sonic1974 Posted April 14, 2009 Posted April 14, 2009 Hi guys,I'm really interested in starting some guitar projects, maybe start of with a parts Telecaster style, and then eventually even building a set neck style from a kit or something.I know some guys out there are into this kind of thing. What kind of tools are required? Can you suggest any websites or books for a novice?It's a long term thing, but I'm really interested in building my own dream guitar. It would be a lot of work, but I think it would be great fun. It would be a nice change of pace from my job in the cubicle! Where do you get the wood pieces, and what are the costs involved?Thanks guys!rob b.
Jeff R Posted April 14, 2009 Posted April 14, 2009 It's fun to throw together parts-o-casters. Here's one I build in December of 2006... If you go the strat- or tele-style kit first time around, you don't need serious guitar-specific tools like fret dressing stuff if you get good stuff from reputable manufacturers. The guitar above is an AllParts "licensed by Fender" body and neck and the fret dressing from the factory was fine for my tastes. Same was the case with a couple of Warmoth necks I've bought over the years. For tools, if you do basic repairs and projects on your home and/or your car, you probably have most of what you need already. A Dremel and a nice power drill with a variety of bits for both is pretty much mandatory. Having or having access to a drill press is definitely nice for these projects. You'll probably need nut files to fine-tune the nut to your action tastes - they're cheap. There are a few books out there. Folks seem to like Dan Erlewine's books a lot from what I read on the forums. You may want to see what resources are online at Stewart-McDonald too. They have every tool for every guitar repair or assembly job, and they just might have some sort of pre-packaged set of necessity guitar tools (I haven't looked). AllParts is a great source for parts too - most of the hardware on my tele project was AllParts stuff If you're buying a neck and a body, I'd recommend getting them from the same manufacturer to make sure the neck and the body pocket match up clean. I've thrown together a bunch of parts bastards over the years and mixing and matching bodies and necks usually gets me a date with a Dremel and/or a router to open up a body more - pain in the butt. Or the opposite - enough air space in the neck pocket to hold a few picks. Looks fugly and will make the neck shift on you while you're playing it. Be careful mixing body and pickguard manufacturers too 'cause sometimes they don't line up right as well. I got my pickguard from AllParts - I still had to modify it to accommodate the extended 22-fret fingerboard but at least all the screw holes and body and hardware contours matched up. Before you start ordering parts too, here's a tip: Hit your local music shops and see what they have lying around in their parts bins/junk boxes/back shelves that they will sell cheap just to move it. I think the only parts I bought as "new" on the guitar above were the pickguard, the keys, the control plate and knobs and the bridge pickup. Everything else was scavenged out of bins for cheap. Scavenging also gets some pleasant surprises often. I wasn't going to use Rio Grandes in the telebastard until I found a used clean Muy Grande neck pickup in a discard bin for around $10 IIRC. It sounded so good after I threw the guitar together I went back and splurged for the new Muy Grande bridge pickup. Turns out this is probably the most tonally versatile guitar I own now.
pesocaster Posted April 14, 2009 Posted April 14, 2009 Check out this guy..... Loads of details and fantastic information:http://www.micahatwell.com/projectorange/
silentman Posted April 14, 2009 Posted April 14, 2009 Carvin sells the bolt kit which is a do-it-yourselfer. You just assemble. All soldering is done for you.
sonic1974 Posted April 14, 2009 Author Posted April 14, 2009 Wow! Awesome info guys. I will copy and paste these comments into my hard drive so I can keep them on file. HFC Rocks!!!
sonic1974 Posted April 16, 2009 Author Posted April 16, 2009 Wow, went to the Warmouth site. They have some awesome stuff. Some of it is quite a bit more expensive than I thought it would be.But they are some very cool stuff in their "screaming deals" section.Here is a thinline tele body that they are selling, I think it's pretty sharp. $195.Links to Warmouth site:http://www.warmoth.com/Showcase/ShowcaseIt...y=2&i=t1249
Brooks Posted April 16, 2009 Posted April 16, 2009 i did one awhile back, kramer w/ warmoth 24.75" birdseye/ebony reverse CBS neck, mirror pickguard, floyd, dimebucker & lace sensors, and a kickass stike sparle finish. it looked amazing, but didn't play or sound great. cost a lot by the time i was done, kinda a disapointment. on the other hand, HHB's main guitar is a partscaster w/ GFS pups and a thick neck, its a killer strat. so, the partscaster route can be a gamble, there's both winners and losers.
sonic1974 Posted April 16, 2009 Author Posted April 16, 2009 i did one awhile back, kramer w/ warmoth 24.75" birdseye/ebony reverse CBS neck, mirror pickguard, floyd, dimebucker & lace sensors, and a kickass stike sparle finish. it looked amazing, but didn't play or sound great. cost a lot by the time i was done, kinda a disapointment. on the other hand, HHB's main guitar is a partscaster w/ GFS pups and a thick neck, its a killer strat. so, the partscaster route can be a gamble, there's both winners and losers. How long did it take you to put together? Did you find it fun, or a pain in the ass?
Brooks Posted April 17, 2009 Posted April 17, 2009 How long did it take you to put together? Did you find it fun, or a pain in the ass?took a long time. didn't have to, it just did. it was kinda fun, tho.
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