This is an awesome video. I have started my own as a result of watching this video. You can tell you had a blast doing it. Everything you described is in laymen’s terms and tools that everyone can access. Everything you bought I have purchased around $10-$12 as well. I’m going to upgrade the pickup to a Wilkinson and Fender locking tuners I have sitting around. My wife says I am like a 12 year old with a new toy. Excited to finish it. Thanks for the inspiration. Best video in quite a while.
@@gregorioh7034 Good to hear from you. Not as good as I hoped however I was pleased with my first try. I learned a lot of what to do and not to do on my next build. I think I am going to do a solid body with a sound Hole and a piezo in the bridge. I modified a Rise by Saw guitars. 3/4 scale. $50 plus parts put it at around $100. I’ll invest in better hardware and pick ups etc. on the next one. I’ll send pics ...I’m an Ibanez guy so I used a waterfall decal on it. Stuart.
I agree: it's a shame you don't intend to do anymore videos. You have a very nice on-camera personality, and a pleasant speaking voice (instead of the annoying over done "announcer" type voices far too many CZcamsrs seem inclined to adopt). I, for one, hope you reconsider your decision to only do this video. I sense great potential for this channel, and for yourself as a CZcamsr. I am not a guitar luthier/builder myself, but I recognize that sort of talent when I see it. You definitely have it. I hope you reconsider your decision to only do one of these videos. Believe it or not, I absolutely loved your mistakes, where you attempted something, botched it a little bit, but left that in the video anyway. Showing you imperfections was a charming choice. And when you fumbled the control knobs and left *THAT* bit in, too? That brazen lack of "give a shit" was also equally charming, and endearing. You showed your imperfect humanity, and *THAT* made this video eminently more watchable. Why? Because most CZcamsrs would have edited out their goofs, gaffes, and missteps. You didn't even bother. And *THAT* alone? Makes you extremely unique in the CZcams world. And, thus, far more interesting to watch. For me, anyway. I'd really love to see you do your version of the Fender Stratocaster Acoustasonic guitar as well, considering that particular guitar sells for $2,000. I hope you'll reconsider making this your only video. You definitely have the makings of a great CZcams channel here. I liked *AND* subscribed. Well done, sir. (Hope that doesn't disappoint you.) Really loved your use of your acoustic version of Tommy Tutone's huge 80s hit "867-5309 (Jenny)" as your background music. Totally awesome. Your content here is indeed really great.
"Im not telling you my name, 'cos you don't care, and I won't tell you to click or like anything, 'cos I"m not doing more videos" Well, that's a click and a like from me my friend.
@@junkboxhero4825 I'm sure there are Millions if not Billions of things you "wonder" about...Please...for the love of God!....Don't list them all....cause no one cares!....thank you for understanding...and have a nice day...
@@mark006868 No one said you had to pay attention to it, lol. If "no one cares", then why did you need to take your time to respond to it. If you don't care, then leave it alone. The Internet is for anyone, not just you. If you don't like it...then just ignore it. There is no reason for you comment on it, especially if you are going to be an ass about it.
Scott, great video, well thought out and impressive. I've watched it twice now and plan to watch it again. If my cataracts are eventually removed and they can fix the sight in my left eye, I'd be all over trying this. Thank You Sir!!!
Very nicely done! Thank you for the idea of what to do with a Tele kit that I've had in closet storage for some time. Now it will be be on the bench and sending wood chips everywhere! You did a great job documenting the various steps and situations that would be encountered, and gave me a prototype process to start with. Off to the garage!
On the shooting board, stack the two pieces with their top sides facing each other, then plane the mating edge of both at one time. Any angle deviation from 90 will be a complimentary angle on the other piece and they will mate up perfectly. When hogging out the body, start with a large diameter forstner bit in a drill to remove most of the material. Then finish with the router mounted on a baseplate made from stiff acrylic or polycarbonate plastic wide enough to span the width of the guitar body. Then you can see what you are doing and get an even depth of cut, and much safer than the method you show in the video.
D'Addario makes electric string sets with wound 3rd strings. This actually improves the acoustic settings on guitars like this and, except that 3rd string bends get a little harder, it doesn't harm the electric tone. Give those a try! This is a great idea, that I totally intend to try. Your router table is brilliant as well. Thanks!
'What, this old thing (that cost 2k+)? Had it for years - I loaned it out to Jeff/Larry/Sue/Generic band member. It's one of those made in China fakes and cost about 200 - yes, I know it says made in USA...they fake that too. Looks good, huh?' (I'm not even married - but got my stories lined up 'just in case' ;-P ) And if you like relicked guitars......you're absolutely golden. 'What, this old wreck? 50 on e-bay. Absolute steal, it's gotta be worth 500+ with a bit of work'.
Great work!! I've been making this kind of models for a while (Strato, jazzmaster and tele), based in the same Acoustasonic concept. The differences with this model you've built are that I've made top scalloped bracings, purfling inlay in the top and rosette, arm bevel contour, and a Shadow double play pickup (magnetic and under-saddle pickup). But definitely your approach in electronics are more like the original version.
It sounds like you have a bit more woodworking talent than I can muster. I am thinking about a re-build soon with a new top with bracing and an electronics upgrade. Thanks for watching
Unfortunately, in the Fender price you have also to pay for the R&D and patent… not only the name and logo. It is the same for a lot of "new product" in musical gear in general. Even thought before the acoustasonic you already got the Taylor T5Z, it took them a lot of time to launch the acoustasonic and trying to make it appear as a "first of its kind" instrument. Example, you hire a professional acoustic physician for several month on one specific tech, you have to recover the expense on the product MAP price after its release. But yeah, fender price on this one, it is too much.
