I’ve come across several videos on partscasters recently, so I thought I’d share one of my own builds.
This is an alder body with a pale maple neck, both sourced from eBay. They’re not licensed/authentic Fender parts, but are perfectly good for a build like this. A word of caution, though: it helps to know a thing or two about the dimensions and specifications of the originals, otherwise you may get landed with a neck that doesn’t fit the body, or a bridge that has mounting holes in a different place to the guitar body. A common problem is that traditional 3 saddle Telecaster bridges are often not interchangeable with the newer 6 saddle versions…
This one has a Wilkinson compensated 3 saddle bridge, CTS pots, Switchcraft 3 way switch, Wilkinson Eze-lock tuners and Iron Gear Steel Foundry pickups.
And finally, a word on the relicing…
I’m not generally a fan of reliced guitars (unless it’s genuine road wear), but I’d sprayed this one Daphne Blue, and then changed my mind about the colour, so began sanding the finish off. A last minute gig came up, and I really wanted to try it out, so I hastily reassembled it and played it that night, in all its reliced “glory”. I never got round to taking it to pieces again to finish the sanding and respray it…
Wilkinson hardware is available from Northwest Guitars here: https://northwestguitars.co.uk/collections/wilkinson-hardware-shop. If you’re considering building a partscaster, I’d definitely recommend these guys. Not only do they have a wide range of parts, they are also very prompt with shipping, and very helpful if you need to talk to them on the phone.
Iron Gear pickups available here: http://irongear.co.uk/irongear_pickups_014.htm. If you’re on a budget, you can’t really get any better than these pickups!
If you need any advice on building guitars, or would like me to build one for you, please get in touch.