[LtDave32]

How much for the Tadeo neck?

It's got the Tadeo "boat neck" shape, but much slimmer. In fact, it measures about .820 at the first fret area to the back. That's rather slim. I was trying fo the best of both worlds. Here's a pic of the profile:



The soft V profile. But as I said, much slimmer. A hair slimmer than a standard Tele neck, which is around .840.

In light of that, I'd let it go cheap as it's not a .900 neck like people would expect.

No reasonable offer refused. PM with that. Can't do a sales thread here, so anyone with any other inquires please PM.

 

[DRF]

Yeah, really nice work for sure.

 

[S. Rock]

congrats ! nice looking Tele. nice color, too.

 

[sonar1]

I love Tele lore!

Labor of love Dave! Kudos!

I have had my fling with big necks now, and that's over! Before I had CTS release surgery I got to liking my necks almost as big as possible.

But since then the arthritis has taken a tole, and medium to slim(mer) necks are more my preference, depending on profile, which can vary some depending on the guitar.

Fender medium C is still too small generally for me, but my fatback Warmouth neck on my partsotele has outlived its comfort zone anymore. I still play it, but it costs me!

Changing guitars and their necks aggravates my hand. Once I get used to a neck and stick to it exclusively for a while my hand does better, but the biggest issue is strings. More and more I'm using nines!

 

[Roberteaux]

Thanks, guys-- lots of cool and interesting comments in this thread. I very much appreciated all the well wishes you guys posted, too. As has been the case since Day One for me on this site: MLP rocks because YOU GUYS ROCK!



Rather than do a long, hard-to-read multiquote post in response to some of the comments, I'll simply respond to various of your posts without quoting you directly. But for those whom I do not respond directly to, please be aware that I read your posts, and very much appreciated the kindly things all of you had to say to me... so don't feel left out!

Meanwhile, give yourselves a hand-- all of you! Thank you, MLP!

So:

@M&M: Resistance is Futile. Prepare to be assimilated!
All kidding aside: I honestly saw no need for a Telecaster, but apparently the breed itself had other ideas... and once you need *that* tone, nothing else is quite gonna get it. Close, perhaps-- but no cigar. Buy wifey something *very* nice that she's not expecting, and don't mention your Tele-lust until it's a fait accompli, and she's probably just gonna laugh and shrug... again! The proof that she's a smart one is demonstrated by the fact that she snagged you for a husband-- and I'm certain that you weren't exactly an easy catch.

And them dots ain't goin' nowhere, sailor. Remember: the other half of the song "Kid" was played by Chrissie on an ES-335!


@Hearstring: that is one very, very tasty Telecaster you've got there-- gorgeous, really. A true, classic beauty. And don't goof on us by talking about me being musically savvy... I haven't forgotten the cover you did of "Back on the Chain Gang", pal! Gotta have a Telecaster to make that one sound right too-- don't ask me how I know!


@Bigfoot: every time you look in the mirror, please remember that you are looking at one of the luckiest guys I ever heard tell of. That wife of yours is most definitely a keeper. May all your days together be filled with love and joy, bro. And don't forget to tell me next time you're in Daytona-- I can take you to a place where you'll get the best burger you ever had, and it will be on me!

@E1WOODS5150: thanks for the filler on Mr. Mars... hell of a player, right there-- always loved the way that man played. Sad that he's been ailing lately, though...

@Cruz: this git was more than worth the wait. It's just flat-ass awesome, if what you want/need is Tele-tone, and she ain't hard to look at either! This guitar is one that is guaranteed to stay on a stand, and not in its case...

@Sin: not only did the guitar knock me goofy, but it even caused me to launch into a marathon playing session that went on for nearly 16 hours! I do play several hours per day-- time's a-wastin' and I ain't gettin' younger-- but damn... sixteen hours? I almost forgot to file my income taxes, too!

@Tommo: verrrry funny, Professor Schrader! But I'll have you know that I'm so damned sane that no shrink I ever tried to talk to would have anything to do with me-- hell, they even drop the window blinds and lock their office doors when they see me coming!


