TCP Posted May 4, 2010 Share Posted May 4, 2010 Dearest Fender, Please Make a 12-string Telecaster! Sincerely,The Cowboy Poet Who's with me?!?! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted May 4, 2010 Share Posted May 4, 2010 I'm with you. I wonder how difficult it'd be to customize a regular Tele into a 12 string. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LittleSavage Posted May 5, 2010 Share Posted May 5, 2010 Saw this picture online. Don't have any details, but a friend has a Japanese-made Fender Aerodyne Tele and this looks just like it, only a 12-string version. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scott Gyrrr Posted May 5, 2010 Share Posted May 5, 2010 Im totally with you!, it would be bad ass, you'll just have to get one built. sounds great looks great to and the guys got taste (so.central rain) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LaxR Posted May 5, 2010 Share Posted May 5, 2010 sign me up for the preorder, ya know, once they start making them and all. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TCP Posted May 8, 2010 Author Share Posted May 8, 2010 I just wish Fender and Gibson would start making some interesting instruments (that aren't "digital"... I'm looking at you, Dusk Tiger). Steel guitar seems to be fairly popular but neither of them wants to step up to the bat, except for Fender for about 3 months a few years ago. Just give me something interesting! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
In a little rowboat Posted May 9, 2010 Share Posted May 9, 2010 I'm with you. I wonder how difficult it'd be to customize a regular Tele into a 12 string. i might be getting old, but I seem to remember a thread on this subject sometime in the past...ill look... regardless, to convert a tele to 12 is impractical at best...near impossible...for example, youd need a custom saddle assembly for proper intonation, a new neck and headstock to accommodate the nut width and extra tuners required, as well as considering tension for the extra strings...you could use the existing pickups and string-thru ferrules, but it would be a tight fit and the action would likely suck...your better off having one custom made...id also consider a treble cut (capacitor) in there, as teles are bright and twangy enough even without the octave strings... THe dano style Jerry Jones Nels plays would be a similar guitar in theory...i think Dano even makes one cheap...id go that route personally Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TCP Posted May 9, 2010 Author Share Posted May 9, 2010 Doesn't Pat have a 12-string Tele? I thought I saw a picture at one point...... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 i might be getting old, but I seem to remember a thread on this subject sometime in the past...ill look... regardless, to convert a tele to 12 is impractical at best...near impossible...for example, youd need a custom saddle assembly for proper intonation, a new neck and headstock to accommodate the nut width and extra tuners required, as well as considering tension for the extra strings...you could use the existing pickups and string-thru ferrules, but it would be a tight fit and the action would likely suck...your better off having one custom made...id also consider a treble cut (capacitor) in there, as teles are bright and twangy enough even without the octave strings... I wouldn't try to attempt the conversion (like you, I'd rather just buy a Dano...they look cooler anyway), but I'd think you could just get a top loading bridge/saddle and a 12 string neck, nut & tuner set and you'd be in business. Some widening of the neck slot would probably be required, which may or may not cause problems. Fairly small project in terms of labor. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yellowmarmot Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Hi all, First-time poster here but big fan of the forum! Thought I'd weigh in on a topic dear to my heart. I seem to recall that the Fretboard Journal story on Wilco shows Jeff Tweedy holding a Nash twelve-string telecaster thinline. So if you're prepared to spend substantial money you could presumably contact Bill Nash and ask if he'd make you one. Alternatively, Fender Japan still makes Strat XIIs! The Danelectro reissues are cool-looking and cheap but if mine is typical you might need to be prepared to replace the crummy metal nut in order to get correct intonation. Another slightly pricier, better-quality, unabashedly retro choice is a Phantom or Teardrop 12-string from Phantom Guitars. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ghost of Electricity Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Hi all, First-time poster here but big fan of the forum! Thought I'd weigh in on a topic dear to my heart. I seem to recall that the Fretboard Journal story on Wilco shows Jeff Tweedy holding a Nash twelve-string telecaster thinline. So if you're prepared to spend substantial money you could presumably contact Bill Nash and ask if he'd make you one. Alternatively, Fender Japan still makes Strat XIIs! The Danelectro reissues are cool-looking and cheap but if mine is typical you might need to be prepared to replace the crummy metal nut in order to get correct intonation. Another slightly pricier, better-quality, unabashedly retro choice is a Phantom or Teardrop 12-string from Phantom Guitars.Welcome! I have a Dano 6-string reissue and have trouble with intonation using the stock nut. I thought that that selfsame piece actually had a lot to do with the unique sound (along with the lipstick pickups and the masonite of course) but I could be wrong. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yellowmarmot Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Ghost, Everyone's ears and tastes are different, but to my ears replacing the Dano's overly-high metal nut with a proper-height bone nut (a friend very kindly made me one as a class project for his lutherie course at a local college!) had no adverse effect on tone but a tremendous positive effect on intonation and playability. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ghost of Electricity Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 That nut is pretty high, yeah. It does effect playability but I've had no intonation problems. And as I've never tried it with a bone-nut, I'll have to take your word for it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jonesie Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Im totally with you!, it would be bad ass, you'll just have to get one built. sounds great looks great to and the guys got taste (so.central rain) Yeah, that's my guitar. I've actually changed the body since then to a lighter (and better sounding) MIM Tele body. Changed the pickups too. Pretty much all that's left is the Bridge and the neck. Here's a really awful picture of it in its current state. (The guitar is Midnight Blue, not Black as it looks...) It has a MIM standard Neck pickup, and a 60's Classic bridge pickup. The GFS Lipstick bridge pickup was REALLY tinny sounding, especially through Fenders. However, the actual modding of the Tele to make it a 12-string didn't take much at all. It's just a Warmoth neck (which bolts right on no problem), then I took a "vintage style" 6-saddle Telecaster bridge and replaced the saddles with saddles from a Jazzmaster/Jaguar. Then I drilled an extra hole on the treble side of the high e-string on the bridge to fit the octave string. The bridge already comes with holes for either string through or topload stringing, so this made it really easy. Honestly, the intonation is pretty great. 3-saddles works great for a 6 string tele, so why shouldn't 6-saddles for a 12-string tele? Also figure, you're playing a 12 string, you're probably not soloing too much up on the higher frets, the intonation will be more than okay. The only other thing I did to the guitar was to add a bar-style string retainer on the headstock so the strings wouldn't pop out of the nut. It only takes a very small amount of work to get a 12-string Tele up and running. The action is fantastic. Nice and low all the way up the neck. I'm gonna make a new demo soon with the new body and my new amp ('65 Ampeg Gemini II), should be much better quality than that last one too, I actually got some mics since then. If anyone has any questions about the guitar, I'll be more than happy to answer them too. (and thanks for the love for So. Central Rain, I mean, is there a better 12 string riff to demo with? But I also had to throw in Zeppelin...pretty sure it's required...) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 It only takes a very small amount of work to get a 12-string Tele up and running. That's awesome, and I'm happy that I was right. That guitar looks great. I like the amp knobs on the volume and tone controls. I have those on my Muddy Waters tele. How much did that neck cost? I have a spare tele body laying around and might consider using it for a 12 string project. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jonesie Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 I think the neck was about $170 from warmoth plus $10 for the Danish oil I finished it with. Check and see what warmoth has in stock. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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