Building Your Own Guitar

Talk about musical equipment, guitars, drums, bass, synths anything.

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Stiltzkin
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Re: Building Your Own Guitar

Post by Stiltzkin »

rice_pudding wrote:2) I would not spend more than the cost of an equivalent model on the marketplace (with the exception of the paint- i shall explain in the next point!). So If I spent £800 I would expect it to sound and play better than a Mexican strat, but it would be unrealistic to expect anything I built to sound as good as an American strat. Probably I would limit myself to £500 or so (minus paint) that would be $800 american.
man, that's just cheap :lol:
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Re: Building Your Own Guitar

Post by rice_pudding »

Stiltzkin wrote:
rice_pudding wrote:2) I would not spend more than the cost of an equivalent model on the marketplace (with the exception of the paint- i shall explain in the next point!). So If I spent £800 I would expect it to sound and play better than a Mexican strat, but it would be unrealistic to expect anything I built to sound as good as an American strat. Probably I would limit myself to £500 or so (minus paint) that would be $800 american.
man, that's just cheap :lol:
Yep very cheap :lol: but it's me making it remember! I wouldn't want to spend £1000 on something that has terrible intonation and a fretboard from hell :wink: Then again maybe I'm super talented and just don't know it!

£500 isn't too bad though, I haven't looked at the cost of parts for a while, but I'm thinking just get a body and neck, a hum bucker, probably a stop tail and throw it all together frankenstrat style. In a strange way that appeals to me, and might result in a half decent back up guitar.

Rob
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rice_pudding
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Re: Building Your Own Guitar

Post by rice_pudding »

Just had a look around, guess I would have to add another £100 for parts

Rob
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Paul Wolfe
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Re: Building Your Own Guitar

Post by Paul Wolfe »

Okay, so I keep thinking about building a bass... knowing it's going to be down the road, it's still fun to research ideas. Today I was looking for unique graphics and came across an interesting Strat...

Kinda gruesome, but cool idea...
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DeadRockStarsStrat2.jpg
DeadRockStarsStrat3.jpg
sytharnia
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Re: Building Your Own Guitar

Post by sytharnia »

I have built around 15 guitars to this point. 8 of those have been using pre made necks. I have never bought a pre made body because in general they are over priced (imo) and are pretty easy to do with limited skills and tools.

I have made
7 strats/super strats
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Image (now skin is orange/beige)
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1 double neck pointy thing
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1 pointy thing
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3 V's
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2 les pauls and a star guitar
will try and track down photos of the missing ones
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Re: Building Your Own Guitar

Post by Paul Wolfe »

Very impressive!

As I've said, it's going to be some time before I can afford everything, so I'm buying bits and pieces as I go (hardware, pickups, etc)

I've read and re-read Make Your Own Guitar & Bass and I may give it a go from scratch when the time comes.

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Re: Building Your Own Guitar

Post by Stiltzkin »

sytharnia wrote: 1 pointy thing
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:shock: :shock:
what the hell is that thing? :lol:
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Re: Building Your Own Guitar

Post by Paul Wolfe »

So here's the official plan... since I am currently semi-disabled and soon-to-be-unemployed, I have decided to pick up parts as I can an have my personalized bass by my 50th birthday in 4 years... if I can do it sooner, cool, but I don't have much money to spare so it's gonna take time. I figure it'll be that much more special when I finally get it done and it'll be an heirloom for one of the kids when I'm gone.
sytharnia
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Re: Building Your Own Guitar

Post by sytharnia »

Stiltzkin wrote:
sytharnia wrote: 1 pointy thing
Image
:shock: :shock:
what the hell is that thing? :lol:
thing is probably the right word for it :D ...this is actually the first guitar I ever built (although the neck is off a charvel tele) (2002). I has had a couple of different paint jobs over the years. It was going to be a star at first but as I kept drawing it slowly changed and some how ended up here
ash top and fijian kauri body
duncan full shred humbucker and cool rails neck
gold inverted cross inlays
and I airbrushed the graphic as a test for a mates guitar (his was to be black and white) and liked it so much I have kept it...and he never got his done
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Whipper
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Re: Building Your Own Guitar

Post by Whipper »

You're never too old for pointy guitars!! I finally built my "dream guitar" that I had drafted out on paper over 25 years ago! I'm still waiting until it's warm enough to finish it though. I had to wait 6 months to finally receive shipment of my specialty lacquer, it's a holographic clear coat that's going to go over a white base coat with black on the bevels. The only shot I have handy of the neck on the body:

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I had quit building and playing for 20 years, so it took a mid-life crisis for it to finally happen and for me to start playing again. An original neck binding concept I had all those years ago, but didn't finally get tested until now. It's a one-piece maple binding and neck concept -- the ebony fingerboard and african blackwood headplate are actually inlaid into the neck wood:

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The next best thing to seeing your name in lights, is seeing it in mother-of-pearl and paua shell inlay on a guitar! Inlay work was my favorite part.

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A shot of the completed neck:

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Ric

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blues_n_cues
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Re: Building Your Own Guitar

Post by blues_n_cues »

nice.
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Whipper
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Re: Building Your Own Guitar

Post by Whipper »

Here's some stuff I made over 20 years ago, while I was taking a guitarmaking course, and then worked for the instructor for a year afterwards. My first build, a nylon string acoustic. Notice the revolutionary neck design -- wide at the nut for chordal fingerings, tapering at the high end for playing lead fingerings.... actually, it's from not following the "measure twice, cut once" golden rule of woodworking. :roll: :

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Andaman padauk back and sides:

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A copy of Steve Vai's flame guitar, only with 29 frets instead:

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Around 1988, Canada took the one dollar bill out of circulation, and the mint had sold off some uncut sheets of them as a souvenir. I bought one at the bank and cut it up and laminated it onto this body. Unfortunately, the adhesive I used was broken down by the thinners in the lacquer and it started bubbling up after a month:

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Last edited by Whipper on Sat Mar 24, 2012 4:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Ric

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Whipper
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Re: Building Your Own Guitar

Post by Whipper »

sytharnia wrote:I have built around 15 guitars to this point. 8 of those have been using pre made necks. I have never bought a pre made body because in general they are over priced (imo) and are pretty easy to do with limited skills and tools.
These are really cool! How did you do the snakeskin body?
Last edited by Whipper on Sat Mar 24, 2012 4:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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blues_n_cues
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Re: Building Your Own Guitar

Post by blues_n_cues »

nice stuff whipper.
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Whipper
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Re: Building Your Own Guitar

Post by Whipper »

Thanks Blues, much appreciated! I'm as insecure about my woodworking as my playing, especially thanks to bonehead mistakes like the ones I mentioned. But I really enjoy both, and that's all that matters.
Ric

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