Kavanagh Customs

There's nothing we appreciate here more than a rich and glossy nitrocellulose black body, 3-ply plastic and a maple neck - it just seems perfect for Telecasters and Stratocasters and is certainly very popular (we also have the same finish on our "Clapton" Stratocaster alder body if you aren't yet decided the Telecaster vs. Stratocaster nature of your guitar project) .

What we have for sale here is a select alder guitar body for Fender Telecasters. Totally handbuilt, we have templated it's dimensions from an original 1961 Fender Telecaster to ensure as close-to-vintage-correct dimensions, and have used only the very best hand-selected tonal woods. Even better, we only use timber from sustainable sources in our work so you need not have any environment guilt hanging heavily over your head when purchasing any of our work.

The routing is the standard two single-coils Telecaster layout, and all holes are drilled to connect the Telecaster wires up: all you need to do is drop your neck, pickups and electronics in, string it up and play! The finish is nitrocellulose (a rare thing to find on guitars today: we're one of very few workshops still shooting genuine cellulose) and greatly adds to that great authentic vintage vibe. It really allows the sound from the guitar's resonance to ring out rather than being trapped under the thick layers of polyurethane that other manufacturers seem to prefer.

This would be the ideal starting point for that guitar project you've been promising yourself since last summer and would make a superbly authentic relic- particularly considering the nitrocellulose finish.

Please note that with our black nitrocellulose finishes, this body will require a final polish upon arrival to get the finish to it's full glass-like potential.

We can also additionally provide a relicing service for this item if you aren't happy doing such things yourself yet still want a true used vintage appearance, just contact us to find out more!

Please note that this is not a Fender product, nor is it made in a sweatshop in the Far East by children getting paid 10p a day - it's much, much better than that. Like all our items, it has been carefully hand built to exacting standards and dimensions to ensure the highest possible quality, and the perfect fit for Fender, Squier and 98% of the Fender-copy market. We comply directly with Fender's own neck pocket dimensions (see the diagram on the left), although there may still be a small amount of work necessary to ensure a perfect fit.

If you have any doubt over whether any of our work is suitable or not for you, drop us a line, we're always happy to help.

This body has been left completely undrilled to ensure that it is suitable for anyone and everyone's needs - you can fit any type of scratchplate you like without having empty holes left under the scratchplate, you can fit a three or four-bolt neck, you can fit the tremolo system of your choice without the need to worry if the screw and string spacing is compatible with your body, or if the holes in your neck and body will line up. The advantages are endless and most importantly: it guarentees compatibility with the rest of your guitar. Please note that our Telecaster bodies do not come with the string holes pre-drills as standard - making them ideal for top-loading bridges, or else a very easy task to modify in your own home to accomodate a through-body stringing bridge.

Don't see exactly the part you're after?

We can build it for you to your exact specifications - nothing is too weird or whacky!

Contact us for a totally free quote and a chat about your requirements, and click here to see our price lists for custom-builds.

We can also supply all the parts you need to complete your guitar project, from fretwire and string trees to custom-wound pickups and polishing cloths! We will be expanding our shop in the near future so that you can conveniently purchase all these items at once but for the moment, contact us and tell us what it is you're after and we will happily arrange or source the parts you need for you.