Build Your Dream Partscaster Guitar!

[@anthonysablan8650]

You’ll never love a guitar more than a partscaster you assembled yourself !

[@shartne]

I have a lot of partcasters but I love my firefly G3 copy the best it plays like butter. Action is so low.

[@slaytanic777]

I have 3 I've put together my favorite guitars

[@ablegrei7050]

For me this Is so true! Call me crazy, i would never change my partscaster for a custom shop either. Why? Because I LOVE IT SOOO MUTCH! As i would never change my wife with any top model worldwide. Because i love her!

[@jimtalltheislandbrothers6639]

I fully agree. Love mine.

[@Blinkerd00d]

Just finished my first and I already have it in my will to be buried with it.

[@Doc_Holaday]

The timing of this video couldn't be more perfect! I'm working on a parts caster right now!

[@stewmac]

Killer! Good luck with your build! Hope this video can be of help.

[@rfendlen]

Me too!

[@Raider22CMK]

Fantastic video! I just finished my partscaster tele yesterday! The StewMac videos with the Driftwood guys helped me refinish the body!

[@stewmac]

Huge congrats to you! We're so glad these series have been helpful resources. Enjoy your new tele!

[@ericheine2414]

Wow, and then Dan shows up. I learned from his books. Thanks for all the tips. I started building electric guitars when I was a kid. 1973 I was 14. The body shop at the local Chevy dealer painted my bodies. Fenders were easy to assemble. Your methods and techniques have a lot more finesse then the way we used to do it. Thank you for the lesson. Excellent video.

[@karsenic6436]

I recently tried my first time at guitar modding with a complete hardware refresh and this video came in handy! I now have a p90 strat with a tune-o-matic. Love this video 👍👍

[@2inchproductions635]

I just watched a guy build a guitar with no intentions to also build a guitar

[@andrewrobson3647]

That was the most informative guitar build and set-up video I have ever watched. I have a frankencaster... looks like a 70's strat (with a drop-dead gorgeous 2 tone sunburst body and a very less than average maple neck with the big 70's headstock) but it has no identifying marks whatsoever. I've owned it for 36 years (actually it was my first guitar!). After gathering dust for a very long time I decided to have a go at making it into a nice guitar... electrical clean-up, neck relief, fret leveling and filing the sharp edges, action, intonation, and it's already way better than it ever was before. I can't swap the neck out for a nice new one sadly as the neck pocket on the body is non-standard. Nothing will fit apart from the one its got. So new pickups next... and maybe a refret and take the laquer off the fretboard while I'm at it. Now I've watched your video I may have another go at the neck relief and action... Thank you!

[@familyfuntime1750]

I love how excited he gets about guitars!

[@gerardozc80]

Great looking Tele!!! and Dan Erlewine is so cool!!!, stay up until the end guys!!

[@writheinthedeepfry3859]

Dan's the man!

[@Roger_Begood]

I didn't know I could ever watch the entire video.That was great information.

[@ohoolahan]

Dude. You the Bob Ross of guitars. So calming 😌 😆

[@buzzedalldrink9131]

Adjusting pickup height, I always use Bill Lawrence’s spec. He was the man!

[@kellykane312]

Excellent video you do everything I do on my build except I use copper shield inside the pickup cavities and the control cavity and I use a puretone output jack. You are very informative and you built a very beautiful guitar

[@Andreas-tt2pw]

Fantastic! Definitly gonna built a partcaster following precisely your instructions. Thanks a lot for this masterwork of video!

[@robertdamasdi7824]

Stewmac for president(s)!! Just love these videos! I have started to build my first guitar, a telecaster, and went in here to get more education and information about different things. Now I can finish my guitar with confidence. SNUG is my new word to use when I build guitars from now on! THANKS as always! Robert Sweden

[@novidtoshow]

Thanks for a great video! I would just tape up the pickups if I do any work to avoid iron filings on the magnets.

[@danielpetrzelka1460]

Agreed - but more importantly, just avoid using steel wool around electric guitars and you don't have to worry about any ferrous metals attaching to the pickup magnets.

[@druwk]

Great tips. Set-up especially. Funky build. Really thought you were going to “relic” the paint after choosing the “aged” hardware.😅

[@paullawson8610]

Never built a guitar in my life but funny i played a telecaster in a guitar shop yesterday now this video got me thinking

[@vladv5126]

Alternative title: Young Walter White cooks up a tele.

[@the1khronohs40]

Great video! ❤

[@CarlosPereira-mf8ls]

Love it! What an amazing build!

[@stewmac]

Thanks!

