Build Vision:

After having built my first telecaster and the headless guitar I had some improvements in mind for this second version. The most major problem was that the first telecaster would play out of tune as the main 12 mm and 2 smaller 8 mm diameter linear rods were not rigid enough to keep the body from flexing. I had found success with using more linear rods to strengthen and brace the headless guitar body, but the new problem was that the guitar was quite heavy and I wasn't sure if some of the rods were redundant or not. Additionally, I had learned how to add body contours to my headless guitar through learning surfacing in Fusion 360 and I could now add this to the second version; I had wanted to do this on my first telecaster from the start, but kept it simple since it was my first ever guitar build. It's now time for me to combine what I've learned while still testing new things on this second version of the telecaster. 

Here is the plan: A new and improved telecaster reusing some of the same components from my first telecaster with gorgeous body contours and a carbon fiber tube strengthened body. 

Build Process and Design Choices:

Carbon Fiber Tubes:

When building my electric cello I also used linear rods (Just using one main rod wasn't strong enough. Using 3 in my first telecaster wasn't enough either.) and in all of my subsequent guitars I've used steel linear rods. I've found that, quite obviously, increasing the linear rods makes the body of the instrument strong enough to withstand the torque applied by the strings. However, I never had the chance to try out carbon fiber tubes. When doing my research for building my cello, I found a design that used carbon fiber tubes and this piqued my interest. With this build, I will finally have the chance to try them in my 3D printed guitars. 

The main exciting thing about using carbon fiber tubes is that they should be equally strong as the steel linear rods I've been using while being around 5 times lighter. If these carbon fiber tubes end up working with this guitar while keeping the total weight down, I'll have found the successful recipe for any of my future guitars and be confident in building whatever type of guitar I want with my own tried and true method. Needless to say, I'm excited. 

Option 1: Carved Top/Wood Mounted Pickup Style Telecaster

The idea of a Telecaster without a pickguard is alluring to me because the build would be extremely clean and aesthetically pleasing. However, the caveat is that non-pickguard guitars generally have no pickguard because they show off the natural beauty of the wood of the body of the guitar. The problem is arises when I 3D print my guitar and the guitar will end up being one solid monotone color. Although I don't think this would be an issue, I'm not sure if the build will come together aesthetically in the end. If I were to go this route, I would find a way to cover the mounting screws for the neck pickup as they would be showing. Traditionally, the pickups are mounted to the pickguard of the guitar. Wood mounted guitars have pickups mounted straight into the body of the guitar. Luckily, I do have two options since I am 3D printing my guitar and not working with wood. 

1. I can mount the pickup straight to the body like standard wood mount guitars and print covers secured by magnets to cover the mounting screws. However, the covers would still be visible and potentially look of putting.

2. I can create my own pickup mounting rings and mount my humbucker this way, but I prefer the cleaner look of wood mounted pickups. 

3. I can create a cavity in the back of the guitar and mount the pickup from the back, but the actual logistics of mounting the pickup would need to be fleshed out and the carbon fiber tubes would interfere with this cavity. They would need to be positioned out of the way or split, which would completely defeat the purpose of having carbon fiber tubes or linear rods in the first place. 

Option 2: Traditional Telecaster with a Pickguard

My other option would be to build my telecaster in a traditional way and forego any of the fancy design work I would have to do to make the Telecaster wood mounted. Additionally, the pickguard would serve as a beautiful focal point in the guitar and there wouldn't be a problem with having the guitar body be one monotone color as the pickguard would provide additional color to the build. 

As of now, I'm leaning towards Option 1 as I personally feel the guitar would be more aesthetically pleasing and I would enjoy the challenge of building the guitar this way. 

Volume, Tone Knob, and Switch Position: 

1. If I go with the Wood Mounted Pickup Style, I also have the option of placing the pots diagonally like a strat or the fender telecaster custom. 

2. If I go with the Wood Mounted Pickup Style, I have the option of using the control plate like a traditional tele, but without a pickguard.

3. If I go with the traditional route, I will use the standard control plate. 

Build/Design Process:

Printing Parameters:

• Printed in PETG - 85 C bed temp, 240 C hot end temp

• Upper Main Body and Lower Main Body - 50% Gyroid Infill, 7 Perimeter Layers

• Upper Right and Lower Right Bout - 20% Gyroid Infill, 4 Perimeter Layers

• Upper Left and Lower Left Bout - 20% Gyroid Infill, 4 Perimeter Layers

• Filets on the bouts use support. This way I can get the cleanest filets when post processing. 

Results:

There are a lot of people who would say that adding body contours to a Telecaster is blasphemy and others who would say that body contours aren't even needed on electric guitars as they're so thin already. I think that any design added to provide a more comfortable playing experience is well worth the effort and I personally like the contours. One could argue that the contours make the guitar more uncomfortable. I don't know what world they live in, but pick up a Strat and play it and tell me its not comfortable. Then pick up a Telecaster and tell me you can't feel the difference. It's my guitar and I'm here to push the boundaries of 3D printing and play around and innovate with guitar building. I'm not here to adhere to antiquated guitar design language. Besides, I believe that the world of guitar should have new designs that are always being improved upon or introduced. I love what Ibanez is doing with their Q series, their versions of Strats like the AZ/AZES, and their Teles like the AZS line. I also love their thinline acoustic FRH10N that was single handedly brought back by Tim Henson. 

One of these days, I want to add veneer and edge banding to a guitar I build.