Authenticating the 1950's Fender StratoTele - Fake?

[@PsychedelicMind67]

It's Xavier Armenta. He worked at Fender from '56 to '72.

[@gamjammer]

I had one from the 60’s and his name was on a Mustang

[@MatthewScottmusic]

Thank you. I have still have heard conflicting information if that's the same guy.

[@Brian-ji7mx]

He actually retired later than that. I have a 79 anniversary with his stamp on it. His son chimed in on this thread saying he retired from Fender in the late seventies www.strat-talk.com/threads/who´s-this-70´s-dude.347364/

[@mojavedesert-ul3jo]

Circles in the neck mounting holes looks like it was made when the drill press is pushed down to touch the chuck.

[@raindogred]

makes no sense unless they used really short bits. the thickness they are drilling on a normal bit you would not go anywhere near driving it through to the chuck

[@raindogred]

@@FirstLast-xn8ic gotcha.. . that makes more sense

[@raindogred]

@@FirstLast-xn8ic sure they could have replaced that drilling rig with a cnc decades ago but I think its part marketing and good business to keep things as close to how things were done back in the day. Its those old guitar we all lust over, so to know they still using same build techniques makes them unique in that respect. and the old saying "if it ain't broke , don't fix it" certainly applies here :)

[@okgo8315]

Not necessarily chuck marks, but certainly some sort of stop guide marks. Great guitar.👍🇬🇧

[@MatthewScottmusic]

Maybe so!

[@Sammywhat]

Thank you so much for taking the time to share this with us! The workbench / camera is an enviable addition to an already enviable channel! That guitar is beautiful - flaws and all. It has a story. And that's why these old guitars are so remarkable. Looking forward to hearing it again!! 👍🏻

[@MrLastSpin]

Definitely document the repairs and show us, love this stuff!

[@Osmorales90]

Dude... It is great to see your channel grow like this.. New camera set up, new work bench and some brand new old guitars to show us, so we can learn and see some cool stuff with you!!!

[@TheFalcro1234]

I love the way you tease the story from the guitar just excellent preservation mind set.. Thank you for caring about these old guitars

[@michaelcullen5955]

my best guess is that they wanted to intonate all 6 strings individually, so the only/best option around at the time was the strat hardtail (?)

[@okgo8315]

Yes, also, with the Strat neck perhaps the intonation necessitated a slightly different bridge position.👍🇬🇧

[@saginawdan]

FYI - The audio quality on this video is spot on. Whatever you're doin'...you're doin' it right. 😎

[@Dylan90210]

Probably just using a SM-57

[@j_freed]

@@Dylan90210 - excellent guitar speaker mic.

[@MatthewScottmusic]

Thanks a lot. Moved to an SM7B and corrected most of my issues.

[@aurora3655]

You know what's even more interesting, the wear pattern on the freatboard. It's similar to the one on Clapton's guitar.

[@tylerskott4903]

Well when you spend a few endless nights tryin to learn clapton bound to happen

[@aurora3655]

@@tylerskott4903 yeah, that's one possibility. But, players wear through guitars in very specific finger print sort'v ways.

[@aurora3655]

You could always contact his team', but then you run the risk of losing said guitar lol!

[@garyhighley9022]

i noticed that too.

[@graftongodofmemes]

I think this guy is full of shit...too mAny "coincidences" to be authentic

[@agcacustoms2852]

It has that Eric Clapton vibe, his most famous Fender guitar were parts guitars with necks, bodies and pickups from different guitars. And one of his most famous guitars was a double bound sunburst Telecaster with a Stratocaster neck.

[@ericbgordon1575]

Beat me to it.

[@kevinricesr.9903]

I would like to see the fret work done so I could see how to regret my 70 tele good buy

[@okgo8315]

AGCA customs, my friend (many years ago) Lee D. was Eric's guit tech for 32 years. He'd know.👍🇬🇧

[@ksharpe10]

That is known as the Blind Faith guitar, just like Brownie is known as 1st solo album/Layla guitar. Blackie he used the longest though.

[@derekclacton]

That neck was borrowed from ‘Brownie’.

[@footnotedrummer]

I play drums, and I'd still watch you repair this neck. I love musical instruments and the history.

[@hotglassbottles]

The decal on the neck is surely mid 60's and those frets look wider than usual. So perhaps a refinish in the mid 60s along wit the refret?

[@MatthewScottmusic]

I think the decal is a later one-off.

[@jan-michaelnelson6571]

Yes, allow us to follow along with the whole process, please!!!! Well done!!!

