Madlad Instruments HH Tabbed Black Limba "Arm and Belly Tele" Telecaster Tele Style Body (custom made with pride in north Texas) - Unfinished

Ever felt like your Tele was a bit... slabby? Like, no disrespect to Leo or the boys from Corona back in the day... but it might be nice to have a place to rest your arm and belly? Perfect! We thought the exact same thing -- and that's how the MadLad Arm and Belly Tele came to be!

Playing on the utilitarian and workhorse nature of the original Tele, the MadLad Arm and Belly Tele keeps all the heft and classic geometry of the workhorse telecaster shape while adding just a bit of comfort for the modern player.

Add to that the versatility of an HH route and you have the makings of a vintage wall-banger, a metal machine, or just about anything in between.

This body came out of a collaboration with a number of MadLad clients and artists and is sure to pleasantly and ergonomically delight you on your next tele build!

Here's the TL;DR (high points):

-Vintage inspired Telecaster-style body dimensionally accurate to ~2mm (~8/100ths of an inch)

-Double Humbucker (HH) tabbed pickup routing

-MadLad Arm and Belly route for added comfort

-Body is made from 2 pieces of Black Limba which is sourced from a local mill here in McKinney, Texas. Most bodies clock in between 5-6 lbs — give or take a few oz depending on what the tree ate the night before it was cut 😎

-Each body is made-to-order and combines CNC for the milling and hand finishing done by yours truly

-Each body is hand-sanded to 320 grit (as a builder myself I want to save your wrists and your time). Please note hand sanding may alter round overs/edges ever so slightly from their Fender factory dimensions.

-Standard hardtail bridge through holes

- Bridge Screw outlines can be added at no extra cost (4 screw outlines is standard and will fit most Fender/Gohtoh bridges. But feel free to message me if you want a different screw layout!)

-Outlined neck holes that can be drilled at no extra cost (in case you want to use a different neck screw layout)

-Can be grain filled for a bit extra with a choice of different colors for that extra pop! (I can do clear too — message me if you’d like grain filler)

-Built with care by one builder in his garage and proceeds help small businesses and the local music scene here in north Texas

Here's a bit more about how this body came to be!

The MadLad Arm and Belly Tele take our Vintage Inspired bodies and adds the arm and belly contours that are reminiscent of a Strat or Jazzmaster for added comfort.

Being that the Arm and Belly Tele is derived from the MadLad vintage inspired bodies that means (besides the extra routing) all dimensions are made to mimic the original specifications of their decades-old counterparts.

This particular body follows the original Fender plans for the Telecaster and each dimension is accurate to ~2mm (~8/100ths of an inch). And yes... there was a lot of calipering, checking dimensions, and singing sweet-nothings to my CNC machine so it can hold that kind of tolerance.

What that means for you is you get the most dimensionally accurate body I could possibly produce and this body will accept the standard Fender tapered neck pocket with a square heel (because who needs rounded neck heels anyway?)

Please keep in mind that Fender neck pockets are a TIGHT fit - and while my neck pockets are routed to spec and hold a solid tolerance some necks may need a little sanding to get the heel to make it into the pocket itself. You want this joint to be snug-as-a-bug for a number of reasons so don't worry if it doesn't fit initially. That's by design and can happen pretty regularly. Just sand the sides of your neck heel evenly and it'll make it's way in.

The body itself is made from Black Limba which I source from a local mill not 10 miles from where I live. Black Limba is my favorite wood to build with on account of it's beautiful striations and grain. 

I inspect each piece of lumber to at the mill to find the best grain and patterns I can. much like Ash, Black Limba grain "rolls" over the contour/relief cuts and gives you this beautiful curvaceous look that you don't get with veneers.

All production is done locally in my home shop and with the desire to make your guitar building journey as fun as possible.

As a builder myself I know what parts I dread in the body fabrication process so I've done all of those for you ahead of time! Each body is sanded to 320 grit for an ultra smooth feel. Black Limba however is a very porous wood so I'd recommend grain filling it for that nice glass finish when all is said and done. I can do the grain filling for you as well for just a couple bucks extra.

The part that does kind of bum me out is that our craft and instruments are made from wood. Which means a tree somewhere had to fall for us to make our beautiful tools of the trade. Not wanting to leave the story there a portion of each body purchase goes to support reforestation charities so we can still have fun with our instruments and the next generation still gets the natural beauty of our tall and green friends :)

When you buy MadLad you support me and a host of local businesses that I source parts from such as my local lumber mill. I also make it a priority to use some proceeds to go support local artists who are on the rise here in the DFW area. It's probably not a huge selling point in the grand scheme of things - but you can maybe find a bit of joy knowing that while you're getting a great guitar body the local scene is also thriving as a result of that purchase too, so thank you!

If you've made it this far a big thank you for listening to my rambling - As a small operation presently working out of my garage I know how valuable time can be so thank you for giving some of yours to check out the listing and see what we're all about. Whether you're pulling the trigger right now or we look at getting you something down the road, I hope you'll consider becoming a MadLad yourself!

All the best,

Drew

Head Madlad @MadladInstruments