Has anyone ever built a kit guitar/partscaster?

I've got some around somewhere. It wasn't anything too crazy, I wanted a small bass practice amp so I built a B-15N preamp into a Champ power section. I ended up not putting it in the cabinet since I wanted to redesign it, so it went to my list of "I'll do it eventually" projects.
Would also like to see this. What speaker are you using?
 
Would also like to see this. What speaker are you using?
Jensen Punch Bass 10". I like the sound of 10" on bass and I've heard good things about the Jensen. I was originally planning on hanging the tubes down the bottom of the chassis like I'm used to doing in guitar amps, but since I want the bass enclosure to be enclosed I want to stick the tubes out the back of the chassis so I don't have to make a huge cabinet. Makes the board design and the assembly a little harder, but the finished product should be neat.
 
Hadn't recognized this thread about showing off our children. I came across the blueprints for the '62 Tele and Strat. I reproduced them in AutoCad and cut my own Tele body from the CNC router at my local Maker Lab. Its chambered, sycamore "base" with a flame maple cap. Turned out to be TOO light and was therefore head heavy which drives me crazy so I set a couple of brass plugs in the butt to balance it better. Still as light as my Strat overall. Put a Warmoth roasted maple Gibson scale neck. Had the Tele hardware sitting around from previous guitar adventures. Pups are from Vintage Vibe Guitars. . . bridge is a P90 style in single coil format. . . neck started out as a Charlie Christian, but Pete said he could wind it in a Strat replacement size with little or no effect on the tone. He also shields his pups so they're MUCH quieter than typical P90s. I put 12's on it and it serves as my poor man's jazz guitar.
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Hadn't recognized this thread about showing off our children. I came across the blueprints for the '62 Tele and Strat. I reproduced them in AutoCad and cut my own Tele body from the CNC router at my local Maker Lab. Its chambered, sycamore "base" with a flame maple cap. Turned out to be TOO light and was therefore head heavy which drives me crazy so I set a couple of brass plugs in the butt to balance it better. Still as light as my Strat overall. Put a Warmoth roasted maple Gibson scale neck. Had the Tele hardware sitting around from previous guitar adventures. Pups are from Vintage Vibe Guitars. . . bridge is a P90 style in single coil format. . . neck started out as a Charlie Christian, but Pete said he could wind it in a Strat replacement size with little or no effect on the tone. He also shields his pups so they're MUCH quieter than typical P90s. I put 12's on it and it serves as my poor man's jazz guitar.
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I've been wondering about a Gibson scale length tele. How do you find it to be?
 
As long as we're doin' show-and-tell, this was my 6-month long descent into insanity. I couldn't understand why the Ilitch system was so freakin' expensive. The concept is very simple. Then I decided to try and make one. Again, simple in concept, but trying to reinvent the "manufacturing wheel" was a real adventure for someone like me with little "technical" background. That said and done I got it done AND . . . . the sob works!!! I showed it to my guitar tech who happened to be installing and Ilitch system when I was in. Mine was as effective as the Ilitch.
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Seriously. I don't have very big hands so the slight down scale works great for me. This whole nuance biz of resonance, etc. is just kinda lost on me. Just play the f'in guitar. My primary gitfiddle is a Strat so that long scale goodness is there.
 
how do you guys feel about the 10-16" compound radius fretboard?

I have a 12" tele neck that I love and I'm debating between these two for my partscaster
 
I can't handle wear on a neck, if I feel anything odd it would have to go... but I wouldn't be against the body taking on some wear over time.
I'm not going to buy a relic or roadworn model though.

I don't mind the sticky feeling, I like the tinted gloss finishes. My CS Strat has a gloss nitro neck, you'd probably hate it, it doesn't feel "sticky" but it isn't smooth like a pool cue by any means.
 
I can't handle wear on a neck, if I feel anything odd it would have to go... but I wouldn't be against the body taking on some wear over time.
I'm not going to buy a relic or roadworn model though.

I don't mind the sticky feeling, I like the tinted gloss finishes. My CS Strat has a gloss nitro neck, you'd probably hate it, it doesn't feel "sticky" but it isn't smooth like a pool cue by any means.
Just gets some 1200 & take that Glossy shine off the back of the Neck ,you can thank me later!!!
 
how do you guys feel about the 10-16" compound radius fretboard?