[@MatthewScottmusic]

Alright then there shall be a refret video😃👍🏻

[@jan-michaelnelson6571]

@@MatthewScottmusic Hello!!! My apologies, I was off and running, errands!!!!! Looking forward to it all, Thanks!!!!!

[@saginawdan]

@@MatthewScottmusic Never be afraid of putting out more content. I look forward to it. 👍

[@hkguitar1984]

Love the overhead camera, thank you. I would imagine you've handled enough vintage instruments (especially the Fenders) to spot a potential fake instrument just by the tint/feel of the lacquer. You've had some really exceptional instruments, thank you for sharing as well as the great content.

[@scottski51]

To add... I really appreciate you getting the camera in close when you've talked about a barely legible mark or to see checking, etc. Quality video Matthew.

[@MatthewScottmusic]

No need to thank me. I thank you all for watching 😀👍🏻

[@qynNL]

I think the guitar looks amazing as is. That guitar definitely has a history to it, and I think it's awesome that it's unknown. Whoever owned that before you made that guitar into their own thing. It looks played in, which to me, means it was loved! Such a cool guitar!

[@tonycannata7241]

Matt, you're the Sherlock Holmes of modified or orphaned vintage guitars! Enjoy all of your posts, keep em' coming!

[@YoureNowOnTV]

The missing wood has been done with a curved chisel. Probably for wire clearance as the owner/modifier wanted lower pickup height. 🤷‍♂️ Installed a replacement neck without shims, pickup too high, won’t screw down more, so they cut out the area below the pickup leads and grounding solder on the base plate of the pickup.

[@jeffweller4878]

Or when they put the wonkey bridge on there decided to run the new bridge ground wire under the pick-up because it wasn't gun drilled that way.

[@MatthewScottmusic]

Thanks probably right.

[@op-z]

spot on.

[@kennymathieson2674]

Doubt it was cut with a wood turning chisel or gouge chisel more than likely made a template and used a router for the cavity and block hense the nice tight fit as a carpenter that is what i would domyself.

[@op-z]

@@kennymathieson2674 I think you are misunderstanding what is mentioned here. Yes, the main pickup cavity is of course is done with the template with the router at the Fender factory. But what is being discussed are a few millimeters of the wood taken away at the bottom of the route, done with some simple hand tool, knife, or a chisel ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@rockinguitar101]

I thought I saw a 59 on the neck heel, Great content and digging you're new overhead set-up Matthew.

[@guiart1553]

I saw that as well...

[@ralphwest8156]

Yes 59 ...I took a screenshot apart in Adobe Photoshop, when looking in CMYK in the yellow channel with mid range dialled in, it becomes a clear 59. I'd check other neck photos for his signature to see Xavier's handwriting style. Great video.

[@t3r080]

I think I saw 59 there too. But then those headstock decals are definitely, definitely not 50s nor early 60s decals. Actually those decals on headstock look very DIY. Those '64-65 decals had all four patent numbers in single line under the Synchronized Tremolo text. '61-62 necks had two patent numbers but they were in similar fashion in single line under the Synchronized Tremolo line. Original '61-62 would have Spaghetti logo too. And the whole Fender logo is misplaced. And if it is '56 or '59 neck... it wouldn't have any patent numbers. Those decals are definitely a poor DIY-job.

[@RQCK0N]

Matthew this is a great video - your set up is fab - it's so cool to be 'with you' when unveiling 60 year old details on a classic guitar like this - a musical antiques roadshow - excellent.

[@flyer26]

Anyone else watching the coffee mug the whole time? My anxiety was through the roof seeing it almost spill. 😭

[@robertjohnson1681]

I saw an episode of Trogly's guitar show where he had a $10K+ guitar sitting ON A GUITAR STAND ON TOP OF A DESK while he was unboxing something else on the same desk!

[@flyer26]

@@robertjohnson1681 That hurts just to hear about it haha. I guess it's different when you are the one unboxing/working on the guitar, but I know with how clumsy I am, I would have spilled it.

[@MatthewScottmusic]

I'm very careful, and my coffee is important to me👍🏻😆

[@flyer26]

@@MatthewScottmusic I knew you had it under control, I just had my own inner anxiety about it spilling ;)

[@TranceMasterJack]

Mere fractions of an inch away from bumping the coffee cup.🤣

[@benpowersguitar]

Wow, I thought it was going to be so much worse. That's awesome man. OF COURSE we want to see the neck work. Love the new camera setup.

