kevin_lindsay

To show a better look as to how yellow Andy's guitar was, here's a pic from Guitar Player magazine in the early 80's. you can really see what I mean by the "target burst". (Incidentally, Gibson did something similar , their version is sometimes referred to as "clown burst"). [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/37319625-68BA-4294-8A1E-F8CA3E95A585-160-000000120DC830CD.jpg[/IMG] So, we have the yellow on. Next will be the red of the burst right? Wrong!!!! Researching vintage Fender finished revealed something about three tone finishes I never knew before. Fender actually applied the dark edge sunburst onto the yellow finish. The red was then sprayed over the top of that, and then the whole thing was sealed in clear coat lacquer. My first reaction was "why would you do it that way"? But thinking about it, there are two main reasons I can think of: Firstly, having the thin dark burst section already in place means you can apply just a small amount of red to achieve the warm burst look, rather than having to guess the width of the red band to be applied. Secondly, and more importantly, having the dark lacquer under the red lacquer, means that when flatting the finish before applying clear coats, any rub through of the top layer of lacquer would still preserve the dark edging. If the dark lacquer was on the top layer, a rub through would result in an orangey-yellow area being revealed. Anyhow, here's the dark edging being applied to the body. I masked off the whole of the back and sides of the body to ensure no overspray hit those areas. I then finely masked off the binding using pinstriper's tape. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/906D2204-E905-4AA0-8C40-A7F7003AD6B5-160-00000012165995EA.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/5F1416E0-B512-4F6C-9964-3EDA36DF7A4C-160-000000121A2DA857.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/3A2E1144-5C46-4DCF-8438-D967CBE3AD37-160-000000121E9CCE0D.jpg[/IMG]

The edges of the guitar have now been lacquered. On the old teles, the edges look black, but are actually tobacco brown. This gives the overall look a slightly "warmer" hue. (This pic is immediately after the masking tape was removed. The transition from dark lacquer to white binding still had to be cleaned up and tidied. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/0C79BC99-0980-4E73-A935-E4E36A6CE2FE-160-00000011DA66E6D2.jpg[/IMG] Now, you'll previously have seen the pic of the body with the clear yellow lacquer applied. That's what is used on current bursts, and also on early 50's to early 60's style sunbursts. However, Andy's tele body is actually an early to mid 60's item. During this period, the bursts are often referred to as "target bursts". The reason for this is that the yellow is really bright, and is opaque rather than transparent. On some of these style of sunbursts, the yellow used was a milky yellow lacquer which gave the opaque look. Others used a white undercoat, with transparent yellow applied over that. Andy's guitar used the latter method, and it was this format which the Fender Custom Shop used also. You can see the white undercoat best on the rear of the relic where the finish has chipped off [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/F88378A0-4F40-468E-9C02-BECA2F500E4A-160-00000011BBB1C1E5.jpg[/IMG] So, I took the transparent yellow back and applied the white primer coat. Then, the transparent yellow was applied: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/E5241EF3-B61C-4732-86B8-8D087C3D0BB2-160-0000003E0FB53E65.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/768B0050-8A05-4D99-B0BA-A717CD549252-160-0000003E15BEF19A.jpg[/IMG]

Installing the Kluson tuners. The Klusons have bushings which need to be inserted into the front of the headstock. You can't push the bushings straight in as the holes are slightly smaller than the size of the bushings. You need to use a reamer tool to allow the bushings to be inserted part way in, and then use a clamp to press the bushings flush to the headstock face. Here's a great YouTube clip demonstrating the process: http://youtu.be/3ybNwrSc2HU Here's my reamer tool - bought via amazon for £3 including delivery! [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/2259A67F-6A60-429A-AF2F-6FD86409635D-160-00000020C0DAA5B8.jpg[/IMG] When putting the tuners in line, use a straight edge (e.g. a ruler) against the tuner bodies on the back to get the tuners lined up before marking the screw holes for drilling. That'll make sure everything looks neat after installation. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/32021042-372B-433F-B77A-ED9981614BD1-160-0000001200D9F938.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/1D6949CB-AE64-44DB-8613-EBEE674C1C4D-160-00000012055E6AB0.jpg[/IMG]

The neck I got was bare wood. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/0D00EF56-7B71-4EAA-9BB0-671907D33DA3-570-000000514D3ACB79.jpg[/IMG] When you buy a bare neck, the fret ends are rather rough. So, I re-profiled the ends to make them feel really smooth when you run your hands along the edges. I used a fantastic three edged mini file which is smooth on the two rear edges - ideal! I then sanded the fingerboard edges to get that played-in, rolled edge feeling. The fret ends were then sanded totally smooth with 1200, and then 1500 wet & dry. Here's my little magic file: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/27B057E2-A4E3-4C40-8EEA-3FFE2A1A77F7-160-00000011FB5A0E59.jpg[/IMG] So, time to apply the nitrocellulose lacquer and get the headstock decal-ed up!! Lacquer going on [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/12327334-F690-45C2-8E63-CAA63A2D8B94-570-000000517E150080.jpg[/IMG] Headstock front [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/A960A91E-A2BD-4AF3-93D2-F4BDFA7B515E-172-000000078E6143E9.jpg[/IMG] Headstock rear [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/CE23A6F6-C9BA-42E8-BA9B-579763A79B72-172-0000000793C4338A.jpg[/IMG]