I have a 12" tele neck that I love and I'm debating between these two for my partscaster
I have the 10-16 on one of my Tele's and it's flatter than I prefer. This is REALLY going to be a personal preference thing but I've kind of standardized around 2 radii that fit me the best. 10" and 12". I think the notion that "flatter for speed and shredders" is overblown. I've seen a lot players do shred, tapping, big bends, etc on 9.5" radius guitars. It's really all about the setup. I have 2 guitars with compound radius fb's and I could take or leave it.
 
I have the 10-16 on one of my Tele's and it's flatter than I prefer. This is REALLY going to be a personal preference thing but I've kind of standardized around 2 radii that fit me the best. 10" and 12". I think the notion that "flatter for speed and shredders" is overblown. I've seen a lot players do shred, tapping, big bends, etc on 9.5" radius guitars. It's really all about the setup. I have 2 guitars with compound radius fb's and I could take or leave it.
OK, but considering Warmoth charges for any other radius other than the 10-16", would you pay money for something else?
 
OK, but considering Warmoth charges for any other radius other than the 10-16", would you pay money for something else?
Well, that's one reason I have the 10-16 on my Tele heh, I didn't want to pay another $35 for a custom radius. But honestly, I wish I did. It's not that I don't like it or can't play it. I'm not all that sensitive to radius, I'm much more picky about getting the action right and and the frets leveled correctly. Are you set on Warmoth? Not trying to talk you out of it, it's the best quality neck you can buy no doubt. But the AllParts necks offer some other options stock. I really like their 10" radius necks.

One other thing to think about re: Warmoth if this is your first Warmoth neck. Their "standard" profile is pretty thin. They claim its similar to the Fender C shape but it's actually a bit thinner. This has changed over the years, I have a 30+ year old Warmoth neck that's their "standard thin" and it's much fuller. If I were to order a Warmoth neck today I would definitely custom order and not try to buy an "in stock" one. It takes just as long to get it delivered as a custom build. Unless they have one in stock that exactly matches your desired specs. I would order either the "59 Roundback" profile or maybe the SRV profile. The "59" is very similar to the PRS Standard carve. (Which sits somewhere between the "wide thin and wide fat". ) The Allparts TRO necks have a fuller C shape profile that fits me perfectly. I love it. Also, do you know what size fret wire you want? My preferences have changed over the years, I used to like larger frets but these days I really like "vintage-tall" style frets. Like the Dunlop 6105's and the similar ones from Jescar.
 
Well, that's one reason I have the 10-16 on my Tele heh, I didn't want to pay another $35 for a custom radius. But honestly, I wish I did. It's not that I don't like it or can't play it. I'm not all that sensitive to radius, I'm much more picky about getting the action right and and the frets leveled correctly. Are you set on Warmoth? Not trying to talk you out of it, it's the best quality neck you can buy no doubt. But the AllParts necks offer some other options stock. I really like their 10" radius necks.

One other thing to think about re: Warmoth if this is your first Warmoth neck. Their "standard" profile is pretty thin. They claim its similar to the Fender C shape but it's actually a bit thinner. This has changed over the years, I have a 30+ year old Warmoth neck that's their "standard thin" and it's much fuller. If I were to order a Warmoth neck today I would definitely custom order and not try to buy an "in stock" one. It takes just as long to get it delivered as a custom build. Unless they have one in stock that exactly matches your desired specs. I would order either the "59 Roundback" profile or maybe the SRV profile. The "59" is very similar to the PRS Standard carve. (Which sits somewhere between the "wide thin and wide fat". ) The Allparts TRO necks have a fuller C shape profile that fits me perfectly. I love it. Also, do you know what size fret wire you want? My preferences have changed over the years, I used to like larger frets but these days I really like "vintage-tall" style frets. Like the Dunlop 6105's and the similar ones from Jescar.
I looked at Allparts and it didn't seem like I could customize a whole lot. I'm definitely going custom at Warmoth, with 6150 SS frets and a Boatneck profile, which sounds the closest to what I have on my favorite neck

Everywhere else on the internet people seem to rave about the compound radius, it's interesting to hear some opposition. It sounded just "better" in every way but now I'm hearing otherwise. Maybe I'll just go 12"
 
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