@@eldritch6871 I was more explaining about the acoustasonic price ;) For the MIM and US, the price difference result in many factor, such as labor cost. But one of them is also the percentage of quality in the guitar. To make short, from Mexico you have 80-90% to have a guitar without problem in the instrument quality, where a USA one should meet 99%. Of course, you can have some Mex better than US and it is very important, to try a guitar before buying. I have started to do DIY kit and i made a telecaster for less than 300$ CAD(with texas special custom pick and i included the price of material used) which is better than some US… But it took me a lot of time + a luthier to check any mistake i made.
The fender acoustic sonic is a lot more complicated than this guitar and did not start out it life as a very cheap telecaster copy and this guy did not get paid for his time designing and executing his design I'm sure he spent several hours on each. I've played squire bullets and I have a top of the Mexican range telecaster, I feel like I got what I paid for in both cases.
Nice one Scott. When the acoutasonics' came out, I thought what a cool idea, but ouch what a price! I wondered how difficult or practical it would be to try and make something along the same lines. Now I know. Thank you for your inspirational video. Stay safe, stay bright, stay positive.
Bruce Hewat yeah. It’s an American made Tele (increases price), has at least 3 piezo/acoustic mics onboard fed into a fishman modeler that outputs 8 different acoustic guitar sounds. The modeling electronics and ability to take one guitar to a electric+acoustic gig are what you are really paying for. Not addressed in video.
Bruce Hewat Yep, so it is. I own one and can confirm that there is some electronic wizardry going on in there to make the crunchy and clean sounds, plus all the various acoustic body emulations. I also suspect that Fishman added a bit of compression to the sonic cocktail - noticeable when lightly strumming or fingerpicking (increased attack) or hammering away (not as loud and screaming as normal). I really love the guitar a lot, also for its buttery playability.
Cool project. Personally I would have stuck with the Tele style bridge and gone with an F hole design to allow for a neck pickup, but that is my personal preference. I found it suprising how good the body was originally (not counting the re-drilled bridge of course).
The buzz on the electric pickup is because the strings are not connected to ground. A neat way of doing it would be by replacing the bridge saddle with a bronze one, and grounding the saddle.
@@stupid-clever I guess you could drop them an email asking how they do it (or if they even do it at all, the videos of the acoustasonic guitars I've seen on YT tended to be buzzy). If I were building one by hand, I would use a grounded brass/bronze bridge saddle. If I was a guitar company building these guitars I would probably go with brass/bronze insert on the inside of the bridge plate, where the strings go through. The grounded bridge saddle option has the advantage that you can retrofit it without any surgery needing to be performed on the guitar, other than a single solder connection.
@@kardRatzinger I think you right, just something on the bridge plate would be enough, maybe running some copper tape (but preferably something stronger) on bridge plate for the strings to make contact.
@@stupid-clever If you still have access to the under side of the bridge, use foil (copper/aluminium) across the whole bridge backing, so the strings will contact it. Then solder a wire to the ground on one of your pots.
Looks and sounds great! Wish I had the skill to do this. Hope somebody starts making something like this at a lower cost. 2k is just too much for most people.
Just needs a blend / mix pot to allow control between the 2 pickup sounds and maybe some earthing ( grounding )👍 gottta love the timber selection with that dirty great big knot in it 🤣
Very nice project. Your editing and overall video quality is such that if you did want to make more videos I think you could have a worthwhile channel. Even as a one off though, thanks for the time and effort you put into sharing this project with us.
Damn dude you killed it. I thought for sure you somehow sourced a scratch and dent fender body or something. I wouldn’t have quessed you built that from a plain old tele.
Great work....love your matter of fact approach to the whole process, and in building any guitar, there are no real rules and any obstacle can be overcome.....
You've done an amazing job with this. What a brilliant idea. Acoustic electric that is as comfortable to play as any standard electric. I'm feeling inspired to make a bass version.
Truly Amazing work Scott! Don't be shy with your work share it with us. remember we are all sitting at home bored. I really need to get to work making some videos myself.
Very nice build. I know you're honoring Fender but I'd have cut that ring in half or 60/40 and left the pickup side open for more resonance since it's not support. For belly bow 4 1/2 inch blocks squaring around the pickup since that will be a concern later with the extra hole in the body and cut the blocks 1/32 to 1/16 longer. The slight bow up will compensate for pull from the bridge later and add a little curvature for resonation. If you were really concerned about bow, a crossbrace and 2 more 1/2 inch blocks(cut to level this time) right behind the bridge and since this is a solid body guitar screw the blocks in from the back. That would probably keep bow to a minimum with the least amout of airspace intrusion. Don't know if you did or not, but I'd experiment with the piezo positioning and maybe try 2 of them for best acoustic sound. If it's gonna be acoustic also why not get the best sound out of it. As I said before - Very Nice build. I see some of the concerns that others here see and want you to have the absolute best and long-lived insrument it can be for the time and effort you've put into it.
The buzz you have when playing through the electric pickup could be reduced if you grounded the pickup to the strings (to the player). If you epoxied a layer of conductive metal to the bridge plate you could solder a ground to it completing the circuit.
You know basic guitar building knowledge..... 🤣 - Acoustasonic are 2k because of the acoustic modeling electronics but im sure hollowing out a real winner of a telecopy is really really close🤣
@@sixstringcity3931 I have an acoustasonic and most of the time I play it unplugged for the passable acoustic sound and the light weight. I really like the build this guy did!
Great to see some genuine sharing video again, i was starting to think this had disappeared from youtube these days where everyone seams to want to use youtube as a career. So thanks for sharing and, nice work. Just my 2cts...
Lmao thats what I was thinking. If you don't have the tools and stuff and don't plan on using them after this you might as well buy the real thing. It would take forever for the upfront cost to pay for itself.
