My first ever Partscaster build...

[zhivago]

I actually completed this one a while ago, but with the lockdown it hasn't been played much, as the nut needs an actual professional to sort out the slots. Today I had some spare time and thought I'd snap a photo in natural daylight.

It plays surprisingly ok, strung with 10s (9s felt like spaghetti to me!), with medium high-ish action and not much of a setup. It is a definite change of pace from my other guitars.

Compared to the Jazzmaster, it almost feels primitive, but in a very cool way. It has a huge neck, that I am not 100% in love with at the moment, but the sounds coming out are very nice, so I'll try and work with it. Effortless fretwork on the Musikraft neck. Only mishap I had was when I lined up the tuners to drill the holes...the low E moved, so it is a bit crooked. Ah well. I may fix that eventually.

Many thanks to our Rexter for spraying and lightly ageing the neck for me.

The body I bought already sprayed in nitro and aged.

The pickup is a Don Mare Tweed Kong that I ordered from the man himself, so it is fairly high output. It is wired as an Esquire with the Eldred mod.

I bought a pre-cut bone nut for it and sanded it down to an acceptable playing level, but the nut slots really need work that I just can't do at the moment.

Anyway, here she is...a mid-late-50s white guard Esquire.



Would I do it again?

I don't actually I think that I would try again any time soon...not having a work space hampered me quite a bit, but overall it was fun to spec out a guitar, hunt down the parts and see it to completion.

[BoringPostcards]

That's a gorgeous Esquire, Yannis.
I love the Esquire. Such a great tone can be had from that single pup.
Straight forward as it gets.

[zhivago]

That's a gorgeous Esquire, Yannis.
I love the Esquire. Such a great tone can be had from that single pup.
Straight forward as it gets.

Many thanks!

It's actually really interesting..the difference between positions 2 and 3 (2 being pup > vol > tone >output and 3 being pup > vol > output ), is actually a lot greater than it sounded on YouTube clips that I listened to before committing to the single-pickup concept.

Position 3 is a flame-thrower of a setting, and since the pickup is quite hot, it doesn't take your head off with treble...once you use the pup > vol > output setting, returning to the more "standard" position 2 sounds bit dull.

The "cocked wah" Eldred setting is a bit "meh"...not bad, but nothing to write home about for me. Pup > vol > output is sooo much nicer.

[StevenO]

I just saw this on Facebook, but hooooly moly. That's beautiful! Really, really nice. How good are Musikraft necks, eh? Perfect craftsmanship. I hope you adjust to the thicker neck and get to enjoy this guitar a lot!

[Scout]

There is something deeply satisfying about the whole process of a guitar build, it’s a good exercise mentally and physically.
I inadvertently bought a fat neck for a partscaster JM and it didn’t take long to adjust, I find it’s a nice change of pace.
Nicely done!

[gusgorman]

Many thanks!

It's actually really interesting..the difference between positions 2 and 3 (2 being pup > vol > tone >output and 3 being pup > vol > output ), is actually a lot greater than it sounded on YouTube clips that I listened to before committing to the single-pickup concept.

Position 3 is a flame-thrower of a setting, and since the pickup is quite hot, it doesn't take your head off with treble...once you use the pup > vol > output setting, returning to the more "standard" position 2 sounds bit dull.

The "cocked wah" Eldred setting is a bit "meh"...not bad, but nothing to write home about for me. Pup > vol > output is sooo much nicer.

Please excuse my ignorance, I've never heard about any of this.
What is position 1?

Great looking guitar btw!

[fuzzjunkie]

Looks sharp!

Now you just need a Tonebender and a couple of Yardbird tunes in your toolbox.

[zhivago]

I just saw this on Facebook, but hooooly moly. That's beautiful! Really, really nice. How good are Musikraft necks, eh? Perfect craftsmanship. I hope you adjust to the thicker neck and get to enjoy this guitar a lot!

I must say I am very impressed with the quality of Musikraft, the fret ends were pretty much perfect when I got it unfinished, just really, really nice. I think once I get the nut looked at the action lowered a bit more, the neck will not feel as big...let's see how we get on.

[zhivago]

Many thanks!

It's actually really interesting..the difference between positions 2 and 3 (2 being pup > vol > tone >output and 3 being pup > vol > output ), is actually a lot greater than it sounded on YouTube clips that I listened to before committing to the single-pickup concept.

Position 3 is a flame-thrower of a setting, and since the pickup is quite hot, it doesn't take your head off with treble...once you use the pup > vol > output setting, returning to the more "standard" position 2 sounds bit dull.

The "cocked wah" Eldred setting is a bit "meh"...not bad, but nothing to write home about for me. Pup > vol > output is sooo much nicer.

Please excuse my ignorance, I've never heard about any of this.
What is position 1?

Great looking guitar btw!

Hey no worries!

Standard Esquires had the usual three position Tele switch.

So position 1, the closest the switch is to the neck side of the guitar, was a bass muffled sound. This Eldred mod uses a cap to give it a "cocked wah" feel instead, which is more useable for modern playing.

The middle position (2) and the one closest to the tail end of the guitar (3), are wired as a normal Esquire, so pup > vol > tone > output....and then pup > vol > output.

[zhivago]

Looks sharp!

Now you just need a Tonebender and a couple of Yardbird tunes in your toolbox.

Funilly enough I was on the Macaris website earlier looking at very expensive Tonebenders!!!

[gusgorman]

Hey no worries!

Standard Esquires had the usual three position Tele switch.

So position 1, the closest the switch is to the neck side of the guitar, was a bass muffled sound. This Eldred mod uses a cap to give it a "cocked wah" feel instead, which is more useable for modern playing.

The middle position (2) and the one closest to the tail end of the guitar (3), are wired as a normal Esquire, so pup > vol > tone > output....and then pup > vol > output.

Cool, thanks!

Kinda like the idea of the "cocked wah" position.

[060267]

What kind of body is it? Looks nice

[JVG]

Great guitar. I like your use of the word “primitive”. That’s exactly what Teles/Esquires are, in a great way. Primitive perfection!

J.

[zhivago]

What kind of body is it? Looks nice

It is Ash...nitro finished and lightly aged from a maker in the UK, I think...I bought it some time last year, so can't remember exactly what the make was.

[PixMix]

Looks stellar! Nicely done!

I too used a fat neck on a tele partscaster I did a couple of years ago, and I think I am going to shave it some so it's a bit more thin and comfy for my hands. As it turns out, I like more of a medium-sized neck, rather than very fat or very thin.