Learn me about road worn teles

[Boudoir Guitar]

I’m interested in a second tele but want to stay well south of $2k. The tele I had before my k-line was the GC special run purple road worn 50s tele that I liked a lot except for 2.5 things: (1) neck pickup was gross (twisted tele neck pickup improved that tremendously) and (2) finish on the neck and fingerboard and (0.5) the neck was a liiiiiittle thinner than I like and quite a bit thinner than ideal if I’m being honest.

Snagging one of those used for about a grand and then swapping the neck with a Muiskraft or whatever one is my first thought.

Second thought is maybe some folks around here know this series better and know a model that would be a better fit for me?

Must have: 3-brass saddle bridge with traditional tele bridge pickup.

@Eagle ?

 

[Eagle]

I’m interested in a second tele but want to stay well south of $2k. The tele I had before my k-line was the GC special run purple road worn 50s tele that I liked a lot except for 2.5 things: (1) neck pickup was gross (twisted tele neck pickup improved that tremendously) and (2) finish on the neck and fingerboard and (0.5) the neck was a liiiiiittle thinner than I like and quite a bit thinner than ideal if I’m being honest.

Snagging one of those used for about a grand and then swapping the neck with a Muiskraft or whatever one is my first thought.

Second thought is maybe some folks around here know this series better and know a model that would be a better fit for me?

Must have: 3-brass saddle bridge with traditional tele bridge pickup.

@Eagle ?

Baja Tele second hand and take the gloss off the neck finish is amazing value. Has medium frets and 9.5” radius less than $1k . American Original Tele 50s or 60s also has 9.5” . After that the old Highway One was great but not so easy to find. 6100 frets and 9.5” radius.

 

[Eagle]

Baja;
Fat neck and custom shop pickups;

Highway One 6100 frets 9.5” radius USA built; satin nitro finish.

60s American Original ; same as a NOS custom shop ;

9.5” radius vintage style.
The first 2 less than 1k and 1.5k for the last. You need to look around for then though.

 

[JiveTurkey]

That 60's model is

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Baja;
Fat neck and custom shop pickups;
View attachment 45945
Highway One 6100 frets 9.5” radius USA built; satin nitro finish.
View attachment 45946
60s American Original ; same as a NOS custom shop ;
View attachment 45947
9.5” radius vintage style.
The first 2 less than 1k and 1.5k for the last. You need to look around for then though.

Thanks. Gloss neck is fine - the road worn was some faux “it’s bare wood” finish. 6100 frets are gross, though. I’m not too picky about radius.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

Baja;
Fat neck and custom shop pickups;
View attachment 45945
Highway One 6100 frets 9.5” radius USA built; satin nitro finish.
View attachment 45946
60s American Original ; same as a NOS custom shop ;
View attachment 45947
9.5” radius vintage style.
The first 2 less than 1k and 1.5k for the last. You need to look around for then though.

I didn't know the original highway ones had 6100 frets, that's great. No wonder you can't find them now with that spec.

 

[Jarick]

+1 for the Baja. I always wanted one but didn't want the big neck. Now I'm a fan of big necks. It also has the Broadcaster/Twisted Tele combo which is awesome.

Another option would be an American Special from about 10-15 years ago. It was the model below Standard. I've had mine for five years or longer now. They have a chunky neck, bigger than modern Fenders, and medium jumbo frets. It does have a 3-saddle bridge but has hot pickups and non locking cast tuners. So you may want to budget for some Gotoh In Tune saddles, either Fender locking tuners or Classic Gear slotted (both quick drop ins), and then whatever your choice of pickups.

Kind of surprised, the price on those has jumped to $1200-1400! They used to be under $1k. I'm seeing some Bajas around $1000 too. Guitars got expensive I guess.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

+1 for the Baja. I always wanted one but didn't want the big neck. Now I'm a fan of big necks. It also has the Broadcaster/Twisted Tele combo which is awesome.

Another option would be an American Special from about 10-15 years ago. It was the model below Standard. I've had mine for five years or longer now. They have a chunky neck, bigger than modern Fenders, and medium jumbo frets. It does have a 3-saddle bridge but has hot pickups and non locking cast tuners. So you may want to budget for some Gotoh In Tune saddles, either Fender locking tuners or Classic Gear slotted (both quick drop ins), and then whatever your choice of pickups.