Probably $500 to make it. I work at a harbor freight and can tell you a lot of his tools are from there. Labor would be where the cost brings it up but it's still something that could be done in like 3 days if you wanted
Most of us building already have the tools (often used for something else previously). I think I may have spent about $400 to buy tooling to build electric guitars. Templates for a new design, you can either make your own or spend about $60. Materials to make a first world guitar with wood better than you'll find on a production guitar are about $400 (this one is limba with electronics robbed from a fender vintera tele). One of the few guitars that I purchased a neck for (the neck is licensed) - I usually make them for about $30 to $100 (rosewood) total. i.imgur.com/t3NvfAd.jpg I don't know what a genuine rosewood solid neck costs on a tele, but the wood orientation isn't usually as good as I can buy for $70. It's about the building, though - if you want to really save money, then watch TV - it's almost free to do that. (a purchased licensed neck allows me to sell the guitar later without getting threatened by fender - the rosewood neck here is made entirely by me (by hand - no routing, etc) with tools I already have - it wouldn't be legal to sell. I doubt I'd get caught, but I'm not going to try it).
I’m about to possibly do this also. Quick question: It’s been 8 months of string tension.. do you think it needed any backing pieces under the soundboard or was it fine without? Also any recommendations on stuff to do differently after time has now passed?
That 335 style resonator guitar that you’ve got hanging on the wall, was that a kit that you altered? It’s really cool, I’ve never seen anything like it!
Glad you noticed! Its a DIY "resoelectric" I made from Bettle Kill pine and a resonator kit from Ebay. I'm thinking of doing a video on it as well. it was super easy to build and a lot of fun. the kit goes for $50 on Ebay. Hard to believe for what you get.
@@stupid-clever I went to ebay after reading your comment about the DIY resoelectric. The only complete guitar kit that showed up on the first page of listings was $245 w/shipping. www.ebay.com/itm/DIY-Guitar-Kit-Resonator-Guitar-Acoustic-Kit/123860341023?hash=item1cd6a6d11f:g:9zoAAOSw-exeg5XN:sc:FedExHomeDelivery!81615!US!-1 Obviously, this is not what you were referring to. I tried different search criteria and found some resonator-only kits from $100 down to $50. Did you convert an electric to a resonator with one of these kits, hollowing it out as in this video, and adding a beatle-kill pine face?
The ring around the sound hole and even the glued on bridge should provide enough bracing to keep the top together. Also, the air space volumes in the body is really small, so there wont be a lot of air pressure on the top when it warms up or cools down. It should be pretty insensitive to heat and cold. The sides of the guitar are pretty thick and he has a half inch edge to glue the top onto. Pretty well thought out IMHO.
One way to avoid bellying is to glue a wood spacer between the top and the back. Should have same outline of the bridge with holes for strings/pegs. Can stand any gauge after that Eventually insert piezo within that piece closer towards the back for wormer tone...
@@lorenzoblum868 I thought about that but I figure it would make it so dead that you have something that is closer to a semi hollow body than an acoustic. I guess you could put the bridge on a plinth that goes all the way through the top but isn't actually fixed to it. And have piezo sensors on the floating top. I don't know if such an instrument has been built. Probably. Could be interesting.
@@Christian-my4dp sounds like it does have bracing but very light www.musicradar.com/news/the-story-behind-fenders-american-acoustasonic-telecaster Saving grace with this build is maybe the electric strings. Put 11-53 acoustic strings on it and I would worry. Electric 8s or 7s I can believe you might get away with (with the side effect that it will be acoustically quieter and more prone to buzz). I believe acoustasonics ship with 12-52s. Ultimately though if it works with his gear and his strings then he found a sweet spot, even if it only looks like an acoustasonic.
OK, this is just too cool. I want one of these. It's almost worth buying as many cheap Tele kit guitars as it takes to keep trying and failing to do this myself until eventual success!
Very nice work accomplished with basic wood working tools. You have inspired me to build one in a similar style, but I think I'm going to put a Floyd Rose tremolo on mine. Again - great job.
If you ever used these wood glues, you wouldn't ask. Trust me, you will not remove that top without an axe. Wood glues permeate deep and the joint is stronger than the wood itself.
Stanko Aksentijević the glues isn’t why bellies (tops) on guitars bulge up over years and require expensive fixes like neck resets. It’s the strength of wood vs tension of strings. They belly up perpendicular to the glue joint on top so obviously not a problem with the joint. It’s poor bracing.
That's a good question, if you look at the fender video about the construction and Troglys video teardown you would see there is no bracing either. I think the combination of the electronics and the soundhole bracing keeps it from warping?
I applaud your attitude. You are sharing your experience and skill without dreams of becoming a professional CZcams star, and that's refreshing. If more people behaved this way we'd get more useful information from people who know how to do things and less posturing and clickbait.
Save yourself some work by roughing out the internal wood with a spade bit or forstner bit before finishing it with a router. Good job otherwise - yes, you forgot to ground your electronics.
Electric guitars have metal bridges, which are easy to ground. This one has a wooden bridge, which is more challenging (there's a discussion on this higher up in the comments). I think the answer is a grounded "plate mate" (that's what Stew-Mac calls it), which is basically a metal strip with bridge pin holes in it, stuck under the bridge plate, so the string balls will make contact with it.
The correct way to book match is to put both pieces vertically in a vise with the edges you want to match sticking straight up and clamped next to each other like a two board sandwich. Plane both edges as one and anything you do to one edge, you automatically do to the other edge and they will match perfectly every time. what you're doing is not the correct usage of a shooting board.
Dang Scott, you jammed up on the making of that Acoustisonic, or maybe, a Telecoustic (??)!! My hat is off to you. All three sounds were really good, in my book. You should be proud that all your labor, time, and ingenuity was worth it. Great job !! Thanks for taking us along on the ride creating your "Masterpiece". After watching this I had to subscribe to your channel in case your creative juices get to flowing again. Keep up the creating, hoss ! That was flat out awesome !
