# tele style bass build.



## punt (Jul 9, 2011)

Ever since i was a kid, two guitars have stuck out with me. They just have a look to them, when done right are damn bad ass looking. 
These are the SG and Telecaster bodies.

Now ive owned an epiphone eb-0 (first bass i owned). Apart from it sounding like complete mudd, especially when tuned to D, and the damn nose diving. It was an awesome feeling bass to play. Very fast and good action.

Now, id like to own the other style that i like. Only problem is they dont make a bass with that body!

So heres my plan.
-find a squier or sx telecaster(any other decent ones i should look for? Red fox? Jay turser?)
-strip it, repaint it black with a custom job on the back,and finish in nitro.
-string through with an aftermarket bridge(badass possibly or a vintage fender)
-pick ups and eq,i havent fully decided but i do like the sound of the duncan basslines.

Now heres where im confused. Anyone know the face length from heel to neck pocket on a telecaster?
Could i use a warmoth 34 scale tele neck?
Or should i go shortscale? look for a mustang neck and just reshape the head?

This will be my fist build so im not expecting it to be peeeerfect. But a fun project!

Any help is much appreciated!

Thanks
Mike


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

Did you see this link. There's also an SG bass for sale on another site if you Google it.Fender Telecaster Bass Guitar


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## punt (Jul 9, 2011)

Yea, thats the tele bass, wich is like a 51 p bass. im looking to make one using a telecaster guitar body!I found an sg guitar body gutted for 50$ but looking for a gibson/epiphone neck turned up not much luck.


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

Ok, I'll try again. Stole this info from the description of a bass neck being sold on Ebay. You might find the info your looking for there if the forum members don't come through for you, but they probably will.

Large Headstock Profile for Precision or Jazz Bass style guitars finished in a Gloss Vintage Tint Finish. The specifications are 20 Jumbo ( 2.80mm ) 0.11" Nickel Silver frets along with a modern "C" shape neck profile, 12" radius, scale length 34", width @ nut 1.65",( 42.00mm ) heel width 2 1/2" at the 20th fret and holes for the tuning pegs are 11/16". Neck thickness is .85" (21.59mm) at the first fret and .97 (24.50mm) at the 12th.


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## punt (Jul 9, 2011)

Sweet. I wrote all that down haha. Would any telecaster players, or well anyone who owns a tele, be willing to measure the face length of the guitar?From pocket to butt end? Along where the strings would lay.Im trying to see where i would place the bridge in accordance to my p bass', as the neck is almost identical.


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

It looks like I'm the only one trying to help. Unfortunately, I don't own a Tele and I didn't know a guitar has a butt end. It does make sense that the pocket would be somewhere near the butt end though. _lol_
Looks like your heading down to Steve's or L&M with a tape measure this weekend if a Tele owner doesn't respond soon.


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## punt (Jul 9, 2011)

Haha i mean like the end of the guitar, like after the bridge, if you were to extend the strings past the bridge to the end of the guitar. I call that the butt end.Looks like thats the plan. I do appreciate all your help though guitar! Im gonna stop at the 2 pawn shops on route home from work to see what theyve got lying around.


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## Spellcaster (Jan 7, 2008)

I've built a couple of Tele based basses, so I have some info that might be useful.

If you attempt to use a Telecaster guitar body with a conventional guitar neck the biggest pitfall is string spacing. Conventional bass bridges are too wide. I used a Schaller roller bridge with adjstable spacing. 

Second, the pole spacing on normal bass pickups will be too wide. I've tried using guitar rail pickups to get around this but they sound nasty for bass. I ended up with Jay Turser beatle bass humbuckers in the neck and middle positions and an Artec violin bass humbucker at the bridge. They sound great, have the correct string spacing and have unbelievable output. 

Because the telecaster headstock is so small, regular bass tuners won't fit. I used Gotoh mini tuners which worked out fine. On a really short scale, string tension becomes an issue. I use Fernandes PIE-ZO-03 roundwounds which are really heavy - .065-.080-.105-.125. They make them for their Nomad travel bass which is also a 25 1/2" scale. Expect to live with fairly high action.

If you attempt to use a Telecaster guitar body with a 34" scale Precision neck, balance becomes an issue. Mine borders on being a neck diver and barely stays put even with a suede backed strap. The main issue is the gross dissimilarities between the Telecaster and Precision bodies, both in weight and in overall length. If you go this route, deliberately select a heavy body, you'll need it. Mount the bridge as far back on the body as you can, and inset the neck pocket as far as you can and still get it to intonate, 

Incidentally, some mistakes I made on the bigger bass.....I used a Varitone, which really cuts output. I won't do that again. And, not having a Tele jack cup or a Les Paul plate on hand when I finished it up, I mounted a Strat boat jack in the edge of the body. I can be done, but it's waaaay more trouble than it's worth.







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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

from the heal of the neck pocket to the end of the body is 12-3/4" on a Tele. Is that what you need?


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## punt (Jul 9, 2011)

Wow spellcaster those are gorgeous! I have a feeling im gonna be pming you a bit during this build, if ya dont mind of course.

The yellow one is ideally what im looking to build but hows the short scale play? And what neck is that? A guitar neck re drilled?

Weight distribution was something i was thinking about this weekend. I was gonna dig the pocket out pretty deep almost flush but as you said enough room to intonate. and maybe move the strap button up higher up so the bass kinda has to sit on an angle so the heads always raised.

As for a donor body im going to take a look at an old jb player telecaster that i can get for dirt cheap. From the pictures it looks like a chunky body so that may help some with weight. Has an HSS set up so i was thinking of finding a musicman 4 bridged pickup and a set of J pickups.

Thanks a lot lincoln! Exactly what i was looking for!


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## Spellcaster (Jan 7, 2008)

Thanks punt. The cherryburst short scale bass uses a regular guitar neck. I dowelled the six tuner holes closed and redrilled for the four bass tuners, then re-veneered the front and back of the headstock. It plays pretty good, although as mentioned, string tension is low on a very short scale. I've had to set the action a little higher because of that, but because the scale's short I can still get around pretty fast on it.

Incidentally, on that short scale bass, with the three bass humbuckers, I used a 500K volume pot with bleed mod, a TBX master tone control, Strat 5 way switch, and toggle that sums the neck and bridge pickups. 

The body on the long scale bass is alder, 4 lb 12 oz, and I wish now I'd opted for something heavier to improve the balance. I've actually contemplated routing a cavity into it to fill with shot or some other heavier ballast. Most guys I see building these hybrid basses use a 30" scale Mustang or Bronco neck and I suspect neck dive's less of an issue. At the time I built it, I already had a Bronco bass and a Beatle Bass, both with 30" scale, so I wanted to add a 34" scale to the stable.

Feel free to PM me at any time if I can help.


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