[@curbmassa]

The string ferrules on the back of the body would not have lined up with the hardtail bridge, so the body was routed , plugged with wood and new holes drilled to move the ferrules. That's my guess. Those 6 plugged holes on top of the body is where the strings originally came through. The other plugged 4 holes were screw holes that held the original bridge on. I'd guess the neck was a '58-'59, the lacquer Fender used for those years checked the way yours is. Also, the grain orientation in the neck is very similar to my 4/59 Tele neck: quarter-sawn on the flat, very stable: I adjusted my neck one time around '83 when I first got the guitar and never had to touch it again. If you carefully move the copper plate on the neck PU there will be a piece of masking tape covering the magnets and there may be a pencil date there on the tape. Try heating the plate with a hair drier before you move it.

[@SeaOrcRonnie]

Definitely would love to see your work on that neck, always up for a good lesson!

[@romanhed]

Coffee on the work table. I, too, like to live dangerously.

[@tedruybalid2262]

Hahaha ! I knew that comment was coming!

[@MatthewScottmusic]

Why not👍🏻

[@peepsibhoy]

@@MatthewScottmusic water and electricity.

[@robertnunn9074]

I really appreciate how the guitar was modded way back in the day. covering the old string ferrule holes from the tele bridge with a plate and adding the new strat ones. I also love the pickup mount and jack relocation. If it was mine, I would only modify it to make it playabe. Keep as much 60's mod vibe as possible. One cool guitar.

[@mikeellis9720]

The grain of the wood on the body is absolutely stunning.

[@neilpaterson526]

Great vid Matt as always...I've built my first guitar..a 'strelecaster' in lockdown so I'm definitely interested in the repair work !!

[@mikeholbrook5084]

Actually, I don't know anything about guitars, but I really like your work. You are a pretty damn good detective too as exhibited in previous videos. Keep up the good work. Very informative.

[@MatthewScottmusic]

Thanks very much Mike.

[@touchthesun2448]

the overhead camera is really a cool touch. Very informative...good job

[@srsanders455]

Matthew, good stuff man. Its fun to see a guitar this old torn apart. It cracks me up how little has changed in the constructions of bolt on neck guitars. Agree with the comments below about parts guitars. In the end its about the feel and sound of the guitar not the pedigree. Fix that guitar and play the hell out of it... :) Good job on you videos.

[@itaintmebabe714]

Yes on showing us the neck work. I love these videos!

[@bills48321]

@3:01 it looks like there are some letters in the neck pocket that you didn't mention. They are on the vertical face of the pocket on the left in the frame. "A" is pretty clear and the other letters are a guess.

[@mckayuk]

Subscribed today after watching several videos although (smiling) I am not sure if they make me feel good or bad, happy or sad to never have been able to beg steal or borrow and certainly not afford to buy my dream Fender Stratocaster which would have been a 1958er and same year I was born in Scotland. I am sure my first words out of the womb to mum & dad were to do exactly that but unfortunately not decipherable. Still next best thing is to enjoy the pleasure you have with guitars in general and sharing this with us. Keep up the good work.

[@davedekay9620]

They still make a brass ferrule "bar" for telecasters. It was a quick search. Part of the description of the item was that Leo did something similar at G&L out of different material. Maybe it was part of the later "brass craze." Enjoyed the video and the new bench. The neck is the interesting part!

[@jc6721]

Yep, I’ve got a Tele with a brass sustain block in it that looks very similar to that string bar in this one.

[@KaosII1968]

My Fender rep once told me that drilling the through holes on Tele's was/is near impossible to keep straight. I just looked at my 82 tele and they are far from even. I never noticed it before but makes sense that a small bit would tend to wander.

[@michael.davides]

You are becoming one of my favorite "hangout and learn" KZbin channels. Great stuff! Call me crazy, but I don't hate the bridge pickup mounting solution!

[@koolten6684]

I love coming here and seeing what kind of crazy vintage Frankenstein players guitars you find and document. they remind me of the early 70's SG my uncle gave me for my birthday because he doesn't play anymore lol.

[@georgebentley-ricardo9445]

The overhead camera is excellent and works very well indeed. Loved your dissection and commentary about the guitar. Great stuff Matthew. PEACE 🤠🎸

[@willygee8436]

I just purchased a new vintage '56 RI neck in the box, never used and it had one of those circle indents in it and threads in that hole. Other holes were untouched, so I believe it's from the factory mount/fixture for spray finishing it

[@alextheguitarist7282]

This teardown was very interesting. Good call with the camera angle. The XA signature is definitely an awesome find. I think, as someone in the comments suggested, the owner had a humbucker installed before and switched it back.