As I am a hopeless woodworker, I don't normally watch conversion videos, but as we're in lock down and this one caught my eye, I thought "Why not!" .....and I was fascinated from start to finish. And the lesson I learned from all this? Don't try it at home without the right tools 😁
Man, I've seen a lot of these guitar builds, and I gotta say, I'm impressed!! One of the best builds I've seen. That sound hole looks freakin' perfect as well! You inspired me to start on my build (gonna start with an electric bass, tho).
Nothing on bridge placement and intonation of the guitar. Liked the project, didn't think it sounded or played that well. Not sure it will get a lot of play as a result. Also, a lot of work went into it to then cheapen out on the electronics, yes you can and did find cheap stuff. You got out of it what you put into it. A bad sounding buzzing guitar. Still liked the vid and am thinking about a similar build.
I’m annoyed you don’t want to keep doing this, your content is really dang good... no BS or anything it’s fantastic
This is an awesome video. I have started my own as a result of watching this video. You can tell you had a blast doing it. Everything you described is in laymen’s terms and tools that everyone can access. Everything you bought I have purchased around $10-$12 as well. I’m going to upgrade the pickup to a Wilkinson and Fender locking tuners I have sitting around. My wife says I am like a 12 year old with a new toy. Excited to finish it.
Thanks for the inspiration. Best video in quite a while.
@@bigstu762 How did your build turn out?
@@gregorioh7034
Good to hear from you. Not as good as I hoped however I was pleased with my first try.
I learned a lot of what to do and not to do on my next build.
I think I am going to do a solid body with a sound Hole and a piezo in the bridge. I modified a Rise by Saw guitars.
3/4 scale. $50 plus parts put it at around $100.
I’ll invest in better hardware and pick ups etc. on the next one.
I’ll send pics ...I’m an Ibanez guy so I used a waterfall decal on it.
Stuart.
@@gregorioh7034
How can I send you pics?
@@bigstu762 Would like to see your build. al.guardino@yahoo.com
this is one of the most well structured and to-the-point build videos I've ever seen, MAKE ANOTHER ONE GODDAMNIT
yes, and that time a strat.!
I subscribed in defiance to the “don’t subscribe” message at the end. That is a super sweet guitar!
you pretty much have to
me2
its called reverse psychology and i'm glad it worked on me
Your bluntness of "I'm not gonna tell you because you don't care" made me hit the sub button anyway
I agree: it's a shame you don't intend to do anymore videos.
You have a very nice on-camera personality, and a pleasant speaking voice (instead of the annoying over done "announcer" type voices far too many CZcamsrs seem inclined to adopt).
I, for one, hope you reconsider your decision to only do this video.
I sense great potential for this channel, and for yourself as a CZcamsr.
I am not a guitar luthier/builder myself, but I recognize that sort of talent when I see it.
You definitely have it.
I hope you reconsider your decision to only do one of these videos.
Believe it or not, I absolutely loved your mistakes, where you attempted something, botched it a little bit, but left that in the video anyway.
Showing you imperfections was a charming choice.
And when you fumbled the control knobs and left *THAT* bit in, too?
That brazen lack of "give a shit" was also equally charming, and endearing.
You showed your imperfect humanity, and *THAT* made this video eminently more watchable.
Why?
Because most CZcamsrs would have edited out their goofs, gaffes, and missteps.
You didn't even bother.
And *THAT* alone?
Makes you extremely unique in the CZcams world.
And, thus, far more interesting to watch.
For me, anyway.
I'd really love to see you do your version of the Fender Stratocaster Acoustasonic guitar as well, considering that particular guitar sells for $2,000.
I hope you'll reconsider making this your only video.
You definitely have the makings of a great CZcams channel here.
I liked *AND* subscribed.
Well done, sir.
(Hope that doesn't disappoint you.)
Really loved your use of your acoustic version of Tommy Tutone's huge 80s hit "867-5309 (Jenny)" as your background music.
Totally awesome.
Your content here is indeed really great.
"Im not telling you my name, 'cos you don't care, and I won't tell you to click or like anything, 'cos I"m not doing more videos"
Well, that's a click and a like from me my friend.
Gotta wonder why he has a "subscribe" button then, huh?
@@junkboxhero4825 I'm sure there are Millions if not Billions of things you "wonder" about...Please...for the love of God!....Don't list them all....cause no one cares!....thank you for understanding...and have a nice day...
@@mark006868 No one said you had to pay attention to it, lol. If "no one cares", then why did you need to take your time to respond to it. If you don't care, then leave it alone. The Internet is for anyone, not just you. If you don't like it...then just ignore it. There is no reason for you comment on it, especially if you are going to be an ass about it.
@@junkboxhero4825 It is because every channel has a Subscribe button by default and you cannot remove it. It is built into the platform.
@@BentoBox487 I was just stating the facts...I'm sorry the facts offend you...Oh who am I kidding?...I'm not sorry at all!....lolololololol
impressive build, you got skills , looks like a labor of love went into that guitar !
I've never seen any build like this, turning a solid body into it. So sweet!
I appreciate this.
Scott, great video, well thought out and impressive. I've watched it twice now and plan to watch it again. If my cataracts are eventually removed and they can fix the sight in my left eye, I'd be all over trying this. Thank You Sir!!!
The chillest video I've seen in a while. Reached peak chill when he was book matching and Blackbird by The Beatles faded in.
One of the best and clearest videos I've seen on CZcams. The guitar looks great. Hope you do more!
The acoustic sounds were much better than i thought it would be! Nice job.
Very nicely done!