Kind of surprised, the price on those has jumped to $1200-1400! They used to be under $1k. I'm seeing some Bajas around $1000 too. Guitars got expensive I guess.

Current American Performers are 1399 new, currently on sale for 1119 which makes some of these prices seem a little nutty. But...I don't really like the American Performer spec, so...

 

[DrewJD82]

Man, if you're going to drop a grand on something just to swap the neck, you're better off ordering the exact body you want from MJT or buying one they already have in stock. You can partscaster the whole thing for a few hundred less than what it'd cost for $1000 + Musikraft neck.

Was the neck sticky? They used nitro over poly on those, if I remember right.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Man, if you're going to drop a grand on something just to swap the neck, you're better off ordering the exact body you want from MJT or buying one they already have in stock. You can partscaster the whole thing for a few hundred less than what it'd cost for $1000 + Musikraft neck.

Was the neck sticky? They used nitro over poly on those, if I remember right.

Not sticky. Rough. Like it was trying to feel like raw wood, but it felt like a matte finish trying to feel like raw wood...that someone only sanded up to 120 grit...

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Man, if you're going to drop a grand on something just to swap the neck, you're better off ordering the exact body you want from MJT or buying one they already have in stock. You can partscaster the whole thing for a few hundred less than what it'd cost for $1000 + Musikraft neck.

Was the neck sticky? They used nitro over poly on those, if I remember right.

Hmmm, the MJT stuff confuses me for some reason? I THINK I get what's included?

Given my tendency to not keep things, I also like the idea of still having a Flippable Fender when the day comes that I wonder why I ever thought I needed multiple tiles.

 

[DrewJD82]

Hmmm, the MJT stuff confuses me for some reason? I THINK I get what's included?

Given my tendency to not keep things, I also like the idea of still having a Flippable Fender when the day comes that I wonder why I ever thought I needed multiple tiles.

*Body Custom Order - Our Body Custom Order includes your choice of wood type (alder, swamp ash, pine, or mahogany), color (add $50 for a Sunburst or a Metallic finish), yellowing degree, aging degree (closet clean, light, medium or heavy), and checking degree. You can see examples of colors, yellowing, aging, and checking degrees in our Galleries section.
MJT Price - $450 (add $50 for mahogany, add $75 for swamp ash)

Orientation (Right-Handed or Left-Handed)

Wood Type

Routing (Bridge, Pickups, Control, Neck Pocket etc.)

Binding

MJT 100% Nitrocellulose Lacquer Finish

MJT Finish Aging

*Neck Custom Order -Our Neck Custom Order includes a custom made to your specs USACG brand neck or MJT Musikraft brand neck. The MJT Musikraft brand neck will have our distinct MJT headstock and MJT decal installed. The Custom Order neck (including the option of you supplying your own neck) includes aged tuners installed, aged string tree (uninstalled) and pre slotted bone nut (uninstalled). On your neck, you will choose the style of back aging, fret board aging (maple board necks only) and headstock aging/checking

*Hardware – We offer all kinds of aged hardware pieces. Email us for prices and with your requests.
We offer different options on our products all the way from different pickup routing to hardtail bodies. We offer SSS, HSS, and HSH bodies, and well as reverse trem right handed bodies. We also offer the Universal "swimming pool" routed body. We also offer left handed models of all of the products above. Email us for prices and with your requests.

I ordered my Gilmour Strat's neck from Musikraft and had it drop shipped to MJT.


Or you can snag one without the wait time on Reverb-

I check Reverb for Tele partscasters every few months, unless the Fender-branded component is someting 'special', they're all fairly evenly priced. Seems as long as the parts came from the known parts companies the decent quality ones all fetch right around what they cost to make, give or take $200.

Just sayin', if you do a total partscaster I can live vicariously through you for a little bit. As long as we don't have any big financial surprises like last year, I want to do a partscaser version of this at the end of the year.

