# YelloTeleShredder



## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

This one is a commissioned piece. He wants a single pickup guitar shaped like a Tele but with a trem. Initially that was to be a Floyd Rose but he's interested in trying the Vega-Trem, having seen a few of the many YouTube demo clips.

The colour scheme will be three colours: Yellow, Black and White.

The pickup I've chosen to try is the Vineham Granite with the Alnico8 mod. As with all these guitars I prefer covered humbuckers for the aesthetic and my opinion is that any impact to tone resulting from that decision is easily mitigated with minor eq'ing on the amp or strip.

It will have a single master volume, rear mounted.

The bridge as I mentioned will be the Vega-Trem.

The neck is a Solo paddle. I think it was the Pro model or some such description. They arrive a little rough, a bit dried out, but with a little work they turn into very nice playing necks. This client has one on a HSS super Strat I made for him and he swears it beats his Les Pauls and Fender Strats in terms of playability.
He requested another neck as close to that one as possible.

The body is of course from Nieman Guitars in Cavan, Ontario. We've been dialing in the characteristics of these bodies in sort of an evolutionary way and including the refinements in a cumulative sense.

That means things like rear mounted controls instead of pickguard mounted, edge mounted jacks (why have a jack on the face of the guitar?), flush mounted covers for controls and trem cavities (feels better, looks more finished), eliminating traditional but seldom used features like a tone pot just for one pickup.....

Plus, I can ask Nathan for some crazy shit and he doesn't blink...yes, we can do that is a great answer.

This body has all of that. This one is poplar (a wood I have had great results with).

Amanda has it now.

I'm looking forward to this one, as I do for all of them I suppose, but this one has a spartan, minimalist feel and yet a very advanced trem system. It has potential.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)




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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)




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## Verne (Dec 29, 2018)

Little beer pong in the last shot then??


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)




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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Verne said:


> Little beer pong in the last shot then??


More like an LSD shot, LOL.


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## Paul M (Mar 27, 2015)

_Looking at Amanda's paint finishes is a lot like looking at titties. Once you've seen one, you want to see them all._


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

LMAO, there's a slope I do NOT want to step on to.

But yes, they're sort of mesmerizing, much like titties.

or crack

or Doritos.

Most players can't stop at one, LOL.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)




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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

That paint looks like it goes on thick. Like the candy coating on a Chiclet. I love the look but does it affect the weight or, _gasp_, the tone?


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Sneaky said:


> That paint looks like it goes on thick. Like the candy coating on a Chiclet. I love the look but does it affect the weight or, _gasp_, the tone?


I don't have a measurement, but no, it's not thick at all, in fact they keep coming back to me smoother each time. A lot has to do with surface prep which we keep dialing in.

Tone? I'm leaning towards little to no impact.

The poly does make it a bit thicker once I get to that.

Weight? Well, they weigh around 4 lbs and change on average when I receive them. I haven't weighed one afterwards. I'd have to say the weight impact is negligible but again, no science behind that.

BUT, I'm going to try one with nitro, maybe not this one, but I ordered some rattle cans so I'll give that a try soon.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Looking good!


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

A little sub assembly.


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

Killer! I have a Granite in a tele that I keep in D.

It’s super heavy tones and screaming leads all the way.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

tdotrob said:


> Killer! I have a Granite in a tele that I keep in D.
> 
> It’s super heavy tones and screaming leads all the way.



Good answer!


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

My first glimpse of the front of this one. I'm just a complete sucker for this stuff. Dang.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I've applied my first coats of nitrocellulose lacquer.

It's awfully early to claim victory, but this stuff is much nicer to work with than polyurethane so far. It's stinky as hell, but less gloopy and more forgiving.

Letting this coat dry well and then will do a bit more light sanding and apply another coat.


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## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Sneaky said:


> That paint looks like it goes on thick. Like the candy coating on a Chiclet. I love the look but does it affect the weight or, _gasp_, the tone?


The acrylic paint is "watered down" with a medium to make it thinner. You can buy the medium premade or you can use a 50/50 mixture of Elmer's white glue and water which is then mixed from about 50/50 paint to medium mix or as low as 20/80 paint to medium mix. The mix depends on the technique you use for pouring. And there are hundreds of pouring techniques.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

No glue in this one.

Flowtrol.