Thank you for the idea of what to do with a Tele kit that I've had in closet storage for some time.
Now it will be be on the bench and sending wood chips everywhere!
You did a great job documenting the various steps and situations that would be encountered, and gave me a prototype process to start with.
Off to the garage!
On the shooting board, stack the two pieces with their top sides facing each other, then plane the mating edge of both at one time. Any angle deviation from 90 will be a complimentary angle on the other piece and they will mate up perfectly. When hogging out the body, start with a large diameter forstner bit in a drill to remove most of the material. Then finish with the router mounted on a baseplate made from stiff acrylic or polycarbonate plastic wide enough to span the width of the guitar body. Then you can see what you are doing and get an even depth of cut, and much safer than the method you show in the video.
Very nice project. I've been doing this sort of thing for decades and never tire of it.
This is an inspiring project!!! Well done Scott Clem!!
D'Addario makes electric string sets with wound 3rd strings. This actually improves the acoustic settings on guitars like this and, except that 3rd string bends get a little harder, it doesn't harm the electric tone. Give those a try!
This is a great idea, that I totally intend to try. Your router table is brilliant as well. Thanks!
"everything cost about 12 bucks" thats what I tell my wife
What wifey don't know........
My wife left me
@@joeloneill7137 Bet that cost more than $12
@@vansongs bet it was worth it.
'What, this old thing (that cost 2k+)? Had it for years - I loaned it out to Jeff/Larry/Sue/Generic band member. It's one of those made in China fakes and cost about 200 - yes, I know it says made in USA...they fake that too. Looks good, huh?'
(I'm not even married - but got my stories lined up 'just in case' ;-P )
And if you like relicked guitars......you're absolutely golden.
'What, this old wreck? 50 on e-bay. Absolute steal, it's gotta be worth 500+ with a bit of work'.
This one sounds the most acoustically convincing w/o any additional acoustic preamps or modeling. I'm genuinely impressed
Not gonna lie. Good humor and he’s good at building. I’d love to see more videos like this!
Great work!!
I've been making this kind of models for a while (Strato, jazzmaster and tele), based in the same Acoustasonic concept.
The differences with this model you've built are that I've made top scalloped bracings, purfling inlay in the top and rosette, arm bevel contour, and a Shadow double play pickup (magnetic and under-saddle pickup).
But definitely your approach in electronics are more like the original version.
It sounds like you have a bit more woodworking talent than I can muster. I am thinking about a re-build soon with a new top with bracing and an electronics upgrade. Thanks for watching
Fender: Ok I think that's gonna cost $3,999
Unfortunately, in the Fender price you have also to pay for the R&D and patent… not only the name and logo. It is the same for a lot of "new product" in musical gear in general. Even thought before the acoustasonic you already got the Taylor T5Z, it took them a lot of time to launch the acoustasonic and trying to make it appear as a "first of its kind" instrument.
Example, you hire a professional acoustic physician for several month on one specific tech, you have to recover the expense on the product MAP price after its release.
But yeah, fender price on this one, it is too much.
@@maximebrunet9899 yet they somehow can sell MIM guitars which share all those expenses for $600-$700
@@eldritch6871 I was more explaining about the acoustasonic price ;)
For the MIM and US, the price difference result in many factor, such as labor cost. But one of them is also the percentage of quality in the guitar. To make short, from Mexico you have 80-90% to have a guitar without problem in the instrument quality, where a USA one should meet 99%. Of course, you can have some Mex better than US and it is very important, to try a guitar before buying. I have started to do DIY kit and i made a telecaster for less than 300$ CAD(with texas special custom pick and i included the price of material used) which is better than some US… But it took me a lot of time + a luthier to check any mistake i made.
The main difference is you're not getting any of the modeling features. These guitars sound like garbage without the modeling.
The fender acoustic sonic is a lot more complicated than this guitar and did not start out it life as a very cheap telecaster copy and this guy did not get paid for his time designing and executing his design I'm sure he spent several hours on each. I've played squire bullets and I have a top of the Mexican range telecaster, I feel like I got what I paid for in both cases.
WOW!! You Really did a Jam-up job! That turned out Real Good! You have a good craft.
I had the same idea too but every guitar technician was telling me that it is not feasible. Congratulations for making it!!!
Nice one Scott. When the acoutasonics' came out, I thought what a cool idea, but ouch what a price! I wondered how difficult or practical it would be to try and make something along the same lines. Now I know. Thank you for your inspirational video.
Stay safe, stay bright, stay positive.
Owen Mayes you are paying for the fancy modeling which emulates different guitars.
Bruce Hewat yeah. It’s an American made Tele (increases price), has at least 3 piezo/acoustic mics onboard fed into a fishman modeler that outputs 8 different acoustic guitar sounds. The modeling electronics and ability to take one guitar to a electric+acoustic gig are what you are really paying for. Not addressed in video.
nnamhor thats what I said, but not in so many words. Fancy electronics = $$$
Bruce Hewat Yep, so it is. I own one and can confirm that there is some electronic wizardry going on in there to make the crunchy and clean sounds, plus all the various acoustic body emulations. I also suspect that Fishman added a bit of compression to the sonic cocktail - noticeable when lightly strumming or fingerpicking (increased attack) or hammering away (not as loud and screaming as normal). I really love the guitar a lot, also for its buttery playability.
Dude this is great content! It's a shame you don't do more! Would be awesome if you did more videos like this!
You are a great craftsman and problem solver. Enjoy your creation!
That guitar looks fantastic and sounds fantastic. Kudos.
Cool project. Personally I would have stuck with the Tele style bridge and gone with an F hole design to allow for a neck pickup, but that is my personal preference. I found it suprising how good the body was originally (not counting the re-drilled bridge of course).
