The Partscaster - Final Installment

This is the end... beautiful friend. This is the end. My only friend, the end.

This was a fun project! I'd like to do more but after the last few months of refinishing the Strat and now putting together the Partscaster, I'm going to take a bit of a break. I'll still be fixing Scott's older guitars but nothing new for a while. I'm thinking maybe in the future - doing a Gibson ES-335 or looking for an old Harmony or Silvertone 335-ish guitar that has a working truss rod (real important there - that truss rod thingie) and do a recovery job.

In the end, it was a lot of work but I learned how to mix and apply shellac (and that it can be used on top of or under almost any other type of finish), how to modify electronics as well as fix really sharp frets. That was really my only complaint - and while the neck was pure mahogany and straight, well finished, etc., the stainless frets were a mess. So sharp after the 9th fret that I could have cut myself easily just playing it. Otherwise no complaints for a $170 tele neck with stainless steel frets, when something similar from Fender would have cost me $300-$400. I didn't mind a bit of filing and saving a few hundred bucks!

As of today, I got all the electronics sorted out (the 3 wire neck pickup threw me a little as I swapped the main ground for the secondary ground - which had me scratching my head a bit, but after a little experimentation, it all worked out.

Lastly I'd like to provide a big 'ol thumbs up for the following folks on Etsy of all places, who are really doing a great job making parts, bodies, and "custom" type stuff.

Mike from PlingPloing who's doing great stuff with old reclaimed barn wood all the way from Austria.

Ghost Custom Guitars creating custom and one of a kind pickguards, bridges, neck plates, out of the UK.

Havok Guitars who are making very nice necks to original spec from Canada.

I've put up some sound files. Because this is a 4-way switch and not a 3-way standard switch the sounds are as follows:

1 - Neck+Bridge in Humbucker mode 2 - Neck pickup 3 - Neck+Bridge in parallel 4 - Bridge pickup

All sound files were recorded using Native Instruments Guitar Rig 5 through Reaper DAW without any modification or additional effects. The GR5 model is provided.

Clean - Model Pretty Clean 1

Crunch - Model Blues 74

Overdrive - Hot Blues EL-34's

Here are some final pictures for anyone interested!

The Partscaster Part 2

A short update. The body came in, and in fairly good time. It took just 16 days from the day I ordered it to arrive at my house. I asked the maker to not wax the guitar as I wanted to shellac the body and he didn't wax it. I've wanted to try my hand at applying shellac and from everything I've seen and read, it's really failproof with a few exceptions. The vids I've seen for example on classical guitars has amazing results - just an absolute mirror hard shell finish. Of course those guys have to do multiple coats then sand down to some insane number like 12,000 grit - which is basically polish at that level.

This is what I'm talking about: Shellac finish on a classical guitar.

Anyway, my tele body is very rough textured so any mirror finish on the Yakisugi finish would be useless. So instead of paying $20 each for two spray bottles of lacquer, I decided to spend $20 on 8oz. of shellac flakes and some Everclear. I spent the morning watching some Netflix and crunching up the flakes into near powder and creating a 2 lb. cut of shellac (8 oz. Everclear to 2 oz. of shellac flakes). 2 lb. cut is generally the standard for a semi-gloss finish, while a 1 lb. cut (8 oz. / 1 oz.) would give a matt finish.

After mixing it up in a canning jar, I sat and shook the snot out of the bottle until all the shellac flakes were dissolved, then strained it through an old t-shirt into a new bottle. I thought it would take longer for the dissolving part but it was an hour of shaking and 3 minutes to strain. I then made myself a little applicator out of more old t-shirt and cotton balls and went at it.

The great thing about shellac is, because the alcohol (in this case Everclear) dissipates so quickly, it leaves the shellac behind and the shellac dries really quickly - and once it's dried, it's set. So I put 3 coats on all sides and have it hanging to cure overnight. I'll put another 3 coats on tomorrow, and then probably even out any areas with just some alcohol. Again, I'll let it cure for a few days and lightly polish by hand. I could add a light coat of wax on top but I'm not sure yet.

