Building your own Electric guitar

[F-art]

Is there anyone here that has experience in making your own electric guitar? I am planning on starting to build my own guitar and I was wondering if there are any tips or important things that should look out for.

[55'gibby]

I just finished building one about 3 months ago (I've built 4 electrics and one acoustic). I don't know how much wood working experiance you have. But, the wood you pick can be critical, the neck is the most important. Look for quarter sawn hardwood (eastern hardrock maple, mahogany, or rosewood are good choices) for the neck. you can go to places like Stewart MacDonald and get a prefab neck with the fingerboard already attached and the truss rod installed, these are some really good parts and can save you LOTS of time and headaches. you'll want to get the stew/mac catalog anyways for tools, parts, adhesives, and don't forget books. The joint and joinery between the neck and body is also critical for 3 major reasons 1) you don't want it to pull off 2) if it's loose you will lose tone and sustain 3) this has a major impact on action. What kind of guitar are you building? maybe I can be of some kind of help.

Get a good book on lutherie, and video tape or two can help as well



there is tons to know and lots to figger out.... don't be in a hurry

[gck]

I suggest finding out for what reason you want to build your own electric. If you just want some special configuration that is not available on-stock (like special tone circuitry, pickups/humbuckers, tremolo, tuning heads etc...) you don't need to really start from zero (I mean cutting the wood and all that things)

I am also working on my own electric now, but I didn't want any special body shaping so I got an unfinished strat-shaped swamp ash body. Next, I wanted a neck with 22 frets, so I got one that had a big woodplate instead of a headstock: just had to cut out the headstock in the shape I wanted, everything else was already done. Next, I got a floyd rose and schaller locking tuners (I think locking nuts look ugly :)), string tees, pickups, a pickguard, electronic parts for a special circuit, etc.. i.e. all the things I wanted my guitar to have...

I am currently doing the finishing of the body & neck (doing my own design). Next thing will just be screwing together all the parts. Apart from the tremolo installation, all of this will be rather easy.

The point is: I am not so interested in the woodwork but in the creation of a custom design guitar -> so I got the parts I wanted rather than doing it all myself...

[Krieselman13]

If you want pre-made parts for it, then go to www.warmoth.com they have premade bodies, necks, and the like. Just click on the thing and it will take you there.

[eische]

pretty wrong forum-part for me here, but if you have a little time.....??????

I heard about a guitarist giving workshops at Lancarote. It's like: you book your vacation there and with it comes a full course in building a guitar, which means at the end of your holiday you will take back your own handmade guitar. It's only electrical guitars that are built there, because the climate is so special and an acustic would probably blow if transfered to another climate (sobbs - I would so love to go there to build the acustic I always wanted).
I just wanted to let you know........good luck

[wjmunson3]

Ive worked on alot of guitars and did some restoration work, but i have never cut a body from a blank. I can help you with any of your questions though jmunson@adt.com

[jaytee]

how jealous i am! every time someone brings this up i start thinking about the tool inventory available to me!
some day (perhaps when i dont have a child under my feet?) i am going to take on these kinds of projects too...oh how i wish i could do it now....

have fun...let us know how it works out...

--jt