Thom Yorke's '72 Fender Telecaster Deluxe - DYI

[ArieRin]

Hello all!

First DYI project that I'm documenting here on this forum. Ever since I was a tiny little ponytail with a guitar strapped around my neck I got goosebumps when I saw Thom Yorke performing, and especially when I heard his '72 Tele Deluxe. I always wanted one.. but because I'm pretty geeky I thought it would be cool collecting the parts and assembling it myself to make it as close to Thom's guitar as possible. So I got the diagrams, schematics and parts list from the Fender website and took off.

Pretty quickly I stumbled upon an ash tele deluxe body for a very good price. It's build pretty much according to fender's specs, so I took the shot and bought it. We'll find out later on how well everything will fit.

After that on my hunt for parts I knew I wanted a genuine '72 tele deluxe neck. Fender sells these parts, but only in the US. Luckily I found one on Ebay, brand new in the box, that ships to Amsterdam for the same price as on the Fender website.

Probably first thing that I will start doing is painting her black! I bought nitrocellulose paint (because I like the way it quickly relics, and it give a less thick layer on the guitar).

My biggest concern so far is.. the pickups. As far as I can find out, Thom always kept the original '72 pickups. I havent found any of those for sale so far. I've seen (and heard) the '72 reissue pups, but I don't hear too many good reviews about them. Maybe anyone here has tips and tricks?

Will update soon!

[StudioMike]

There are several boo-teek shops that make reproductions of the old "Wide Range" Humbuckers that would be in Thom's guitar, but I don't know anything about any of them. I can guarantee without hearing them that the Lollars will blow your mind.

http://www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-...egal-humbucker

http://www.mojotone.com/Pickups_x/Hu...mbucker-Pickup

http://customshop.seymourduncan.com/...nge-humbucker/

[badxmpl]

That's a purdy plank, there. Looking fwd to your project!!

[ArieRin]

There are several boo-teek shops that make reproductions of the old "Wide Range" Humbuckers that would be in Thom's guitar, but I don't know anything about any of them. I can guarantee without hearing them that the Lollars will blow your mind.

http://www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-...egal-humbucker

http://www.mojotone.com/Pickups_x/Hu...mbucker-Pickup

http://customshop.seymourduncan.com/...nge-humbucker/

Great info! I saw the SD custom shop ones, don't know how they sound. Haven't heard about the Lollar's yet, so very welcome info. I saw and heard samples of The Creamery Classic '71 wide range pickups and boy, those sounds solid as well..

https://www.creamery-pickups.co.uk/c...html#CLASSIC71

Some things to think about the upcoming days!

[tele savalas]

Best '72 wide range humbucker out there for the money:http://curtisnovak.com/pickups/wrhb.shtml That is amazingly straight grain for ash. How much does that body weigh?

[tele savalas]

Lollar makes great pickups. His version of the WRHB is called "The Regal". Don't know what he uses for pole pieces, but Curtis Novak uses threaded magnets just like the original 72's did.

[ArieRin]

Best '72 wide range humbucker out there for the money:http://curtisnovak.com/pickups/wrhb.shtml That is amazingly straight grain for ash. How much does that body weigh?

I thought it was straight as well! It's pretty heavy. I don't have a scale at the moment but I have an alder body (normal tele body) lying around and the ash is definitely heavier than that.

Those Curtis Novak pickups sound great as well. This is gonna be tough! Thanks guys for giving me all this info!

[SAguitar]

We love a good project! That is a great looking body, and Ash is often a bit heavier than Alder. I prefer Ash myself, but everyone has their favorites. Have fun with it!

[tele savalas]

Stan, I'm guessing that is a solid piece of Northern Ash, and definitely not Swamp Ash. Handsome grain! Of course, the grain pattern might not matter, depending on which finish Linda has in mind.

[SAguitar]

Yeah, probably so! We get a lot of the swampy stuff around here.