building a guitar

slackin@dabass · Post by **slackin@dabass** » Sunday Sep 21, 2008

so i was thinking about giving it a shot. i really have no experience and was kinda looking for some advice on the easiest and cheapest way to go about it.

i've looked around at various websites, you know, stewmac and warmoth and was wondering if anyone had any experience with their bodies and necks. anyone ever tried to build a hollow body electric? what about set neck or neck thru instruments? have any of you put piezos and regular electric pickups into a solid body? also i was wondering how you guys that build go about routing pickup and control cavities. have any of you guys made a neck from scratch? if so, what all goes into that? what about bodies? what kind of tools you need and so forth. like i said, i'm just looking for some advice and basically, asking you experienced guys what all you go through to build a custom axe.

i know there are alot of questions here. i was also considering going to school to be a luthier. i think i could build and repair instruments for a living. i love to set up my own instruments. i think it's fun and honestly, i can't leave stuff alone on any of my instruments. i'm always checking something. seeing if i could get that action just a little bit lower with no fret buzz and whatnot.

anyway, any advice would be appreciated!!

(sorry for rambling!)

metalchurch · Post by **metalchurch** » Monday Sep 22, 2008

Wow, that is alot of questions for sure man, I dont even know where to start at.

Check out this site for some background on the subject. There's other sites, but this is a good one that covers alot of area.
http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/tutorial5.htm

And this one:
http://www.edroman.com/techarticles.htm

Decide on what type of guitar you want and some features that you like and make a list.

Here's some sites that carry parts:
http://www.allparts.com/

https://www.musikraft.com/index.php?CZS ... 3q9s8ke5g7

http://www.mightymite.com/

slackin@dabass · Post by **slackin@dabass** » Monday Sep 22, 2008

thanks for the tips!!

paul · Post by **paul** » Tuesday Sep 23, 2008

If you need let me know I have 1/4 inch thick acrylic routing templates for : Floyd rose (front and rear), Humbucker pickups, Neck pockets (2 and 3/16th) and the Charvel style 2 and 1/4 and also single coil pickups.
Let me know if you need anything.
Paul

slackin@dabass · Post by **slackin@dabass** » Tuesday Sep 23, 2008

hey, thanks paul. i think for my first project though, i'm just going to buy stuff from warmoth, including the body. probably the best idea because if i go starting to cut a body out of boards, i'm sure i'll screw it up multiple times. when i do finally do this, it's probably better to build a "some assembly required" style guitar than a "build it from scratch"

i appreciate the offer, though paul!! maybe if this first project goes well, i'll build another one from scratch

metalchurch · Post by **metalchurch** » Tuesday Sep 23, 2008

Warmoth is a great company, but you can save money if you check this site out:

http://www.kneguitars.com/bod_list.php

I had a few bodies built by them and there's been alot of positive things being said about them on another forum I'm a member of.

Check out the entire sight when you get time.

Here's another parts site:
http://www.guitarpartsdepot.com/

Take your time and shop before you buy , cause you can save alot of money. If you don't you'll easily end up with a $900 guitar project! LOL

paul · Post by **paul** » Wednesday Sep 24, 2008

I have had several KNE bodies in here to paint for customers. Dont buy one they are CNC cut bodies which are ok but nowhere near a Warmoth body. Its like an import body vs. a USA body. The contours arent nice the control cavities are strange and everyone I had in here I had to fix the neckpockets as they werent right. Spend the extra money and buy something nice. Mighty mite for an inexpensive company does a decent body way nicer than the KNE bodies. If you want something different than a standard body let me know I can build you whatever you want.
Paul

metalchurch · Post by **metalchurch** » Wednesday Sep 24, 2008

I never had a problem with any of my neck pockets, or control cavities.
The bodies aren't finish sanded or sealed, so I did have to smooth some of the contours out, but I expected that.
KNE offers more options that suit me better so thats why I go with them.

slackin@dabass · Post by **slackin@dabass** » Friday Sep 26, 2008

paul wrote:I If you want something different than a standard body let me know I can build you whatever you want.

haha

kinda defeats the purpose? no, seriously, i appreciate the offer, but i definatly wanna do it all my self. maybe the paint, i was thinknig of a blue burst. gibson styled burst. any ideas on what you would charge? just the body, for sure.

i was thinking of getting a warmoth soloist. i wanna do a hard tail with a string thru. any of you guys have any experience with the L.R. Baggs T bridge?