I'd have done that and gone double humbuckers.
The buzz on the electric pickup is because the strings are not connected to ground. A neat way of doing it would be by replacing the bridge saddle with a bronze one, and grounding the saddle.
I agree, I just wish I knew how fender did it with the acoustasonic model with its acoustic bridge??
@@stupid-clever I guess you could drop them an email asking how they do it (or if they even do it at all, the videos of the acoustasonic guitars I've seen on YT tended to be buzzy). If I were building one by hand, I would use a grounded brass/bronze bridge saddle. If I was a guitar company building these guitars I would probably go with brass/bronze insert on the inside of the bridge plate, where the strings go through.
The grounded bridge saddle option has the advantage that you can retrofit it without any surgery needing to be performed on the guitar, other than a single solder connection.
@@kardRatzinger I think you right, just something on the bridge plate would be enough, maybe running some copper tape (but preferably something stronger) on bridge plate for the strings to make contact.
@@stupid-clever Huge CPU inside
@@stupid-clever If you still have access to the under side of the bridge, use foil (copper/aluminium) across the whole bridge backing, so the strings will contact it. Then solder a wire to the ground on one of your pots.
Great tip with that "bearing guide" you added to your router table; I had the same type of problem and installed one also. Thx
And I am impressed. You are straight and to the point. Clear and clean instructions.
Glad you liked it! Thanks for watching
Looks and sounds great! Wish I had the skill to do this. Hope somebody starts making something like this at a lower cost. 2k is just too much for most people.
Just needs a blend / mix pot to allow control between the 2 pickup sounds and maybe some earthing ( grounding )👍 gottta love the timber selection with that dirty great big knot in it 🤣
this is one of the most brilliant things i've ever seen
I love when people show the mistakes and how to proceed from there. Thank you for sharing!
Another idea for the sound hole is to laminate a bunch of contrasting wood veneers to create a multiple ring effect. Awesome work dude!
An old skateboard has colored layers and would be perfect for that.
Very nice project. Your editing and overall video quality is such that if you did want to make more videos I think you could have a worthwhile channel. Even as a one off though, thanks for the time and effort you put into sharing this project with us.
Thanks for the kind words. I’m planning a few future project videos, but I’m not quitting my day job anytime soon! Cheers!
Great video really enjoyed watching and a fantastic result.
Nice work! I've built a few kits, I think I'll be trying my hand at this kind of project now.
how dare you not care about likes! Imma like this vid and tell all my friends to do the same! Take that resourceful man!
Damn dude you killed it. I thought for sure you somehow sourced a scratch and dent fender body or something. I wouldn’t have quessed you built that from a plain old tele.
Amazing skill sets and superb end result
W0W! Congratulations! The combo acoustic/electric in mid position sounds great. It should be gold for you/JJ
That jig! Freaking genius.
Great project. Think the hum on the guitar pickup is from no ground wire on the bridge.
just awesome. always wanted a telecoustic, never got around to building myself one. Cheers
Great work....love your matter of fact approach to the whole process, and in building any guitar, there are no real rules and any obstacle can be overcome.....
I'm giving a thumbs up for the Stray Cat Strut backing music
Man you are good.
@Jerome Lenovo Quite a compliment coming from Mr. Eric Blackman. Much respect.😀🎸🎶
Read your comment before tge vid even started. My first thought was "Dayam, this gonna be good!!"
You've done an amazing job with this. What a brilliant idea. Acoustic electric that is as comfortable to play as any standard electric. I'm feeling inspired to make a bass version.
Acoustic basses are typically quite quiet when played acoustically, so I imagine one done like this would be even more quiet.
Truly Amazing work Scott! Don't be shy with your work share it with us. remember we are all sitting at home bored. I really need to get to work making some videos myself.
Very nice build. I know you're honoring Fender but I'd have cut that ring in half or 60/40 and left the pickup side open
for more resonance since it's not support. For belly bow 4 1/2 inch blocks squaring around the pickup since that will
be a concern later with the extra hole in the body and cut the blocks 1/32 to 1/16 longer. The slight bow up will compensate
for pull from the bridge later and add a little curvature for resonation. If you were really concerned about bow, a crossbrace
and 2 more 1/2 inch blocks(cut to level this time) right behind the bridge and since this is a solid body guitar screw the blocks
in from the back. That would probably keep bow to a minimum with the least amout of airspace intrusion. Don't know if you did or
not, but I'd experiment with the piezo positioning and maybe try 2 of them for best acoustic sound. If it's gonna be acoustic also
why not get the best sound out of it.
As I said before - Very Nice build. I see some of the concerns that others here see and want you to have the absolute best
and long-lived insrument it can be for the time and effort you've put into it.
The buzz you have when playing through the electric pickup could be reduced if you grounded the pickup to the strings (to the player).
If you epoxied a layer of conductive metal to the bridge plate you could solder a ground to it completing the circuit.
You know basic guitar building knowledge..... 🤣 - Acoustasonic are 2k because of the acoustic modeling electronics but im sure hollowing out a real winner of a telecopy is really really close🤣
@@sixstringcity3931 I have an acoustasonic and most of the time I play it unplugged for the passable acoustic sound and the light weight. I really like the build this guy did!
You have more natural speaking/video ability than you give yourself credit for. Cool guitfiddle. I'm a huge tele guy so this was a cool project.
Great to see some genuine sharing video again, i was starting to think this had disappeared from youtube these days where everyone seams to want to use youtube as a career.
So thanks for sharing and, nice work.
Just my 2cts...
Dig it. I wonder how adding some traditional acoustic soundboard bracing would affect the sound? Thanks for the video.
I was wondering about the string tension on the bridge, without bracing. All-in- all....awesome job!
Yeah. I think it’ll bow eventually. Maybe not too much since the electric strings will have less tension than acoustic strings.
