Body
Style |
Body
Wood |
Neck
Wood |
Fbd.
Wood |
Scale |
Frets |
Pickups |
Switching |
Neck Joint | Strings |
Weight |
Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ZT-T |
Swamp Ash |
Maple |
Pau Ferro |
25.5" |
22 Large/Medium *Dual Size |
Don Mare 2324 Nancy (Roy Buchanan) set |
3-way pickup select 2-way coil tap Volume, Tone |
Screwed |
ZOG 9+ RW |
8.1 lb |
$3050 with case |
What's cool about this guitar? An explanation for the deaf, dumb and blind.
Legend has is that Roy Buchanan got his whiny, bright and thin tone that everyone loves so much because of a faulty bridge pickup in his 1953 Telecaster SN 2324. They say his bridge pickup coil only worked partially, giving the guitar its unique filtered (transistor radio) type of tone. I decided to give these pickups a try and used them for this Zachary T. The mini switch is for the purpose of the coil tap. They also found that Buchanan had his Tele rewired with an added capacitor, which made it even brighter, filtering out some low frequencies.
In order for me to utilize the anodized Aluminum pickguard, which I think is cool, I went with a 22 fret neck, further maintaining the Nancy specifications that Roy had for precise neck pickup positioning. I ran out of maple fingerboard necks, so I used a PauFero fingerboard, picking the Almond body color which is traditional for late 50s Teles and also matches the color of the fingerboard nicely. This is a new type of finish for me, being painted, not stained and oil finished. I made sure to keep it thin, so you can see the nice grain of the 2 piece Swamp Ash body. My many years of transparent watercolor painting experience comes in handy at these times. Building something by hand requires the convergence of many different skills and talents.
Then, I kind of went more creative and wanted to incorporate some other ideas I had. I wanted a Tele, which can be strung three different ways; through the body, from the top of the bridge or using a Bigsby. All possible form the same Z-Tele guitar and also making the conversions in stringing easy. I wanted the Bigsby to be easily installed or removed at will. I didn't like the wood screws which usually fasten a Bigsby to the body, which are not designed for frequent installation and removal. I came up with a better system using metal threaded inserts and using machine screws instead of wood screws. Now it takes literally 1 minutes to remove or install the Bigsby, plus the time it takes for a string-set change. You can do it as many times as you like without wearing out and stripping the threaded holes in the soft Ash.
How do you beat Leo Fender? Leo Fender was all about simplicity in design. Leo's style of design, as my own, was to see how he could eliminate as many things as he could about traditional design. If he could arrive at the same final result, he would throw out as much of the original design as he could. He searched for new ways of doing something by eliminating everything which was superfluous. Asa with Henry Ford, the goal is to get something to work as simple and with as few parts as possible. If you want to beat Leo and brag about it, all you have to do is invent even simpler systems and a simpler guitar, which works better than even Leo's simple and efficient designs. You surpass Leo by taking simplicity, efficiency and directness to the next level. This is what I have done here. I must say I respect and admire Leo greatly because he was an original , naturally talented as a designer and a genuine person. He wasn't a player, wasn't a guitar builder or a marketer but he was a designer and an innovator. He used his own limitations in ability to devise new simpler systems which he could use to bypass his limitations. This was his genius. Hence his innovations. He got rid of many elements of traditional guitar design, which you didn't need to really get off on a guitar and was much easier for him to produce. Leo was a genuine and talented person as apposed to the frauds and shysters or should I say "heroes" at the top of today's guitar industry. You won't read this in any guitar magazine.
Yes, the bridge was modified and so was the Bigsby to make it work for this application with the standard Tele bridge. This is a much better and simpler system I invented, again progressing on what Leo Fender did by having to use his awkward pivoting bridge system and loose saddles with a Bigsby setup. None of that is needed? What was Leo thinking? I think he neglected simplicity with that one and needlessly went with unnecessary complexity. Maybe he relegated the design of his Bigsby bridge system to someone else. It sure seems like it. Bad move.
Tuning stability of this guitar is remarkable, together with the Zachary nut material, it impresses me. There is more to it with the Bigsby set up uniquely in terms of the arm and the spring but I will not go into that. Too many tinkerers, hacks and other posers are watching and then fool themselves into believing they are smart after they get an education here, even as they are offended by this web site. The only sense of importance they can ever attain is being on a circle jerk forum. So get back there where you belong.
Fucking Genius ! Eagle
On the new ZT a couple of movie quotes come to mind (queue music):
"There can be only one!"
"And one Tele to rule them all"
Astounding design and aesthetics. I'd really like to hear that sick coil tap. Tony
Hey Alex, Well, the Bigsby isn't my thing but that Aluminum pickguard really caught my attention. I like the idea of two guitars in one though! I must say that the painted finish looks classy and not at all plastic. More just a dusting of snow rather than a monster blizzard. Excellent job. Jeff
Very nice work - a very traditional vibe. Great color combination. Bet it sounds good. Do you notice a lot of tone difference between your various T types? Frank
I love the Tele kick you've been on lately. The removable Bigsby on the Roy Buchanan model is brilliant. Nick
Fernder Bigsby Tele Telecaster Don Mare Roy Buchanan Nancy 2324