PGK Tele Kit Build Thread

Ya it looks good but needs a black bakelite Fender Esquire pick guard. Or if your up to something a Gibson SG JR pickguard. or maybe one of those oddball Tele pickguards like the Tele Deluxe or the Merle Haggard sig model.
 
syscokid said:
Yesterday I assembled the guitar. I started by installing the neck's tuners, when I noticed that the Tru-Oil finish on the headstock was far from pristine. I tried polishing out the irregularities, but it wasn't very successful. I even burned thru the finish on a small area on the back of the headstock. I may or may not address this at a later time. I still need to do some final shaping of the nut. The slots are at the proper height. The action and feel is superb, and the sound is definitely a twang monster while the guitar was plugged into my little Yamaha THR10... uhm, a late-night low-volume scenario.

I'll be posting more beauty shots after I'm completely done with the nut. But for now, a few teaser pics...

The parts awaiting for their turn:

View attachment 17883

Hooked up and ready to go:

View attachment 17884


Tada...:

View attachment 17885
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She's a beauty!
 
Here's that pickguard idea I alluded to...

Last week I came across a pickguard vendor named Flatt Teknologisk Guitar Products, out of Spokane, Washington. They make custom laser engraved pickguards out of 3-ply Baltic Birch wood. They have their own designs and finishes, but they can also copy drawings or photos and apply the engraving to the pickguard.

Downloaded a PDF template of a Tele pickguard and used it like this:

9-12-18 (3).JPG


I converted the pic to black and white, and sent both pics to Flatt Guitar:

9-12-18 (2).JPG


I asked for no finish and the old Esquire style of 5 countersunk holes. Within minutes after sending the pics - and I do mean minutes! - Richard Flatt, of FTGP, sends me a notice that the pickguard is done. He also told me that he's sending me 2 of them, so I can practice on one. Four days later, they arrive:

Flatt Guitar Pickguards 9-17-18 (2).JPG


Mock up:

IMG_0939.JPG


This morning I applied the first of two coats of a combination stain and poly:

Stain and Finish 1st coat (1).JPG

Stain and Finish 1st coat (3).JPG


Linky:
https://www.flattguitar.com/
 
This is what I got so far...

First, the pics:

Finally (1).JPG

Finally (2).JPG

Finally (3).JPG

Finally (4).JPG

Finally (6).JPG

Finally (5).JPG

Finally (7).JPG


The feel of the neck is like a dream. Action is low with a very small amount of relief. But I am having some fretting-out issues in the upper register. For example: Bending the high E at the 14 fret a full step. It might need some fret leveling, but I wont know till I get together with someone I trust locally about this issue.

The guitar weighs 7 lbs 15.5 oz... almost 8 lbs! I was hoping for a lighter weight, like under 7 lbs. Oh well... it's a beast!

PGK specs the fretboard radius at 12", but I'm measuring 14" with my under-string gauges.

The sound is pure bridge-pup Tele-twang. The 3 way selector for a single pup is way cool. First position is volume control only... the tone circuit is completely removed from the signal chain. The second position (middle) brings in the tone circuit. The cap to the Tone control is a .047, which is the standard cap value for single coils, and works perfect for me. There is a slight noticeable difference in gain or hot-ness when removing the tone circuit between the first two positions. The third position is something really special, IMO. The third position removes the tone circuit again, but introduces another cap to ground, that creates a cocked wah effect for the guitar's tone. This is perfect for crunching and head-banging on a Tele/Esquire... :dood:.

If ya'll noticed... I flipped the traditional control plate layout. Volume, Tone, Selector, instead of Selector, Volume, Tone. I'm not sure about this, but I'm starting to warm up to this alternate style. For a single pickup guitar, it seems to make more sense and it feels comfortable like this.
 
Real nice job! Nothing like a guitar made to spec. It is very unique and well put together.

14" radius is pretty flat and often will not result in fretting out on bends very easily. Is that what you mean, or do you mean that it chokes out as you climb on the same string?
 
RVA said:
14" radius is pretty flat and often will not result in fretting out on bends very easily. Is that what you mean, or do you mean that it chokes out as you climb on the same string?
Click to expand...
Yes, it chokes out, but only off that one fret. That's why I'm thinking: High Fret!

At this point, I'll hand off the baton to somebody that is more equipped an knowledgeable to this part of a guitar setup. This guitar plays really nice as is. For me, it's worth to get that extra bit, that puts it over the top.
 
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