Now on to installing the circuitry. What does it look like under that black plate on the rear of the guitar? Mystery solved! [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/87661053-DDC6-4414-9610-909D798923E5-160-00000011BD8E246D.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/C8C48C2C-166E-4AF9-BA6F-11684F5C4E66-160-00000026F64CD40F.jpg[/IMG] I had Chris Mcintyre rout the back of my tele body to allow for fitting the circuit board, toggle switch, extra pot, and battery. We decided to do our own "tidier" version of the routing. I then sprayed on some transparent yellow nitrocellulose lacquer onto the body. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/9C877054-59DF-44F8-8100-CE73BB795DF9-160-00000011BE24A9B9.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/02CA567C-1348-42F8-B4BE-95C9A97050EC-160-00000011CCFD4888.jpg[/IMG] Chris also drilled the holes on the front to allow for fitting the boost control pot, and the active boost circuit on/off mini toggle switch [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/9EFDC81B-75C6-4244-B22A-42F00B775E46-160-00000011C8804F59.jpg[/IMG] Also, the body I got from www.guitarbuild.co.uk was nice, but the neck pocket was slightly too small for the neck. Chris McIntyre routed the pocket for a snug fit to accommodate the neck. He also re-routed the neck humbucker hole as that too was slightly off.

For pickups, the Tribute uses a mid 60's style unit in the bridge, and a humbucker in the neck. On Andy's original, the bridge pickup was rewound by Seymour Duncan after the original unit was accidentaly demagnetised before a gig. I've decided to use a Fender Custom Shop Nocaster pickup. The reason I'm using that unit is due to the fact that my Fender Custom Shop Nocaster relic's bridge pickup is still by far the best Tele sound I've ever heard. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/020C94CD-0334-4B3C-9C5C-DE40ABEB9B6E-160-00000015F8EF050D.jpg[/IMG] On Andy's original, there was a Gibson humbucker in the neck. I've got a Gibson '57 Classic neck humbucker to use in my guitar.

The Tribute guitar has a square, indented jack plate: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/DD33C283-290B-4373-A1B3-A7C172FC87C2-160-00000011BCF5E72F.jpg[/IMG] So, I've got one for my tele also: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/1A222188-0831-428F-B9A0-26FCB92F3C4A-160-00000016024AC5BB.jpg[/IMG] Strap buttons and felt pads: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/3E535A23-1C96-4FC9-B973-3E4B0927D29B-160-00000015F39D995D.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/6AC3A292-C821-4EBB-B7D4-B133A85ECB9F-160-00000015FDA61B14.jpg[/IMG] There's also the rear string ferrules: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/195364BB-EF5A-45C5-98BE-551BE9990DAD-160-00000015E794A432.jpg[/IMG]

The circuit diagram shows CTS 250k pots for the volume and tone, and a CTS 500k for the boost circuit control: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/692675DB-35D6-424C-8675-1C8789BAB33F-160-000000164C984DB4.jpg[/IMG] I'll need to drill the control plate for the phase switch between the volume and tone controls: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/103A7BD7-5460-450C-A5F4-56864D503045-160-00000016528B76B4.jpg[/IMG]

On the Andy Summers tribute, they used flat edged toggle switches: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/72E8A6BB-F616-4A53-9370-C14FCF995C8D-160-00000026F747A739.jpg[/IMG] However, Andy originally had smoother edged plain mini-toggle switches, so I decided to use those. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/0C6A29E5-CFDF-4A6E-AB2B-0E749263DE62-160-000000120D0334C9.jpg[/IMG] Min-toggle on/on switches: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/5897F770-17A7-467E-99B7-2D83690B1B79-160-00000015EE6111B4.jpg[/IMG]

We've already seen the Eric Clapton circuit, so what other hardware do I need? The most obvious part is the replacement brass bridge. There's a guy in Texas who does great repro units - http://www.armadilloguitar.com/shopping/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=4 I bought the bridge and saddles: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/84678AFD-B9EF-4686-818A-1E9BAB10D997-160-00000015E1DF4A92.jpg[/IMG] And there's also the parchment scratchplate with the humbucker routing: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/AEABEC03-3928-46A1-844F-6DDAE40C255F-160-000000255EC561B8.jpg[/IMG] And I'll also need some three ply black/white/black scratchplate material for the rear circuitry cover. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/80FE90E3-C560-4513-83F0-7DCEBE963F76-160-0000002565363ADC.jpg[/IMG]