 

[Eagle]

If you go MTJ just get a body and do the rest yourself. They are ok but the final instrument will be more down to what you do to the neck regarding fine detail. MTJ should only be considered a paint service and they don’t do realistic relic work.
A Musikraft neck and someone doing the detail is a great way to get an outstanding instrument for no money;

This is one I did for a customer. Fret dress and nitro .

 

[Eagle]

A gold top gold Tele I built for a customer to replace a custom shop Fender that they gave him to tour with and he didn’t like. Fender thinks he uses their’s

 

[norminal]

Not sticky. Rough. Like it was trying to feel like raw wood, but it felt like a matte finish trying to feel like raw wood...that someone only sanded up to 120 grit...

That’s exactly how the neck on my Roadworn felt. I went up a few grits on it and it feels great.

 

[Eagle]

I sand to 1000 on raw wood necks and 1500 on a satin nitro.

This is what you get from Master builders at Fender.

Another master builder at fender. Theses are 8k
And this is one of mine

You can do the fine details yourself or get someone to do it for you better that an 8k custom shop and still get it under 2K.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

That’s exactly how the neck on my Roadworn felt. I went up a few grits on it and it feels great.

Yeah, I ALMOST went down that path with my old one but was again worried about Flippability. Which was. good choice, because in the end I wound up selling it and buying my K-Line pre-Cordy boom and mid-pandemic-panic for $1600.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

If you go MTJ just get a body and do the rest yourself. They are ok but the final instrument will be more down to what you do to the neck regarding fine detail. MTJ should only be considered a paint service and they don’t do realistic relic work.
A Musikraft neck and someone doing the detail is a great way to get an outstanding instrument for no money;
View attachment 45995
This is one I did for a customer. Fret dress and nitro .

Yeah, I have no intention of going the MJT neck route. And every time I look at the bodies I think "meh, if I'm going to wind up with something that is going to be a pain in the ass to sell, I'd just buy a body blank from Muskraft, too, and finish it myself because honestly I'm as pleased with the finish I could do as I would be with what I see from MJT.

I built a tele from scratch 20-some years ago that came out half decent aside from the fact that I was so curious if the damn thing would play that I never really refined the neck carve. 38,917 moves later it wound up in somebody's basement that flooded and I'm not sentimental enough to try to revive that kind of catastrophe. All of which is to say that I trust myself to do the neck refining from a skill point of view. My biggest challenge is finding the time to do it without feeling rushed these days. Which is another reason just buying something like a Baja is appealing -- having a fully playable guitar and if I need to work out a more ideal neck can do it as slowly as I need to without feeling pressed to just finish it to have a playable guitar...and still always have a Baja tele that I can sell if I later get tired of the kinda mediocre butterscotch finish on that body and won't to replace the body, too...

 

[DrewJD82]

If you go MTJ just get a body and do the rest yourself. They are ok but the final instrument will be more down to what you do to the neck regarding fine detail. MTJ should only be considered a paint service and they don’t do realistic relic work.
A Musikraft neck and someone doing the detail is a great way to get an outstanding instrument for no money;
View attachment 45995
This is one I did for a customer. Fret dress and nitro .

That's all MJT is, is a finishing company. At no point did I infer they were anything else. And I'd argue this sunburst Strat looks more realistic than a single thing the FCS put out using that stencil method, or 99% of their heavy relics.

And while I don't have my own Andy Eagle Elitest Knob to crank to 10, when my Musikraft neck showed up I told my tech I actually didn't need him to do any fretwork on it as I suspected I was going to. They're definitely looking better than that $6K FCS ya posted above that looks like they used a bayonet from WWI to roll the fingerboard edges.

Edit- looks like the fret tangs were cut short in the middle pic, but as you can see from the top and bottom pics, they fill out right to the edge of the neck without a single hint of sprout. I have no problem doing the Gilmour bends on this with anything fretting out, they're as smooth as one would expect SS frets to be, I don't know what else could be done to finish them more than they are aside from personal preference to the end shape. The guy from Parklane told me he was doing their fretwork at the time this neck was made.

 

[la szum]

That’s exactly how the neck on my Roadworn felt. I went up a few grits on it and it feels great.

Same on my Roadworn Strat.

I use this stuff religiously! Graduated set from 1500 up to 12000 makes it like Buttah!

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