Imitation "New Lawsuit Era" Fender-style Telecaster

The idea here was to take brand new parts (body, neck, hardware, electronics, all brand new), and assemble a series of prototypes of very high-quality, player-friendly guitars in the most cost efficient manner possible.

Call it a guitar for beginners, modders, working musicians or even beginners and modders who hope to become working musicians, all on par with, or even slightly superior to, any of the value brands, at an equally competitive price. In deference to a certain corporate entity (and its lawyers) with roots in a place called Fullerton, and in keeping with the new "Lawsuit Era -- 2026 Edition", we proudly give you, this prototype, affectionately known as the Telecopy.

Lightweight and resonant emerald green basswood body with a high gloss poly finish, the Telecopy features a top-load bridge, chrome-plated steel saddles (very zingy and twangy) with a sleek, modern C-shape maple neck, purpleheart fretboard, 9.5" radius, 22 med-jumbo frets. Back of the neck sanded to 400 grit, finished with three coats of tru oil and hand-rubbed with a carnuba wax paste. This is the famous fast, silky smooth MusicMan neck finish that many players rave about. Old school Kluson style tuners top off the look.

At this price-point, the electronics are high-quality and reliable, albeit bare bones, featuring an import style 3-way switch, 250k mini-pots, 0.047uF tone cap, and a surprisingly musical set of Korean-made ceramic single-coil pickups (6.7 kOhms neck, 7.1 kOhms bridge). The electronics are, for all intents and purposes, virtually identical to the layout in the deservedly praised Squier Affinity line as well as many similar competitors.

In short, the goal was to not only build a "good for the money" guitar, but more specifically one that feels and plays super comfortably. Hence the emphasis on a lightweight guitar with a smooth neck feel. The TL style guitar is also the ultimate easy, DIY mod platform.

(strung with 9-42 strings)

String Theory Guitar Lab and Test Kitchen, Tualatin OR, USA