January 2009 \ Features \ Builder Profile \ 5 Tele-Style Builders You Should Know

5 Tele-Style Builders You Should Know

Adam Moore

We talk to Ron Kirn, Rick Kelly, Chihoe Hahn, Bill Crook and Jay Monterose about building boutique Tele-style guitars.
Premier Guitar January 2009
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There’s a lot of talk of change this year, and that’s all fine and good, but some things should just stay the same. One of those is a 1952 blackguard Telecaster. Capable of covering jazz, blues, rock and everything in between with a distinctive bite, Leo Fender’s Telecaster proved that planks of wood could indeed sound musical. Comprised simply of an ash body and major-league worthy neck, this guitar was nothing other than a workhorse; its construction and modular nature made it a natural choice for active musicians. And although it would (temporarily) be eclipsed by its space age brother starting in 1954, the Telecaster has always retained a devoted cadre of loyalists who have prized the instrument for its clarity and uncompromising honesty.

While time and skyrocketing vintage markets have taken the number of original blackguards in the wild to new lows—with the remaining likely sitting behind glass or vault doors—a still-going-strong boutique world is ensuring that these guitars are available for a new generation, or an older generation just looking to relive the glory days of instrument design. Fortunately for buyers, a competitive marketplace and expanding supply options have brought about better materials, higher quality, myriad options and bearable prices. There’s now really no reason not to have a good sounding, well built Tele-style guitar in your arsenal.

This month, we sat down with five small builders— Bill Crook, Chihoe Hahn, Rick Kelly, Ron Kirn and Jay Monterose—who all specialize in Tele-style guitars, and asked them about their approach to building and just what separates their guitars from the rest. And even though Tele-style guitars are fairly straightforward in nature, we found five different answers, each with their own dream of the ideal Tele-style guitar. So whether you’re looking for an “art-quality” instrument to call your number one, or you just need another Tele to fill out your closet, we’re betting you’ll find a builder here to call.

Hit Page 2 for the first of our five builders...

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Comments

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Paul L
on 04/17/2013 		Hello the guys that try to brag that they sliced bread ,are very insecure to begin with and need to have their egos stoked.when you are charging 2x or better then your competitor then simething is seriously wrong. Also to the Guys who think a Fender custom shop is as good from a true Veteran builder Like Ron Kirn Not happening ,and I will tell you briefly in a nut shell. fender may use Good parts but they Never use 100 year old plus reclaimed wood, Why do you think older guitars 40-50 years old sound better? The resins in wood take many years to actually crystalize,only then Will this allow the tones to fully resonate. also Fender Never uses nitrocellulose finishes for they take Weeks to dry ,time is money,sitting side by side it is easy to tell what a true Vintage instrument shold sound like. Ron also states whatever you want if he either gets high quality neck blanks ,or build it from scratch ,no difference both high quality rock maple ,Ron goes to extremes finishing every fret one at a time to within a thousand or two ,as well as knowing how to make great hand wound pickups.did you know the pickup wire everyone gets is from one of 3 distributors ?No magic wire. This and the total body build by hand from a jig ,not CNC routed ,this and many other things. Fender does 70 percent on machines,even in custom they just finish them by hand.with no old wood period even their $10 k models ! Some people can't handle the truth . A $4k Kern guitar will equal or beat any Fender at any cost and stay in tune Schaller locking tuners,are another touch more mass better tone and staying in tune.Don't knock it until you have played one . Go read up on just how extensive these builds can go ,if you see Rons gallery of Tele And Strats you may change your mind a bit.check it then make a call until then you are speaking Out your tale.
Rob
on 02/22/2013 		Monterose is a complete rip off!!! All this guy does is takes your order... calls it in to Warmoth... gets the stuff back assembles it and then sends it to you for three to four times more than his overhead!!!! All he is is a middle man that does a little assembly, soldering, amd set up. You can literally go to www.warmoth.com and do the exact same thing he does.
Kent
on 02/13/2013 		Building slab guitars with bolt on necks is not rocket science. If you have some mechanical ability and are not afraid of power tools build one for yourself to understand the process, it will make you appreciate how silly all this boutique stuff really is.
Thomas
on 12/12/2012 		Bullsh!t Adam. His guitars are Warmoth assembled bodies and necks, this is a widely known fact. Believe me, you don't want to do business with this guy. He will take your money and you'll be lucky to get your assemblage of aftermarket crap. Jay Monterose is a scam artist and does not deserve to be mentioned among the other guys in this article.
Adam
on 11/18/2012 		I got my bluesman vintage tele after watching some guys in Nashville tearing up the scene. I'm not going to go into every detail but his guitars Absolutely KICK ASS!!!
Robert
on 10/01/2012 		I have owned many guitars over the years, some parts some handmade. Both excellent. I have owned one of the K-Line parts versions of years past and currently own two Truxton's which are the hand built version. They are a cut above. Chris was very good to deal with and made a close copy of my vintage 54 sans the headstock of course. A true work of art. I have worked behind the scenes in this industry and one would be very surprised to learn that many of the top dollar guitars use a secondary company to cut the wood parts:) It is the way of the world for small manufacturers these days.
Harold
on 08/09/2012 		If you want a good telecaster, go pick out a decent USA Standard in your favorite color and friggin' go play it, and quit looking at it and obsessing over it so damn much. You don't need one built by these freaks. I swear, people get so into this crap, instead of using that time to become a better musicians, it’s ridiculous. A great player can make anything sound good, just remember that. See JJ Cale for more info.
NJ
on 07/25/2012 		I think Jay Monterose has ripped off enough people and to see this hype makes me sick. Sure I have some stuff done my JM, but I don't go around bragging about it because he's burned alot of people, taken their money and never sent them jack.
Stu
on 07/25/2012 		As previously mentioned, tell me Premier, how is someone who is just an assembler of outsourced guitar body/necks called a "builder". In my mind a guitar builder takes raw materials in this case select wood and crafts the wood into a desired shaped object, like a guitar body & neck. All the ancillary attachments to the crafted wood parts i have no objection with secondary vendors. The most important pieces are the wood and that wood being crafted by a artisan builder. I believe that a builder starting from raw wood imparts a part of themselves into the project than can never be duplicated by an assembler. Premier, in the future, when running like articles, please make a clear distinction between a builder vs assembler. Personally i wouldn't have an interest in reading about assemblers if the article was so titled "Guitar Assemblers". If i were a builder i would infuriated in being put into the same ilk as an assembler. Just because anyone can purchase all the necessary bits to assembly a guitar does not make them builders, i personally have assembled several guitars over the years and i would never consider myself a builder. rant over :>)
Tim
on 06/12/2012 		I do not understand how this has anything to do with Guitar building? He doesnt even make his own necks. He makes kit guitars. You can get a nice guitar that way but how on earth is that worthy of inclusion in an article about builders? I lost tremendous respect for Premier over this.



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