My original plan was to tackle a Les Paul clone, but there are so many new wrinkles in that kind of build compared to the Tele I'm finishing, that I thought it would be better to learn to walk before I run. Still, I'd like to expand my skill set, so here is the "sketch" of a plan that I'm flying in my head. Comments/suggestions/cautions are welcomed.
- Tele-shaped body. I have two more Tele-sized alder blanks, so I can use the same patterns I used for the last build. Flat face and back, though I might do a belly-cutout. I'll leave a carved top for a future build.
- Veneered body face. I just bought a gorgeous hunk of pommele sapele veneer from veneersupplies.com, and have been working on another project using my new vacuum veneer press.
- Bound neck and body. I was going to go with purfling, but again, let's walk before we run, shall we? Just learning how to bind the neck and body will be plenty of challenge I'm sure.
- Humbuckers instead of single-coils. I want to avoid covering up this beautiful veneer with a pickguard, control cavity cover and bridge/pup mount. This will also give me a sound that will be different from my Strat and the soon-to-be-finished Tele.
- Bolt-on neck, Fender-style stepped headstock. However, I'd like to try a "plateless" connection (is that the right term?) so the heel can be contoured into the body a bit more. See the heel pic below as an example. This choice will avoid having to tackle a scarf-joint on the headstock (though I'm open to doing so) and doing a set-neck.
- Tune-o-matic bridge.
- Maple neck, but unsure about the fingerboard. The sapele is dark brown, and I have some fingerboard material in Brazilian cherry (jatoba), East-Indian rosewood and hickory. Might decide that after I get the body blank veneered and cut to shape.
- Headstock - I'd like to do something different, maybe a 4x2 or a 3x3 arrangement instead of the 6-inline. Not sure if that's possible with a Fender-style stepped headstock, so open to thoughts/suggestions on that, including going with an angled/scarfed headstock
Thanks!