Nice looking geetar!
Of note, spoke with a colleague (expert on electronics, acoustics, soldering, etc) from whom I borrowed copper tape… showed him photos of the guitar body, pick up guard, etc.
He said any conductive metal is fine and would do the trick… further, he stated heavy duty aluminum foil is identical in “value” to copper foil/tape, except you cannot solder aluminum. This is a guy who has worked in acoustic research for years and builds his own components…
Hey all - I have nothing to add on grounding (I think I soldered something to my jack or to the copper tape I used to shield the cavity), but I did start this thread on a new Jeff Beck DVD!!
E-Sabs - happy NGD! (new guitar day) Looking forward to a full report!
Well, there’s a bubble right in one of the 12 fret markers on the side. And the line of side markers is a little wavy.
But it sounds real good. Exactly like what I wanted. And it’s comfortable as heck. And it’s so light. That’s the strange thing. I was expecting something more like the Stratocaster, and it’s half the weight.
And the best part is, unlike the 585, it has a wide neck, so I’m not accidentally muting strings anymore. Sure, I’ll get better, but this is more playable. And the tuners are better than on the 585, and I’m not sure why. Still not as good as the aftermarket Wilkinsons, but they’re very efficient. Good sustain, too. Not the same as the Subhuman, but still, pretty good.
I think this’ll do for a long while.
Other odd thing. It’s got .10s on it, so everything is requiring a bit more strength. More than the 585, which was also strung with .10s. But, for some odd reason, I can fret barre chords without a buzz now. Takes a lot more effort, but it’s working.
The two guitars are different scale lengths. I see the JT90 is 25 1/2" and the 585 is 24 3/4". That can make a difference in string tension and may be what you feel.
Congrats on the barre chord progress. That’s a significant hurdle. Go forth and play 2112’s Overture this instant. Or Green Day American Idiot or Basket Case. Or something equally silly but fun. It’s all cake if you can barre the E and A shapes.
Yep, the '90 is at Strat length and the 585 is at Gibson. Now I just need to build up more finger strength.
It was a heck of a surprise: I was screwing around after tuning it, tried a barre… looked at the Snark, and it read ‘F’. “Woah, it can do that?”
In the cold light of morning, now the lemon oil has dried… nope, still happy.
Oh, yeah. It’s a three layer pickguard. Is the staticy Tele a one layer or three layer? Other than the static, which is apparently a real Tele flaw, how’s it holding out? (You can’t complain too much about the static if real ones do it too, as I see it.)
I have no clue on this stuff - the only Teles I have lived with for any time are the two I built, and I followed all the shielding instructions put in front of me 
Either way, have a tone of fun E-Sabs. I am going through a big dive on scale length right now - deciding what matters for my playing needs. After favoring Gibson for the past half-dozen years, I seem to be moving towards Fender/Martin. With both electric and acoustic, my hybrid picking style is pretty heavy-handed, and the added string tension of the longer scale bounces back a bit better. With .11’s on the electric, it’s a very articulate feel, but I can still bend pretty well.
(deleted due to me dropping my elbow on my keyboard.)
Completed the shielding/ground last night of an Xaviere XV-820. Was pretty straight-forward. Didn’t take too many photos, as most of it would have been obvious.
However, the wiring was not what I expected. In this photo you can see the black and white wire from the neck pick-up coming in from the left, and the main array including the switch (left), volume (center) and tone (right).
After shielding the pick-guard, with a wire soldered to the copper tape, I ran a wire to the shared ground pole (black and green wires) on the right side of the rocker switch panel (better photo here). Of note, the wire ran from the closest portion of the pick-guard… I used a very thin wire and just let it lay under the pick-guard… I didn’t run anything through the channel from the neck pick-up.
No more static…
Well done, sir!
For comparison, here’s the control well of my AD Tele. It’s a bit more complex because it has an S-1 switching system, which lets you set the middle position to be series or parallel via a button on top of the volume knob. That’s why one of the pots has an assembly attached with extra wires. You can sort of make out the button in the whole-guitar photo.
Purrrty. What’s not to love about a 'burst Tele with body binding? I am not a big fan of Signature models - I prefer my own tools, thank you - but man, could I get behind an Andy Summers Custom Shop Tele Custom…
Yeah, I love how the binding just pops the burst finish front-n-center. What’s funny is I consider the guitar almost too pretty, and when I was shopping I found the butterscotch AD more attractive. But for some reason the butterscotch AD’s didn’t feel the same, I don’t know why. Really, the only difference between them was the color, plus the burst AD has a belly cut and a rounded-off neck bolt-in. Other than high-fret access, none of this should matter for playability, but the burst just felt different to me.
Dude. Relic? You???
Nah - not really. I don’t fetishize wear like that. I’d prefer a non-sig CS variant, but that basic design.
Thanks… the hard part was figuring out what was ground… I figured it was green, but had to find my volt/ohm meter to be sure… of course, opening it up set the stage for replacing dials and switches!
So a Tele CS with a bound “plank” body (actually it looks double bound, front and back) in antique-burst (or whatever you’d call that finish), a humbucker in the neck, single-coil in the bridge, maple fingerboard, six bridge saddles. Plus a mysterious switch by the control well that’s probably a coil tap for the humbucker, and another switch that’s probably a parallel/serial switch for the middle position. And a third knob that does… something.
Does that about cover it?
Actually no: much of that I can do without. Bound Tele, but a two-tone 50’s 'burst (not 3-tone 60’s), rosewood fingerboard, humbucker (or P-90) at the neck with a 3-brass-saddle bridge. No fancy electronics - I really respect Summers, but I don’t use effects like he does, either. The more I try fancy stuff, the more I end up simplifying my rig. And the neck has to be chunky!
That all sounds good. But it sounds not at all like that Summers guitar that you’re admiring, in any detail except body binding and a bridge humbucker.
…and I have no argument. My G.A.S. flares when I see the Summers’ Tele because it is close enough. 
Men are pigs, even when ogling guitars. 
E-Sabs, so you just got a Telemaster (I still prefer Jazz-Caster, but who am I?) which is a mash-up design, grafting a Tele layout onto a Jazzmaster body.
I love some of these mash-ups - Fano makes a Les Paul Special-with-Tele-layout and I have my Tele Special which is a Tele with a LPS’s layout.
But how about a Tele mashed into a Flying V?
Love it or hate it?
I think I hate loving it. 
Mr. T-V? I hate myself for loving you. Talk about a 50’s Rocket.
I’m not big on patina and nitrocellulose finishes, but they did it right, looks like.
Hey, they actually call it a TeeVee.
Reversed control plate, but the controls are kept normal, except the switch. I’ve been thinking of doing that myself, it’s easy, and people say it’s swell. (ba dum tish)
Seven pounds, nice and light, but I bet not all that comfortable to play, less you brace it. Pain in the ass truss rod.
Verdict: Buy if you want vintage Tele tone in a more individual looking guitaaaa heey wait I just did that an’ I spent one tenth that. I’m happy!
