Navy Blue Offset Telecaster

[nickjames]

I accidentally won a bid for this MJT body for just over $270 shipping included. I really didn't think I would win. Oh well, it arrived today. I decided to jump right in.

-minutes after arrival-

Somebody down in Carthage really gave it the business.

[nickjames]

These marks lined up perfectly with my ash tray.

After an hour of fumbling for bits I found the perfect pilot.

So far, so good.

[nickjames]

The next easiest step was ferrules...

And with a little will power:

[nickjames]

I only bid on the body because I knew I had this donor lying around from a decade ago when I was in highschool.

I was alot more dumber than.

There was a lot of polyurethane dust throughout.

Stripped down to the follies of my youth.

[Shadoweclipse13]

Whoa! That Tele from when you were younger is rough looking To be fair, I wouldn't have known how to do the contours properly at that age either. Haha. Neat project though! I love Navy Blue on guitars!

[nickjames]

The new bridge was really shiny. The old bridge was really dusty.

One of the bridge's coil wires severed. Here it is straightened.

I resoldered it and smooshed hot glue all over.

Installation of the pickup required enlarging the plate holes.

I punished the plate with a scouring pad. Aren't I the worst?
This MJT body didn't have a bridge ground wire hole.

Rather than drill a new hole, I opted to scrape away some chrome and solder directly to the plate.

Of course, I still drilled a hole; the ground wire runs through the plastic back of the bridge pickup. It looks messy. The ashtray will hide my sins.

[nickjames]

The workbench at this point:

This shielding tape is from my highschool days.

The adhesive wasn't as nice as I remember it being, so I dabbed some headliner adhesive here and there.

et voilà

[nickjames]

Today was a big busy day #1. Here are the final results:


The output Jack arrived while I was soldering, so I got that in too.

I still need to find a solution for my lack-of-a-pickguard. Warmoth's won't fit properly on an MJT, and MJT guards are at least $40 a pop. I might buy a cheapo jazzy guard blank to dremel down, but that could take a while. I thought about just throwing a ring around the neck pickup. What should I do? I'm at a stand-still until my neck shows up or I find a pickguard. I'm open to suggestions.

[HNB]

Pickup ring might be easiest.

[dmb]

Yeah, looks so hot without a pickguard. I'm not usually a massive fan of such extreme relicing, but that looks awesome. Such a nice color.

Can the neck pick up be body mounted? Do that and call it a day!

[Zork]

In most cases a pickguard from a vinyl record looks a bit too much wanna-be to me but on this guitar it could be pretty awesome.
Or get a clear plastic sheet from home depot, cut your guard and paint the backside golden.

[Fiddy]

Rexter does some really good refins if you're looking to get the body fixed.

[nickjames]

Rexter does some really good refins if you're looking to get the body fixed.

You know, I've never been a relic fan, but I love the thought of beating the snot out of this guitar without a care. I tend to thrash around when I play, and more than once I've nailed my headstock on a microphone. The nicer the guitar, the more it hurts.

In most cases a pickguard from a vinyl record looks a bit too much wanna-be to me but on this guitar it could be pretty awesome.
Or get a clear plastic sheet from home depot, cut your guard and paint the backside golden.

I just looked at a few vinyl record pickguards. I could probably find something at a thrift store. I like that golden plastic sheet idea. I bet that looks sharp.

Yeah, looks so hot without a pickguard. I'm not usually a massive fan of such extreme relicing, but that looks awesome. Such a nice color.

Can the neck pick up be body mounted? Do that and call it a day!

It will be body mounted unless I use a mounting ring. Unexpectedly, I really dig the copper next to the navy. It's easy enough to just mount the pickup and call it big. I wonder what a plastic sheet coated in patchwork copper scraps would look like as a pickguard.

Pickup ring might be easiest.

All things considered in my sway, I'm starting to lean into this solution.

[Embenny]

Man, MJT does the blue-green spectrum so well. Love the colour on this. It's more heavily relic'd than I'd choose, but it looks amazing!

[kimson]

Holy wow!

I've never liked Telemasters and now I know why: they look sorta unbalanced with the huge empty space behind the bridge, but without the pickguard it's just perfect!