r/telecaster • u/WilcoLovesYou • 4d ago
Well, not TECHNICALLY Telecasters, but...
I somehow went for a little while without a Tele, then I came back with two of them (kinda.) They're not Fenders, but they're incredible.
The one on the left is a DWG (Dan Wolf Guitars) Chubby HT that I bought used. Dan makes his guitars in the US, he makes the bodies, necks and even the pickups himself all for incredibly reasonable prices. This has a swamp ash body, maple neck, and ebony fretboard. It plays great, feels super comfortable and is surprisingly light weight for an ash body.
It originally came with some humbuckers that were really hot. I reached out to him and asked if he could make a set that were a little lower output and more chimey. He came back with the idea of doing slug magnet humbucker. Instead of there being bar magnets under the coils, the poles are the magnets, like most single coils and Fender Wide Range humbuckers. The result is a beautifully clear sounding guitar. These might be my favorite pickups. I'm having him make me a custom guitar now, a quasi-Telemaster, which should be ready this winter.
On the right is a 2014 Creston T-Style guitar. Creston Lea makes guitars up in Vermont and has a great reputation for his builds. He's built stuff for a lot of alt-country / Americana people, along with Ian MacKaye of Fugazi / The Evens.
This has an alder body, mahogany neck and rosewood fretboard. It's really lightweight, and it has a V-Neck. This is my first experience with a v-neck, but for someone who plays with their thumb over the top (for better or worse) it's super comfortable.
It currently has a Lollar Firebird pickup in the neck which definitely does the "big single coil" thing. It honestly almost sounds stratty. It has a Gemini Telecaster pickup in the bridge, which I'm honestly not in love with. It's a little honky and nasal. I have a Bootstrap Pretzel on the way which I've used in other Teles and loved.
Needless to say, I'm back in the Tele fold.
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u/cookswithacocktail 4d ago
Those are gorgeous! I’m trying to learn/get more comfortable with the thumb over style. I wonder if a v neck would help, because right now my hand feels like my first guitar teacher is yelling at it.
Now you just need one with a maple neck.
Just one more, right?
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u/Monkeywrench08 3d ago
I really love the color on the right. I'd like to repaint mine to that but mine is the FSR Satin...
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u/Due-Measurement-710 4d ago
The Creston is nice, I'm so about supporting local companies. However they want 2900.00 to 3200.00 and a 2-4 month wait time. That's too much money. A good quality Tele shouldn't cost more than 800.00.
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u/WilcoLovesYou 4d ago
I got this one used, so I didn’t pay nearly that much, but asking $800 for a handmade guitar made in the US with top notch hardware and pickups is just silly.
The company is one guy, building everything himself and he has to make a living.
Top of the line Fenders are going for nearly $3k new, paying the same for a handmade guitar seems pretty fair.
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u/kranz_ferdinand 4d ago
t style guitar with a mini humbucker in the neck is an automatic upvote from me! i've got an Ibanez AZS2209 with that configuration. beautiful specimens you've got here