There's a big difference in the results.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I should be building this one by the weekend. I ran out of nitro and need one more nice coat so I'm awaiting a delivery.

The Vega-trem bridge and neck are here. I have to choose between a double cream uncovered or chrome covered version of the same Vineham humbucker. That will be an aesthetic decision.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Nice quick delivery of Nitro from Oxford and....sprayed and hanging upstairs in a well ventilated room.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Well, so far I'm enjoying the nitro.

It's less prone to gloops and runs, and when that does happen it's easier to repair and continue.

Still lots of work to do but I'm encouraged so far.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

You know, sometimes a bunch of parts just WANTS to be a guitar. This is one of those.

It's at my set up man now.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Picking this one up this afternoon. I'm excited to plug it in.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

This is my first whack at the YelloTeleShredder

This is a Vineham Granite with Alnico 8 mag and the much hyped Vega-Trem. My first impression of both is that the hype is deserved. This has 9's which feel too small for my tastes, but that's what the player wanted so no problem.

Terrible sloppy playing, but so far, nothing but fun.


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

That is a super super cool guitar!


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

tdotrob said:


> That is a super super cool guitar!


It's almost like being a foster parent. You just get them on their feet and grow to love them and then, there's the heartbreak of separation.

Yes, I think this is a really fun little rocket.

These necks are like my dirty little secret.

They arrive a little rough, but with some TLC....


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## Paul Running (Apr 12, 2020)

Empty nest syndrome?


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Paul Running said:


> Empty nest syndrome?


That would take a lot of sales.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Clean tone.


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

Milkman said:


> This is my first whack at the YelloTeleShredder
> 
> This is a Vineham Granite with Alnico 8 mag and the much hyped Vega-Trem. My first impression of both is that the hype is deserved. This has 9's which feel too small for my tastes, but that's what the player wanted so no problem.
> 
> Terrible sloppy playing, but so far, nothing but fun.


Sure wish I was as sloppy as you.

Guitar sounds as good as it looks.


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

davetcan said:


> Sure wish I was as sloppy as you.
> 
> Guitar sounds as good as it looks.


I was going to say the same. Great playing and awesome guitar.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Well, I'm embarrassed by my playing these days, but that's a pretty empty complaint. All it takes is practice. That's just laziness on my part.

I guess I can at least show that these are not wall hangers.

I have a visitor coming today and I hope to shoot a few clips.


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## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

WOWzers!! That is a sweet sounding axe. I was one of the "you can't put a trem on a Tele" people, but.. well, now I want one too! 

One tiny, piece of editing advice. Can you level the talking to the playing?? Your vocal mic was so low I had it cranked to hear what you were saying, but then when you played (very nicely I might add) the volume blew up. I had to jump for the knob to lower it. I got a few strange looks from co-workers. 

Great guitar, and a super nice end result.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

SWLABR said:


> WOWzers!! That is a sweet sounding axe. I was one of the "you can't put a trem on a Tele" people, but.. well, now I want one too!
> 
> One tiny, piece of editing advice. Can you level the talking to the playing?? Your vocal mic was so low I had it cranked to hear what you were saying, but then when you played (very nicely I might add) the volume blew up. I had to jump for the knob to lower it. I got a few strange looks from co-workers.
> 
> Great guitar, and a super nice end result.


Thanks very much,

Yes, I'm working on that this very minute. It's a matter of amplifying the voice so I can have the guitar loud enough to sound good. I'm mixing in a very manual sense, LOL.

I'll post some clips with a guest I have visiting me this morning that should hopefully be decent.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Well, there comes the time when I have to let go. Maybe I'm old and emotional but I almost feel like I'm giving a kid up for adoption. These are the finest guitars (funtionally and tonally) that I've ever put together.

This one goes today. Here's the "COA" and case candy I've prepared. Included is a memory stick with clips and progress shots of the guitar from raw body to completion.

I'm always excited to deliver one of these to an appreciative player.


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

Final thoughts on the Granite? Something you’d reccomend?


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Well, let me try one more.

Yes, on this guitar it’s a killer, nails the Van Halen sound in my opinion.

But, before I just simply say it’s the best thing since sliced bread, I have another one that will be on a build I have coming up (the body is at Amanda’s now).

So far, yes it sounds fantastic and yes, I would recommend it highly.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

My Friend and fellow guitar nut enjoying the latest Amandacaster.


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