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I’ve really been quite fortunate in that I have a very close friend that is literally more passionate about his Telecasters than most men are for their wives. He’s an old school player that insists on quality. When I was getting started, he’d be right there making sure everything I produced would have given Leo a run for his money. Since that time I’ve come to not only accept his scrutiny but build to it. I’ve added my own flare, too.
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Every Tele body produced for Clark’s is CNC precision cut from a FenderTM approved template. They are then professionally finished and quality inspected before getting the go ahead for assembly. At this point the body is mocked up with all of its hardware. Holes are drilled, screws are set and pickups are installed. This is the fitting stage, and the final look of the instrument solely depends on this part going right. Once I’m happy I install copper shielding throughout every control cavity, to help shield the electronics from excess noise and help reduce humming.
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Our necks are also CNC cut, not only to get the precision but as a cost savings measure as well. Quite literally, the time taken to create a neck using CNC is nowhere even comparable to the time it takes to create one by hand – and with CNC, they’re perfect every time. My dream is the perfect Tele and I can’t achieve that level of consistency by rasping every neck by hand.
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After the body and neck are complete I begin final assembly. The mock up made a lot of this easier. The soldering is done at this stage. The pickups are tested for their resistance which gets recorded before being installed. After a quick wipedown it’s ready to be set up.
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The whole setup process takes me the better part of a day. The frets are levelled, dressed, polished and crowned. A new bone nut is installed. New strings are put on and the intonation adjusted. The saddles are set to conform to the neck radius and the action is set. The pickup heights are set. Once all this is done I’ll leave it for a couple of days so the neck can get used to the new tension – then I’ll play it for a half hour or so before redoing the setup. Then I’ll let it sit another few days before giving it one last setup check and making any final adjustments. Clear nail polish is dropped onto the saddle screws and that’s it, it’s ready to go!
~~ Austin
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