This was such a fun project, I'll admit quite stressful at times due to the cost of the materials but overall definitely a fun, rewarding project. Being able to include one of my favourite finishers in the UK, Rob at RF Custom in this special project made it even more enjoyable, and more importantly, made it possible for sure. A rather fancy build, but for good reason. Celebrating 10 years in business as the Home of Tone, it means a lot.
I didn't want to just build this thing for myself. 10 years of the Home of Tone also happened to coincide with my Dad's 70th birthday, so it only seemed right that the guitar would be handed over to him to enjoy instead. All of the specs were inspired by his love of guitars. Decades of listening to him talking about his Gibsons during his gigging years. But back visiting guitar shops with him when I was a kid, he has obsessed with PRS guitars too but never got the chance to own one. He would also express interest in Teles each time he'd pop by the office and I had one in for work, stating that he always wanted to find the right one, but never did due the scale length. Much of his guitar playing life since stopping gigging though was taken up with classical guitar, and more recently steel string guitar too, so felt it was important to tie in some elements of those too.
I know my limits, building a Les Paul wasn't in my current skillset, and my bank balance didn't stretch any where near enough to top tier PRS money! So a Tele, inspired by his Les Pauls, and love of PRS guitars seemed the right direction to go. With spec details from his acoustic guitars too. I think we've managed to tie in elements of all of those things, in a way that still works well both visually, and functionally. Traditional Tele shape, hardware, pickguard shape etc help keep it traditional and not jarring. But the very, very fancy materials, give it that top end PRS visual impact, and the spec captures the Les Paul familiarity so it plays just 'right' for him.
Let's take a look at it then eh...
(side note, the photo editing I did on this set do make the amber top look way more vibrant and orange than it is in real life, so at some point I'll take some other photos, perhaps a 'year on' follow up with how the guitar is settling in to life being played!).
In his hands for the first time...
There we have it! Let's run down the full specs -
- 2 piece bookmatched North West American Acer Macrophyllum ‘Big Leaf’ strong figure maple top
- 2 piece honduras Mahogany body
- PRS vintage amber inspired stained top
- Highly figured Acer saccharum maple neck
- Black grade ebony fingerboard
- 24.75" scale conversion
- 12” radius fingerboard
- Medium/Wide fretwire
- Hipshot locking 18:1 ratio tuners w/black mini butterbean buttons
- Vintage Tele style round string tree
- Bone top nut - 44mm width
- Custom bakelite pickguard
- McNelly Stagger Swagger V2 neck pickup in ‘Open Gold’
- McNelly T-Bar bridge pickup
- Gotoh 6 saddle contemporary bridge
- Grainger guitars solid brass ferrule block
- Brass ‘Indra Guitars’ UFO home of tone neck plate
- Waverly Ebony strap buttons
- Domed Ebony control knobs & toggle switch tip
- Switchcraft 3 way short frame toggle in gold
- CTS 450G series ‘SSSP’ 500k volume pot
- Jupiter condenser ‘Bumblebee’ paper in oil 0.022uF tone capacitor
- Fender/CTS ‘TBX’ tone control
- Pure Tone multi contact jack socket in gold
- Electrosocket jack mount
- Gavitt USA 22awg wire
- Copper foil shielding throughout cavities
A fun photo when I finished making the body and took it to him to show for the first time. Due to time constraints, I didn't actually finish the guitar in time for his birthday, so instead, he was presented with the body at this stage! Nonetheless, seems the excitement about the incoming build was enough, and could involve him more in the project as it began piecing together as well which was great.
There we have it! A great project, a fun way to mark 10 years of the Home of Tone, and an even more fun way to ensure it was played and enjoyed, gifting it to my Dad for his 70th birthday. Here's to both!
James