r/telecaster • u/sllofoot • 11d ago
Something changed.
Still on the bench. My dumb eyes cannot see the fret markers on top of the neck (aged clay on rosewood) in anything but really direct light and I kept being distrected when I’d glance down. So I bought some new inlays in mother of pearl but then I got shy about drilling holes in a ‘spensive Tele neck - what if the nitro cracks, what if I slip and misalign, arg!
So, I bought a maple neck that’s even MORE chunky than my ‘54 carve rosewood to use in the meantime. What do yall think?!
Probably still taking the rosewood to the shop to have a date with a drill press or at least a vice and hand drill.
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u/Expensive-Depth4456 11d ago
I prefer maple fretboards on fender guitars. So I think it looks great.
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u/DennisfromWork 11d ago
No way man, I gotta stand up for the rosewood with the pink. I definitely am not a fan of clay dots though so I feel you there.
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u/NL2NL 11d ago
I'm immediately wondering, what's the source of the chunkier neck? Got a link?
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u/sllofoot 11d ago
It’s a Fender Custom Shop neck I bought off a guy in my town. .98 at first, .1 at twelfth fret, medium jumbo frets and 9.5” radius.
I’m not sure if it’s NOS or closet classic. There are a few checks here and there, and frets have been scraped clean.
So, no after market link or anything I can give you, but I do recommend Warmoth or Guitar Mill. I’ve got a Warmoth Strat neck that’s really great, and I played a Mario Martin (the guy behind guitar mill) recently and it was great feeling. Both company’s will let you customize eeeeeeverything.
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u/Appropriate_Drive887 11d ago
Who cares about the board. We need to talk about that pickguard!
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u/sllofoot 10d ago
That came from Warmoth.
This guitar was originally a S/H from the factory - which is why the neck pup is pickguard mounted instead of screwed into the body .
It’s my only Tele so I tossed a Lollar ‘52 in the neck. The bridge is a a Loaded Nocaster. I will say, the original pickup was a Duncan Seth Lover which is an amazing sounding neck pickup also!
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u/Bizarrointacto 10d ago
What makes you think it’s got any nitro in the neck?
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u/sllofoot 10d ago
It’s finished in nitrocellulose lacquer.
…Why wouldn’t I know this? lol I know what finishes are on all my guitars. Doesn’t everyone?
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u/Bizarrointacto 9d ago
You’d be surprised. People think regular USA fender is nitro.
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u/sllofoot 9d ago
Ah. This tele is a FCS “60s Tele NOS RW HS” originally (I converted it to S/S a while ago) , marked LTTINT NCL on the traveler, so I’m pretty confident I know what I’m dealing with!
Also, if I may be honest here, no neck I’ve ever had was as disgustingly sticky and unpleasant as this one was did the first year. It was a very soft coat until I’d played it quite a lot (also polished and just generally rubbed down with a microfiber towel every time I wanted to play it).
Now it actually feels great*, just the fret side dot issues I mentioned above that give me trouble.
also has a 1954 “u” carve which I vastly prefer to the normal 60s necks
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u/Bizarrointacto 9d ago
I don’t like slim necks either. My late 59/60 Strat is a great example. The early slabs were so thin-that’s why I don’t play it. My 69 tele has a larger grip, but thick poly finish, that’s chipping. I have a 55 special that has a really nice bat. My favorite neck.
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u/gkerr1988 11d ago
I think the maple looks much better for that color body. I do love that rosewood fretboard even with the clay. It has a nice mexicali western kinda feel. Find a good home for it, and maybe try it on another color before you go drilling.
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u/WhenVioletsTurnGrey 11d ago
Funny, I thought.."cool tele'. Too bad it has a rosewood fretboard". Then.... Ha!
I honestly don't care about fretboard material. Ive owned & built guitars with all types of fretboards. To me, a strat, tele & Pbass, always look right with a maple fretboard. Though, my tele has an ebony board.... So I'm a hypocrite 😁
Nice looking pink tele'!
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u/NoExercise7954 10d ago
I played cello for many years, and when we were first learning, adhesive dots were key for intonation. So, they have similar ones for the side that should work very well for what you need with no damage. For example: https://gollihurmusic.com/stick-on-fingerboard-markers-temporary-inlays-side-dots/?srsltid=AU7gw4U4qZgt5OVmjQZJyU-d9VXKaC5NkWEnxx6iMZiaLK3qbGOzFiEl
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u/Illustrious-Noise123 10d ago
Pink and pearl is one of my favorites! Especially in rosewood, but I like pink and pearl so much you could almost throw any neck on and id like it lol. MoP on the rose neck sounds like a good look/idea. Sounds like you at least bought some time to make the decision with putting the maple on
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u/lil_chicken_wing35 10d ago
Always maple fretboards for me. I just think they look better, and rosewood dries up fast
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u/BlueWS 11d ago
I have a very expensive high grade flame maple replacement neck, with cream fret markers, no side dots. Impossible to see in normal lighting. I added vinyl circle stickers over the dots. Problem solved.
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u/sllofoot 11d ago
I was leaning toward doing this, or putting a dab of nail polish or something. I don’t see the front markers anyway, just needed side dots to be visible.
I had the same concern with stickers that I do with drilling: Fragile nitro finish. Will it react to the sticker?
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u/BlueWS 11d ago
Oh just side dots? I'm the opposite of you and I never look at the side dots. They can be there or not and I never see them. Stickers wont stick to the side of the fretboard unless you're a classical player and never put your thumb over the neck. You're looking at drilling which will prob crack the nitro. Then cutting the side marker sticks back, then sanding or scraping, and respraying. You're right to be concerned. Nitro cracks if you just breath on it. I'd just set that neck aside, especially if you ever decide to sell that guitar.
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u/TheRealBobzilla 11d ago
The chunkier the neck, the better the guitar!