[@greasyboykustoms]

Great video. I have become addicted to building parts casters. It's fun and doesn't require me to be a master luthier. Honestly, I enjoy them more being that they are built to my liking. . 🤘

[@stewmac]

Yeah, building them can be quite addictive.

[@socialmeaslesinpartnership1252]

Very good video, very thorough and complete. Whatever you want to know is probably here. The standard Tele "Top Hat" switch is too near the volume control, it's tricky changing p/ups without altering the volume. You can re-drill the plate to set the v/pot/control knob further away without any soldering, about twenty minutes and done. That's the reason that some folks turn the plate around. I left the original hole open as a home for earwigs. Excellent video but I'd like to have heard it played.

[@basicallymartialarts]

This video was amazing! Like Bob Vila on this old house! Hopeni can find one on a strat!

[@sonomama82]

Filtertron in the neck ❤🎉😮

[@RayyanKesnan]

I just love that Tom Morello has a guitar called "arm the homeless".

[@J.C...]

Man! I thought that super glue in the tuner hole to tighten it up was my idea! 🤣🤣👌

[@TheLchbomb]

Tellies have always been my least favorite, I do believe this video and that guitar have warmed me over to tallies for sure, that thing is freaking sweet ! And I have always been somebody who might even say I hate Tellies ! 😲😬🙄🤫🤫🤫🤫

[@HughesandKettneramps]

Wow that´s very impressive - great stuff! 🎸 🎸🎸

[@Hasselblad9999]

What a great video!!

[@haztutaki2433]

WOW such a awesome build to watch everything explained so well that I am going to have som fun pulling my basses to bits and adding new pickups pots and other bits to them and what a nice sound that front pickup has, just a great sound all round thank you

[@stewmac]

Glad it was helpful! Have fun with your basses!

[@Sandstroem82]

That neck is 🔥

[@reidhowland]

Loved watching this video. Make moar!

[@stewmac]

Thank you! More to come!

[@dalepres1]

Purple thread locker remains soft but will keep locknuts on the knobs and mounting nuts on the pots, etc. tight.

[@TestarossaMusicista]

Delighted to see someone NOT recommending sanding the back of the pots for the ground wire. Alcohol to prep the surface is really all you need.

[@danielpetrzelka1460]

Thank you - I sometimes see people recommend sanding the back of pots, but not cleaning them after sanding-this just introduces all of those contaminants to the solder joint. Cleaning off oil and oxidation with alcohol, for a good clean contact is my preferred approach, and you can see how beautifully it solders.

[@johnnyshae2601]

I just bought a Fender Telecaster. I'm hooked. I was always a Les Paul guy. I'm now looking for another one w/rosewood fretboard and humbucker neck pickup

[@stewmac]

I hear you. I grew up on Gibson's.... but Tele's are great.

[@johnnyshae2601]

@@stewmac I gotta Fender Telecaster I have a Squire Telecaster and a Fender Stratocaster but Man, my Favorite Guitar is the Fender Telecaster. I really love it and is now my go to.

[@d-boy3423]

wow this video is just great. Thank you for the insight and all the detailed information. I've learned so much

[@Giggabon]

Never thought I’d watch Walter White teach me how do build a guitar

[@NoBrakes23]

My dream partscaster has always been a Tele-necked Strat.

[@bendevito2013]

I'd love to hear the sound of that.

[@TheJoecoool]

Awesome Build 👍

[@stewmac]

Thanks 👍

[@tompoynton]

Awesome video, I would have watched this if it was 5 hours long

[@stewmac]

Thanks. Glad you liked it! 😎

[@tokk3n-hj4xg]

Man you guys are good.

[@gregonline6506]

You make it look so easy... ;)

[@olehartvig88]

Really great video all the way and I learned alot! Just missed a little more playing on that beautiful guitar 😁 If only I had an opportunity like this here in Norway. As far as I know of, we don't have any stores or boutiques that have parts like that. And if we did have that, the parts would be insanely expensive😩 Shout out if anyone know a way I could make something similair with genuine parts 😇

[@glbaker5595]

Hello guys great that I found, but I hope you don't mind me sneeking along

[@lynntunes]

❤️❤️❤️ Dan!!! ❤️❤️❤️

[@coryslaney]

Excellent video! My only problem is that buying the tools to do this build well and easy, will cost more than the parts used to construct the guitar.

[@maximeputigny1135]

A pbass episode would be great too !

[@wayzUX]

Just go to your nearby all original guitar parts and build it! That simple! However, for people in let's say Bosnia and Herzegovina, we'd have to wait for about 4 months for all the parts arrive, paying $300 in shipping fees. Best bet would be to buy some random parts from other guitars and then start.

[@soverignhuman5862]

Leo wasn't a luthier or musician .the was a electronic expert and marketing genius.