[@gregwilson2721]

the color of the wood on the body and the neck mach perfectly. its a great looking guitar

[@j_freed]

2:55 - neck pocket must have been routed back to fit the deeper rounded Strat neck heel... Plus that truss rod access rout of course... they hacked the pickguard there as well, for convenience.

[@tonyp1313]

j freed...a Strat neck will fit fine in a Tele pocket but not a Tele neck into a Strat pocket...

[@timaves1504]

@@tonyp1313 Correct. It's only if you want to fit a Tele neck in a Strat pocket you need to modify the pocket. Interestingly, though, it looks as if he's reshaped the pickguard where the neck end meets to fit the rounded Strat neck end...that appears to have moved the whole pickguard forward a couple of mm, which is , presumably, why it no longer fits the control plate properly. You can see a gap at the end of the control plate before Matthew removed the pickguard.

[@j_freed]

01:07 - I've never seen an angled body seam like for that little piece on the bottom. When you flip the body over, we can see the body edge seam - and it's just on the lower bout. A unique feature, they did that to keep this (almost 1-piece) particular piece of wood for a guitar!!

[@curbmassa]

The story goes that after the workers left at the end of the day, Leo would dig through the wood scraps and glue up a couple of pieces to make another body blank. I had a real '52 body with a glue line right down the center. Thank you, Leo. Over the years I bought and restored a '51, '52, '56, and a '59 Teles. I also got to assemble a '50 Broadcaster that was in pieces. For customers I did a '54, 56, '61, '62, '63 and '64 Strats, plus '58,' '59, 60, and '64 basses. Assuming I spent 30 hours on each guitar, it's safe to say I can spot the real deal from across the room. And for the record, they were ALL great guitars. The one that absolutely floored me was the '60 P-Bass that arrived as a box of parts in 1977. To this day, it's the best sounding and playing bass I've ever experienced.

[@kennygoody5862]

Hello, the neck mounting screws appear to have been plugged with a dowel rod for probably stripped threads.

[@williamwaltonmusic]

Love the new setup! Looking forward to seeing more of this guitar

[@ZacVaper]

Awesome find on the guitar...you lucky bast...Nice studio setup. looking forward to your videos; and wish you the best.

[@ozzy2434]

Can you do a video/video series on the full restoration of this tele? That would be super interesting!

[@helixworld]

Vintage tele bridges and hardtail strat bridges have different string hole locations, so they need to be re-drilled when the bridge is swapped. Nothing surprising about it IMO.

[@AnthonyMoon_]

Exactly

[@MatthewScottmusic]

I see that now. Whats surprising to me is that they would do the amount of work needed to swap bridges.

[@helixworld]

@@MatthewScottmusic While its not a popular mod, to me it seems like an upgrade to get better intonation adjustment.

[@stevengonzalez4957]

Love the overhead cam! Okay, hopefully, one of your upcoming guitars is a player's grade pre-CBS Strat. I'm patiently waiting to pull the trigger. Keep up with the cool vids!

[@jcburger733]

Thanks for another great video. Very informative and I love your new setup withe the new table and overhead camera. Looking forward to see what you do with the neck and what plans you have for the tele body.

[@RobertLandrum13]

How can you tell the saddles were re chromed?

[@stephenschutte7070]

Great video Matt, new camera is great. Previous video really showed how well it sounds. Going with 6100 Jumbo's on it?

[@thebestian]

Any explanation on the weird neck decal?

[@MatthewScottmusic]

No clue. Not original though.

[@greghenderson4582]

I did that same bridge pickup mount system on two of my favorite tele style guitars ....that bridge that holds the traditional tele bridge pickup all leads to some of the squeal at high gain settings ! it also makes for much faster pickup swaps !!!

[@MiguelLumberto]

I'll be the weirdo in the room: I'd put the Tele body back to its original configuration.

[@sunnyray7819]

The circle marks could be from washers during a process at the factory. Or a drill press . I would say if the circles aren't perfectly centered around the holes that they were marks from washers, if not then drill press.

[@stevepi1]

My guess :Neck change made the intonation impossible with the standard bridge.The 6 plugged holes are the original string holes and the 4 plugged holes in front are the original bridge mounting screws. The rear ferrules have been moved foreward to align with the new bridge position and that new piece covers the old holes(It will need some surgery here if you were to return it to tele neck and bridge). No idea why the pickup rout tho.