The great part about shellac is it's super easy to just add more, or strip it off and put on a whole new finish. The other consideration was, I didn't want to buy shellac in a can. Why? Because shellac in a can has about a 6 month shelf life. Most people don't use a pint of shellac at one time, so they leave it and a year later, they open the can and it's kaput. Even with the flaked shellac after it's combined with the denatured alcohol / Everclear, it has to be used within 6-8 months. In this case, I bought 8 oz. of flakes but only used 2 oz.

(I used Everclear because it's Ethyl alcohol made from grain - the kind that can be consumed, so there are no chemical additives. In Denatured alcohol, which is also Ethyl alcohol, there tends to be toxic additives like methanol, acetone, denatonium and dyes added. These generally are added to denatured alcohol not only to dissuade people from drinking it, but it also makes it toxic. I went for the pure Everclear which is 95% ethyl alcohol with no additives, acetone or things that will kill you. The stuff is technically drinkable but yuck.

All the other guitar parts are in. The neck was done really well, though not enough time on the nut nor the frets above the 9th were filed down. I had to file these down as there were many sharp fret ends. The nut was partially cut but I think that's ok since fine tuning at the end of the build must be completed to get a good feel and comfortable action.

I set the bridge, taped it off, aligned the neck with old strings on both sides, then drilled the bridge holes and also drilled the neck holes. Just eyeballing the neck, it looks as if I'll need a .5 degree shim as I don't want to file or shave anything off the neck pocket. The bridge I got from Fender but curiously, it didn't come with the four screws needed to attach it to the body, so off the Amazon I went to get some.

I was expecting the shellac and finish to take longer but I may have this baby put together in the next week or so. I've dry fit most of the other parts and everything seems to go together with very little modification needed - also surprising.

The Partscaster Part 1.

This is my Partscaster. There are many like it but this one is mine. My Partscaster is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my music. Without me, my Partscaster is useless. Without my Partscaster, I am useless. I must assemble my Partscaster true. I must try harder than other musicians who are trying to assemble a Partscaster. I must play better before they play. I will. Before God I will swear this creed. My Partscaster and myself are defenders of Rock & Roll. We are the masters of melody. We are the savers of Rock & Roll. So be it until there is no more music, and only Top 40. - The Partscaster's Creed. (Yeah I stole it... )

With "Pearl" now complete, it's time for me to create what I've been thinking of for a while. Up until now, I've done minor things on my guitars - change out tuners, upgrade pickups, solder in new pots & capacitors, new pickguards, that sort of thing. Basically, what most guitar players do when they play guitar.

Doing the entire finish of "Pearl" to Olympic White from raw wood and replacing all the electronics, pickguard, etc., was a pretty large undertaking. This has led me to the next step which is to create a full on Partscaster, with as the name would suggest, lots 'o parts.

• The neck is custom made from Hamilton, Ontario.

• The body, custom made from Austria.

• The pickguard, control plate from Benfleet Essex, UK.

• The pickups from Falmouth, Cornwall, UK.

• Electronics from Christchurch, New Zealand.

• Hardware & Case all from the USA.

• String Trees from British Columbia, CA.
  

This will make the guitar a world instrument. Fact is, I picked out the parts in 2021 and had an idea of what I wanted to put together for pre-Covid. This time the body and the neck are already finished - the body I will be adding additional shellac layers and wax but it will be 80% complete when I get it.

I really wanted to go with a carbon fiber neck, but the one I wanted was $1,000 and the second runner up was $800 which just didn't make sense for a Partscaster, so that idea got ditched. Let's talk about each part and what I think it will take to get these all to come together.

The neck is mahogany with a ebony fingerboard, pearl dots, stainless steel frets (so no fret jobs required for the future as stainless will take 50 years to dent versus Nickle frets that are normally used). It's sprayed with a satin polyurethane finish meaning it will be easy and inexpensive to overspray any worn or scuffed bits. It will also be really smooth feeling. It's a modified C shape, 9.5" radius, 22 frets. I will need to mark and drill the holes to fit to the body which should be pretty easy.

