Fender Partscasters: Why You Should Build or Buy One!

[@YellahandtheTeleman]

Built my own Tele Partscaster over the summer using a Warmoth neck and body. I couldn’t have bought a custom one for the price of assembling one myself. I am super pleased with how it turned out, of course its the only one like it in the world.

[@Alienkush97]

I believe we can make a tele sound or play like a custom shop with old wiring trust but so with modern wiring just depends how how godly beast you are knowing which wood or set up a guitar

[@surfrby8876]

I’ve built three, Two Strats and one Telecaster , relics with unique options that I wanted , I learned so much and they turned out to be great players. MJT is a great company , ( so is Warmoth ) worked with them on two guitars , now I’m doing a winter build PRS style where I’ll be finishing the neck and body 🤞and putting in Suhr Thornbuckers

[@wagonet]

cool video, never really considered doing this.,. but your video has me thinkin. thanks

[@Hoodrio]

@@wagonet check out this forum for lots of tips: www.tdpri.com/forums/tele-home-depot.46/

[@TheUlesifah701]

Tell ya what buddy , I just got a Squier thinline body in the mail today … threw a fender neck on it , road worn tuners… and I’m seriously in heaven with this thing !! It plays and sounds so great it’s just insane !! Partscasters are a great way to go if you can handle the light labor involved!! Great video Hoodrio!! You’re always one of the guys on here I hold in high regard, if people listen up, they might learn a few things from your channel

[@Hoodrio]

@@TheUlesifah701 Thanks so much for the kind words! Your new axe sounds wonderful - I would love a Thinline.

[@TheUlesifah701]

@ you should consider one ! The bark and twang are there , and it’s so light !! I play sitting at home a lot but I’ve been forcing myself to stand too and these thinlines are perfect for it !

[@safeeffective385]

@@TheUlesifah701 Okay, now you're kind of twisting my arm. Question: Have you played the higher end/American Fender teles? If so, how would you describe the difference between those and your custom rig there. thanks

[@TheUlesifah701]

@@safeeffective385 well I’ve played a 5000$ custom shop tele , owned a player tele. So I’d say for me I like how light the thinline is , the semi hollow adds to the overall snappy tone. I have not played an American thinline tele so ya got me there but for the 300$ neck and 150$ body plus 40$ tuners I’m in it around 500$ , and if I handed it to someone I honestly don’t think they’d know the difference between a 1200$ fender and my partscaster. Not saying Fender sucks or anything, I’m a fender fanboy. Just saying that it’s amazing what a guy can build for half the price. I’ve also got a digital nut slotting gauge which has been the game changer for me as far as setups go…

[@phillipjelks3172]

Tad late to the comments party but... I've build 3 S-style, 3 T-style and 1 LP style parts guitars. After checking in with the "big brand" companies and finding out what it would cost to build to my specs, price was too great or so many road blocks (from The original company of Strats and Tele's, I decided to make my own. So much fun and now I have guitars the no one else in the world has a copy of.

[@davidkellymitchell4747]

I don't have the money to collect Pedigree guitars but I can build all the Fender guitars I want exactly how I want it for less than a thousand each and that includes a real Fender case. My favorite build is a superlight build it myself Paulownia or Sycamore body with an Allparts neck and genuine Fender hardware. I put the finish on them myself which is the fun part. All Fender makes is boat anchor weight bodies no matter what the price.

[@T5Zplayer]

I used a US hollow body, a Bare Knuckles pick up set, and a Warmoth birds eye maple neck. Best tele on the planet. To my ears😃

[@JakeSpeed1000]

I've built 7 "partscasters" and had them setup by Joe Glaser in Nashville and they are phenomenal guitars. It allows me to create custom paint jobs. I can put whatever pickups I like in them. I have several vintage Fenders and these are just as good. In the hands of a pro, I doubt they could tell which ones are "partscasters". I find a neck I like and build from there.

[@newmanfertig886]

Where do you find a good tele neck?

[@stevie6423]

Excellent review of the pros and cons of partscasters.

[@windsurfmaui8239]

I love my Strats. They are like old Chevys, infinitely customizable. I can make them exactly the way I want them for me rather than the way a factory decided to produce them. Some of my Strats have Fender bodies and aftermarket necks, others have aftermarket bodies and necks. They are so much better than the guitars being sold in guitar stores that I can no longer go into a guitar store and look at the guitars on the wall. They have no interest for me because they are so far from the guitars that I want for myself. Clapton's Blackie was a partscaster, Eddie Van Halen's first Frankenstrat was an aftermarket body and neck that he put together and then painted. Once you get into it it really isn't that hard to learn how to do most of the assembly and wiring yourself.

[@mikey-dubs]

I wanted to go down this route for fun and learning but I realized a body is like $400-500 canadian and a neck is another $400-500. May as well just buy a MIM guitar no?

[@Hoodrio]

Those are top shelf prices. You can get bodies and necks WAY cheaper than that. Just type in “telecaster body“ or “Stratocaster body“ on eBay and you will see tons of options. That said, if you see a production guitar, whether MIM or otherwise, that is exactly what you want, then yes, that is the way to go.

[@chip308]

If you want a decent cheap telecaster, I recommend the Harley Benton TE 62. I bought one as a back up for a 2nd hand US tele I bought years ago. Unbelievable value for money, only upgrades I’ve done is brass saddles and a tusq nut! Pickups sound good enough to me , and the neck is lovely.

[@mindmural8761]

Using Fender license parts to me there's no difference if you put it together if they put it together so I would go parts caster all the way we build it to your spec