@@59stratcat37 i agree im wondering how the top could hold up on those tensions..but nevertheless a great video/tutorial..very inspring for me
He does have the advantage of it being a bolt-on neck, so adding a neck shim later will be really easy, nothing like doing an acoustic neck reset.
"Don't Subscribe"
You're not the boss of me!
Haha. Great video man, really enjoyed the build.
What an excellent and versatile project. If you could have only one guitar... talk to the guy without a name. Please keep up the good work!
Thanks for watching!!
I really like what you did with that kit. It looks and sounds great. I just might give that idea a go myself.
I'm curious to see how that would work with a Epiphone Les Paul Special II.
@subcomandante marcos You're about to put Gretch out of business ,shhhhh! Haha
I was thinking the exact same...(I have three that I don’t need).
You don't need to burn up an Epiphone you could just get a cheap kit just like this guy did...just get an LP kit instead...
I was thinking the same thing about my sg... “acoustasonic sg”
The parts were $200. The tools, the enormous work involved and the time involved made up for the remaining $1800. Definitely a "because I can" video.
Lmao thats what I was thinking. If you don't have the tools and stuff and don't plan on using them after this you might as well buy the real thing. It would take forever for the upfront cost to pay for itself.
Probably $500 to make it. I work at a harbor freight and can tell you a lot of his tools are from there. Labor would be where the cost brings it up but it's still something that could be done in like 3 days if you wanted
Agree you need the tools which aren't cheap. But you guys are missing part of the point. It's not because he "can", but rather a cool project
Most of us building already have the tools (often used for something else previously). I think I may have spent about $400 to buy tooling to build electric guitars. Templates for a new design, you can either make your own or spend about $60.
Materials to make a first world guitar with wood better than you'll find on a production guitar are about $400 (this one is limba with electronics robbed from a fender vintera tele).
One of the few guitars that I purchased a neck for (the neck is licensed) - I usually make them for about $30 to $100 (rosewood) total. i.imgur.com/t3NvfAd.jpg
I don't know what a genuine rosewood solid neck costs on a tele, but the wood orientation isn't usually as good as I can buy for $70.
It's about the building, though - if you want to really save money, then watch TV - it's almost free to do that.
(a purchased licensed neck allows me to sell the guitar later without getting threatened by fender - the rosewood neck here is made entirely by me (by hand - no routing, etc) with tools I already have - it wouldn't be legal to sell. I doubt I'd get caught, but I'm not going to try it).
Tools are cheap if you buy Maktec by Makita powertools.
Great project. Well done mate !
It's nice to see someone using the correct protective equipment for the job in hand.
Eyes-goggles, ears-ear defenders, mind-Guinness.
Nothing goes better with Guinness than a little sawdust! Thanks for watching!
Figuring a way to run a ground to the strings would clear up that ground issue.
yep
I’m about to possibly do this also. Quick question: It’s been 8 months of string tension.. do you think it needed any backing pieces under the soundboard or was it fine without? Also any recommendations on stuff to do differently after time has now passed?
nice done i will try your idea one day
Very well done! Great direct approach with no BS. Great job on this one and do more videos. "Yes honey, it only cost $12 bucks."
I love the mixed sound, great job!
That 335 style resonator guitar that you’ve got hanging on the wall, was that a kit that you altered? It’s really cool, I’ve never seen anything like it!
Glad I'm not the only one who noticed that, thing looks badass!
Glad you noticed! Its a DIY "resoelectric" I made from Bettle Kill pine and a resonator kit from Ebay. I'm thinking of doing a video on it as well. it was super easy to build and a lot of fun. the kit goes for $50 on Ebay. Hard to believe for what you get.
@@stupid-clever please do that vid.
@@stupid-clever
I went to ebay after reading your comment about the DIY resoelectric. The only complete guitar kit that showed up on the first page of listings was $245 w/shipping.
www.ebay.com/itm/DIY-Guitar-Kit-Resonator-Guitar-Acoustic-Kit/123860341023?hash=item1cd6a6d11f:g:9zoAAOSw-exeg5XN:sc:FedExHomeDelivery!81615!US!-1
Obviously, this is not what you were referring to. I tried different search criteria and found some resonator-only kits from $100 down to $50. Did you convert an electric to a resonator with one of these kits, hollowing it out as in this video, and adding a beatle-kill pine face?
I'm surprised you didn't put any top bracing on the top.
The bandsaw was stressful... great vid. what a labor of love.
Pretty sweet build!!
I enjoyed that video!
Oooooh my wife is going to hate you when I tell her that I found another guitar to build, because that one I don’t have ! Hahahahahaha
I'm surprised by the lack of bracing. Has it shown any sign of bellying? What gauge strings? I guess the top may just be too small to move much.
The Fender Acoustisonic doesn't have any bracing either I believe.
The ring around the sound hole and even the glued on bridge should provide enough bracing to keep the top together. Also, the air space volumes in the body is really small, so there wont be a lot of air pressure on the top when it warms up or cools down. It should be pretty insensitive to heat and cold. The sides of the guitar are pretty thick and he has a half inch edge to glue the top onto. Pretty well thought out IMHO.
One way to avoid bellying is to glue a wood spacer between the top and the back. Should have same outline of the bridge with holes for strings/pegs.
Can stand any gauge after that
Eventually insert piezo within that piece closer towards the back for wormer tone...
@@lorenzoblum868 I thought about that but I figure it would make it so dead that you have something that is closer to a semi hollow body than an acoustic. I guess you could put the bridge on a plinth that goes all the way through the top but isn't actually fixed to it. And have piezo sensors on the floating top. I don't know if such an instrument has been built. Probably. Could be interesting.