The body is made from 100yr+ old barn pole pine. Meaning, the wood most likely came from old barn wood. The weight is around 2.7 pounds (nice and light!) and the finish is created using the Yakisugi finish, a traditional Japanese method of wood preservation. There are lots of benefits to using this process:

• Low maintenance

• The wood has a patina over time and only needs re-oiling every 10-15 years

• The wood is waterproofed

• Mold and wood rot are arrested and the wood preserved

• Increases the stability of the wood

• Doesn’t require use of chemicals

• Promotes reuse of materials

• Creates a texture to the wood which has visual interest

The body, once burned and preserved using the Yakisugi method it will only require a shellac overcoat to give it a sheen and a light wax protection which could easily be an oil overcoat instead of wax. The finish is so good, that barns and exterior use exposed to water, weather and UV rays do not diminish the finish. The body will be routed with the traditional two single coil pickups and will have a modern Telecaster bridge.

The pickguard and control plate are made from 2mm thick aluminum in a 5 hole pattern, in a silver coat finish (think satin but silvery). The pickguard and control plate are made with the same materials and fit together.

The pickups are again, going to be from Bare Knuckle pickups from the UK. This time, I've decided to go with the single coils (since my '72 thinline has Lollar Regal humbuckers in it) and I wanted something high output yet still retain the recognizable single coil sound. This time it was the Piledriver set, I've been a big fan of the Bare Knuckle pickups and here's a demonstration to listen to - they have a modern sound but still sound like a tele clean. In this case with this Partscaster, I will be using the 4-way mod, meaning instead of a 3-way switch on this guitar, there will be a 4-way pickup. 1st position will be both pickups running together as a humbucker, 2nd position - neck only, 3rd position both pickups running in parallel (together but still single coil), and 4th position, bridge only. These pickups have a nice tele sound (though as much of the tele twang as say a Fender 50's set) yet can handle large amounts of distortion without getting muddy. Given this will be my 3rd telecaster (1st being the traditional Nashville, 2nd the '72 thinline with humbuckers) I wanted something different than my other two - different looking and sounding.

The electronics I went with again was from Obsidian Wire - the non-solder setups are really nice, and considering I'm not planning on taking this guitar on tour, the solderless setup should last - and also has the 4-way tele pickup mod built into it. That means, not having to search for new wiring plans and unsoldering my bridge pickup, adding a new wire, then soldering up pots. It really takes the guessing and blobs of solder out of the picture and lets me wire the guitar up in about 5 minutes. Yes - 5 minutes. Also, if I ever decide to do away with the 4-way mod, I can simple pop off the pickguard, switch 2 wires, and I'm back on a 3 way switch (1st position would have nothing on it).

For this guitar I decided to get a telecaster case. To be different than the standard black tolex particle board case, I went with a new Fender Navy Blue. That way I won't have to check each case to see what's in it. I could have gone with all different hardware, but I thought going with Fender tuners, bridge, knobs & ferrules was the right way to go.

One exception to the hardware, was the string trees and the input jack. The tuners I purchased use staggered poles. That means, the first two tuners for the E and A strings are higher than the rest of the poles - this is so the string when it passes over the nut for the remaining 4 strings are lower and break over the nut and a better angle. This makes the string vibrate better on the nut and carry the tone to the pickups. However, I needed to get a string tree still for Pearl (Scotts Strat) so just in case, I purchased another for myself and this build. Looking at a telecaster or Partscaster without a string tree on it just looks a bit weird to me. The input jack I decided to go with is an upgrade - the standard Tele input jacks get loose very easily and need a bit of care - I went with an Electrosocket update with a Switchcraft J11 jack. This screws into the body and holds it in place so the inevitable loosening of the jack, broken wires and all that jazz are no longer an issue. This sounds really minor and who cares right? Well, as a player you tend to care about the small things that cause lots of frustration.

The big question is - how to get all these different pieces to work together? To be very clear - they will NOT fit all nicely together. There will be modifications, sanding, shimming, scraping, drilling, measuring and marking all over this thing. If it were as easy and just putting in a few screws and wires, Fender would go out of business making guitars as anyone can just buy some used parts and screw them together and WHA-LA! A perfect guitar every time. Guitar repair shops would probably go out of business too. That's where lots of hours will be spent trying to get everything to fit together so the guitar can be not just playable but amazing.

It might be a month or so until all the parts get delivered... waiting sucks!