So, I've got the bare body, bare wood neck, circuit diagram and Clapton boost circuit. What other bits of hardware will I need? Starting at the neck, I'll need tuners. Andy had schaller double lug mini tuners installed, as the original Kluson tuners, which were on the guitar when he bought it (from one of his guitar students for $200), were battered and "kinda funky". The metal bodied, double lug Schallers aren't made any more, so I decided to simply use a new set of vintage style Klusons. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/82A0A0D9-3A73-4C02-BA5D-593BBA73082E-160-00000020B9E02215.jpg[/IMG] Next, I'll need a couple of string retainers, as that's what Andy has on his tele: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/B5B87380-DEAB-4851-BDD7-7BE3EB7BEEDB-160-000000218D487A4B.jpg[/IMG] And I'll need a nut for the slot in the neck [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/ECF3A8C2-F912-4407-9CF2-8C4C989A5C9A-160-00000016444DC4C2.jpg[/IMG] For securing the neck in place, I'll need a neck plate and screws. On the Fender Custom Shop Tribute model, each one of the 250 guitars made had a neck plate with the same serial number as on Andy's original - L27595. So,......... [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/7C54FB4D-8BBD-4BB1-8012-5FCF7B6B5117-160-000000160A726623.jpg[/IMG]

The build is already under way. I spoke to the guys at the Fender Custom Shop (Who have always been great with me regarding the info on all the Cystom Dhop instruments I've owned). They were kind enough to send me the circuit diagram for the Andy Summers Tribute Tele. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/7AF668FD-BAB8-49FB-9E0F-49B53BB7A909-160-0000001D4617D938.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/32BF838E-8562-42C4-B668-817F8606614E-160-0000001D3FB9BD4C.jpg[/IMG] They also informed me that the circuit used in the Andy Summers model is the same as used in the Fender Eric Clapton signature model. So, I bought one of the Fender Eric Clapton circuits to use in my guitar. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/B0D337CD-58E9-4C55-9BE0-D722578EE1DE-160-0000001638E1465B.jpg[/IMG]

Okay, so where to start? I could grab a sunburst fender tele body and neck and stick in some hardware to get the style of circuitry. Then I thought, " if I do that, I won't be happy as I know it'll be a pale imitation of the original". So, I decided to get a bare wood body. I got a double bound, 2 piece alder body with routing for the neck humbucker. I also ordered a bare wood tele neck from Allparts. I also wanted to replicate the circuitry from the Andy Summers model. I contacted the Fender Custom Shop (who have always been great to me with all the Custom Shop instruments I've had from them). They sent me their wiring circuitry diagram for the Andy Summers Tribute model. They also advised that the boost circuit used is the same one as used in the Eric Clapton signature model. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/87E5C348-02F9-40DE-AED5-D970E22043E0-160-00000011AE52A39B.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/A18B4066-307A-46AA-8765-F4919C51F8C8-160-00000011B2765832.jpg[/IMG]

I am, and always will be, a dedicated bass player. However, I do occasionally (only at home) delve into the murky world of 6 string guitars. Some of you may have seen the Eric Johnson Strat I refinished after buying it while in New York last December. http://basschat.co.uk/topic/163365-refinishing-fender-strat/page__fromsearch__1 I also refinished a Fender USA '62 Jazz Bass in Shell Pink http://basschat.co.uk/topic/165861-fender-usa-62-jazz-bass-refinish-at-home/page__fromsearch__1 And, I then did the Shell Pink mid 50's style P-Bass http://basschat.co.uk/topic/180456-my-mid-50s-style-p-bass/ Anyhow, I've always loved The Police, and Andy Summers' modified telecaster has always been a but of an iconic instrument for me. The Fender Custom Shop relic is crazily expensive. So I thought, "I wonder if I could do one for myself?". So, it is in progress! Here's the Fender Custom Shop model upon which I'm basing mine. Main difference for me is that I am not going for the "dragged behind the car for 20 miles them buried in the garden for a fortnight" beaten up look. My one will have a new finish. Any future dings and wear will be achieved from my own playing. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/9DBB2674-1BE8-469B-9225-F6AE1E186105-160-000000120A8F0408.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/F88378A0-4F40-468E-9C02-BECA2F500E4A-160-00000011BBB1C1E5.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/EE93A4DF-47EB-4170-90A5-3D073BD57D71-160-00000011BC6FCD5E.jpg[/IMG]

Hey mate, if you haven't ordered it yet, drop me a PM

I love Oasis. As Mentioned earlier, Noel wrote some fantastic songs, and that's what the band is all about / the tunes. The bass parts on the early albums are not worth talking about. But to be honest, I'd rather listen to the Oasis albums than listen to something from one if the musician-magazine lauded artists like Matthew Garrison and suchlike.

The heavy knurled knobs are cool - just like the original Broadcaster ones. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished article.

Aaaagh - I can't view the site via my iPhone due to needing flash player to view the content.

Pretty big output for old style pickups, huh? I've noticed a lot of these SD custom shop variations appearing recently.

Cool!!