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_ta ... matic.html

i want an electric that can sound like an acoustic when i want it to. i think you have to run a preamp with it? i dunno. sounds like the way to go. any of you guys ever slap a piezo or any thing to try and achieve an acoustic tone from an electric?

MeYatch · Post by **MeYatch** » Friday Sep 26, 2008

paul wrote:Dont buy one they are CNC cut bodies which are ok but nowhere near a Warmoth body.

I would be extremely surprised if even 1% of guitars, whole or in pieces are not cut by CNC machines.

Maybe they are inferior quality, I wouldn't know, but don't think that warmoth guitars are not cut with a CNC machine.

bassist_25 · Post by **bassist_25** » Friday Sep 26, 2008

The Warmoth stuff looks good and I've heard that it's pretty high quality. However, with their prices, after it's all said and done, I could probably buy an all-ready built and finished instrument for the same price or even less.

paul · Post by **paul** » Saturday Sep 27, 2008

Pretty much all badies are now cut on a CNC machine which had nothing to do with the problems I had with the KNE bodies I have had in the shop. I just stated that their bodies were CNC cut and that I had problems with them. It wasnt because they were CNC cut. It was whoever programmed the the CNC to cut the bodies as I said the neck pockets needed corrected and the control cavities were off (too far to the center of the body) even the contours were terrible.
Warmouth bodies are certainly done by CNC and I never said they weren't but there programs for the CNC are perfect and they use a better grade of wood than KNE. A couple KNE bodies I had here had some knots that were filled with bondo and other imperfections where you wont find on any Warmouth product.
Like Paul said their prices are a little crazy for their products and you could have well over $1000 just in the body and neck and some hardware. But their stuff is impecable and perfect. It makes no difference if they are done on a CNC machine but the difference is the CNC programmer.
Paul

slackin@dabass · Post by **slackin@dabass** » Saturday Sep 27, 2008

paul wrote:Pretty much all badies are now cut on a CNC machine which had nothing to do with the problems I had with the KNE bodies I have had in the shop. I just stated that their bodies were CNC cut and that I had problems with them. It wasnt because they were CNC cut. It was whoever programmed the the CNC to cut the bodies as I said the neck pockets needed corrected and the control cavities were off (too far to the center of the body) even the contours were terrible.
Warmouth bodies are certainly done by CNC and I never said they weren't but there programs for the CNC are perfect and they use a better grade of wood than KNE. A couple KNE bodies I had here had some knots that were filled with bondo and other imperfections where you wont find on any Warmouth product.
Like Paul said their prices are a little crazy for their products and you could have well over $1000 just in the body and neck and some hardware. But their stuff is impecable and perfect. It makes no difference if they are done on a CNC machine but the difference is the CNC programmer.
Paul

it's like that with everything, really. that's why shit at wal-mart is so cheap. well, that and the 3rd world countries that make it aren't necessarily known for their "eye for detail." honestly, if i'm going to build something, it's gonna be as nice as possible. i know as far as drums go, most people that build their own use keller shells. dw drums were made with keller shells until like 2000 or maybe it was 96. either way, i mean, you get what you pay for, right? i'm sure it's the same with guitar bodies. i'll probably just spend the extra money. i just want to experience the satisfaction of building something. i'd love to build it totally myself, you know, cut the bodie and carve it, and the neck too, but that seems like an awful lot of work for someone with no experience. maybe eventually. i'll just see how this first project goes.

and like i've said, all the input and help is definatly appreciated!!!