[@martinclayton7260]

I'd love to get a nice Fender flamed neck, but one of the modern necks.

[@davidanderson4500]

brill vid.

[@dpetrzelka]

Thank you

[@drkeyls3103]

nc! soon i'll built my own eletric guitar

[@Abeuss]

TV Jones are the pickups in Brian Setzer’s signature guitar. I’m guessing these two already knew that.

[@dalepres1]

It would be interesting if you got a torque screwdriver and measured what you, as an expert, feels like is the right torque, and share those measurements on StewMac's site. - assuming that Fender doesn't publish any torque specs for screws on the tuners and on the strap pegs - and elsewhere but I'm not that far in the video yet.

[@lainiw4kura]

imperial system is nuts

[@squatchingeverything8578]

Dude awesome build but noticed little scraps of debris laying all over the work mat,maybe making sure the mat is always clean kinda cringed a little with that beautiful black finish,keep rocking brother thank you for this ,just wanted to give you a little heads up.....

[@squatchingeverything8578]

Just responding ,amazing I never win anything brother, Holy cow thank you and did I do this right ?

[@petemclinc]

What do you for a bridge plate when building a left handed Partscaster?

[@Andreas_Straub]

Shouldn't the neck mounting screw holes in the body be slightly larger than the outer screw diameter? Otherwise you will not be able to get the maximum contact pressure between the neck and the body .... ?

[@thomasgreer467]

I wonder if I can put the Lari Basilio 3 Seymour Duncan pickup set in a Nashville Tele?

[@knurft6633]

Cool

[@josephfigueroa3527]

Neck joints are supposed to be a tight as possible. You should be able to pick up the guitar by the nut without any movement at the neck joint.

[@kevinberg84]

With 4 tight bolts, does it REALLY matter if the body-to-neck fit is a little loose?

[@spokes28]

? Great video. Why did you wire the capacitor between the volume and tone controls instead of just to the tone control? What does that do? Thank you.

[@MRKUE]

Great video ! I purchased a neck like the one in the video, it must be a vintage , and I ordered the locking tuners that do not fit. I'm hesitant on drilling and haven't finished the build yet. I'd like to use the locking tuners because even my old ones don't fit. Any suggestions? and yes , I bought them from StewMac.

[@willrichtor]

The boss sounded better on some patches and the line 6 better on others but I can definitely say the distorted patches all sounded better on the line 6 by quite a bit, except for the Marshall patch, which sounded like the same amp at low(boss) and high(line 6) gain levels.

[@valley_robot]

how can you check the relief without cutting the nut properly , i always set the nut first

[@dananthony6258]

There’s a tiki bar stage by hard rock Miami I played probably 100 times in the 90’s. It was the worst radio frequency interference I’ve ever experienced and I played a les paul. Some day where worse than others. Sometimes it was so bad . I mean thing we’re coming out of that amp ,lmao. I guess there’s nothing you can really do.

[@edwinsmit8335]

Very nice video, and a lot of information but who wants a neck with the truss rod on the bottom? ( edit, oke you make it a bit more easy to adjust it but stil i would not have it there) The worst place for it to be. i don't care about period correct, i want to adjust it easy

[@davidzimmerly7354]

Did you end up putting the bigsby on?

[@mikebaird6788]

On these kits I would never use the tuners pickups or probably the bridge I would go for an upgrade

[@chubbyoo7]

What happens if you put a metal back bridge pick up in a strat?

[@jicklesjingles8134]

That must be one of the most expensive partscasters in the world 🤣 Just kidding... thank you for the detailed explanation!

[@nevillegreg1]

Why not try soldering a 500K resister in parallel with the hot wire of the bridge pickup at the switch so that the bridge pickup sees the equivalent of a 250K pot?

[@orooneytoones]

Ball park... cost of all the parts? Number of hours for assembly? Thanks :)

[@stewmac]

The cost of the parts really depends on the parts you choose. As for the time for assembly, depending on your experience, you could do it in as little as a day or up to a weekend.

[@alexandergriggs9934]

Lots of good tips here. But, a press to insert a tuner bushing? Is this a Stewmac ad? 😂

[@maryellenhikes5953]

I make a fair amount of $ building and selling all sorts of parts guitars. 😁🎸🤘🏻

[@doormasterjohn]

I don't get the relic hardware matched with the shiny black body

[@OracleSlayer]

This is the best THE BEST video tutorial on building a guitar on KZbin. The Most educational and informative video on KZbin. And trust me I have seen many guitar builds.

[@GuitarLessonsBobbyCrispy]

Eric Clapton built his famous 'Blackie' guitar from the best parts of three of his Stratocasters; the body, the neck, and the pick-ups, and had his guitar tech Ted Newman assemble it. Just saying...

