Mod or swap?

[Skinnyman]

I have a Mexican Tele in which I’ve installed some DiMarzio pickups. These have transformed the guitar and I love the way it sounds and the way it plays.

 

Problem is that it’s the typical slab-sided tele body and I do t find it comfortable to play when seated. The corner of the body digs into my leg and triggers some sort of nerve pain.

 

My first thought is to have a luthier reshape the body and round off the corners a bit, maybe add a belly cut now that I’m piling on the pounds a bit. That’s likely to cost a fair bit but would make this guitar perfect for me.
 

Or, I put the original pickups back in, sell it and buy a new (to me) guitar that’s less slab-sided and then fit the diMarzio’s.

 

What does the GC massive think?

[ezbass]

Hmm, interesting. I’ve not come across the lower side of a slab body causing issues. As it sounds and plays great, I’d be inclined to mod. However, this kills any decent resale potential, should that ever become a requirement. Maybe buy an unfinished, replacement body and shape it to your needs.

[Skinnyman]

27 minutes ago, ezbass said:

However, this kills any decent resale potential,

It’s a bog-standard MiM Tele so it’s not really worth much anyway (comparatively speaking, that is). I’d have a go myself but I’m so cack-handed I’d just ruin it. I quite like the idea of getting an unfinished body and building up from that…..

[ezbass]

I bought one of these carved/contoured bodies from Guitarbuild. 
 

https://www.guitarbuild.co.uk/products/tc-carved-top-contours-ss?_pos=3&_psq=carved&_ss=e&_v=1.0

 

Providing you don’t go mad, maybe just using coarse sand paper, it’s hard to go too far on any body. Takes time and extra effort though. 

[Skinnyman]

On 23/04/2022 at 14:14, ezbass said:

I bought one of these carved/contoured bodies from Guitarbuild. 
 

https://www.guitarbuild.co.uk/products/tc-carved-top-contours-ss?_pos=3&_psq=carved&_ss=e&_v=1.0

 

Providing you don’t go mad, maybe just using coarse sand paper, it’s hard to go too far on any body. Takes time and extra effort though. 

That looks like just the thing.

 

I think I’ll have one

[EdwardMarlowe]

Yip, a replacement body was going to be my suggestion. I used to be a big proponent of 'don't do any irreversible mods, keep all the bits in case you sell', but the way the market has gone in the last ten years, it's often more profitable to sell a parted-out Fender or Squier than sell it complete on the used market if it's not a very rare model. Which is a big advantage. With a little patience, I'd expect a standard Fender MIM body in very good condition to sell for upwards of £150 on ebay. The original pups will also be very saleable, I should think. Even Squier bits seem to fetch surprisingly high prices (it's common on ebay in my experience to see Squier Strat necks selling for more than complete Squier guitars). You could well find that you sell your extraneous bits for enough to cover the cost of their replacements. 

[mikel]

On 23/04/2022 at 11:50, Skinnyman said:

I have a Mexican Tele in which I’ve installed some DiMarzio pickups. These have transformed the guitar and I love the way it sounds and the way it plays.

 

Problem is that it’s the typical slab-sided tele body and I do t find it comfortable to play when seated. The corner of the body digs into my leg and triggers some sort of nerve pain.

 

My first thought is to have a luthier reshape the body and round off the corners a bit, maybe add a belly cut now that I’m piling on the pounds a bit. That’s likely to cost a fair bit but would make this guitar perfect for me.
 

Or, I put the original pickups back in, sell it and buy a new (to me) guitar that’s less slab-sided and then fit the diMarzio’s.

 

What does the GC massive think?

I did this to a Tele copy. Shaped the body almost like the curves on a Strat. Made it much more comfortable and, as an extra bonus, made it lighter. Give it a go.