@Preacher: thank you for the cool link! I've been wondering about Mick Mars for a long time-- ever since I read that interview. Very impressive player, and it's interesting to see what the man was using through the years. Much appreciated.

@artis_xe: thank you for your kindly post, bro. You know, you can only be as good as you have time to develop in... or at least, that's a major factor. Only time will tell if I have the other component-- talent-- but no matter how things turn out for me, I can say that I have always found the struggle itself to be almost as rewarding as it is when I actually (finally) find myself of playing something that I couldn't play before. Thanks again!

@sonar-wan: I want to thank you for having been willing to discuss Telecasters with me at the lengths you went to when I started to realize that I was almost certainly going to acquire one for myself. Adding to that all the other good info you have given me over the years (you're one of my amp and pedal guys) and I figure I owe you something.

To all others I didn't name: thank you again for your participation in this thread and all the nice things you had to say here!

--Rob

 

[Benjammin]

on second look, I really like the abalone inlays with the black tortoise pickguard, works well with the red finish damn, now I need to start saving for a Tele

 

[sliding tom]

Dave: thanks for filling us in on some of the more minute details of your building process - that sure is a labour of love!

@Tommo: verrrry funny, Professor Schrader! But I'll have you know that I'm so damned sane that no shrink I ever tried to talk to would have anything to do with me-- hell, they even drop the window blinds and lock their office doors when they see me coming!

Just pulling your leg, Robba - I was actually thinking of a scenario like "I want one of them big red Gibsons like Alvin Lee plays!"

 

[ehb]

It is a beaut!

Methinks a Dave has earned a trophy....

 

[sonar1]

...Only time will tell if I have the other component-- talent-- but no matter how things turn out for me, I can say that I have always found the struggle itself to be almost as rewarding...

@sonar-wan: I want to thank you for having been willing to discuss Telecasters with me at the lengths you went to when I started to realize that I was almost certainly going to acquire one for myself. Adding to that all the other good info you have given me over the years (you're one of my amp and pedal guys) and I figure I owe you something.
...

Talent?

I've always resented that word.

I takes a lot of hard work to learn to negotiate your way around a guitar neck, AND get that sound in your head to eventually come out of the amplifier's speaker!

But I suppose it's as if the "talent" gift IS being able -somehow in life- to spend that time wrestling with it. Not everybody gets that break I guess.

Most musicians sacrifice something (like family life, or being functional socially) to mark out that kind of time to dedicate it to something as non-wage-related (usually) as music on the guitar neck.

Anyway you're not lazy about guitar, Rob!

As far as Telecaster appreciation I got to the party fairly late myself (in my mid-thirties, after playing since I was about ten years old)!

I found myself in an extremely frustrating situation at a reheasal once for an orchestra pit job where I was supposed to cue a tap dancer onstage with a lick.

Couldn't get that cue heard! Finally, after several unsuccessful tries where my archtop's sound just rattled around in the pit and couldn't be heard onstage, one of the onlooking production singers -who had a song featured later in the show self-accompanied with a guitar- handed me his Tokai "Breezysound" tele clone and said, "Here, try this."

Instant sonic cutting through solution!

We traded guitars instantly! Turns out he had TWO tele clones!

I then used various Fender Telecasters exclusively for everything for about twenty years!

In fact for many years of balancing family life with competing guitar adventures I had only ONE decent electric guitar: a Telecaster!

For my present orchestra pit job I'm specifically using a period-correct Fender Jazzmaster, but that's just a fancy cousin invented by the same guy, but just intended as his flagship model.

But a Telecaster by any other name with the same basic sonic concept is just potato/pottatto.

 

[Drew71]

Howdy, y'all!

Only, I didn't say...fudge.

I myself am closing in on the completion of a tele build.

Congratulations, you have one beautiful guitar.

 

[MooCheng]

that is such a beautiful Tele Rob,

Dave's craftsmanship is out of this world

Funny how, even just looking at a guitar, you know thats going to be a hell of a good player