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Thread: Before my hardware arrives, A few Q's

  1. #1
    Forum Member marT's Avatar
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    Before my hardware arrives, A few Q's

    Hi all,

    Well the hardware is on its way from Callaham guitars for my warmoth tele and Lindy Fralin pickups should be here very soon too.

    Now I am trying to work out how everything will go together. Since this is my first Tele I am not sure on things to be "wary" of so to speak.

    1: anything I need to know with pick guard mounting? should I mount the neck pickup in the body first so better line up the guard? I was going to use a pen of some sort to mark the holes and then use a pin vice and drill them by hand as someone suggested, it seems like a good idea.

    2: control plate should be similar to the pick guard.

    3: Anything I need to look out for with bridge mounting/installing ferrules? do you just use a plastic hammer to tap the ferrules in? The bridge should be pretty straight forward and just screw in.

    4: how to I figure out the placement of the string tree? I will use the pin vice to drill this also.

    5: how do I set neck pickup height with no pickguard/strings on? Is it just trial and error? or is there a good way to do it?

    6: istalling schaller tuners. I got warmoth to drill the tuner holes for schaller since I am not a fan of non adjustable tuners in terms of tension and I like the feel of schaller. Is it ok to just use the nut to secure them or should I also drill for the small screw? if so whats the best way to get them all in the right position? Use a steel rules or straight edge to rest them on?

    I think thats about it for now. If anyone could help me out it would be much appreciated. If anyone has any close up shots of neck pickup mounting to the body this would be great also!

    Thanks!

  2. #2
    Forum Member Don's Avatar
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    Re: Before my hardware arrives, A few Q's

    1. I mount the guard first and take measurements from [I]it[I] to locate the neck pickup.

    2. I mount the control plate and pickup guard together, adjusting them until they're in their correct locations. The control plate's location is dictated by the pickguard, but there's a bit of room for adjustment.

    3. Depending on the ferrules and body, the ferrules might press in gently, need to be tapped in or might be loose and need a drop of glue. I used Fender American Standard Ferrules in a USACG T-Style body and they pressed in gently for a nice, flush fit.

    4. I strung up the guitar and eyeballed the string tree. I looked at pics of other Teles for the location.

    Make sure that you drill this hole large enough (just a tad smaller then the minor diameter of the screw) and lubricate the screw threads with soap or wax before installing. If the screw still feels to large, consider using the next larger drill size. Maple is hard and will break the screw.

    5. Set the neck pickup height with the strings on and the guitar fully set up. This can be a slight problem if you have a 22 fret neck as the overhang for the 22nd fret makes it hard to install the pickguard with the neck on the guitar. The neck often needs to be loosened to get the guard back on. Consider removing material from the pickguard, under the overhang, if this is the case.

    6. you need to use the small screw or the tuners will spin, even if you overtighten the nut. To drill the holes for Schallers and Grovers, I install them, line them up with a straight edge and drill.

    For Kluson type, Fender American Series and Sperzels, I make a template in CAD and place it over the back of the headstock to mark drilling locations.

    Again, make sure that you drill these holes large enough (just a tad smaller then the minor diameter of the screw) and lubricate the screw threads with soap or wax before installing. If the screw still feels to large, consider using the next larger drill size. Maple is hard and will break the screws.

    Don't overtighten the tuners' nuts. Maple is hard but will crush under the washers.

    Don't overtighten any screws on the guitar. The neck mounting plate, control plate, etc. can be damaged and the wood under them compressed.

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    Forum Member marT's Avatar
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    Re: Before my hardware arrives, A few Q's

    Thanks for all that, its a big help. I should be able to use the pin vice for all the drilling which will be good for the nerves. Strap buttons is a different story but I can live without them for a while and build up the courage.

    Could you expand on how you got the neck pickup mounted? What measurements did you use to figure out where to place the mounting holes?

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    Forum Member Don's Avatar
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    Re: Before my hardware arrives, A few Q's

    This is how I mounted my neck pickup the second time (after plugging the holes from my first attempt with 1/4 dowels)-

    I mounted the neck and the pickguard and measured from the heel of the neck to the front and rear edges of the opening in the pickguard and averaged them for the centerline. I then transfered that number to the route in the body, measuring from the heel of the neck.

    Don't ask how I did it the first time!

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    Forum Member chuckocaster's Avatar
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    Re: Before my hardware arrives, A few Q's

    for the strap buttons what i do is put a peice of blue tape on the guitar close to where i'm going to drill a hole. measure the thickness of the body, divide that in half and then draw that line on the tape. for the button by the bridge i eyeball it to be centered with the bridge. for the upper horn on, mark the same half line, and then just look at some pics and mark whatever looks close to that.

    when it all comes down to it, it's not rocket science. get close and you should be close enough.
    "don't worry, i'm a professional!"

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    Forum Member marT's Avatar
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    Re: Before my hardware arrives, A few Q's

    Thanks guys.

    One final thing. Anyone got any good pics of a tele that could help me "eye ball" the location for certain things?

    Also, in regards to setup, I have the warmoth vintage modern radius neck so should I set my strings to a 16" or 10" radius at the bridge or just whatever feels comfortable to me? I am thinking about Rotosound Blues strings which are 10-52 since I want this guitar to be a really bluesy thing + occasional slide.

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    Forum Member Don's Avatar
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    Re: Before my hardware arrives, A few Q's

    I've posted pics of my guitar here. I wouldn't use it as a guide though. If I did it again, I'd move the string tree a tad closer to the fretboard and the upper bout strap pin a smidgen closer to the neck. Neither item causes any issues though.

    Like Chuck said, it's not rocket science. A lot of it is just personal preference and is eye balled.

    I used the book The Fender Telecaster by A.R. Duchossoir as a guide.

    Set it up so that it feels good.

    If you feel the need to measure string height (as I do), measure it on the fretboard, not the radius at the bridge. That's not a good way to do it on any guitar, especially one with a conical radius fretboard. If the radius is 10" at the 1st fret and 16" at the 12th, then it's about 22" at the bridge.

  8. #8
    Forum Member chuckocaster's Avatar
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    Re: Before my hardware arrives, A few Q's

    books are good. you could even thumb through some mags and look at FMIC product.

    setups i do by feel, and a trained eye. i think there is an article on mr gearhead that explains a factory setup. this is the best place to start, and you can always tweak from there.

    good luck on your project, and remember to have fun. that's what it's all about.
    "don't worry, i'm a professional!"

  9. #9
    Forum Member marT's Avatar
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    Re: Before my hardware arrives, A few Q's

    I got my pickups today, wohoo.

    I am confused by the hardware that came with them though. I got three fattish screws that are for the bridge pickup and three small rubber tubing which is the height adjustment for the bridge but I only got two long thin screws for the neck and no rubber adjustment.

    Is it ok to use surgical tubing that I got from stewmac a while ago for the neck or does it need something under the entire base of the pickup? If so, what? Also how deep should I drill the holes for the neck as to allow proper adjustment? I don't want to screw right out the other side of the body.

    Cheers.

  10. #10
    Forum Member Don's Avatar
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    Re: Before my hardware arrives, A few Q's

    You can use the tubing. It's fine, but...

    I use all steel springs in a Tele. Sure, it's more microphonic, but I like my Tele that way. As an added plus, the adjustment screws turn nicer with steel springs.

    As far as the depth of the screw holes is concerned, subtract the neck pickup pocket depth from the body thickness. Keep the depth of the screw hole less than that and you'll be fine.

    I don't know if the screw can actually make it through the back of the body once it's passed through the pickup and the spring.

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