[@NoUploadJustComment]

I've built dozens of partscasters thus far and I was enthralled by this video. It's always fun to brush up on the essentials and even pick up a few new ways of doing things as well. Great content as always.

[@stewmac]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@cristobalcea9260]

in

[@mityasokolay4177]

as someone who has experience in building partcaster, could you tell me, is it possible to build a les paul junior dc with a strat neck?

[@lloydster2000]

This has to be the BEST guitar build/setup video I have ever watched. Clear explanations and demonstrations, chapters for each step, loads of "tips" for getting around potential problems. Great job StewMac! 👍👍👍

[@stewmac]

Thanks! Glad it was helpful!

[@SerenityGuitars]

This is without a doubt one of the best setup videos ever made. Kudos Stew Mac. Great tools, great videos.

[@stewmac]

Glad you liked it! Thanks for the comment.

[@ernieficklin3593]

This is very cool! I've never built one and am getting excited about doing it. Appreciate you guys spending the the time to produce this. The editing was long and tedious on something this length. That's what I do for a living and appreciate the job you guys did on shooting, producing and editing. Its very well done. Kudos! Thanks for making this.

[@stewmac]

Really appreciate the feedback! It definitely takes some hours making it happen, as you know, but it's also a ton of fun. Good luck on your build!

[@janneboman8573]

Did you do it? :) I have found that working on guitars/basses you need to have a similar approach like in kit model building, kind of. It's a mixture of woodworking and model building approaches and skills.

[@ernieficklin3593]

@@janneboman8573 not yet. Been really busy with work. Soon!

[@missingremote4388]

Reverse engineer a stratocaster

[@stevescuba1978]

As a tradesman across multiple disciplines, i appreciate all the pro tips. It takes years to learn all these types of techniques without a pro sharing what they learned the hard way. Even in my apprenticeships, i rarely had journeymen so willing to help a newb make professional choices

[@ORZ1973]

Every single guitar player should watch this video. So good !!! Kudos to this guy!! I stopped missing Dan for a while 😁

[@martinclayton7260]

You forgot to include all the swearing when you burn your fingers while you solder?

[@Krullmatic]

I absolutely love these longer videos! Please do more! Thank you StewMac!

[@stewmac]

We like them too, they take a lot longer to make though. We have several more in our queue, as well as a few projects that will be multi part series. 😎

[@Krullmatic]

@@stewmac 🤟😝🤟❤️🎸

[@stevescuba1978]

A friend of mine taught a soldering course for the USAF. I took his class, and one major takeaway, briefly addressed in this video during the jack plate install, is to ALWAYS crimp your wire for a solder joint. Make a good mechanical connection, then flux and solder as per normal. The likelihood of a cold solder joint (not shiney when cooled) goes down considerably, and it will help you manage gilding everything together while soldering....as often we wish for a 3rd hand. Also, tinning your wire and the connection point gelp make professional results. Merely flux and put a dab of solder on each connection before you connect them

[@brwi1]

Been loving these in depth long form tutorials you guys have been putting out lately

[@stewmac]

Thanks.

[@blueflame3022]

I've been building and repairing guitars for over 20 years and I will say, this is a great video! Very thorough!

[@eross21]

thanks for doing this step by step video, it answers so many of those little questions i have never seen answered in guitar build videos before. extremely helpful. now i feel confident to start my own oartacaster build.

[@stewmac]

Awesome! Best of luck with your build!

[@Musecrafter]

This video is a complete course on not only building a partscaster or kit but also setting up any guitar. Very detailed and easy to follow! This this is pure gold!

[@danielpetrzelka1460]

Thank you, so happy you found it useful

[@Superjet113]

Candy store!

[@Meylan191083]

This was an amazing video! Subscription earned.

[@inventorsyndrome8894]

I was just about to built a complete telecaster myself, and this was just the video I needed!! THANK YOU SO MUCH

[@stewmac]

Killer! Hope it can be of use to you. Good luck with your tele build!

[@inventorsyndrome8894]

@@stewmac thanks a lot! already started with the neck, going for a matt black finish. hope my vision checks out!

[@indiedavecomix3882]

I like how Stew Mac just lets random dudes wander the warehouse, and employees will just give them whatever parts they ask for.

[@GoodmanRecordingsTokyo]

Who else started a partscaster (immediately) after watching this video?

[@WIlSoNs_CreAtiOn_sTatIoN]

Not yet but I am definitely looking forward to it!

[@onlyusernameleft2]

Right here ✋ I'm making a tele-master currently but some of my pieces don't quite work so I'm going to use them for other projects. I've got a few new ideas for the Jazzmaster body.