[@j_freed]

Would have been far easier to router trim the neck pocket to accommodate the butt of the neck. Then the 21st fret is exactly where it would be with a Tele neck and yer done.

[@Tremolo100]

Would like to see more on the tele pick-ups- history of old versus new and the electronics set-up --- enjoyed this a lot - now I want to go build my own tele! Nice work, Matthew!

[@justsomeone9218]

Quarantine really makes me find these amazing channels.. Subscribed!

[@briano.5746]

I'm digging the new work bench and camera set up Matthew! Definitely a guitar that's been through some changes in its life. Oh the stories it could tell. PEACE from Southwest Michigan! 🐉💀👽🎸🎶🎵🧠

[@edouarddecouz7402]

Oh man, I absolutely want to see a video on the neck especially the truss rod

[@AllThingmac]

The overhead is the way to go. It leaves room for lower thirds and crawlers and other graphics. As for that incredible treasure of a neck, it’d be great to see what you can do to fix it. That instrument is downright wonderful. Congratulations on such an amazing find!

[@Steve.Vaught]

I've been enjoying your videos because I am a huge fan of 50s to 70s fenders and gibson. I just found out about your channel and appreciate the information.

[@jomamma1750]

Nice! Xa neck on a 61 tele body. My guess is that she wouldn't intonate so they moved the bridge forward a bit and plugged the holes. The plate in the back hides the plugs. Good old-fashioned hotrod 'ala Clapton. Built at a time when you could pick a new one up for a couple of hundred bucks. Probably had a P-90 for a bridge pup, and routered it out for clearance. Awesome find Matt! Keeper?

[@tkbyd]

oddly the decal on the neck is a CBS style; date would be 1965....hmmm

[@marshallmason1621]

And even then, it’s not a very good looking CBS style logo.

[@connorsmith1295]

With the fretboard planing and whatnot, it could very possibly be a replacement logo.

[@aurora3655]

Did you ever heard of Hendrix having another toggle switch set up behind the neck? I think it was to whammy down and shift the pitch between pickups at the same time. Pretty cool.

[@tylerskott4903]

Sounds like a fairy tale

[@collecter3456]

I’d love to see an update on that les Paul you got from goodwill. That was very cool. I love this series too.

[@leelossi1257]

I love your videos! Mystery guitar stories.... Re fret it and enjoy it...the mysterious history of it makes it awesome with all the weird changes. sounds fabulous to me

[@heyimmitul]

I love to see your channel grow Matthew!

[@garyjohn316]

I like the overhead view, it reminds me of Daves world of fun stuff, he calls it his sky cam. If you have never checked this channel out its worth it.

[@Jester-Riddle]

... just don't Gooch the repair !

[@timka880057]

Looks like a restoration project ahead, thanks for the vid!

[@martinheath5947]

That was a really enjoyable foray into guitar archeology. Love it Thanks!

[@rosewoodsteel6656]

I've never seen an input jack on a Tele control plate before. Is the standard jack assembly still on the side of the body?

[@infectionsman]

Pickguard doesnt look cracked, it looks like they hacked it up for easy trussrod acess. You should clean up the edges of that part of the guard so they are shaped to the trussrod rout.

[@jaecenwhite2590]

I’ve got a 63 Jaguar body with a 65 Musicmaster II neck, a tele switch and mustang bridge. I think some of there guitars were assembled from “worn out” thrift shop guitars when these things didn’t have any value. Unfortunately I didn’t get the original neck plate with mine and I think it has mustang pickups in it. How much do you want to bet that hard tail bridge you have there is from the 56 strat the neck came from?

[@fernandog9684]

The overhead cam looks very clean. Well done and cool guitar!

[@heymrguitarman7637]

All easy enough to repair. Damn why can't we ever get stuff like this in the UK. And if we did it would cost the earth.

[@BeefNEggs057]

Probably did cost the moon though.

[@evil1st]

because Fender is American lol

[@KaosII1968]

I have read that the oldest most sought after Fenders are in Japan ... for whatever reason.

[@butchgardner1441]

It looks like there are pencil marks on the paper shim still in the body pocket. Could this be a transfer from the neck markins?

[@ksharpe10]

Alot of commenters have mentioned the 65 transition logo, I spotted that one minute in the video. But looked thru most of the comments, but not all. NO ONE has mentioned the ONE glaring item. on the control plate is the plug in Phono jack. As far as I can remember all Tele Jacks plug in on the lower side Bout. RIGHT???

