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We’ve been so enthralled by some forum activity this month that
we feel compelled to share some of our favorites…
TDPRI’s $100 Telecaster Challenge
TGP’s “Real or Relic” Series
Economy in the trash? Doesn’t mean you can’t have a new Tele.
That seems to be the moral of the Telecaster Guitar Forum’s $100
Telecaster Challenge. The forum set up a contest pitting member
against member in a race to build the winning $100 Tele.
The contest, which ran through March 15, featured guitars from 15
forum members. The rules were simple—used materials were okay,
wood cost didn’t count, and the total couldn’t exceed $100.
Entrants include IrishMail’s Spa-Caster, made of wood that had
once been the frame of a waterbed that was later converted to spa
steps; the Tidycatster from Guitarbuilder, which loosely follows a
cat litter theme; and a couple of Palletcasters made the good-old-fashioned Bob Taylor way—from a shipping pallet.
Each person approached the challenge differently, and with
different technology at their disposal. Some were lucky enough
to employ heavier machinery, while others relied on a sizeable
helping of elbow grease. After looking through many pictures of
hand-cutting, sanding, gluing and even a home-fashioned CNC,
we’re not about to embark on a similar journey. Watching others
do it, however, is infinitely enjoyable. The contest may be best
summed up by the note on forum member Martyb1’s swamp ash
blank: “Am I Frickin Nuts!”
At press time, the contest was still running and a winner had not
been selected. However, it is now wrapped and entries and winner
can be found at tdpri.com. The winning guitar will be given away in
conjunction with the site’s 10th anniversary on May 3.
Pick your favorite at tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/
As far as forums go, it’s tough to talk about specific threads in a
magazine—the daily nature of the forum nearly guarantees that by
the time you’re holding this in your hand, the thread has long sunk
to the depths of the board. However, we think this series of topics
on The Gear Page is worth digging for.
If you spend any time online, you’ve probably heard your fair
share of arguing about whether relics are cool or lame. We’ll
spare you a rehashing of the arguments; suffice to say a consensus has not been met.
That’s why the “Real or Relic” posts on The Gear Page are so
good. Started by forum member Tedzeppelin, the concept is
simple—post beat-up guitar pictures and let forum members
decide whether they are relics or real. With almost 200 posts
weighing in, there are plenty who have gotten it right, and plenty
who haven’t been able to tell the difference. It puts the backlash
against relics into perspective, begging the question: “If you
can’t tell the difference, what difference is there?” Then again,
with nothing but photographs to go on…
There have been two threads so far, and the answers have
been posted. You can play along by going to thegearpage.net’s
Guitars in General board and searching for “Real or Relic.”
You do have to be a member to search, but if you don’t feel
like signing up, we’ll have a direct link on the digital version
of this article at digital.premierguitar.com.
While you’re on TGP, have a gander at the “Post One Great Guitar
Photo” thread in the same board (you can find it on the same
search) for 30 pages of straight-up gear porn.
Test yourself at thegearpage.net
