My #1 Bucket List Build - MJT 60s Telecaster Custom

This has been a build, a long time in the making. I sometimes daydream of building THAT guitar. The one that if you did not have any others, it would be the last one you would keep. You know, the mythical deserted island guitar. I thought about doing a video about what three guitars would I take if I was stranded on a deserted island. I probably will still do the video.

I have built about a dozen guitars on MJT bodies. I really like them and think they are a very high-quality body. I have always purchased them through online eBay auctions or directly from resellers where the person already has the body and I do not have to wait for it to be built.

Over four months ago I decided to take the plunge. I ordered a custom body from MJT Aged Guitars. The body is a MJT Official Custom Order Vintage Aged Nitro Double Bound Guitar VTT Sunburst. With tax and shipping it was $657.72.

I was actually assigned a project manager. I filled out a preference form that said I only wanted LIGHT RELIC’ing. My PM (Emily) would regularly reach out to me to give me updates and near the end send me proof of life pictures of my baby moving through the custom shop.

I am not a patient person. Let me repeat – I am not a patient person. I was very proud of myself because I did not bother them and let it take how long it was going to take. This was an exercise in being an adult. It was hard.

While I was waiting, I purchased the rest of the guitar parts for this project.

The pickups.

I ordered a Lollar T-52 Pickup Set (3rd wire on Neck). Lollar describes them as –

Wound to exact 1952 Telecaster® pickup specifications, our '52 T model delivers well-balanced frequency response with an attack that is softer than other Tele® pickups we offer. The '52 T's tone is pure Bakersfield and Blackguard and they maintain clarity when you want to drench your sound in reverb or delay.

The set cost me $260 and I have owned these before, and they are worth every penny.

Next was the wiring circuit. Since the Lollars were coming with the third wire on the neck pickup I decided I would drop a 4-way switch into the mix. This would allow me to have the three traditional Telecaster pickup outputs of:

1. The Bridge
2. Bridge and Neck in Parallel
3. Bridge and Neck in Series
4. The Neck

But in the third position I would now also have Bridge and Neck in Series.

This results in a hotter, louder output that's better for overdriving an amp. Here is how to look at it. Parallel wired pickups which is the normal wiring for a telecaster in the middle position, is when you are playing both the neck and the bridge at the same time. Each pickup has its own path to the output. The output of the two pickups together seems to be at a less or lower volume than each of the pickups on their own.

When you have the pickups in series, the output of one pickup is being sent through the other. This will provide an output that is very much louder than parallel wired pickups, with noticeably more defined mid and lower tones.

Always a nice thing to have in your toolbox of tones.

The circuit consists of two CTS 250k solid shaft pots, one .047 uf Capacitor, an Oak Grigsby 4-way switch, and a Tone Pro output jack.

The neck I selected for this project was a MR G.508 from eBay aged late 60s copy neck that I had been holding onto for some time. The neck is described as:

• From Mr. G's Custom Shop a Genuine Allparts Fender Lic. Telecaster Neck.
• Vintage 62 specs
• Relic finish in thin hand rubbed nitro cellulose lacquer
• Gorgeous rosewood board.
• 7.25" radius.
• 21 vintage frets.
• "C" profile
• 62 style decal
• Vintage relic tuners.

The remainder of the hardware parts are all Fender with the exception of the three Wilkinson compensated brass saddles.

Observations

The assembled guitar comes in at 7 pounds and 10 ounces. Very nice weight for a telecaster.

I love that they barely aged the body at all. There is the beginning of checking in the finish but is almost kind of difficult to see unless you really look very closely. I did not want paint flaking off. Just a used look. The guitar looks like it was well taken care of and kept in a case safely when not being played over the past 50 years.

The acoustic sound of the guitar not plugged in is what I would expect with a traditional solid body telecaster.

The Lollar pickups are wonderful as always.
Plugged in is where she really shines. I especially love the increased punch and volume the third position provides when both pickups are in series. Listen to the sample tracks and you will hear what I am talking about. When you are driving a Tube Screamer it causes more breakup in the sound.

All in all, I am satisfied with the build. The next time I know I am going to be stranded, I will pack her along…