[@tremikimolo9704]

I was wondering about that truss screw. Has it something to do with that Strat neck sanded flat to fit the tele neck pocket? I thought Strat necks usually had a curve there

[@curbmassa]

The pencil marks would be gone and this one still has the curve.

[@Riverdeepnwide]

If I remember correctly, butting the curved end of a Strat neck into the Tele pocket lines up the four mounting holes and intonation, leaving the two crescent spaces at either side of the pocket. Anyone have some more recent experience with this?

[@Rski1234]

That neck is so cool. I like the overhead view.

[@Matzoa07]

Really interesting stuff!! I’d love to follow each guitar to completion!!

[@tylerstockrahm3570]

I'll make this easy for you. If you're wondering if you should make a video. Ask yourself "Will this video have a guitar in it or an amp in it?" If you answer yes. Then make the video. Well all enjoy all your videos

[@MatthewScottmusic]

Great idea😆

[@TheOdditee]

When did Fender change the neck pocket corners on Tele vs Strat? That's Strat neck has a Tele shape on the corners or the heel. I thought they aren't the same shape today.

[@19mikal79]

New setup looks great. Like to see the refret job!

[@wcray3684]

YES...please show us the complete restore!

[@ArbiterBrick]

A great looking guitar. Edit: have you ever thought about a Jazzmaster or Jaguar?

[@MatthewScottmusic]

Tried to buy both. Hasn't worked out thus far. Not too upset about it honestly

[@ArbiterBrick]

@@MatthewScottmusic I see, well good luck on your collecting!

[@nickwebb9290]

That is interesting Matthew, great follow on from your first video of this project, Any chance of a part three, am wondering what the outcome is regarding the truss road and what you intend to do next,. Stick it all back together or put that neck on a deserving Strat....keep us posted please 😁

[@okgo8315]

With the Strat neck perhaps the intonation necessitated a slightly different bridge position. Excellent vid and cam pisition, love this great Tele👍🇬🇧

[@tonyp1313]

I've had a few early 1970s Fender necks with X. Armenta stamped on the heel, and currently own a 1974 Jazz bass dating to the 11th week of 1974 with X. Armenta stamped on the heel. Same guy? I don't think 18 years is a stretch to work at the same company. My understanding is his name was Xavier Armenta. Maybe I'm wrong. There is a 1971 Tele neck on Reverb right now with the same stamp.

[@cardbored_]

There's no way that neck is a '56 or '57... the headstock logos and size are a dead giveaway.

[@kentpierce9910]

I agree with growing up gold about checking out an old jaguar. Keep up the good work maestro.

[@jddavison5585]

Probably moved the bridge to compensate for the difference of the neck heel. Didn't look like the body was altered at the neck pocket. Round heel of neck in a square neck pocket would explain bridge mod for proper intonation!

[@Roomba69420]

Great video and as always awesome content. One question: why do you want to change out the tone capacitor?

[@okgo8315]

Its probably not original👍🇬🇧

[@steveperry3538]

The overhead is great. Thank you Matt. Love old stuff

[@peterburi2727]

The heel of that neck has been shaved to flatten the radius that is used for Stratocasters. That may be contributing to the adjustment piece sticking out.

[@barrywilson871]

Hi I have a tele deluxe with strat style neck, totally original , people say is a fake not true, is how they were made, one of many of my favorites

[@jamesdonahue6466]

Since you seem to be able to find vintage Strats behind rocks and trees, I'd personally, put the neck on a vintage strat body and try to find a tele neck for that body. In the demo video I thought the neck pickup was absolutely beautiful, but I didn't find the bridge pickup all that dynamic. Am I the only one? I'd be curious to hear it in the original pickguard or with a top loader tele saddle or whatever is period correct. Whatever happens that's all good stuff!

[@charlesduzzie9811]

Was there the cardboard from a book of matches under the neck joint??

[@smokepeddler]

The heel route on the body is squared for a tele neck. Meaning the guitar was not originally routed for a strat neck. A lot of people would put strat and jazzmaster necks on teles. However, you can NOT use a squared heel tele neck on a curved heel route which is every other Fender model.

[@michaeld.mcclish]

With the Tele bridgeplate out, the pickup would have sat lower, flat on the wood surface, so he probably had to route enough space for the wiring. In the back he may have been experimenting with trying to get more sustain/twang.

[@WilhelmWilder]

Bro, love all your vids. Such an inspiration to me dude. You have no clue. I've taken all of what you like in the way of gear bc of your tone. And used it to narrow down what I like