My Longboard Telecaster Build #fender #fendertelecaster #telecaster #partscaster #guitar

To date I have built over 50 telecasters and I do not seem to be slowing down. There are so many variations and possibilities available. My backdrop wall in my shop/office is a tribute to my habit. I keep adding build tools, so the builds get easier and more accurate, and I am constantly looking for the next idea for a build project.

Coming up on the channel are more builds of different variations of the Telecaster including the Thinline models, Nashville, and much more.

The Holy Grail Guitar Company is a company that I stumbled upon that makes some of the most unique and beautiful guitar bodies I have seen. You can find them at:

So far, I have purchased three different telecaster bodies from them. Two bodies that are completely finished and one that is unfinished. All will be featured in different videos.

The body I am using in this video is described as Mahogany with Flame Maple/Lacewood Top with Nitro Lacquer Finish.

I have admired the beautiful woodwork found in the wooden American Longboard surf boards. They are very similar to the body on this guitar. In 2015 Fender even released a Stratocaster called the "10 for '15" Limited Edition American Longboard Stratocaster that is absolutely gorgeous. As soon as I saw the Strat, I wanted one – but alas the $2500 and up price tags you find on them keep me from owning one.

Most of the finished versions of the Holy Grail’s bodies go for between $399 to $450 – which after seeing the quality of the specimens I have purchased – is a very good deal.

For this project I gathered a very nice roasted maple neck that matches some of the color tones found in the body. Together I think they make for a really pretty guitar.

I used a modern telecaster wiring harness that I had premade for the project, Fender Tex-Mex pickups, Fender Classic Tuners that fit in 10 mm holes and have the 2 pins. For the rest of the hardware, I used Fender made products. The bridge is a Fender 3-Saddle American Vintage Telecaster.

For the pickguard I had to choose between two different approaches. One approach would be to not have a pickguard at all and the other was to get a quality clear pickguard. I went the way of a clear pickguard. My goal was not to hide the beauty of the top of the body.

The holy grail body came with a perfect fitting neck cavity, predrilled string holes, and pilot holes drilled for the bridge screws. All were spot on in measurements and made the assembly of the guitar easy.

Since this body has a thick top, Holy Grail takes a different approach to running your wires from the pickup cavities back to the control cavity. They route out square channels that give you a little more room and make it easy to feed your wires.

I really took my time with this build. I wanted to be extra careful and not make any mistakes or accidently put any marks in the body.

When assembled this guitar weighs 8 lbs. spot on. It is a really easy guitar to carry and hold while playing.

Also, the resonance of the guitar playing acoustically without being plugged into an amp is excellent.

The neck is so playable without any buzz anywhere. To date I think this is one of the most attractive looking builds I have ever made. It makes very happy to just look at the guitar.

The Fender Tex-Mex pickups really work in this guitar. Very nice clean tones through the amp and great distortion sound through any pedal I choose.

[GaryArmstrongmacgh]

What brand of neck did you use? It looks really good. But the angles do not look Fender. I like the brand and body you chose. Thanks if you answer.