@@Christian-my4dp sounds like it does have bracing but very light www.musicradar.com/news/the-story-behind-fenders-american-acoustasonic-telecaster Saving grace with this build is maybe the electric strings. Put 11-53 acoustic strings on it and I would worry. Electric 8s or 7s I can believe you might get away with (with the side effect that it will be acoustically quieter and more prone to buzz). I believe acoustasonics ship with 12-52s. Ultimately though if it works with his gear and his strings then he found a sweet spot, even if it only looks like an acoustasonic.
OK, this is just too cool. I want one of these. It's almost worth buying as many cheap Tele kit guitars as it takes to keep trying and failing to do this myself until eventual success!
We thought the same thing!
Very nice work accomplished with basic wood working tools. You have inspired me to build one in a similar style, but I think I'm going to put a Floyd Rose tremolo on mine. Again - great job.
at the 20:25 the hum sound I think you didnt ground the pots to your strings
A bit more complex with an wood bridge no ?
@@archloy haha yes-exaclty why they don't put electric guitar
pickups in acoustic guitars!
I wonder if you could make a hybrid bridge with some metal inserts to contact each string and then ground those to the output jack
i find that intolerable.
I tend to agree that there's a wiring issue. You shouldn't get that much buzz with a humbucker on the clean channel.
Thumbs up for "Jenny 8675309" riff!
Came looking for this comment. Was not disappointed. :D
Wow, that was some good stuff. The video, the guitar and the outcome of the tone were all great.
Thanks for watching!
I wish I had one to myself! It looks so amazing!
Wow it even looks like an actual acoustasonic at first glance, dare i say maybe even prettier?
I'm curious about the lack of bracing in this build. Does the top hold on sufficiently?
Me too.
nope, doomed.
If you ever used these wood glues, you wouldn't ask. Trust me, you will not remove that top without an axe. Wood glues permeate deep and the joint is stronger than the wood itself.
Stanko Aksentijević the glues isn’t why bellies (tops) on guitars bulge up over years and require expensive fixes like neck resets. It’s the strength of wood vs tension of strings. They belly up perpendicular to the glue joint on top so obviously not a problem with the joint. It’s poor bracing.
That's a good question, if you look at the fender video about the construction and Troglys video teardown you would see there is no bracing either. I think the combination of the electronics and the soundhole bracing keeps it from warping?
I applaud your attitude. You are sharing your experience and skill without dreams of becoming a professional CZcams star, and that's refreshing. If more people behaved this way we'd get more useful information from people who know how to do things and less posturing and clickbait.
This is such a unique idea! This was very fun and interesting to watch.
Thanks for watching!
Save yourself some work by roughing out the internal wood with a spade bit or forstner bit before finishing it with a router. Good job otherwise - yes, you forgot to ground your electronics.
Is that what is making the hum?
Yeah ground that. My uncle lost all his teeth to an ungrounded guitar and mic stand! Sounded mighty painful!
yeknommonkey how do you loose your teeth with an ungrounded guitar?
@@rolux4853 I can think of plenty of ways to accomplish that, grounded or not.
Electric guitars have metal bridges, which are easy to ground. This one has a wooden bridge, which is more challenging (there's a discussion on this higher up in the comments). I think the answer is a grounded "plate mate" (that's what Stew-Mac calls it), which is basically a metal strip with bridge pin holes in it, stuck under the bridge plate, so the string balls will make contact with it.
The correct way to book match is to put both pieces vertically in a vise with the edges you want to match sticking straight up and clamped next to each other like a two board sandwich. Plane both edges as one and anything you do to one edge, you automatically do to the other edge and they will match perfectly every time. what you're doing is not the correct usage of a shooting board.
Looks like a fun project. Great video! Once I finish my honey do list. I’m going to do somthing similar
Dang Scott, you jammed up on the making of that Acoustisonic, or maybe, a Telecoustic (??)!! My hat is off to you. All three sounds were really good, in my book. You should be proud that all your labor, time, and ingenuity was worth it. Great job !! Thanks for taking us along on the ride creating your "Masterpiece". After watching this I had to subscribe to your channel in case your creative juices get to flowing again. Keep up the creating, hoss ! That was flat out awesome !
My mom: how much did it cost?
Me: ehhh about 12 bucks
Anyone who rides a Specialized is alright in my book.
Could have left it as anyone who rides. I'm sure his guitar collection would agree. Also, Great video BTW.
As I am a hopeless woodworker, I don't normally watch conversion videos, but as we're in lock down and this one caught my eye, I thought "Why not!" .....and I was fascinated from start to finish.
And the lesson I learned from all this? Don't try it at home without the right tools 😁
Under 4 pounds? I want one! The weight of the instrument is now one of my top three considerations in buying a guitar. Great job.
Thanks for watching. I actually think it is a bit too light for comfort and it is a bit neck heavy, but it still works!
Guess we see why they charge so much now.
PEE-AY-ZO AHHHHHHHHHHH
Man, I've seen a lot of these guitar builds, and I gotta say, I'm impressed!! One of the best builds I've seen. That sound hole looks freakin' perfect as well! You inspired me to start on my build (gonna start with an electric bass, tho).
Glad you like it!
Excellent work. I am off to put together a router table and carve out my own. Thank you for such an informative build video.
Fender wants to know your location
Nothing on bridge placement and intonation of the guitar. Liked the project, didn't think it sounded or played that well. Not sure it will get a lot of play as a result. Also, a lot of work went into it to then cheapen out on the electronics, yes you can and did find cheap stuff. You got out of it what you put into it. A bad sounding buzzing guitar. Still liked the vid and am thinking about a similar build.
Fun project. Good job on the video, too. I may try something similar one of these quarantined days.
This is freaking awesome man! Those fenders are expensive. I haven’t even finished the video but I love it.