USA Custom Guitars Telecaster Thinline

Well, this is my third review of this incredible guitar. Sorry to bore everyone here to death, but this special guitar just gets better and better!

This guitar came to fruition in 2002. 2 piece mahogany "chambered" body. Rosewood board neck with 12" radius, rolled fretboard edges, soft V profile and 6105 frets. Finish is many light coats of gun stock oil. Beautiful, warm, rich color with the Tru-Oil over the natural mahogany body. It weighs in at a bit over 5lbs. Very comfortable when strapped on and it balances perfectly. This is a very simple, plain looking guitar. That's not to say it's not beautiful...it is.....just not your average flamed, burled, deep poly finished "looker" guitar. No, this is just a tone machine, plain and simple.

Still have the Seth Lover ( excellent pickup for this guitar )in the neck, but the bridge now sports a Duncan Lil' 59'r. The Lil 59'r
( while not a favorite of many tele pickers ) works well with the Lover and sounds much better for my style than it's predecessors, ie: Duncan Broadcaster, Dimarzio Twang King, Van Zandt Flat Pole. The Van Zandt was a fine pickup, but the 59'r does what I need it to. I still may change to a Harmonic Design P/90 tele pup, DiMarzio Tone Zone T or an SK T-90. Traditional bridge with 3 barrell brass saddles.

I've changed the control plate to incorporate a Deaf-Eddie 5 way tele switch. The 5-way is a super switch wired to give the standard tele tones plus both pups in series and both pups series out of phase. The series tone gives a fatter tone with a bit of a volume boost ( it would be more significant with two single coils ) over the standard parallel setting, but the real fun is the series out of phase setting. It's nothing to write home about played clean, but with a bit of overdrive or distortion, the real fun begins! It has the "cocked wah" tone and false, pinch harmonics literaly leap off the fretboard! Killer, greasy, fat, nasty tones. Great fun!!

I'm blessed to have several nice guitars. A stock 71 Tele, 1967 Gibson ES-335, 78-80 Tokai 55 Strat copy, ( with a Deaf-Eddie "Chromcaster & custom wound pups ) plus a couple other vintage semi's. The fact that these beauty's stay in their respective case's speaks volumes to the playablity, tone and incredible soul the USACG posesses. There is no other guitar I want to play.

I'm first and foremost a blues player, but I do play a myriad of styles. This guitar excells a every style I've tried. It's simply a sweet, sweet guitar. From twang to gut bucket blues to ambient washes with several delay's going, it does it all.

Tommy Rosamond at USACG is aces in my book. He took time out of his busy day, stayed well after everyone else had gone home to make sure I was satisfied with what I wanted in my body and neck order. Some thinks I was sure of, others not so sure. I appreciate his expertise and guidence in helping me with the best damn guitar I've ever played in my 30 plus years of guitar playing. Tommy is a class act all the way.

If your contemplating brewing you own guitar, do yourself a favor contact USACG. You'll not only get the best product on the market, you'll be treated with respect.

Ash body, ash top. Body was routed for a solid body look. I asked for a killer grain and lo and behold that's how it came. Only one word to describe the quality of this body - KILLER. Tommy & Co. at USA Custom simply give you the best product available, period. You ask for it - you get it - if it isn't all you expect, they'll get it right. So, for me, this body is loaded with features that I could have searched for years to come by.

As I have it set up with standard Tele pickups, it sounds exactly like I want it to. In addition to being light in weight, it's very resonant and responsive in sound. I play mostly 60's thru 80's rock along with some country and this setup is just what I was after.

My luthier finished it in a butterscotch nitro cellulose and outfitted it with classic Tele parts and a six-way bridge on my request. Like I said above, the wood was exactly like I wanted it so when the finish was applied it just enhanced the experience that much more. All parts are installed perfectly and no silly stuff like screws at a crooked angle or buckled pickguard. Neck pocket is as tight as it gets (oh, did I mention that I got a USA Custom neck as well?)

Hey, it's a well built Tele. Of course I gig without a backup. It was custom made to my specs and never lets me down.

I can't say enough good things about Tommy Rosamond and USA Custom Guitars. He always takes the time to make sure that my customer needs are met and always, always, always turns out a stellar product. I started playing guitar in the mid-sixties (yeah, I know, I'm old), but hey, I played full time for 15 years and still get out for an average of 3 weekends a month, so having a custom-made Tele is something that I've wanted for years. I have had many Fender style guitars over the years but I was never able to get the features that I really wanted rolled into one until now. With USA Custom I can dream and then make it a reality.

I've pretty much covered everything above. I play Teles and Strats through Fender amps and USA Custom fills my niche perfectly. I get to pick what I want to build and then they deliver it. For what you pay, you can't beat it. I've never been disappointed, like I said above, they will make it right.....
Feel free to email me with any correspondence about this review.

This a follow up to my prior post. Now that I've had the guitar up and running for a while, I thought an update would be appropriate. 2002 Mahogony semi-hollow ( no F-hole ) tele body. Rosewood tele neck with 12" radius, 6105 frets, Kluson tuners. Duncan Seth Lover neck pickup, Van Zandt Tru-Vintage Flat Pole in the bridge. Vintage style 3 brass barrel bridge. Hot Dog control plate with 3 way switch, 250K volume control, 500K push pull tone control wired with .047 cap in down position and mid cut/boost in up position. Very simple guitar. Just the way I wanted it. Beautiful, resonant mahogony body coupled with a very comfortable playing neck. Very light gun stock oil finish on body & neck. The care and build quality that went into the neck and body by USAGC is among the very best. I'm a happy camper. It's a tele, so not a lot of features.....just the ones I want. For me, it's a 10!

This is where this guitar really shines. Acousticly, the guitar sounds excellent. Rich, detailed and complex. Lots of sustain. The neck has a life of it's own. It actually puts out sound and I can feel it resonate in my hand. I'm sure the very tight neck/body joint contributes to this, but also the incredible attention to detail and build quality by USACG helps qute a bit. Plugged in....WOW, where do I begin? Everything from thick, rich, fat textures to stinging blues to funky chicken pickin'. It's all there and more. Out of my three teles, this is the one I always reach for. More than I envisioned
( tone and playability wise ) when I started the build project. It continues to amaze me everytime I play it.

I did the set up, so if it's not spot on, I have no one to blame but myself. The build quality of the parts from USACG is the best I've seen. Incredible attention to detail and top quality wood used throughout.

Simply the best. This is how all companys should be run. The customer is definatley king at USACG. Anyway you want it, they will do it for you....and usually much better than you anticipated.

I won't bore you with my gear details. Suffice to say I've been playing since the late 60's. Many bands, many guitars. This is my favorite. The beauty of building you own guitar is you get to choose the wood, the style, what pickups and features you want. With this guitar, I got exactly what I wanted and I counld not be any more pleased with the results. This is an incredible guitar. Even non-musicians come up to me and coment on the tone of this guitar. Sounds hard to believe, but it's true. I love everything about this guitar. The tone, the feel and the looks. The whole package is awesome