NGD Sunburst Telecaster

[HNB]

How much money do you make a year to afford all this?

Do people realize how impolite they sound when they ask these questions on forums?

Anyway, that new pickguard looks amazing! Congrats

My (polite) response to that sort of question would be, "if you need to ask how much it cost, that probably means you can't afford it."

That's a lovely 'burst BTW. I'm still not tempted to buy a Tele, but that doesn't stop me admiring other people's.

Re: neck widths. I've always wondered if US Fender necks are slightly wider than Japanese ones. I know the string spacing's slightly different*, but I just assumed the necks themselves are wider on US instruments for that reason.

*I don't even know why that is. Conversion from imperial to metric measurements, maybe?

It didn't seem impolite to me. Since I have so many guitars sometimes people could think I make more than I do, but I typically build mine from parts or in this one's case I got a really good trade. I traded a Japanese Jazzmaster I got for $400 for it. The guy was looking to get rid of his non-Jazzy's and pick up more and liked the one I had. I liked the tele, so it worked well for both of us. I guess essentially I got this Tele for $400. (Near mint condition Two Tone Sunburst American Standard Telecaster with quarter pounder pickups.) Great deals are out there if you keep an eye out.

I know the comment has been out there about unfair trades. In this case I got the better money deal but it was what we both wanted. In my trade with my Cobain Jazzy, I am money down, but I am ok with that because it is a trade for what I want. ($1,200-1,400 guitar for a guitar that person got for around $500.) To me value is subjective with guitars. If I want it, I want it.

US necks are indeed slightly wider (not at the heel or anything) than the Japanese ones. (At least on the Jag, Jazzy, and this tele.) You are probably right that it is a metric thing. Like how US 1/4 pots are just slightly bigger than 6mm import ones. While it is a little wider, I don't think it would chance the string spacing much because the bridge and the nuts on the guitars I think are normally spaced the same, so in theory they should travel the neck spaced the same, but I don't know for certain.

[paul_]

String spacing has become the turd in the punch bowl. People know they're supposed to do SOMETHING about it, but not quite sure what anymore, and none of the pickup manufacturers except the boutique guys (who market towards sticklers for details) are acknowledging this. The fact that import Fender, US Fender, Gibson and Epiphone all have slightly different spacing is surely a cause of concern for many. Some if it is due to SAE/metric discrepancy but some is just random changes for the sake of cheaply sourced parts from one time or another.

You might think you wouldn't want to put an F-spaced/trembucker pickup in the bridge of an Epiphone Les Paul. But you'd be wrong.

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Here's a standard Gibson-spaced pickup in one.

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None of this makes a huge difference, of course. You can mismatch any of this shit without expecting a huge, noticeable problem. We do it on our project shortscales/frankenstrats all day long.

Both Gibson and Fender have altered their spacing since "F-spaced/trembucker" aftermarket choices hit the scene, muddying the purpose of F-spaced pickups altogether. They're still invariably best for Floyd Rose bridges and US vintage RI Strats'/Teles' bridge positions, but not all Fenders as a blanket rule, nor are they improperly suited to all Gibsons as a blanket rule.